Bayer Climate Program

Climate Award & Scholarships

With two special initiatives, Bayer is promoting the scientific and social discourse regarding the challenges posed by climate change and recognizing specific personal efforts in this area.

Bayer Climate Award

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Bayer CEO W. Wenning (3rd from left) hands the certificate of the “Bayer Climate Award” to Professor Jochem. Left: Professor E.-L. Winnacker, Secretary General of the European Research Council; Right: Bayer Board member Dr. W. Plischke.

The Bayer Climate Award is the first international prize for outstanding achievements in fundamental climate science research. The award was presented for the first time on March 24, 2009 in Berlin to Professor emeritus Eberhard Jochem from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe by the Bayer Science & Education Foundation. Jochem was honored with the "Bayer Climate Award" for his groundbreaking contributions in the field of energy efficiency research. He has proven that Germany could cut its CO₂ emissions by almost 15 percent by 2020 in a commercially profitable way simply by improving energy efficiency. This would correspond to an absolute reduction of 125 million tons of CO₂ emissions relative to the end of 2007. An even more substantial reducation of 80 percent is possible. The Bayer Climate Award carries winnings of EUR 50,000 and will be presented every two years.

Bayer Climate Fellows

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Bayer Board member Dr. W. Plischke (center) with the “Bayer Climate Fellows” M. Winkler, L. Brüggenwerth, M. Rohbeck and F. Schober (from left) in Berlin.

In the summer of 2008, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation presented for the first time scholarships of EUR 5,000 each to five school students from Germany who are particularly interested in and dedicated to climate protection. The two-week stay in Pittsburgh included workshops and field trips and focused on the topic ”climate change and water“.

The “Bayer Climate Fellows” were also invited to attend the presentation of the first “Bayer Climate Award” to Prof. Jochem in Berlin on March 24, 2009. Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, the Bayer Management Board Member responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, welcomed them and talked to them about their commitment to climate protection.