Life sciences companies operate in a sector tied closely to several global challenges. Agriculture contributes a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Rice accounts for up to 43 percent of global freshwater use in irrigation and between 10 and 12 percent of global methane emissions. In low and middle-income countries, more than half the population lacks reliable access to basic medical care, and a substantial share of women do not have access to modern contraception.

Food security, public health, gender equity, and climate stability intersect here. Bayer's three divisions cover pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and crop science, which places the company directly within this set of issues.

Regulatory and investor pressure has increased. European regulators have tightened sustainability disclosure. Investors are applying closer scrutiny to climate transition plans. Public trust in agrochemical companies remains limited, shaped by litigation and debate over the role of science in solving problems the industry has contributed to. Bayer's Sustainability Highlight Report 2025 was published during what the company describes as the most difficult year of its turnaround.

 

Progress on Bayer's mission

 

Bayer's mission is "Health for all, Hunger for none." The 2025 report tracks progress through specific metrics.

By the end of 2025, Bayer had reached 68 million women in low and middle-income countries with modern contraception, up from a 2019 baseline of 38 million, against a 2030 target of 100 million. The company supported 82 million people in economically or medically underserved communities through self-care interventions, an increase from 73 million the previous year. It reached 53 million smallholder farmers with products, services, and partnerships.

Bill Anderson has held both the CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer roles at Bayer AG since 2023. "We are ALL IN for our mission," he writes in the report. "Science has helped us make real progress that matters in fields, clinics and communities."

 

Climate targets

 

Bayer has set climate targets consistent with the Paris Agreement and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. In April 2025, SBTi confirmed Bayer's updated pathway, and the Carbon Disclosure Project awarded Bayer an "A" rating in both climate and water.

Targets

• Scope 1 and 2: 42 percent absolute reduction by the end of 2029, from a 2019 baseline.
• Scope 3: 25 percent absolute reduction by 2029, covering 68 percent of total Scope 3 emissions. This target was raised from 12.3 percent in the latest revalidation and expanded beyond the five categories Bayer previously used.
• Net zero: 90 percent reduction across Scope 1, 2, and 3 by 2050, with the residual 10 percent addressed through carbon removal credits.
• Own sites: Climate neutrality at all Bayer sites by 2030, with remaining emissions offset through certificates from verified nature-based projects in reforestation and forest conservation.
• Renewable electricity: 100 percent of purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
• Fleet: Conversion to electric vehicles by 2030 where technically and economically viable.

Progress as of end of 2025

• Scope 1 and 2 emissions down 25.9 percent from the 2019 baseline.
• Absolute emissions at 2.79 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, down from 3.76 million in 2019.
• Scope 3 emissions down 12 percent.
• Renewable electricity at 51.2 percent of total purchased electricity.
• More than 11,000 suppliers screened by AI against sustainability criteria.
• A supplier decarbonization program, launched in 2023, is operating alongside climate expectations embedded in the Supplier Code of Conduct.

Scope 3 remains the most difficult emissions category for Bayer and for the wider industry, because these emissions sit outside direct operational control.

 

Manufacturing site examples

 

Two manufacturing sites show how Bayer's climate strategy is implemented in operations.

In Turku, Finland, Bayer produces long-acting reversible contraceptives based on polymer-based drug delivery technology, exporting to more than 130 countries. The facility uses automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing alongside carbon neutral production. It holds ISO certifications in environmental management, occupational health and safety, and energy management. Tomi Penttilä, Site Lead at the Turku Supply Centre, describes the site's focus: "Women's health is in our DNA and heritage. In Turku we combine sustainable, carbon neutral production with operational excellence to ensure a reliable supply of modern contraceptives."

In Alajuela, Costa Rica, Bayer operates a facility built with sustainability principles integrated into the construction phase. The site is certified carbon neutral under a Costa Rican government program for Scope 2 emissions. Costa Rica's grid runs on 99 percent clean energy, which supports lower-emissions pharmaceutical manufacturing. The two sites together supply contraceptive technology that reaches tens of millions of women annually.

 

Rice cultivation and water use

 

Rice is one of the most significant crops for climate and water outcomes. Transplanted puddled rice, the dominant method across Asia, is water and labor intensive, and the flooded fields produce substantial methane. Mechanized direct seeded rice, where seeds are sown directly into the soil, can reduce water use by up to 40 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45 percent.

Bayer's DirectAcres initiative, launched in India and expanding to the Philippines, focuses on this transition.

Targets

• Water productivity: 25 percent increase by 2030 against a 2019 to 2021 baseline, starting in India.
• Customer on-field emissions: 30 percent reduction in on-field greenhouse gas emissions per mass unit of crop produced by 2030, across the highest-emitting crop systems where Bayer operates.
• India coverage: Support for around 2 million smallholder rice farmers across 1 million hectares through DirectAcres by 2030.

