1.2) BY 2030, REDUCE AT LEAST BY HALF THE PROPORTION OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES LIVING IN POVERTY IN ALL ITS DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO NATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Bayer is working to improve the livelihoods of small farmers and their rural communities by supporting about 45 million smallholder farmers through its products, technologies, and services. By 2030, Bayer has committed to help 100 million smallholder farmers earn sustainable farm incomes and improve rural livelihoods.
The company does not intend to enforce its intellectual property rights against smallholder farmers for private and noncommercial use of farm-saved seed. Instead, Bayer is working collaboratively to integrate these low-income farmers and countries into the world of commercial farming to improve their livelihood.
Additionally, Bayer pays its employees a minimum wage which is annually reviewed by the nonprofit organization Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to ensure a living wage is paid in each respective country.
2.A) INCREASE INVESTMENT, INCLUDING THROUGH ENHANCED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, IN RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SERVICES, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANT AND LIVESTOCK GENE BANKS IN ORDER TO ENHANCE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, IN PARTICULAR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
In many rural geographies in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), smallholder farmers are the backbone of food security in their communities, feeding more than half of the population in developing countries. For this reason, Bayer is committed to helping small farmers address significant challenges including low productivity, outdated agricultural practices, bad quality crop inputs, and the inability to access a market to sell their produce competitively. For these reasons, as well as the effects of climate change, the result in the inability to generate sustainable farm incomes inevitably impacts the livelihood of farm communities.
Bayer is expanding their product and service portfolio, which includes innovative business models and digital solutions across the entire crop system. The company also plans to establish crop value chain partnerships to deliver high-quality inputs, agronomy knowledge, cost-effective financing and risk mitigation solutions, and market linkages. These partnerships will include collaborations with government research institutes, NGOs, and international financial institutions.
In 2020, to prevent Covid-19 from causing a hunger crisis for many farmers, Bayer supported more than 1.5 million smallholder farmers in 15 countries with seed and crop protection products. The company helps smallholders in regions threatened by food shortages with market access for agricultural produce. This encourages an increase in food production in these regions and strengthens the agricultural sector in LMICs in the long term.
3.7) BY 2030, ENSURE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH-CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING, INFORMATION AND EDUCATION, AND THE INTEGRATION OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INTO NATIONAL STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMMES
Bayer has been active as a leading global pharmaceutical producer of contraceptives for many years. The company has delivered modern contraceptives to underserved communities of women in order to increase economic and social development related to gender equality.
In 2020, Bayer reached nearly 40 million women in developing countries and emerging markets. By 2030, the company aims to enable 100 million women in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) to gain access to modern contraception by 2030. To meet this goal, Bayer continues to expand their products, including the Jadelle implant and the Mirena coil.
In 2007, Bayer launched the “Your Life” information campaign with the goal of improving young people’s education about sexual rights and contraceptive options. In order to strengthen young people’s knowledge and increase awareness among politicians and physicians about the sexual rights of women in LMICs, Bayer has supported The International Dialogue on Population and Sustainable Development. This annual conference brings together voices from civil society, politics and the private sector to have a discussion about the future of women’s health.
3.8) ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE, INCLUDING FINANCIAL RISK PROTECTION, ACCESS TO QUALITY ESSENTIAL HEALTH-CARE SERVICES AND ACCESS TO SAFE, EFFECTIVE, QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL MEDICINES AND VACCINES FOR ALL
By 2030, Bayer has committed to facilitating access to everyday health care, including basic medical services, targeted education, and self-care for 100 million people in underserved regions. In 2020, the company has already reached 43 million people.
The company also has a goal of giving 100 million people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) access to their pharmaceutical products through fairer drug pricing and patient access programs.
5.6) ENSURE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AS AGREED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE ICPD AND THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION AND THE OUTCOME DOCUMENTS OF THEIR REVIEW CONFERENCES
Bayer believes in the importance of education and family planning options. These family planning options ensure the ability of girls and young women to complete their education and strengthen gender equality and the role of women worldwide.
As a leading women’s health company, Bayer continues to be a longstanding partner to international family planning programs and offers contraceptive products that are made available at preferential prices.
Since July 2020, Bayer has financially supported The Challenge Initiative (TCI) – a family planning program based at Johns Hopkins University and implemented by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health. TCI aims to quickly and sustainably establish various family planning options on a broad scale. This program is currently being implemented in over ninety Asian and African cities.
6.4) BY 2030, SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE WATER-USE EFFICIENCY ACROSS ALL SECTORS AND ENSURE SUSTAINABLE WITHDRAWALS AND SUPPLY OF FRESHWATER TO ADDRESS WATER SCARCITY AND SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM WATER SCARCITY
Bayer has made it a goal to minimize crop protection product discharges that go into water supplies. The company also complies with international, national and local legislation to protect water resources, as laid out in their Water Position.
The company has implemented additional wastewater treatment measures in order to completely eliminate the release of active ingredient traces into the environment. These measures include a hazard evaluation and Health, Safety, and Environment risk assessment of the wastewater to determine whether wastewater parameters need to be further reduced.
13.2) INTEGRATE CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INTO NATIONAL POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PLANNING
Bayer’s climate protection target corresponds to the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The company also aims to be climate-neutral by 2030, hoping to attain net zero emissions in their entire value chain by 2050.
By the end of 2029, Bayer will reduce CO2 emissions from their own business operations by 42% by increasing energy efficiency at their sites and will source 100% of their electricity from renewable energies.
Additionally, the company plans to reduce CO2 emissions along the upstream and downstream value chain by at least 12.3% by 2029, facilitating a more sustainable supply chain.
Bayer has also begun developing a certified business model for CO2 capture for farmers in the United States and Brazil.
15.5) TAKE URGENT AND SIGNIFICANT ACTION TO REDUCE THE DEGRADATION OF NATURAL HABITATS, HALT THE LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY AND, BY 2020, PROTECT AND PREVENT THE EXTINCTION OF THREATENED SPECIES.
Bayer focuses its attention to raw material production in the agricultural sector in order to conserve and protect ecosystems, species, and genetic biodiversity.
The company is explicitly committed to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity and the associated Nagoya Protocol, as well as the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the FAO, which prescribes the balanced and fair division of use of genetic resources.
In 2020, Bayer defined three strategic focus areas in which they plan to concentrate biodiversity preservation efforts:
Generating value for farmers who promote biodiversity
Protecting habitats and forests
Improving the genetic diversity of crops
With Bayer’s technological innovations in plant breeding and crop protection, they promote the efficient use of available land to ensure a secure food supply. This innovation reduces the pressure to convert additional natural habitats into farmland.
When planning new production sites, Bayer uses the international Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) to ensure that the company is not utilizing areas that are statutorily protected with regard to their natural characteristics, biodiversity or other factors.
Additionally, Bayer is actively involved in numerous projects and research activities to protect bees and other pollinators in order to minimize the risk posed to bees by crop protection products.
Bayer’s complete stance on this issue can be found both in their Human Rights corporate policy (which will be published in Q1 of 2022) and in their Position on Conservation and Restoration of Biodiversity in Agriculture and Forestry.