Management of impacts and risks related to pollution due to incidents
With the help of our double materiality assessment, we have identified impacts and risks related to pollution. Accordingly, unforeseen events can lead to uncontrolled emissions that can cause diminished air and water quality and thus present a threat to people and the environment. In addition to potential damage to health and the environment, soil and groundwater contamination can lead to financial risks due to remediation costs, operational disruptions or loss of reputation.
Policies related to pollution due to incidents [E2-1]
Our policies related to unforeseen events govern the way we handle incidents occurring in the plants and production facilities in our own operations and in the value chain. They also serve as the basis for mitigating possible threats in the area of pollution.
Managing incidents through the Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) Management and HSE Key Requirements Policy
Our Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) Management and HSE Key Requirements Policy is geared toward reducing negative impacts related to pollution, particularly of air, water and soil. The policy contains several important principles and requirements for environmental management to reduce pollution and its impacts.
Management of water and air emissions: The policy states that all sites should identify, evaluate, manage, monitor and document relevant environmental matters and impacts. The environmental matters include wastewater, air emissions, waste, noise and light exposure, and the pollution of soil, groundwater or other media.
Reduction of environmental risks: The policy requires actions to be taken to mitigate the identified environmental impacts and risks, and to ensure that environmental management complies with current regulations and with internal and external obligations.
HSE risk mitigation management: We plan and implement the necessary controls to identify, evaluate and manage HSE risks. The policy also describes the methods used to mitigate these risks and the management system framework established to ensure compliance with the applicable legal requirements and the company’s internal requirements. Sites and teams systematically identify and analyze HSE hazards within their functions or operations to determine risk levels. They develop and document HSE action plans to manage risks to keep them to a level that protects personnel, assets and the environment. The risk analysis is communicated internally to relevant decision-makers and affected stakeholders.
Soil and groundwater management: Sites identify, evaluate, monitor and document the relevant environmental matters and impacts of their activities and/or operations. The environmental matters include soil and groundwater pollution. Actions are taken to mitigate the identified environmental impacts and risks, and to ensure that environmental management complies with current regulations and with internal and external obligations.
Waste management: Wastewater, waste gas and waste streams are documented in an inventory that lists their composition, volume, disposal route and emission control thresholds. Waste management follows the principles of waste hierarchy and considers the best available technologies, global regulations and legal requirements. Actions are taken to prevent incidents and exceedances, including those involving wastewater and waste streams. Third parties involved in environmental management are commissioned and evaluated, taking into account criteria for environmentally compatible and compliant operations. The general environmental management principles are complied with, with priority being given to avoiding the generation of waste/emissions, recycling wherever reasonably practical and minimizing waste/emissions that cannot be avoided or recycled.
The policy governs several important requirements for handling various pollutants and substances to ensure safety, compliance and environmental protection:
General hazardous materials: Employees who handle hazardous materials are trained prior to their use in the physical, chemical, biological and toxicological properties of the materials used. The latest HSE data is accessible for all materials used to ensure that the associated HSE hazards are addressed and evaluated, and actions taken to mitigate risks. The corresponding rules and regulations (such as chemicals legislation and transportation standards) are followed for all relevant materials. Safety data sheets must be provided for all raw materials, intermediates, products, maintenance and laboratory chemicals, inputs and fuels.
Radioactive substances and biological materials: Sites and teams must develop and maintain a plan detailing the preparations for, and reaction to, emergencies. This plan encompasses the management of hazardous material releases, including chemical, biological and radioactive substances.
Storage and labeling: All materials are labeled and marked according to local and international laws (such as containers, tanks and storage containers).
Emergency planning and fire prevention: A fire prevention concept is developed and documented for all buildings and units based on an assessment of fire hazards that considers the probability of a fire and the potential consequences. Corresponding actions are defined and implemented based on the assessment and on internal and legal requirements, including structural fire protection, fire prevention and firefighting systems, procedures and personnel training measures. In so doing, the availability and expertise of internal and external emergency personnel are taken into account.
Our policy also comprehensively deals with the most important requirements for preventing incidents and emergency situations, as well as for monitoring and limiting the impacts on people and the environment.
