Performance Report

Ecology

Bayer has long placed great importance on protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. We leverage our expertise in technology, process optimization and product innovation to protect nature, the environment and the climate. We are continuously developing new solutions to optimize resource utilization and emission levels, as well as to minimize waste generation.
By optimizing processes and production plants we were able to reduce our energy consumption further. Facilities all over the world such as this one in Belford Roxo in Brazil are regularly inspected.

In focus

  • Responsible approach to resources
  • Reduction of emissions into air and water
  • Use of tools of analysis: Climate Check and Resource Efficiency Check
  • Reduction in waste volume
  • Avoidance of environmental incidents and transport accidents
  • Protection of biodiversity

Energy consumption

The Bayer Group saw a reduction in all the individual items in the energy balance sheet in 2009. The total energy consumed was 77.3 petajoules, 6.6 percent less than in the previous year. The reduction in energy use was caused primarily by a 13 percent drop in production in the period under review due to economic circumstances. For example, the two production sites in Baytown, United States, and Brunsbüttel, Germany, had entire production lines taken out of service at various times during the reporting period. Meanwhile, the Caojing site in China experienced a significant increase in energy consumption resulting from the expansion of production activities there.
When determining energy use for the Bayer Group as a whole, we focus specifically on energy consumption rates at our production sites. For the purely administrative sites, at which data are not collected, we have performed a qualified estimate of energy consumption. Energy consumption at these sites was of the order of 1 percent of the total energy use for the Group.
Energy consumption
 20052006200720082009

Absolute energy consumption

(petajoules)

82.480.585.382.877.3
Volume of products sold (million metric tons)9.710.110.610.08.7

Specific energy consumption in relation to the volume of sales products produced increased in the year under review. The worsening of this indicator can be essentially attributed to the economic crisis and the resulting reduced capacitiy utilization. A degree of utilization that is far from ideal and start-up and shutdown processes caused by economic conditions automatically lead to a poorer figure for specific energy consumption. Other influencing factors include shifts in the product portfolio and start-ups of new facilities with new technologies. 

Energy consumption is broken down further in the energy balance sheet presented on the next page. The starting point is the use of primary fuels for the generation of energy within the Group, which is reported as primary energy conversion. Steam from waste heat and procured electricity (excluding electricity passed on to third parties) are added to this in order to determine what is defined as the total energy volume. The total energy use is obtained by deducting sales of steam and refrigeration energy. This is also termed the “absolute energy use ”

Energy balance sheet (terajoules p.a.)

Energy balance sheet (terajoules p.a.)
* More energy-generating waste was transferred to third parties than was used as heat sources and recycled within the Group. Therefore, the reported net volume of waste is negative.
Although the economic downturn was the dominant factor behind the development in energy consumption in 2009, we are vigorously pursuing the goal of efficient energy use. To this end, we are developing innovative processes, investing in modern plants, and implementing energy-saving measures. Thus, the Bayer Climate Check, which was developed by Bayer Technology Services (BTS), identified potential energy savings of around 10 percent at the plants reviewed (see the Focus Issue Climate Protection). Building on the Climate Check, Bayer MaterialScience, Bayer Business Services and BTS have developed an innovative energy efficiency management system (STRUCTese®) to sustainably implement the energy-saving measures identified. BTS is also marketing the Bayer Climate Check to external companies.
Currenta has also effected numerous improvements in its waste incineration plants and improved efficiency in its energy generation. Considerable savings in fossil fuels have been achieved along with simultaneous reductions in CO2 emissions. Alone due to upgrades to the central waste air incineration plant at the Dormagen site, Currenta is reducing annual CO2 emissions by 30,000 metric tons. Natural gas consumption in this facility has been cut by almost one third by using modern incineration technology.
Many of these measures will be reflected in the energy consumption balance and the level of greenhouse gas emissions in coming years.

Responsible use of water resources

Drinking water is a resource that is already in short supply in many regions of the world. By developing and promoting solutions for the efficient and responsible consumption of water, Bayer is committed to conserving water as a raw material (see also the Sustainable Development Report 2008 link). We also aim to use our products to make a real contribution to efficient water management and water pollution control worldwide.

