Bayer has launched an integrated, Group-wide "Bayer Climate Program", with which it wants to further reduce CO₂ emissions from its production facilities and develop new solutions for increasing climate protection and dealing with climate change. It encompasses different measures that have been initiated by the Group Management Board and should cover a period of several years. In the new climate protection program, which is based on the newly formulated "Bayer Policy on Climate Change", Bayer will bundle its specific expertise as an inventor company. It has, in fact, already begun working on the first lighthouse projects: a global concept for zero-emission buildings for offices and other industrial buildings known as the “EcoCommercial Building”, the development of stress-tolerant plants and systems to encourage the effective use of crops for biofuels, and the "Bayer Climate Check" for optimizing production processes. Bayer will invest EUR 1 billion in climate-related research and development and other projects in the next three years.

"We are well aware that we are an emitter of greenhouse gases," said Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, Werner Wenning, during the presentation of the new climate program at an international press conference in front of more than 100 journalists in Leverkusen. "That was why in the past we focused our attention on lowering CO₂ emissions". Between 1990 and 2006 the company considerably reduced its absolute global greenhouse gas emissions – by 36 percent in fact. In addition, specific emissions per product unit had also been lowered as a result of consistent improvements in energy efficiency.

Wenning added: "We want to continue growing, not least because we manufacture innovative products for efficient climate protection and for dealing with climate change.” Bayer products, he said, were making a direct contribution in many different ways to saving energy and conserving resources in our everyday life. For example, polyurethane insulating materials in buildings and refrigerators help save an enormous amount of energy.

For these achievements, independent institutions like the Carbon Disclosure Project have on several occasions awarded Bayer the distinction "Best in Class". Only recently, the company was included for the third time in a row in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index – the world's first climate protection index. It is the only European company in the chemical industry to receive this honor.

Bayer supports the development of effective policies for climate protection at global level, and has been very much involved in initiatives such as 3C: Combat Climate Change. For this reason, Wenning appealed to politicians to include major greenhouse gas emitters like the United States, China and India in a new international climate agreement. "We need a turnaround with CO₂ emissions. The global problem can only be addressed through joint action worldwide, at least by all the major parties responsible for emissions," said Wenning. „Europe and particularly Germany cannot stop the climate change by adopting an isolated pioneering role. In addition, this could seriously endanger industry's competitiveness”.

"We at Bayer take climate change very seriously and regard it as an ecological and economic challenge," continued Wenning. In its Mission Statement, "Bayer: Science For A Better Life", the company acknowledges and accepts its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. "We are not resting on our laurels with the successes we have achieved so far. We want to set new standards".

For the period between 2005 and 2020, Bayer has set new and ambitious emission targets, particularly in view of the achievements it has already made in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bayer MaterialScience subgroup wants to reduce its specific greenhouse gas emissions per ton of sales product by 25 percent globally. Bayer CropScience is targeting a reduction of 15 percent in its absolute global emissions, and Bayer HealthCare of 5 percent. "These targets are demanding because we want to bring climate protection and economic growth into harmony through greater energy efficiency," explained Wenning.

"The Bayer Climate Program thus fully exploits the potential we have identified for protecting the climate, and implements a variety of individual measures in an integrated Group-wide approach," said Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, the Member of the Bayer Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment. "We will work consistently on implementing this program over the next few years."

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