Dialog at Bayer

Information shapes acceptance

Communication is very important for Bayer because it shapes the way we are seen by our employees and society as a whole. The Bayer Group therefore gives equal priority to providing timely and extensive information for employees, stockholders, financial analysts, the media and the general public alike.
 
Many people only know the chemical industry from media reports so they find it hard to imagine what we actually do at our sites. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry and modern biotechnology are a source of hope and expectation but they also provoke fear and concern. Bayer is aware of the need to explain to people as clearly as possible what it does, why it does it and what implications its work might have. Personal contact is essential to create trust: Talking to one another and learning to understand one another is essential to reduce misunderstandings. We pay special attention to showing the general public how seriously we take our responsibilities in all areas of our operations. That includes social as well as economic and ecological responsibility. We use a variety of communication methods to help us achieve this goal:
 
Through almost daily news releases and regular news conferences we keep the media informed of all major events and developments in the Bayer Group. Modern methods of communication such as the internet enable us to provide extensive and up-to-date information. In addition, our employees worldwide are kept informed via our in-house intranet. A full overview of the Bayer Group and its global activities can be found on the internet at www.bayer.com
 
The Bayer Communication Center (“BayKomm”) in Leverkusen, Germany, which was opened in 1991, is the heart of our communication activities. Being open to the wide variety of opinions about the chemical and pharmaceutical industry is fundamental to our approach. Consequently, BayKomm was specifically designed as a forum for discussion and encounter. The 1,350 square meter exhibition area is divided into eight sections centering on specific topics: “Sport – Leisure,” “Building/Construction/Home,” “Transportation,” “Information Technology,” Safety and Environmental Protection,” “Health Care,” “Nutrition” and “Bayer: Names – Figures – Facts.”. Every year Bayer welcomes about 140,000 visitors from Germany and abroad to BayKomm. The meeting rooms, bistro and, last but not least, the exhibition area, provide an ideal platform for informative discussions, debates, experimental lectures and slide shows.
 
Many of Bayer’s sites hold regular open house events so that local inhabitants can find out more about issues of interest to them. In September 2003 Bayer welcomed some 85,000 people to the open house days held at twelve sites throughout Germany.

Regular publications such as “direkt,” a magazine for employees and the local community, the magazines published by our subsidiaries for their employees and customers, our R&D magazine “research”, our company magazine “report,” our annual report and stockholders’ newsletter and the present 2004 Sustainable Development (Glossary») Report provide a range of information for the general public on the Bayer Group.