News 2006

2006	Award for commitment to climate protection Once again, Bayer was included in 2006 in the Climate Leadership Index – the first global index of its kind – as it was in 2005. The Carbon Disclosure Project makes the awards to the world’s best companies in climate protection in the relevant industry. Bayer was rated as “best in class” in its sector. Climate protection also plays an increasingly important role in the leading sustainability indices, in which the Bayer share is listed .
August 2006	Class actions involving genetically modified rice  Since August 2006, numerous lawsuits, including putative class actions, have been filed by rice farmers and distributors against Bayer CropScience lp with Federal and state courts in the United States. The plaintiffs are suing the company, alleging that they have suffered economic losses after traces of genetically modified rice were identified in samples of conventional long-grain rice grown in the United States. Bayer believes it has meritorious defenses and intends to defend these cases vigorously. Because of the imponderables connected with these proceedings it is currently impossible to assess the scope of the possible liability.
September 2006	Start-up of new production plants in Shanghai In September 2006, Bayer MaterialScience’s production capacity on the site of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park rose significantly when the existing facilities were joined by a world-scale polycarbonate plant with an initial capacity of 100,000 t/a, a first polyurethane plant at this site with a capacity of 80,000 t/a, and a production facility for HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate) with an initial capacity of 30,000 t/a. The new plants are part of the largest investment project Bayer has ever executed outside Germany.
October 2006	Human resources reorganized Bayer is currently restructuring its human resources segment. The first step in October 2006 was the opening of the Human Resources Shared Service Center Europe (SSC Europe) in Leverkusen. The center will look after central hr services for the German sites and other European countries in which Bayer operates . In April 2007, the SSC for America started up in Pittsburgh, while the center for Asia is set to open in 2008/2009.
October 2006	Award for equal opportunities For its policy relating to equal rights for men and women in the employment world, Bayer received the rating “Total E-Quality” from the German association of the same name for the fourth time. At the award ceremony in October 2006, the jury praised the gender specific analyses of the performance assessments and Bayer’s models for flexible working hours .
November 2006	Award for Sustainable Development Report  For its Sustainable Development Report 2005, Bayer received the “German Environmental Reporting Award” (DURA) from the Chamber of Public Accountants in November 2006. The jury especially underlined the clear language, the honesty in dealing with challenges and the description of the attainment levels of the company objectives. It also said that the Report clearly reflected the company’s firm principles for preparing its balance sheets.
December 2006	Product portfolio extended through Schering acquisition The entry in the commercial register on December 29, 2006, marked the launch of the new Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany. A comprehensive range of products from Schering from the fields of women’s health care, diagnostic imaging, oncology and specialized therapeutics has now been added to the Bayer HealthCare portfolio. The takeover of Schering AG is the largest acquisition in Bayer’s history .

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