“Bayer’s climate-neutral child care center is a prime example of energy-efficient construction and provides a concrete model for building in the future,” said Deputy Assistant Under-Secretary Dr. Knut Kübler, Head of the Energy Research Division of the BMWi and member of the panel of judges, during the awards ceremony at the “Buildings of the Future – Architecture with Energy” forum that took place on May 4 as part of the "Berlin Energy Days" conference. The panel was made up of experts from the fields of economic policy, energy sciences, architecture and construction and real estate management.

“We are delighted to receive this award from the German Economics Ministry. By providing children with a place to play in a climate-neutral building, we are consciously making a sustainability statement,” said Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, member of the Bayer Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment.

Bayer CropScience’s new child care center will look after around 60 children of Group employees. What makes the building truly unique is that it is the first “EcoCommercial Building” in Europe developed by Bayer and its partners. That means that the building can be run on an entirely climate-neutral basis. It will meet its own energy needs, without generating CO2 emissions, and will be optimally insulated. Already implementing this concept for emissions-free buildings in the corporate and social facilities sectors with an administration building in India, Bayer is thus applying it for the first time under the climatic conditions of Europe – representing yet another global milestone in the company’s comprehensive Climate Program. The cost of investment is EUR 2.5 million.

During the construction work, polyurethane insulating materials based on raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience will be used to provide heat insulation for the building’s shell. Renewable energies such as solar energy for generating electricity and geothermal and solar heating systems will also be implemented. The photovoltaic modules will also incorporate materials from Bayer MaterialScience, in the form of thermoplastic polyurethanes. In addition, the amount of electricity taken from external sources to power technical equipment in the building will be more than offset by the yearly average excess of self-produced CO2-free energy that it feeds back into the grid. As a result, the child care center will deliver an emissions-neutral energy balance over the course of the year.


More information on the Bayer Climate Program is available at: www.climate.bayer.com


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