Commitment of leadership and management: Each unit is responsible for integrating HSE responsibility into its management system by appointing managers to monitor HSE within their scope of responsibility. The individual companies are responsible for all work processes but can transfer specific responsibilities to managers with the relevant competence. This ensures that management is effective at all sites in order to meet the legal and internal requirements.
Compliance with regulations and implementation of the most important HSE requirements: Sites and teams have documented processes in place to regularly identify, evaluate and monitor the applicable HSE requirements.
Continuous improvement and workforce participation: The sites and teams encourage employees’ involvement in the identification of improvement potentials and in their implementation.
Emergency planning and response: The policy also refers to structured approaches for responding to incidents, including emergency planning and fire prevention measures.
For more information on the Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) Management and HSE Key Requirements Policy, please see the section “Holistic policies for managing material sustainability matters [MDR-P]” in Chapter A 4.1 General Information on the Sustainability Statement.
Ensuring safety and environmental protection through process and plant safety
Our rules on process and plant safety (PPS) are focused on preventing dangerous releases and ensuring safety, and thus serve to reduce the risk of air, water and soil pollution. This contributes to the overarching objective of preventing incidents, ensuring the safe handling of hazardous substances, complying with legal provisions and promoting continuous process improvement. The process and plant safety rules therefore describe requirements, procedures and roles and responsibilities to ensure that risks are reduced as far as possible to avoid unacceptable consequences for people and the environment. The monitoring process covers the systematic assessment of process and plant safety risks, including identifying and assessing hazards, operational control, change management, contingency planning and performance monitoring. Compliance with process and plant safety rules is regularly monitored through internal audits and reviews.
The rules underscore the importance of identifying and evaluating hazards associated with processes and plants, including physical impacts, chemical reactions, fires and explosions, as well as health and environmental hazards. Safe processes are prioritized through extensive hazard analyses and risk assessments.
Through the establishment of process and plant safety rules, we take into account the interests of stakeholders such as our own workforce by ensuring legally compliant safety and environmental protection standards and thus aiming to prevent dangerous releases that could negatively impact air, water and soil quality. This approach addresses stakeholders’ concerns with regard to the contamination of natural resources. These rules are implemented under the leadership of the Public Affairs, Sustainability & Safety Enabling Function. The rules are available internally and primarily aimed at employees who work in site management, process operations and project planning. They apply worldwide to our own workforce and workers in the value chain who are based at our sites. The Responsible Care™ program of the German Chemical Industry Association to ensure comprehensive safety and environmental protection is accounted for through implementation of these rules. Our activities in this regard also comply with the REACH and CLP regulations.
With regard to preventing incidents and emergency situations, the rules describe contingency planning, including the identification of foreseeable process safety incidents and the preparation, examination and regular review of contingency plans to minimize the impacts on people and the environment. They also emphasize the importance of training personnel specifically to be able to act in an orderly and timely manner in the event of an alarm or emergency situation, as well as to coordinate with external emergency responders and share relevant safety information with everyone involved. The rules also underscore the necessity of investigating incidents, learning from incidents and near misses, and sharing results to prevent their recurrence and mitigate the consequences.
Complying with environmental safety through the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct
The Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct deals with the management of hazardous materials, substances of concern, natural resources, climate protection and compliance with laws and regulations related to pollutants and substances.
It addresses our potential impacts on pollution by prescribing strict compliance with environmental and safety standards, and the responsible handling of hazardous substances, including substances of concern (SoCs) and substances of very high concern (SVHCs), thereby reducing the risk of uncontrolled emissions and ensuring compliance with legal requirements to prevent operational and sales disruptions. Suppliers must, for example, have safety programs and management systems in place to manage and maintain all of their production processes in compliance with applicable safety standards. Audits are conducted to verify their implementation. The safety programs must be commensurate with the plant and process risks. Suppliers are obligated to adequately disclose and manage the hazards related to their processes and products in order to ensure that impacted or potentially impacted third parties are protected. Relevant incidents must also be quickly analyzed and communicated.