Progress reporting on the CEO Water Mandate of the UN Global Compact

Bayer will continue to support the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate initiative signed at the end of 2008. We will therefore be working with our stakeholders to develop sustainable strategies for water use, implementing appropriate solutions and reporting on the progress made.
The actions listed provide an overview of how Bayer is implementing the CEO Water Mandate and of the results the Group was able to achieve during the reporting year:
  • A new wastewater treatment plant has commenced operation at Bayer CropScience in Dormagen, Germany link.
  • A Wastewater Recycling Tool developed by Bayer Technology Services is being used to estimate the economic benefits of and technical options for efficient water use.
  • Development and testing of the Bayer Resource Efficiency Check from BTS, which can be used to perform an overall analysis of water consumption and other production-critical resources, thus enabling steps to be identified to minimize consumption link.
  • Bayer CropScience is working in international partnerships on the development of drought-resistant strains of cotton and wheat with reduced susceptibility to stress resulting from a lack of water and heat damage link.
  • Bayer CropScience is running a “direct seeding” program for rice in Indonesia which may increase yields as well as reducing water use and greenhouse gas emissions link.
  • At its production site in South Charleston in the United States, Bayer MaterialScience has optimized the wastewater treatment process in its polymer production facilities. This has reduced the wastewater volume and realized a potential annual cost reduction of US$100,000.
  • As part of Bayer’s support for the Chair in Sustainable Development at Tongji University in China, work is under way on projects for the treatment of wastewater from the cassava bio-ethanol production process. This process was generating strongly polluted wastewater due to a lack of process technologies. The wastewater is now being treated using a new patented anaerobic process.
Further performance indicators for trends in water consumption and discharges into water can be found in this “Ecology” section link.
In 2009, water consumption within Bayer fell by a total of 7.5 percent, primarily due to the drop in production, to a level of 1.11 million cubic meters per day. Over the year, the Group used 407 million cubic meters of water. The vast majority (80 percent) of the water used by Bayer is once-through cooling water (this figure includes losses due to evaporation). This water is only heated and does not come into contact with products. It can therefore simply be fed back into the natural water cycle.
Net water intake by source
 20052006200720082009
Water use (million m3/d)1.241.201.231.201.11
Proportion from surface water (percent)5453575858
Proportion from bore holes/springs (percent)3535323232
Proportion from public drinking water supplies (percent)22211
Proportion from other sources,
generally rainwater (percent)
99999
The Group endeavors to recycle water that is directly involved in manufacturing processes. Bayer Technology Services has developed a range of technologies that can treat process water and make it suitable for repeated reuse within technical cycles. The Wastewater Recycling Tool can be used to calculate the economic benefits and technical options for water reuse for each individual plant.

Material use and resource efficiency

The sustainable management of scarce natural resources is an important task for the future. Rising prices and falling availability of raw materials and energy make resource efficiency and corresponding process and product innovations a critical competitive factor. Bayer regards technological solutions as a key factor in confronting these important challenges, the goal of which is to make economic development independent as far as possible of resource consumption.
Our production-specific procurement activities, like production itself, are organized on a subgroup-specific basis in light of the diverse nature of our business activities.
Within a global production network comprising internal sites and contract manufacturing facilities, the Product Supply function within the Bayer HealthCare subgroup (BHC) manages the entire supply chain from raw material procurement through production to product delivery. A large number of the active substances required by BHC’s Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals division are manufactured internally. The starting materials for the production of these active substances are generally procured from external suppliers. To prevent supply bottlenecks and to mitigate major price fluctuations, BHC generally purchases starting materials and intermediates not produced internally both under global contracts and from a number of suppliers BHC has certified and approved. For the Consumer Care Division, we produce certain active substances such as acetylsalicylic acid and clotrimazole internally within the Group. The principal raw materials we purchase from third parties are naproxen, citric acid, ascorbic acid and other vitamins, as well as paracetamol.
Bayer CropScience procures most of its raw materials for the manufacture of crop protection agents externally. These include inorganic basic chemicals such as hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid, as well as organic fine chemicals and solvents.
The basic raw materials for our Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) products are petrochemical feedstocks such as benzene, toluene and phenol or sodium chloride. In an average business year with a procurement volume of approximately €7.5 billion, BMS purchases petrochemical raw materials worth roughly €2.5 billion, with the primary feedstocks broken down approximately as follows (in kilotons [kt]): 600 kt of benzene, 800 kt of phenol, 800 kt of propylene and 230 kt of toluene. We obtain these on the procurement markets, generally under long-term contracts. The operation of our production facilities also requires large amounts of energy, mostly in the form of electricity or steam. Energy costs therefore constitute a significant block of costs for the Bayer MaterialScience business. To minimize the price fluctuation risk, we aim for a balanced diversification of fuels for steam production. When purchasing power to cover requirements beyond what we produce in our own power plants, we aim for a mix of short-term purchases on the spot market and long-term purchases of forward products.
Bayer Technology Services is currently developing a methodology that can be used to perform a holistic analysis of all production-relevant resources such as energy, water and raw materials and that will indicate steps that can be taken to minimize consumption. This Resource Efficiency Check, which was initiated as part of the Bayer Sustainability Program, is based on the method used for the Bayer Climate Check and will be tested and verified in pilot projects in 2010. The check will in the future be used in production processes and reprocessing procedures to identify potential savings, increase resource efficiency and limit emissions and waste. This will enable process-oriented optimization to be achieved in procedures to increase yields and prevent wastage of starting materials and loss of products, as well as in recycling, the utilization of by-products, and wastewater or waste air treatment.

