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Klaus Kühn:
Sustainability strengthens our company
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Klaus Kühn has been Bayer
AG’s CFO since May 2002.
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Economic responsibility means, among other things, reviewing
the company’s competitive position at regular intervals
as a basis for any necessary action. One example is the extensive
reorganization of the Bayer Group. This reflects the fact
that there is no permanent patent recipe for dealing with
the increasing pace of change in the modern world. In order
to be successful, we have to align our corporate structures
to the dynamism of the global market, changing customer needs,
mounting international competitive pressure, the need for
sustainable development (Glossary») and a large number of other factors.
In the initial restructuring phase, which took just seven
months, we created an organization of which we were proud:
“The New Bayer.”
As a logical continuation of the reorganization we shall now
transfer our chemicals operations and parts of the polymers
business to a new independent company, which is to be floated
on the stock market, so that in future we can concentrate
on our innovation-based core business. Our objective is continued
innovation and increased growth.
Ecological achievements honored
The restructuring of the Bayer Group has naturally given priority
to ensuring that we continue to apply the principles of Responsible
Care (Glossary») and sustainable development as effectively as in the
past. We have long ranked among the world leaders in these
fields, a fact confirmed by many experts and institutions.
However, since nothing is ever so good that it cannot be improved,
our aim is to enhance our performance in these areas still
further.
In the future, these areas will be increasingly important
determinants of the success of the company.
Companies like Bayer that actively implement the principles
of sustainable development through social as well as ecological
responsibility are investing in sustainable growth in corporate
value – in the interests of their stockholders, employees
and society as a whole.
We have received many awards for our pioneering ecological
achievements, including the renowned Presidential Green Chemistry
Challenge Award in the United States on several occasions.
Our social and societal commitment is evidenced by the fact
that we were one of the 50 or so founding members of the Global
Compact (Glossary») initiative introduced by UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
This ethical focus has been acknowledged by the capital market
for many years. A report by the Oekom Institute of Munich,
Germany, ranks Bayer third among the world’s leading
pharmaceutical companies for social and ecological commitment
and Bayer was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World
Index in 2003 for the fifth consecutive year. This index tracks
companies with a pro-active sustainability-driven policy.
Bayer stock is also included in a number of well-known sustainable
investment funds.
Guidelines
for legal compliance and corporate responsibility at Bayer
Bayer is committed to lawful and ethical conduct. Already
in July 1999 it introduced guidelines for legal compliance
and corporate responsibility. Among other aspects, this
code of conduct, which was recently updated, sets out
basic principles for dealings with colleagues, customers,
suppliers, other companies and authorities. |
Bayer commands trust in the United
States too
Our commitment to sustainable development enhances the standing
of our company, a fact shown, for example, by a survey of
850 opinion leaders in the United States and Europe regarding
the credibility of organizations and companies. According
to this survey, Bayer commands more confidence in the United
States than any other non-American company. The only companies
that obtained a better rating were Microsoft, Coca Cola and
McDonalds. In Europe Bayer was ranked sixth. That was the
best score by a European company: The first three places went
to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Glossary») such as Amnesty International.
This survey shows that we are on the right track. Our goal
now is to continue this excellent track-record.
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