Suppliers must comply with product safety regulations, properly label products and communicate the product handling requirements. Wherever there is a legitimate need, we provide the relevant parties with the respective documents containing all required safety-relevant information for all hazardous substances. This includes product information, safety data sheets, notification or registration verifications, as well as uses and exposure scenarios. Suppliers proactively and transparently share information on the health, safety and environmental aspects of their products with all relevant parties. Through the described measures for complying with product safety regulations and the provision of relevant information, we would like to contribute to the substitution and minimization of the use of substances of concern. For dangerous plants and processes, the supplier must regularly conduct specific risk assessments and take measures to prevent the occurrence of incidents such as the release of chemicals, fires or explosions.
Our suppliers must act in a responsible and resource-efficient way by conserving natural resources. They must ensure, for example, that wastewater is disposed of safely and in compliance with regulations, and that wastewater emissions are safe for the surface waters and groundwater they are discharged into. They must also, as far as possible, prevent and minimize the release of hazardous materials or active ingredients into the environment through emissions. Suppliers must, for example, focus on the handling of substances containing mercury or that are classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as on the handling of waste materials, waste gases or wastewater that could contain mercury or POPs. The suppliers must deal with these substances in accordance with the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. For more information on the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct, please see the section “Holistic policies for managing material sustainability matters [MDR-P]” in Chapter A 4.1 General Information on the Sustainability Statement.
Actions related to pollution due to incidents [E2-2]
To effectively prevent unforeseen events, we have developed a comprehensive package of measures focused on safety in our operations and value chain.
Integrating health, safety and environmental practices in all global operations
We have implemented a process-oriented management system for health, environmental protection and safety across all sites and countries, supported by a document management system. The tasks this entails include identifying hazards and conducting a risk assessment for all routine and nonroutine work, taking into account the impacts on humans and the environment, compliance with legal provisions, and the company’s assets and reputation. Employees are involved in the identification and assessment of risks, and actions are defined and implemented to reduce these risks to the lowest practicable level. Employees are adequately notified of relevant risks and suitable risk mitigation measures. Health, safety and environmental matters are accounted for in product and process development, including substituting hazardous substances, conserving energy and resources, and applying the principles of inherently safer design. Operating procedures are established, and employees receive safety training prior to executing tasks, with regular refresher training and updated training measures after relevant changes. Maintenance and inspection ensure the reliability of equipment. A global health, safety and environmental audit program based on ISO 19011 is in place that encompasses both general HSE audits and process & plant safety audits. The actions are globally implemented at all relevant production sites and are ongoing. A health, safety and environment officer is assigned to each production site who is entrusted with overseeing safety, prevention and causal analysis and has at their disposal the necessary budget for these activities.
Ensuring operational safety through our process and plant safety management system
The process and plant safety management system is based on seven critical pillars of action that together constitute our measures to ensure operational safety and prevent incidents at our facilities. These pillars comprise the following elements:
Organization and personnel, focusing on structuring teams and defining roles to ensure that all employees are competent and aware of their safety responsibility
Risk identification and assessment, a systematic approach for identifying and assessing potential risks
Operational control, including the implementation of processes to ensure reliable operational management
Change management, which meets the need to carefully monitor all changes to processes, equipment or organizational structures made in order to avoid new risks
Contingency planning, which is essential to prepare for and effectively respond to incidents
Performance oversight, including continuously assessing safety practices to identify improvement potentials
Audit and review, which are crucial to review the effectiveness of the process and plant safety management system and identify improvement potentials
Consistent compliance with these pillars is essential to ensure that a high degree of process and plant safety can be guaranteed and safety incidents avoided in the long term. This commitment is supported by additional binding internal rules that contain detailed specifications for each pillar. In the implementation of these pillars, locally applicable laws and provisions must also be taken into account and complied with in order to create a comprehensive and effective framework for the safety management of processes and plants.
The management system applies to new and existing processes and plants that we own, have designed or operate, or for which we are legally liable, and that are subject to binding rules on process and plant safety management or on preventing serious accidents (e.g. Seveso Directive, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Process Safety Management (PSM), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), risk management plans (RMPs) etc.), or that in the event of a fire could pose an unacceptable health, safety or environmental risk, such as an explosion or a discharge of energy or substances.
The management system describes operational measures that should be continuously implemented. Progress varies based on whether they address a new or existing process and plant. At every production site, there is a dedicated role in the areas of health, safety and environmental protection that addresses safety, prevention and causal analysis, including the necessary budget.