Energy efficiency in the Dormagen water tower

An innovative concept from Currenta’s Water Supply Department is creating flexibility in terms of supply pressure, thus creating leeway for further energy optimization projects.
A water tower traditionally performs two functions: first, it provides a backup water supply for emergencies, and second, the column of water present is a determining factor in the network pressure level at the foot of the water tower.
Currenta has succeeded in decoupling the water tower at CHEMPARK Dormagen from the pressure in the process water system. Frequency inverters make it possible to regulate network pressure in line with requirements. The innovative feature of this decoupling process is that it enables both a reduction in the energy consumption of the process water supply (e.g. by adjusting the pressure in the system) and the full retention of the reserves in the water tower.

Recycling

For a large proportion of our end products, such as pharmaceuticals and crop protection agents, legal requirements make reclamation and recycling impossible. In order to minimize material use and waste volumes to the maximum extent possible, Bayer strives wherever technically feasible and justifiable in terms of cost to reuse materials or divert them to other processes. At Bayer the percentage of packaging that is recycled is not recorded for the whole Group. The range of products is very heterogeneous and subgroup-specific owing to the structure of the Group. For this reason, packaging types and materials can vary considerably (from bulk to blister packs). National recycling programs and establishments are also correspondingly varied, as are the legal requirements in the countries in which we sell our products.
In many production processes, we employ technologies that are used to recycle specific materials. For example, we reprocess solvents by distillation and feed them back into processes. The German pharmaceuticals production sites in Bergkamen and Wuppertal-Elberfeld have been working together closely in this area for the past three years. Bergkamen recycles the solvent tetrohydrofuran (THF) for the Wuppertal-Elberfeld site. Recycling thf is more cost-effective and less time-consuming than manufacturing it. Similarly, non-recyclable solvents are used to generate energy at both production sites. At the Bergkamen site in Germany, Bayer HealthCare (BHC) binds iodine released during the incineration of waste from X-ray contrast medium production and extracts it as an iodide solution that can be marketed further.
An example of major technical advances in recycling is Bayer MaterialScience’s method of hydrochloric acid electrolysis using an oxygen depolarized cathode, which makes it possible to recover chlorine from hydrochloric acid, thus saving raw materials and energy. This technology is being applied at the Brunsbüttel site in Germany and at the Shanghai site in China. Bayer MaterialScience has developed a polycarbonate mixture containing recycled polycarbonate production waste (known as post-industrial waste); this is being marketed under the name Levblend®. 400 metric tons have already been used in the automotive industry for non-safety-critical components. The Bayblend® product group constitutes a further example of conscientious resource use. Shredded water bottles (known as post-consumer waste material) are used as a constituent in Bayblend® FR 610, which is used primarily in the IT industry.
We use the BayCare platform to inform customers of Bayer MaterialScience how Bayer products can be disposed of or recycled in an environmentally friendly manner after use. At the Map Ta Phut site in Thailand, Bayer MaterialScience has established a program in which transportation bags (known as Big Bags) can be taken back from our customers and reused. After use, residues of the chemicals transported are removed from the transportation bags in a special process and the bags are then reused. Reusing the Big Bags resulted in savings of 16,955 new Big Bags in 2009. Warnings on the bags help to prevent them from being used for other purposes by our customers.
At the CHEMPARK sites, Currenta is responsible for organizing recycling: at these locations, waste is collected, sorted and offered on the market for further use. During the reporting period, the service company was able to improve the reclamation of recyclables from electronic scrap and use a new cable recycling machine to achieve a significant increase in the range of recyclable scrap cables.

