Innovative insulating materials play a key role worldwide in insulating cooling systems, among other applications. Too many foodstuffs still perish on the way to the consumer. New rigid polyurethane foams help insulate refrigerators more effectively and make them more climate-friendly. Palfridge in Swaziland supplies devices with particularly efficient insulation made of rigid foam based on products from Bayer MaterialScience. In this country in southern Africa, one of the world’s poorest nations, food goes off extremely quickly, as electricity is not widely available.

As part of the “EcoCommercial Building” lighthouse project, Bayer MaterialScience brings together selected service providers and producers in the field of planning, renovating and constructing energy-efficient and cost-effective industrial and office buildings. This unique network also supports the planned climate-friendly city of the future in Germany’s Ruhr region. The aim of the large-scale “Innovation City Ruhr” project is to redesign an entire district of the city of Bottrop and transform it into a low-energy city. The sustainable renovation of this district is intended to serve as a showpiece example of climate protection and energy efficiency. Bayer MaterialScience is providing technology, materials and expertise from the EcoCommercial Building Program.

Bayer is also underlining its international commitment as a member of the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI), an environment program initiated by the United Nations. Bayer MaterialScience supports the SBCI proposals for an internationally standardized method of measuring the climate footprint of buildings. The company has assumed responsibility for organizing the SBCI annual conference in Leverkusen in May 2011, where the focus will be on the design of sustainable buildings and housing in all its facets.

Bayer MaterialScience has been an official partner of the “Solar Impulse” project since March 2010. Its founders Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg from Switzerland are developing the first manned aircraft able to fly day and night without fuel which is set to circumnavigate the world in the near future powered entirely by solar energy. State-of-the-art technology helps ensure this first-generation aircraft with a wingspan of over 60 meters weighs no more than a midsize car. Some 12,000 solar cells cover its surface to run four electric motors. Solar energy for use during the night is stored in lithium polymer batteries weighing a total of 400 kilograms.

Bayer MaterialScience is supporting the Solar Impulse initiative with technical expertise, high-tech polymer materials and energy-saving lightweight products. Its Baytubes™ carbon nanotubes, for example, could improve battery performance and increase the strength of structural components while keeping their weight to a minimum. Other potential applications include innovative adhesives, polyurethane rigid foams for paneling in the cockpit and engines, and extremely thin yet break-resistant polycarbonate films and sheets for the cockpit glazing.

Bayer is developing cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions for a wide range of applications for photovoltaics. Thermoplastic films, for example, could enable the production of wafer-thin and flexible organic solar cells that remove the need for a power pack and socket for laptops. Another example of polycarbonate’s material properties can be found in Bremen’s Weserstadion stadium. Here, solar cells are embedded between transparent Makrolon™ polycarbonate sheets to ensure break resistance and flexibility on the 3,000-square-meter stadium roof, turning the soccer arena into a solar power plant.

With its supporting initiatives, Bayer is looking to make its day-to-day business operations more energy-efficient and climate-friendly. The company is endeavoring to cut emissions on the road throughout the Group, including in its own fleet of vehicles. The aim is to cut CO₂ emissions caused by the company car fleet by 20 percent by 2012 compared with 2007 as part of the “EcoFleet” program. At the end of 2010, this figure was already 15 percent for newly registered vehicles. In a further key step, Bayer has taken into operation the first natural gas filling station at its premises in Leverkusen and will switch around 400 vehicles to the greener fuel by 2015. Electric vehicles are currently being tested in small volumes in a pilot project at the Berlin and Leverkusen sites.

In a further supporting initiative, Bayer is aiming to cut employee travel by increasing the provision of cutting-edge telepresence and video conference technology. The telepresence and video conference-compatible network could be increased to 152 units by the end of 2010, including six telepresence facilities. Bayer will continue to expand the video communications network and test and introduce further desktop solutions such as high-quality video transmission as part of the Bayer Personalized Workplace Program in the next few years.

The “Green IT” initiative from Bayer Business Services also centers on potential in-house energy savings. A 20 percent increase in energy efficiency between 2009 and 2012 is also a target at the three data centers in Leverkusen, Pittsburgh and Singapore. A 13 percent rise had already been achieved by the end of 2010. Added to this are supplementary measures to lower paper consumption at the company, for instance.

Numerous other initiatives are also supported by the commitment shown by employees, such as at Bayer HealthCare. As one of 13 leading companies, the company pledged to cut CO₂ emissions at its Berlin site as part of the Berlin Climate Alliance founded in 2008. This brought together numerous green business measures as part of an energy-saving forum. Employees also made an enthusiastic contribution to the “Ideas Full of Energy – Energy Full of Ideas” competition. Examples of successful, locally implemented employee suggestions leading to cuts in CO₂ emissions include LED lighting for buildings, shutdown times and optimized energy distribution.

The Bayer Science & Education Foundation honors pioneering interdisciplinary research every two years with the Bayer Climate Award. 2011 will see the crowning of a new winner whose work lays down key basic principles in the field of climate sciences.

Bayer also provides support in achieving climate targets and performing associated research with an endowed chair in sustainability at Tongji University in China, where the activities organized include climate research events and the staging of regional environmental and climate projects as part of the partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In Australia, Bayer works in partnership with the Australian ministry for education and research in supporting the next generation as part of the “CarbonKids” program. In courses suitable for their age level, schoolchildren find out more about the principles of climate change and the latest research findings and learn how they themselves can play an active role. The program can be implemented at all schools throughout Australia. Bayer has been working successfully with the Australian ministry for over 15 years and has been the main sponsor of “CarbonKids” since November 2010.

The “Dream Production” project opens up virtually dreamlike opportunities for dealing with climate-unfriendly carbon dioxide emissions. The impressive idea behind this project involves binding CO₂ chemically and integrating it into materials – a “dream reaction.” Researchers from Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer Technology Services are working on the technical implementation with RWE and RWTH Aachen University as an academic partner. The key technology for this is catalysis. A pilot plant has been taken on stream at the Chempark Leverkusen site to trial the new process on a technical scale. The plant produces a chemical precursor into which CO₂ is incorporated. This substance is then processed into polyurethanes that are used in many everyday items. As a result, CO₂ – a waste gas and key contributor to climate change – can now be recycled and used as a raw material and substitute for petroleum. With a budget of over €6.6 million, Bayer is responsible for the lion’s share of the project’s €8.9 million cost and is supported by a 50 percent contribution from the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

How can renewable energies be used to harness carbon dioxide? This is a question being pursued by teams of researchers in the CO₂RRECT – short for CO₂ Reaction using Regenerative Energies and Catalytic Technologies – joint project. The background to this is that generating electricity using the sun and wind power is subject to fluctuations due to natural conditions. Occasionally, excess energy is produced, which up to now has only been used to a limited extent. The main aim of CO₂RRECT is to harness this excess energy for conversion processes so as to use the climate gas CO₂ as a raw material for chemical precursors. Some 14 partners from science and industry are involved in the project, including RWE and Siemens. With its investment of around €4 million, Bayer is contributing the largest industry share to the project, which has an estimated price tag of €18.5 million. The project is also receiving state funding of around €11 million.