Cooperation to prevent pollution along our supply chains
We are committed to preventing uncontrolled pollution in our supply chain by monitoring the performance of our chemical suppliers. These measures are designed to identify areas requiring improvement and ensure compliance with the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct. Systematic assessments and regular audits of our chemicals suppliers ensure, for example, that they comply with the required wastewater treatment standards, which reduces the risk of improper wastewater emissions. Corrective action plans help to rectify identified deficits and continuously improve supplier performance, while assessment analysis identifies specific improvement areas. Compliance with the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct ensures that only suppliers that meet the environmental standards described remain part of the supplier chain. This in turn preserves water quality.
We have introduced a series of assessments and audits to measure our suppliers’ sustainability performance. Whenever material impacts are identified, we cooperate with the affected parties to provide remedial measures and support corrective measures. The focus of these activities lies on our sub-suppliers, who are critically important for our supply chain, for example because they are strategically important suppliers for production. By concentrating on these suppliers, we want to promote a culture of sustainability and ethical practices in the supply chain right from the outset. We are committed to continuous monitoring and improvement to ensure that sustainability remains a central aspect of our supplier relationships.
Management of impacts and risks related to pollution due to the handling of substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS
In addition to impacts related to unforeseen events, our double materiality assessment has identified potential negative impacts from the handling of substances of concern (SoCs) and substances of very high concern (SVHCs) according to ESRS for our products that can pose a risk to people and the environment. In particular, new and updated regulatory restrictions on the sale of products containing SVHCs could lead to reduced sales of impacted products. Operational disruptions and business continuity problems could also occur due to supply chain interruptions caused by regulatory restrictions or environmental scenarios.
Policies related to pollution due to the handling of substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS [E2-1]
To counter the identified impacts and risks related to substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS, we have introduced policies that encompass strict controls, regular monitoring and continuous improvement initiatives to protect human health and the environment.
Mitigating the pollution risk by assessing substances
To mitigate the risks associated with possible pollution hazards regarding substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS, we apply our global policy governing the assessment of chemical substances. The policy contains a comprehensive approach to ensuring compliance with legal provisions, administering safety data, monitoring the supply chain, training personnel and maintaining organizational oversight. Together, these aspects contribute to a structured and effective monitoring process geared toward mitigating risks and ensuring safety and compliance with the regulatory framework.
Our policy describes how we monitor substances of concern identified by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and what measures we subsequently undertake in our company. According to our policy, information about each managed substance and its impacts on humans and the environment must be available throughout the Bayer Group. Product information obligations for substances handled within the European Union are established in the EU legal provisions (such as REACH). The chemical regulations for substances administered outside the EU must be followed accordingly, and, if they are not subject to legal requirements concerning the publication of information, a minimum data set is defined to enable hazard and risk assessments.
The policy underscores the importance of safety, compliance with legal regulations and the proper handling, storage and labeling of materials. These practices are of crucial importance for the handling of substances of concern and of very high concern. The policy stresses the importance of the REACH and CLP regulations of the European Union as well as other international regulations that require the registration and classification of substances. The goal is to provide information on substances’ impacts on humans and the environment, as well as to establish responsibilities within the company. The evaluation of substances as well as product stewardship measures and regular reviews of the substance dossiers promotes the identification and gradual phasing out of substances of concern and very high concern in order to minimize their use. The policy ensures that data on the inherent properties and hazards of the handled substances is available. Consequently, comprehensive risk assessments can be conducted at the site level to ensure safe handling and minimize risks related to air, water and soil pollution and exposure. To ensure impacted internal stakeholders are informed about the handling or use of these substances, the policy also deals with the monitoring of substances of very high concern, impact assessment and the determination of relevance, followed by governance. The evaluation of substances in combination with product stewardship measures and regular reviews of substance dossiers supports the identification and step-by-step withdrawal of substances of concern and very high concern to minimize their use. In addition, it focuses on various aspects such as compliance with legal provisions, safety data sheets, chemical safety assessments, supply chain management, and organizational roles and responsibilities related to health, safety and environmental protection.