Team solution for saving and recycling

A cross-subgroup team has shown how the world economic crisis can be used as an opportunity to achieve sustainable success. Bayer HealthCare (BHC) requires about 100,000 liters of acetonitrile a year. This is used as a solvent in active substance production. When acetonitrile became scarce as a result of the crisis – a development that affected all Bayer subgroups – a team set about searching for ways of using the product more sparingly and recycling used materials. The team consisting of experts from BHC, Bayer CropScience, Bayer Business Services, Bayer Technology Services and Currenta was successful: at BHC, the ability to supply was fully maintained and the work in Research & Development was safeguarded. The experts from the Supply Center in Bergkamen made an important contribution: the employees at the recycling facility there developed a method for recycling used acetonitrile using existing systems. The recycled product is approved for use in analytical procedures registered with the authorities.

Protecting biodiversity

The United Nations designated 2010 as the Year of Biodiversity. Bayer expressly supports the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which aims to maintain biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use.
For Bayer CropScience (BCS), maintaining biodiversity and healthy agricultural ecosystems is the basis for sustainable agriculture. We have thus devised strategies to protect the diversity and variety of life. These concern research and development, solutions to make plants healthier, assistance in tackling invasive species and measures to promote integrated crop management. BCS is helping farmers to achieve higher productivity on areas that are already in agricultural use. This prevents natural habitats from being turned into cultivable land.
Bayer is involved in biodiversity projects at a whole host of locations. For example, since 2005 Bayer CropScience has been working together in São Paulo in Brazil with partners such as the local Environment Ministry and a humanitarian organization to promote biodiversity in the Taquara Branca microbasin. The goals are shoreline reforestation, the creation of ecological corridors for species of wild animals and the qualification of young people to perform social activities related to environmental protection. Bayer CropScience is also supporting the U.S. nature conservation organization “Ducks Unlimited” in helping to create refuges for waterfowl in the prairies of North America. Under a five-year initiative, new seed varieties for winter wheat are to be developed to create better breeding conditions for waterfowl as a result of the increased cultivation of winter wheat.
Through an internal approval procedure we exclude the possibility that new production sites are set up in areas that are protected by statutory requirements of the countries concerned with respect to natural characteristics, biodiversity or similar factors. In every case, the stipulated minimum distances to protected areas are complied with. To make more precise statements about our existing production sites, we aim from 2010 to record these in stages in our new site register. In order to limit the total area of land use in general, we are committed to land recycling, e.g. by renaturizing unused sites in the CHEMPARK locations.

Promotion of biodiversity and creation of new habitats

Protecting biodiversity will be one of the main challenges of the next few decades. Already today, agri-environmental measures are subsidized both at state and also E.U. level. Preserving biodiversity will come even more into focus in the future.
Bayer CropScience and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Rhine Culture Landscape (Stiftung Rheinische Kulturlandschaft) have signed a collaboration agreement to preserve rare arable weed species as part of the International Year of Biodiversity. We are supporting the project financially and applying our own extensive expertise: at eight trial farms belonging to Bayer CropScience in Germany, particularly rare and threatened species are reproduced and their seeds are stored for later sowing across suitable areas of land. We are thus demonstrating that modern cultivation management can coexist with state-of-the art biodiversity within the realms of sustainable agriculture. Location-specific flower strips up to 1,000 square meters in size have been laid out at eight test sites. The flower strips are an impressive example of how farmers will be able to meet future legal demands for agri-environmental measures.

Greenhouse gas emissions

We report greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. This involves presenting emissions over prior years in a portfolio-adjusted format. During the reporting period, we acquired a nitric acid plant which is being operated by a third party in Baytown, United States. In accordance with the GHG Protocol, the data from the previous years were adjusted accordingly. At the Institute site in the United States, reporting in 2009 was switched to the financial control approach specified in the GHG Protocol. The prior-year figures have been adjusted accordingly.
In 2009, the total greenhouse gases reported in accordance with the GHG Protocol fell by 6.5 percent from the previous year. The drop in direct emissions was primarily due to cuts in production owing to economic factors and process engineering measures. Changes due to the economic circumstances also resulted in reduced indirect greenhouse gas emissions caused by the generation of electricity and heat by external suppliers. This drop in emissions was almost balanced by new conversion factors specified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for CO2 emissions linked to energy consumption in Germany.
Greenhouse gas emissions *
 20052006200720082009

Direct greenhouse gas emissions ** (million metric tons of CO2 equivalents p.a.)

