Bayer Sets Aside $1.4 Bil. for Green Efforts
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer plans to invest a total of $1.4 billion in green initiatives such as climate-related research, development and other projects in Asia by 2010, a senior company executive said.
``We are expected to do something for the environment. Bayer has made no cuts on its the budget for environmental protection over the last five years,'' Dirk Frenzel, head of public policy at the company's corporate policy and media relations said in an interview with The Korea Times held in a Seoul hotel, Monday.
As one of the world's leading chemicals producers, environmental protection is a top focus of Bayer's corporate social responsibility. In November 2007, the company launched its global ``Bayer Climate Program,'' with which it will further reduce its carbon emissions from its production facilities and develop new solutions for increasing climate protection and dealing with climate change.
``One of the main reasons that Bayer is allocating a sizable amount of budget for green initiatives is a growing number of investors are joining environment-related initiatives,'' he said.
Last year, Bayer spent some $4.2 billion in research and development (R&D) for climate protection-related activities ― close to 10 percent of its 2008 total of $47.4 billion in sales. The high-ranking executive said his company will try to keep at least a 10-percent R&D budget for corporate social responsibility programs.
Between 1990 and 2006, the company has successfully cut its absolute global greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent. In addition, specific emissions per product unit were also lowered as a result of consistent improvements in energy efficiency.
``Sustainability in CSR activities will bring long-term benefits such as enhanced corporate images to a company. One crucial consideration toward the paths is to find partners who are not direct competitors and I think that's very easy,'' according to the executive.
The company is also the world's first private firm to collaborate with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to launch environmental protection projects for youth and children worldwide. Meanwhile, it is supporting infrastructures beyond its business fields as part of its systematical approach to be a responsible corporate citizen.
Regarding further business plans in South Korea, the senior executive said, "Bayer doesn't have immediate plans to build new production facilities in South Korea. But we have steadily been increasing the number of research-related staff members here,'' he said.
Bayer is running four factories in South Korea ― Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province, Daejeon in South Chungcheong Province, and Banwol and Anseong in Gyeonggi Province. It has an R&D center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
In September 2006, Bayer built new production facilities in Shanghai, China. The site at the ``Shanghai Chemical Industry Park'' represents a total investment of some $2.6 billion through 2010 and is Bayer's biggest-ever investment project outside Germany.