The global policy applies to relevant organizational units, particularly in the areas of research and development, production, supply chain management, health, safety and environmental protection. The Public Affairs, Sustainability & Safety Enabling Function and the quality functions in the divisions are responsible for steering the implementation of this policy. The policy accounts for the most important commitments with regard to stakeholders and establishes the operational responsibilities for compliance with chemical legislation. It is available internally to all employees.
Sustainability assessment for new capital expenditures of more than €10 million
To study the impacts of capital expenditure projects on the environment and sustainability, we have introduced a policy pertaining to the environmental and sustainability assessment of new capital expenditures. It makes an environmental and sustainability study compulsory for all new capital expenditure projects with a volume exceeding €10 million. This includes both new and expanded manufacturing processes such as chemical synthesis, formulation, filling, packaging, seed processing and infrastructure installation, as well as laboratory activities and other business activities at a site, including office buildings and warehouses. The environmental assessment process encompasses a number of steps to ensure the identification, assessment and continuous management of environmental impacts. This process covers the use of relevant expertise, the deployment of specific assessment tools and the carrying out of extensive environmental impact assessments. It also involves continuously collecting and evaluating data and regularly reviewing and updating existing assessments to adapt them to new information or amended environmental regulations.
The policy deals in various ways with substituting and minimizing substances of concern and successively phasing out substances of very high concern. It specifies that all relevant environmental and sustainability matters must be taken into account in the assessment, including substances that are involved in the production process and are traceable in the outlet streams of the plant or site, such as waste gases, wastewater and solid waste. These include substances of concern and of very high concern. The policy describes specific requirements for the assessment in order to account for substances involved in the production process and their impacts on the environment, such as particulate-containing waste gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants, as well as wastewater contaminated with various substances. The assessment also takes into account direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy consumption, noise and light emissions, biosafety, impacts on biodiversity, occupational health and safety, and social and ethical aspects impacting the workforce and local communities.
Through the environmental assessment of new plants, the policy also helps to prevent incidents and emergency situations and to control and limit their impacts on people and the environment. Our Public Affairs, Sustainability & Safety Enabling Function works together with the quality functions of the divisions to ensure the implementation of this policy. The target group comprises the community of assigned venture and project managers who head up these capital expenditure projects. This internal policy is provided to all departments, countries and regional organizations.
Actions related to pollution due to the handling of substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS [E2-2]
To mitigate our impacts related to substances of (very high) concern according to ESRS, we have initiated measures to assess and reduce product-related environmental risks.
Product-related environmental risk management to ensure compliance and safety
In accordance with our policy on chemical substance assessment, we have taken measures to effectively manage risks in connection with material hazards. These measures encompass the management of environment-, social- and governance-related topics during the entire life cycle of our products. We proactively observe political and regulatory trends that could affect our product portfolio. The tasks involved include closely observing regulatory changes and restrictions, and continuously evaluating their potential impacts on our business activity.
Our approach to managing regulatory developments in the area of chemicals encompasses the continuous monitoring of global regulatory landscapes, technical lobbying and impact assessment, as well as the design, implementation and support of business processes and systems that ensure safe and compliant operations, such as the registration of chemicals and the provision of safety data sheets.
The primary goal of our measures is to enable the safe and legally compliant import, use, transport and storage of hazardous substances and goods. The most important results of these measures include:
Collection and assessment of health, safety and environmental protection (HSE) data for chemicals in the research and development (R&D) process
Classification of substances according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) and the Hazardous Goods Ordinance
Provision of safety data sheets and transport labels/papers
Registration of chemicals according to REACH (EU) and compliance with other international chemicals regulations
Our ESG unit, as part of the Public Affairs, Sustainability & Safety Enabling Function, plays a key role in the observation and monitoring of regulatory restrictions and changes, as well as of environmental scenarios. This unit cooperates closely with Corporate Public Affairs and the Regulatory Affairs and Supply Chain functions in the divisions. We involve relevant departments at an early stage by assessing the relevance and impacts of regulatory developments on our portfolio, particularly when using substances of concern (SoCs) according to ESRS and substances of very high concern (SVHCs) according to ESRS. This proactive involvement enables us to switch in good time to substitutes or determine suitable mitigation measures such as investment in control measures.
These are not one-off measures but rather take place continuously. They do not follow a fixed schedule but instead are integrated into the company’s operating procedures as a constant commitment.