5.595.715.595.094.57

Indirect greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 only) *** (million metric tons of CO2)

3.523.673.713.573.53

Total greenhouse gas emissions (absolute) (million metric tons of CO2 equivalents)

9.119.389.308.668.10
* Portfolio-adjusted in accordance with the GHG Protocol. The acquisition of a nitric acid plant and the
inclusion of greenhouse gases from the Institute site in the United States as part of our validation resulted in changes compared with the Sustainable Development Report 2008 (see text for explanation).
** Composition of direct greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 (in CO2 equivalents): 80.0 percent CO2, 19.6 percent nitrous oxide (N2O), just under 0.3 percent partially fluorinated hydrocarbons, 0.1 percent methane
*** Typically, CO2 in incineration processes accounts for over 99 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, when determining indirect emissions, our calculations are limited to CO2.
In spite of the significant reduction of around 32 percent in absolute greenhouse gas emissions already achieved between 1990 and 2005, we have set ourselves further ambitious targets in all three subgroups.

Targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

Global greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 to 2020
Bayer MaterialScience
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton of sales
product (excl. NaOH, HCl, trade products)
- 25 percent, specific
Bayer HealthCare
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
- 5 percent, absolute
Bayer CropScience
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
- 15 percent, absolute
€1 billion in investments in climate-related research, development and products
from 2008 to 2010
Maintenance of Bayer Group greenhouse gas emissions at the 2007 levels until 2020
according to current estimates and despite production growth
The absolute emissions for each subgroup and the specific emissions for Bayer MaterialScience are shown in the table below. The service companies Bayer Technology Services and Bayer Business Services do not have their own climate targets due to their limited emissions. These are summarized under “Other.”

Greenhouse gas emissions for subgroups and service companies
 (total direct and indirect emissions in million metric tons of CO2 equivalents)

 20052006200720082009Target for 2020
BMS5.255.945.555.064.83-
BHC0.590.580.570.560.540.56
BCS1.211.151.181.201.091.03
Other *0.020.020.020.020.02-
Currenta **2.041.691.981.821.62-
Bayer Group9.119.389.308.668.109.30

Specific greenhouse gas emissions for BMS (metric tons of CO2 equivalents per metric ton of product ***

1.181.211.071.051.160.89
* Total greenhouse gas emissions for the service companies Bayer Technology Services and Bayer Business Services
** The emissions reported for Currenta are attributable to the provision of energy to other companies at the CHEMPARK sites.
*** The by-products sodium hydroxide solution and hydrochloric acid, which occur during production, are not included in the production volume because they will in the future occur in much smaller amounts thanks to measures aimed at enhancing energy efficiency. Trade products are also not included.

Emissions trading

In Europe, Bayer is involved in European emissions trading by way of its own power plants which are used to generate energy. For this purpose, emissions allowances for a total of 2.3 million metric tons of CO2 were required for 11 plants in 2009.
In the United States, Bayer Corporation has been a voluntary participant in emissions trading on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) since 2003 with several production facilities, formulating plants and administrative centers. There, Bayer has undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a total of 6 percent (based on the average for the years 1998 to 2001) between 2003 and 2010. This target has been met since the end of 2008.

Air emissions

Emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) increased in 2009 by 2.15 percent over the previous year. Despite this development, we were able to meet our target of limiting the emission of ODS to a maximum of 20 metric tons per year. The biggest increases were seen at the Bayer CropScience site in Vapi, India, and at the CHEMPARK site in Dormagen, Germany. In Vapi, production of an important intermediate was increased, resulting in increased emissions of tetrachloromethane. The increase in Dormagen is attributable to a new, more precise waste air measurement process.
Emissions of ozone-depleting substances * (metric tons p.a.)
* In CFC-11 equivalents
** Target to be achieved by 2010 based on 2005 figures
The volume of volatile organic compounds (VOC) fell by about 18 percent compared to the previous year. At the Vapi site in India, Bayer CropScience (BCS) sold a production unit which was responsible for a large proportion of Group-wide VOC emissions. In Ankleshwar in India, the amount produced was almost halved, while the Widnes site in the United Kingdom was finally shut down and production transferred to other BCS locations. VOC emissions per metric ton of sales product fell to just under 0.3 kilograms. We intend to achieve our target of reducing specific VOC emissions to a maximum of 0.25 kilograms per metric ton by optimizing waste air treatment at the BCS site in Vapi; this optimization is to be implemented in steps up to 2015.
VOC emissions (1,000 metric tons p.a.)
VOC emissions (kg per metric ton of sales product)
* Target to be achieved by 2010 based on 2005 figures
Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter from production and incineration processes are also important air emissions. We were able to achieve reductions in all three gaseous emissions.
Other important air emissions (1,000 metric tons p.a.)
 20052006200720082009
CO1.72.22.01.71.4

