German company among top five low carbon leaders

The company received the prestigious "Low Carbon Leaders Award" at the United Nations' international Climate Summit in Montreal.

It was one of just five companies worldwide to be chosen for the honor by an international jury of experts made up of representatives from politics, non-governmental organizations and industry appointed by The Climate Group, an international non-profit.

Bayer has already exceeded both the national and the international targets on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, which experts fear are warming the planet, threatening to disrupt farming, raise sea levels and spark extreme weather like hurricanes and droughts.

While the Kyoto Protocol on global warming stipulates a 21% reduction in greenhouse gases in Germany between 2008-2012 compared with levels in 1990, Bayer has succeeded in lowering greenhouse emissions worldwide by more than 60% since the beginning of the 1990s.

Dr. Udo Oels, member of the Bayer Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and the Environment, said: "We have been putting our belief in sustainable development into practice in our day-to-day economic business."

Bayer has managed to reduce emissions by modifying production processes and applying state-of-the-art technologies.

It has, for example, deployed new power plants that are operated by gas instead of coal and sought to ensure cost-efficient energy supply via the coupling of heat and power generation.

"Bayer has given resource-saving management and climate protection top priority," said Oels. "For this reason, we are delighted about this tremendous recognition of our achievements."

Links:

The Climate Group
http://www.theclimategroup.org/

Bayer
http://www.bayer.de