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This year, Bayer Ukraine has joined the EBA Second Chance Bank. The company is also one of the founders of the Agro Varta Project. Both initiatives are united by the desire for smart consumption and waste management. After all, the environmental situation is becoming increasingly tense both in Ukraine and worldwide. So we decided to learn from Oliver Gierlichs, Managing Director & CFO Bayer Ukraine, why sustainable development should be implemented both in business and in everyday life and how much Bayer invests in this direction.<\/em><\/p>\n\t \u202fSustainability is not just a trendy word for us. We are faced with an unprecedented challenge of a growing and aging population while we need to use the planet\u2019s natural resources in a more sustainable way we did so far. Our core sustainability areas are in line with the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and include supporting smallholder farmers, providing access to everyday health and modern family planning, ensure gender equality and women empowerment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding our global targets, we are aiming by 2030 to:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u202fBefore coming to Ukraine, I have been leading Bayer in West & Central Africa for three years and that was an incredible experience. The Bayer team and I initiated the reconstruction of a rural school in 2019. Today, the school has new primary classrooms, educational equipment, a canteen, toilet facilities, outdoor playing areas, new nursery classes, teacher\u2019s accommodation, and a wall around the facilities that keep animals away and underlines a privileged space for studies. That was an amazing project that has been complemented with additional opportunities for the local smallholder farmers, medical equipment for the local health station, and finally training programs that support girls and young women.\u00a0<\/p>\n On a personal level, I have been following a sustainable approach most of my life. I have adopted waste separation and recycling for more than 25 years. I even introduced it at Bayer in Mexico when I was living there in the 1990s. Among other aspects, I would mention sustainable shopping, sustainable food choices from local farmers and growers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t For me it may be difficult sometimes to split business and sustainability investment, ideally, both should come together complementing each other. In our global Ag business, for example, we are about to introduce short-statue corn, that is more resilient against crop losses through extreme storms, needs less fertilizer, can be planted closer together, and has deeper root systems that allow for removal and storage of atmospheric carbon in the soil. This invention will dramatically increase yield and thus reduce the land needed for one of the most important food crops in the world. So, this is a business and sustainability investment at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another example could be around packaging \u2013 making it more eco-friendly and at the same time more cost-effective.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n We have our seed plant in Ukraine, and we try to minimize the production waste as much as we can. For example, from the very beginning, we were using corn cobs as a source of fuel for heating corn instead of gas. And as of this season, we started to sell corn husks for biogas production, while in the past we had to dispose of them at a significant cost \u2013 this is a great win-win of business and sustainability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also, at the community level, we support programs and initiatives in the areas of education, healthy nutrition, and environmental protection. Also, it is important that in sustainable investment your example is being followed by other companies and industries \u2013 the more pioneers you have in this space \u2013 the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t This summer we have launched the program Green Office. This is an excellent question. Indeed, there are always people in the organization that may be skeptical about certain initiatives or new topics. Thus, it is important to have your leaders stand on behalf of this initiative. Also, you need to explain to people the need for these initiatives, and what it does for them, the people around them and their children. Then, they most likely will change their mind. At least they will start thinking about this in a different way.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t Sustainability is anchored at the core of our strategy, our operations, and our business DNA overall. We have defined clear targets for our businesses that we are aiming to achieve by 2030, in line with the UN SDGs. Here in Ukraine, we have been working with our long-term partner, European Business Association, whose initiatives fully correlate with Bayer\u2019s vision, and which can create a platform for uniting business into progressive and effective partnerships.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Thus, happy to join efforts on this project as well!\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This year, Bayer Ukraine has joined the EBA Second Chance Bank. The company is also one of the founders of the Agro Varta Project. Both initiatives are united by the desire for smart consumption and waste management. After all, the environmental situation is becoming increasingly tense both in Ukraine and worldwide. So we decided to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23406,"featured_media":387742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[4,23,13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\t\tYour vision\u202f\u00abHealth for all, Hunger for none\u00bb\u202fsounds like philosophy. Can you outline key milestones of Bayer\u2019s approach toward sustainability?\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n
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\n\t\tFor how long do you participate in (to say so) a sustainable business movement? Why did you decide to join?\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n\t\tHow much do you invest in sustainable development?\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n\t\tHow does your sustainability team communicate the benefits of\u202f\u00abgoing green\u00bb\u202for\u202f\u00abbeing sustainable\u00bb\u202fto more skeptical team members of the organization?\u202f\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n\t\tIn the EBA Bayer supports a lot of initiatives connected to sustainability (Agro Varta, Second Chance Bank). Why?\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n