NOx

4.34.04.03.93.5

SOx

4.53.83.63.22.8
Particulates0.30.20.20.20.2

Emissions into water

Group-wide, Bayer released 76 million cubic meters of wastewater during the reporting period. This includes wastewater from production and from waste air treatment facilities, contaminated cooling water from recooling plants, and sanitation wastewater, as well as rainwater that came into contact with chemicals and fuels such as gas oils, bitumen or lubricants. Once-through cooling water, which accounts for by far the largest proportion of total water requirements, is not included. Because this is only heated during use and does not come into contact with products, it is returned to water bodies after cooling without further treatment. 67 percent of the polluted wastewater was treated in a wastewater treatment plant. Bayer uses high-performance treatment and monitoring technologies for this purpose. We also offer high-efficiency treatment facilities and effective wastewater management to our customers. These facilities utilize a combination of physical, chemical and biological treatment processes to permit a high level of treatment performance and environment friendliness.
We are continuously working on improving wastewater treatment methods: among other measures, Bayer CropScience commissioned a new wastewater treatment facility at its formulation plant in Dormagen, Germany, in 2009, with environmental experts from Currenta acting as consultants. This plant reduced absorbable organic halogen compound (AOX) levels in the process water by over 20 percent.
Phosphorus emissions into water fell by approximately 5 percent in 2009. The two major North American production sites in Baytown and Kansas City had a particularly strong impact on this reduction. In Baytown, the largest phosphorus emitter in the MaterialScience subgroup, 2009 saw a process modification in Makrolon® production, as a result of which the compounds containing phosphorus are now largely no longer used. In Kansas City, production of a phosphorus-containing active substance was discontinued by Bayer CropScience.
Absolute nitrogen emissions fell by 4.6 percent from the previous year’s level. This was essentially due to the reduced capacity utilization of the production facilities. Because the volume of products sold fell by 13 percent, the specific amount of nitrogen increased in 2009 to 0.074 kilograms per metric ton of sales product. The projects “new cascade biology” and “improvement of nitrification” at the German CHEMPARK sites in Leverkusen and Dormagen had a positive impact. These have resulted in the treatment plants breaking down an additional 300 metric tons of nitrogen annually.
The specific volume of total organic carbon (TOC) fell in 2009 to 0.155 kilograms per metric ton of sales product. In absolute terms, TOC emissions fell by approximately 15.4 percent from the previous year. In this case, production cuts made themselves felt, as did the change in the way loads are accounted for at the site in Caojing, China. It is only since 2009 that TOC contents following appropriate wastewater treatment have been reported here (before this, only untreated water pollution levels were reported).
The volumes of heavy metals and inorganic salts emitted fell by 13.4 percent and 10.5 percent respectively due to economic factors.
Emissions into water (absolute)
 20052006200720082009
Total phosphorus – inorganic and organic (1,000 metric tons p.a.)0.740.810.990.780.74
Total nitrogen – inorganic and organic (1,000 metric tons p.a.)0.580.730.680.670.64
Heavy metals
(1,000 metric tons p.a.)
0.01160.0080.00890.01040.009
Inorganic salts
(1,000 metric tons p.a.)
797843825812726
TOC *
(1,000 metric tons p.a.)
1.491.491.771.591.35
COD ** – chemical oxygen demand (1,000 metric tons p.a.)4.474.475.314.774.05
* Total organic carbon
** Calculated value based on TOC figures (TOC x 3 = COD)
Emissions into water (kg per metric ton of sales product
 20052006200720082009Target*
Nitrogen0.05960.07230.06420.06690.07370.0536
Total organic carbon TOC 0.1530.1470.1670.1590.1550.138
* Target to be achieved by 2010 based on 2005 figures

