Legal Compliance and Corporate Responsibility
Corporate Compliance Program
Our corporate activity is governed by national and local laws and statutes that place a range of obligations on the Bayer Group and its employees throughout the world. Bayer manages its business responsibly in compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the countries in which it operates.
The Board of Management has also issued internal directives to achieve this goal. These are summarized in the Corpoarte Compliance Policy – the revised version of the former Corporate Compliance Program – which contains binding rules for fair competition, integrity in business dealings and adherence to the principle of sustainable development.
To avoid conflicts of interest, every employee is required to separate corporate and private interests. The Corporate Compliance Policy also lays down clear rules for the establishment of fair and respectful working conditions and the responsible handling of insider information.
Compliance Committees have been established for Bayer AG, the external link: Bayer HealthCare, external link: Bayer CropScience, external link: Bayer MaterialScience subgroups and the service companies external link: Bayer Business Services, external link: Bayer Technology Services and external link: Currenta.
The role of these committees is to initiate systematic, business-specific training programs and oversee their implementation in line with the Corpoarte Compliance Policy. They are also responsible for investigating any suspected violations of the Corporate Compliance Policy and, if necessary, taking remedial action. All Compliance Committees report at least once a year to a coordination committee chaired by the Chief Financial Officer. The Group Compliance Officer and the Head of Corporate Auditing regularly report to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board on any compliance violations.
All Bayer employees are required to immediately report any violations of the Corporate Compliance Policy. Special telephone hotlines have been set up in all countries to allow this to be done anonymously. By far the majority of these hotlines connect callers to specialist law firms retained by us.
Starting in the fall of 2008, the revised Corporate Compliance Policy was introduced worldwide using the slogan “Compliance W.I.N.S.” (Worldwide Integrity is Necessary for Success).
A global communications campaign was launched to illustrate how compliance contributes to long-term success for the company as a whole and for each employee. The message to employees is: “Compliance makes everyone a winner.”
The Board of Management has also issued internal directives to achieve this goal. These are summarized in the Corpoarte Compliance Policy – the revised version of the former Corporate Compliance Program – which contains binding rules for fair competition, integrity in business dealings and adherence to the principle of sustainable development.
To avoid conflicts of interest, every employee is required to separate corporate and private interests. The Corporate Compliance Policy also lays down clear rules for the establishment of fair and respectful working conditions and the responsible handling of insider information.
Compliance Committees have been established for Bayer AG, the external link: Bayer HealthCare, external link: Bayer CropScience, external link: Bayer MaterialScience subgroups and the service companies external link: Bayer Business Services, external link: Bayer Technology Services and external link: Currenta.
The role of these committees is to initiate systematic, business-specific training programs and oversee their implementation in line with the Corpoarte Compliance Policy. They are also responsible for investigating any suspected violations of the Corporate Compliance Policy and, if necessary, taking remedial action. All Compliance Committees report at least once a year to a coordination committee chaired by the Chief Financial Officer. The Group Compliance Officer and the Head of Corporate Auditing regularly report to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board on any compliance violations.
All Bayer employees are required to immediately report any violations of the Corporate Compliance Policy. Special telephone hotlines have been set up in all countries to allow this to be done anonymously. By far the majority of these hotlines connect callers to specialist law firms retained by us.
Starting in the fall of 2008, the revised Corporate Compliance Policy was introduced worldwide using the slogan “Compliance W.I.N.S.” (Worldwide Integrity is Necessary for Success).
A global communications campaign was launched to illustrate how compliance contributes to long-term success for the company as a whole and for each employee. The message to employees is: “Compliance makes everyone a winner.”