Bayer Climate Program

Climate Award & Scholarships

A commitment to social issues and a contribution to sustainable development are the cornerstones of the Bayer corporate philosophy. 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

Zoom image

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 by the Bayer Science & Education Foundation on March 24, 2009 in Berlin to Professor emeritus Eberhard Jochem from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe. Professor 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 reduction of 80 percent is possible within this century in the industrialized countries, Jochem says. The Bayer Climate Award carries a sum of EUR 50,000 and will be presented every two years from now on.

Bayer Climate Fellows

Zoom image

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 foundation presented for the first time scholarships of around EUR 5,000 each to five school students from Germany who are particularly interested in and dedicated to climate protection. The scholarships enabled the students to take part in a sustainability seminar in the United States. Four of the five Climate Fellows were invited to attend the presentation of the first Bayer Climate Award to Professor Jochem in Berlin on March 24, 2009. Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, the Bayer Management Board Member responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, welcomed the four young people during the award ceremony. They had the opportunity to discuss their impressions of the Sustainability Camp and talk to Dr. Plischke about their commitment to climate protection.