Waste generation and disposal

The total volume of waste generated fell by 15 percent in 2009 to 914,000 metric tons due to a drop in production resulting from the economic circumstances. However, some sites had larger relative quantities of production wastes than in the previous year due to changes in the product portfolio or due to their production plants not running at the appropriate capacity.
The volume of hazardous waste from production fell slightly, while the total volume generated, which includes hazardous production and construction waste, was above the previous year’s level. The Bayer CropScience sites in Institute, United States, and Thane, India, accounted for the most substantial volumes of hazardous construction waste. In Institute, 22,800 metric tons was disposed of, this being generated when the methomyl plant (including piping) was demolished following an explosion and fire the previous year (see the Bayer Sustainable Development Report 2008). In Thane, an entire production plant was demolished.
Waste generated * (1,000 metric tons p.a.)
 20052006200720082009
Total waste generated7606499281,077914
Hazardous waste generated **351336342365375
Hazardous waste generated
in production
221234275305302
* Only waste generated by Bayer
** Definition of hazardous waste in accordance with the local laws in each instance
The specific volume of hazardous production waste has increased. Thus, hazardous production waste did not fall to the same degree as the volume of sales product. We have moved further away from the target we set ourselves of reducing the specific volume of hazardous production waste to below 2.5 percent per metric ton of sales product. In 2009, this value was 3.5 percent. This development has two reasons. First, a significant change in the product portfolio over the past few years has led to the generation of more hazardous waste: at Bayer HealthCare owing to the acquisition of Schering and at Bayer CropScience due to a considerable expansion of production activities. Second, the trend has intensified as the Bayer MaterialScience subgroup has recorded a sharp decline in volumes, which worsened the ratio between hazardous waste and volume of sales product. The changes in our product portfolio mean that we shall not achieve our target for the Bayer Group for 2010 either.
Waste generated (per metric ton of sales product
 20052006200720082009Target *
Volume of hazardous production waste (percent)2.282.322.593.053.472.5
* Target to be achieved by 2010 based on 2005 figures
The environmentally friendly and legally compliant disposal of waste has a high priority at Bayer. The volume of recycled waste could be increased significantly.
Waste disposed of* according to means of disposal
 20052006200720082009
Total volume of waste disposed of
(1,000 metric tons p.a.)
8486549311,061918
– Proportion removed to landfill (percent)5244484540
– Proportion incinerated (percent)2832262428
– Proportion recycled (percent)1822232831
Waste that cannot definitively be categorized according to one of the
above disposal methods (percent)
13331
* Bayer serves as a certified waste disposal plant operator at various sites. At these locations, Bayer disposes not only of its own waste but also of waste from third parties (companies not belonging to the Bayer Group). There is therefore a somewhat larger amount of waste disposed of than Bayer has generated itself.
Hazardous waste * disposed of according to means of disposal
 20052006200720082009
Total volume of hazardous waste
disposed of (1,000 metric tons p.a.)
351336342365375
– Volume landfilled (1,000 metric tons p.a.)2111341018189
– Volume incinerated/recycled
   (1,000 metric tons p.a.)
140202241284286
* Waste generated by Bayer only
Since April 1, 2010, regulations in Germany have stipulated the use of an electronic waste documentation procedure (eANV), which supersedes the previous paper-based process. Bayer Business Services has developed its own solution – evento®. This offers clear advantages for generators, carriers and disposal organizations. The application can be used quickly and efficiently by all participants in the process, since all reporting and disposition monitoring documentation is processed and stored electronically.

