Bayer Inc. Celebrates Earth Day as One of Canada's Greenest Employers - For
the Second Year in a Row!

TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ - Bayer Inc. announced today that it has been selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2010 by Mediacorp Canada Inc., as featured today in The Globe and Mail. This is the second consecutive year that Bayer Inc. has received this prestigious recognition.

"Today, we celebrate all Canadians who make simple changes to protect our environment and who put the power of Green to work in communities across the country," said Philip Blake, President & CEO, Bayer Inc. "Workplaces also have an important role to play in the Greening of Canada, and Bayer has long recognized and embraced our responsibility to reduce our collective environmental footprint and protect our planet's health. Our social responsibility to the communities where we work, live and play, has allowed us to recruit and retain talented employees who define our responsibility to think not only about today, but tomorrow," added Blake.

In 2007, Bayer Inc. started a program called Green Matters, which is based on Bayer's workplace philosophy: to create an atmosphere that respects every person as a vital and valued voice, bringing our diverse knowledge and expertise together to maximize the potential of the whole company. Driven by a spirit of applied curiosity and a desire to make life better, the Green Matters Committee at Bayer explores and facilitates the implementation of innovative best practices that help the company and employees make a positive and lasting contribution to our shared environment.

"Green is uniting people with similar aspirations and passion to make important changes to our world," said Ernie Springolo, Senior Country Representative, Bayer MaterialScience and Leadership Team Sponsor for Green Matters. "This Green movement is creating communities, and whether these communities exist in neighbourhoods or in workplaces, we can work together to reach common goals and truly make a difference in safeguarding our surroundings. At Bayer, our commitment to Green comes to life through the power and actions of our people and a spirit of collaboration," added Springolo.

Some of the activities that Green Matters has implemented, and been recognized for, over the years include:

    
    -   Bayer's Annual Wildflower Planting Day with North Kipling Junior
        Middle School and Partners in Project Green - In 2009, volunteers
        from Bayer Inc. and North Kipling Junior Middle School worked
        together to plant a native wildflower garden in Bayer's Outback.
        Together, the group spent their morning planting Black-Eyed Susans
        and wild strawberries while learning about Ontario's urban wildlife
        with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and Partners in
        Project Green. In addition to planting wildflowers, the group
        participated in many activities including walking the Outback trails
        to look for animal tracks, listening for nature sounds and learning
        about animal wildlife and habitat requirements through a "Furs and
        Skulls" seminar. Bayer's next Wildflower Planting Day is coming up
        this June.

    -   Operation Zero Waste - One of the main projects and goals of the
        Green Matters program is to divert 80 per cent of Bayer head office
        waste from landfills by the end of 2010. One way the organization has
        set out to accomplish this is through the introduction of a more
        detailed waste separation process, which has become a success with
        high participation at the employee level.

    -   Green Roof - Bayer's green roof, composed of 10,000 square feet of
        plant life, reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Not only
        has the green roof improved air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide
        and other pollutants, it has also lowered Bayer's reliance on air
        conditioning and heating. At a local level, Bayer has reduced its
        contribution to the urban heat island effect (when a metropolitan
        area becomes significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas).

    -   Earth Day - In 2009, the Green Matters committee and employees
        celebrated the company's green initiatives by asking employees "What
        does Green Matters mean to you?". All responses were written on a
        banner made of recycled paper. Employees were also served a dessert
        of 'worms and dirt' (candy worms and chocolate cake) in recyclable
        dishes.

    -   Bayer Inc. Environment Day - Every September the Green Matters
        committee organizes an event where employees and other stakeholders
        are invited to share their environmental initiatives. Students from
        North Kipling Junior Middle School brought displays that promoted
        recycling, reusing and eco-friendly decisions through art made from
        recycled and reused materials like empty water bottles or paper towel
        rolls.
    

About "Canada's Greenest Employers"

Each eligible employer was evaluated for this honour by Mediacorp Canada Inc. on the basis of: (1) the unique environmental initiatives and programs they have developed; (2) the extent to which they have been successful in reducing the organization's own environmental footprint; (3) the degree to which their employees are involved in these programs and whether they contribute any unique skills; and (4) the extent to which these initiatives have become linked to the employer's public identity and whether they attract new people to the organization.

About Bayer Inc.

Bayer Inc. (Bayer) is a Canadian subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international research-based group with core businesses in health care, crop science and innovative materials. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Bayer Inc. operates the Bayer Group's HealthCare and MaterialScience businesses in Canada. Bayer CropScience Inc., headquartered in Calgary, Alberta operates as a separate legal entity in Canada. Together, the companies play a vital role in improving the quality of life for Canadians - producing products that fight diseases, protecting crops and animals, and developing high-performance materials for applications in numerous areas of daily life. Canadian Bayer facilities include the Toronto headquarters and offices in Montréal and Calgary.

Bayer Inc. has approximately 800 employees across Canada and had sales of $853 million CDN in 2009. Globally, the Bayer Group had sales of over 31 billion Euro in 2009. Bayer Inc. invested approximately $50 million CDN in research and development in 2009. Worldwide, the Bayer Group spent the equivalent of over 2.7 billion Euro in 2009 in R&D. For more information, go to www.bayer.ca.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Laura Burns, Senior Business Communications Partner, Bayer Inc., [phone], [email protected]