High praise for the company’s success

Another topic of discussion was the Bayer Group’s capital investment in China. One stockholder wanted to know what environmental standards the company applies in that country. Wenning emphasized that Bayer is committed to sustainable development: “This means that we deploy resources responsibly and efficiently in the interests of coming generations, manufacture our products according to high standards and take society’s needs into account.” He said this applies not just to China, but to all other countries where Bayer has operations, and that the company’s facilities in China satisfy the highest technological and environmental standards. For example, Bayer uses its proprietary oxygen depolarized cathode technology for chlorine production in China, thereby reducing energy consumption by roughly 30 percent compared to conventional processes.

Dr. Manfred Schneider (left) and Werner Wenning garnered overwhelming approval from the stockholders.

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Dr. Manfred Schneider (left) and Werner Wenning garnered overwhelming approval from the stockholders.

In the context of Bayer’s activities in China, another stockholder asked about the protection of intellectual property. Wenning assured the stockholders that as an innovation-driven company, Bayer also takes this point very seriously. “We have taken maximum precautions to protect our know-how, both in plant and process technology and in research and development.”

Other topics that came up in the discussion included the size of the dividend, the company’s human resources policy, the remuneration of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management, the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Krefeld, Germany, and points of detail concerning the Schering AG acquisition. The “critical” stockholders leveled many of the same accusations against Bayer as in previous years, including some concerning child labor and product safety. The Management Board Chairman dismissed all the allegations as being without foundation. In the voting that followed, the stockholders approved the proposals of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management by large majorities (see Resolutions of the Annual Stockholders' Meeting).