Environmental incidents and transport accidents

Bayer uses the term “environmental incidents” to cover incidents resulting in the release of substances into the environment. They are divided into two categories depending on the amount and nature of the substance, the potential hazard, the impact on residents and the scope of reporting in the media:
  • Level 1 incidents are serious environmental events whose resultant costs, for example for repairs to plants, clean-up etc., are in excess of €2 million or that meet other relevant criteria.
  • Level 2 incidents are, for example, significant environmental incidents whose resultant costs are in excess of €100,000 but less than €2 million or that meet other relevant criteria. 
According to our internal voluntary commitment, we report even minor production releases: in the case of substances with a high hazard potential, we report quantities from 0.1 metric tons upwards.
Environmental incidents (number p.a.)
20052006200720082009
383913
During the reporting period, there were 13 environmental incidents that were reportable according to Group-wide regulations. Of these, nine were level 1 environmental incidents and four were categorized as level 2.
Transport accidents according to means of transport (numbers p.a.)
 20052006200720082009
Road26988
Rail13112
Inland waterways00000
Sea00010
Air00000
Pipeline-0000
Total39101010
We examined the absolute number of 10 transport accidents in relation to the number of transport movements completed in 2009 of 709,744. Around two thirds of the movements were systematically recorded internally, while for the remaining regions/countries, a qualified estimate was determined for 2009. Figures for these will be recorded more precisely in the future. Our analysis gave a rate of 0.14 transport accidents per 10,000 transport movements completed. This rate is more illustrative than the absolute number of transport accidents since, like the method used to present occupational injury rates, it presents the number of accidents as a proportion of the transport operations actually completed.
Unfortunately, even our extensive safety precautions and training procedures cannot entirely prevent environmental incidents or transport accidents occurring. In order to further increase transport safety, we implemented a new Group-level transport safety regulation in 2009. This regulation contains obligatory measures which will enable hazards to be prevented during the transportation of materials and products. It also documents the obligation to carefully analyze and evaluate any incidents and accidents so that appropriate steps can be taken to prevent a recurrence.
In addition, we target our transport service providers directly: the Bayer MaterialScience regional teams responsible for safety in transport and distribution conduct special health and safety training sessions for the logistics partners. Bayer HealthCare (BHC) had no transport accidents in 2009. BHC employs strict criteria when selecting service providers for European land transportation. Preferably, companies with their own equipment (temperature-controlled double-decker vehicles with GPS/GSM) are used, thus avoiding the use of sub-contractors.
Bayer CropScience continued its training program on the safe handling and transportation of hazardous substances and goods in Asia. A procedure for the proper classification and packaging of samples was established that also supports the qualification of suppliers by bcs staff in these countries.
As part of the continuous development of our safety management, we also updated our management approach to process and plant safety in 2009, which found expression in a new Group regulation. The first measures, e.g. training, will be implemented in 2010.
The tables below detail environmental incidents and transport accidents recorded at Bayer during the reporting year.
Environmental incidents in 2009
 PlantDateEnvironmental incident levelPersonal injuriesDescription
1BMS, Dormagen, GermanyJanuary 14, 20091noSafety triggering of an ammonia damping wall to prevent a phosgene leak
2Currenta, Leverkusen, GermanyFebruary 22, 20091noDue to a defect in a dosing system in the waste air treatment facility,
a short-term leak occurred of a reddish plume of waste air during the incineration of iodine-containing waste.
3BCS, Thane, IndiaMay 5, 20092noFire in an interim storage facility containing 108 kg of BCS products
4BCS, Kansas City, United StatesMay 25, 200911 employee hospitalized for observationExcess pressure when cleaning a vessel resulted in the release of a cloud of vapor which also contained constituents of hydrochloric acid and sulfur dioxide.
5BMS, Baytown, United StatesJune 17, 20092noRelease of carbon monoxide and monochlorobenzene (MCB) in a hydrochloric acid plant
6BHC, Bergkamen, GermanySeptember 5, 20091noExplosion caused by the spontaneous combustion of residual aluminum alkyl
7BMS, Brunsbüttel, GermanyNovember 25, 20092noRelease of less than 1 cubic meter of 20 percent sodium hydroxide due to a leakage in a storage vessel caused by a defective seal
8BMS, Dormagen, GermanyNovember 27, 20091noSafety triggering of an ammonia damping wall to prevent a phosgene leak
Environmental incidents that were also transport accidents
 PlantDateEnvironmental incident levelPersonal injuriesDescription
9BCS, CanadaMarch 22, 20091noFire on a truck loaded with
120 barrels of BCS products due to a tire blow-out
10BMS, Baytown, United StatesMay 10, 20092noDerailment of a railroad car and release of approximately 86,000 liters of hydrochloric acid
11BCS, Beijing, ChinaSeptember 25, 20091noFire on a truck loaded with one metric ton of BCS products
12BMS, Belford Roxo, BrazilOctober 26, 20091car driver killedRelease of 20 metric tons of nitric acid due to a collision between a truck and a car
13BCS, Santiago de Chile, ChileOctober 30, 20091truck driver killed, two further persons involved injuredHead-on collision between a truck loaded with BCS products and another truck, with the release of product into the environment
Purely transport accidents in 2009
 PlantDateEnvironmental incident levelPersonal injuriesDescription
1BCS, CanadaMarch 12, 2009nonoMinor release of BCS product (approximately 10 liters) due to an accident involving a truck loaded with BCS products.
2BMS, Foxhol, NetherlandsApril 16, 2009nonoSealed but empty barrel with labeling for Desmodur® (MDI) found in Denderleeuw, Belgium. The barrel had been lost due to inadequate securing of the load.
3BMS, Spring, United StatesApril 22, 2009nonoLeaky barrel holding polyol containing MDI on a truck
4BMS, Baytown, United StatesSeptember 15, 2009notwo persons injuredExcess pressure in a tanker wagon with the release of steam; no product released
5BMS, Leverkusen, GermanySeptember 16, 2009nonoLeakage during the road transportation of hydrochloric acid
http://www.sustainability2009.bayer.com/en/ecology.aspx

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