Progress in 2024

• Area-weighted water productivity up 1 percent against the 2019 to 2021 baseline.
• Water use per hectare down 24 percent as farmers transitioned from puddled to direct seeded rice.
• Average yield per hectare up 12 percent.
• On-field greenhouse gas intensity down 20 percent, weighted across 17 crop-country combinations. Indian rice and US cotton accounted for most of the reduction.

Farmer-level outcomes in the DirectAcres program

• 99 percent of enrolled Indian farmers established crops successfully on their first attempt with direct seeded rice.
• 75 percent reported a higher return on investment than with conventional transplanted cultivation.
• Participating farmers can also join the Bayer Carbon Project and earn additional revenue through carbon credit trading.

Scale potential for India

• Current direct seeded rice adoption is about 11 percent of India's rice cultivation area.
• Bayer and research partners, including the International Rice Research Institute, project adoption could reach 75 percent by 2040.
• A full transition could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 82 million metric tons of CO2 per year and cut water consumption by up to 167 billion cubic meters annually by 2040.

 

Crop protection

 

Bayer reports directly on the environmental impact of its crop protection products. The company has committed to reducing the treated-area-weighted environmental impact per hectare of its global crop protection portfolio by 30 percent by 2030, measured against a 2014 to 2018 baseline. Data from 2020 to 2024 shows a 14 percent reduction achieved, driven primarily by the phase-out of older active ingredients in favor of newer ones with improved environmental profiles. Progress is tracked against treated area rather than sales volume, which prevents a footprint from appearing smaller only because fewer acres were sprayed.

 

ESG ratings

 

Bayer received an upgrade to "AA" from MSCI ESG Ratings for the first time in the company's history, an improved score of 20.2 from Sustainalytics, and ISS ESG confirmed "Prime" status with a B minus rating. CDP scored Bayer "A" in both climate and water.

Chitkala Kalidas, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Environment, Social and Governance at Bayer AG, comments on the approach. "I believe that transparency regarding targets, actions and measures, along with clear communication, is crucial for a successful transformation," she says in the report. Across multiple rating agencies, Bayer's scores have improved during a period when many peer companies have held steady or declined.

 

Outstanding issues

 

Several unresolved matters sit alongside Bayer's sustainability progress.

The Roundup litigation continues. Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 and inherited lawsuits alleging that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As of October 2025, Bayer reports it had resolved in some form about 132,000 of roughly 197,000 Roundup-related claims, with tens of thousands still active. In March 2025, a Georgia jury returned a 2.1 billion US dollar verdict against the company in the Barnes trial, which Bayer is appealing. In February 2026, Bayer proposed a 7.25 billion US dollar global settlement covering current and future claims, subject to court approval. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear Monsanto's preemption appeal in 2026. Bayer transitioned its US residential glyphosate products to new formulations in 2023, a change the company states was made to manage litigation risk rather than on safety grounds.

In April 2025, Bayer declined to put its Climate Transition and Transformation Plan to a shareholder vote, citing what it described as investor "concerns around timing" amid the wider ESG backlash, as reported by Responsible Investor. The plan itself, published in June 2024, remains in place. Bayer's largest investor bloc, at 32 percent of stock, is based in North America.

Scope 3 remains numerically large. Bayer's Scope 3 emissions at last reporting were just under 8 million metric tons, with more than 70 percent from purchased goods and services. Bayer has acknowledged that changing supplier behavior at scale is difficult and has launched a Scope 3 Accelerator Program in response.

Civil society criticism on agricultural practices has continued. In 2023, Spanish farming groups described Bayer's promotion of glyphosate under a regenerative agriculture framing as greenwashing, as reported by Sustainable Views. Bayer maintains that glyphosate is safe when used as directed and cites the US Environmental Protection Agency's position on the product.

 

Overall picture

 

Three findings define the 2025 report. Bayer uses a combined approach across climate, farmer livelihoods, women's health, employee diversity, and supplier governance, with each target tied to a 2029 or 2030 milestone and measured against a defined baseline. The company has increased its Scope 3 ambition while disclosing where progress is slower and naming the supplier partnerships it relies on. And Bayer uses specific operational metrics, including DirectAcres water productivity data, the treated-area-weighted crop protection methodology, the 17 crop-country combinations for customer on-field emissions, and the Turku and Alajuela case studies.

Several hurdles sit alongside this progress. These include ongoing glyphosate litigation and broader headwinds in Bayer's pharmaceutical and agricultural businesses. A 42 percent absolute emissions reduction by 2029 is a demanding target, and a 25 percent Scope 3 reduction in the same timeframe is more difficult still. Bayer now treats sustainability as a core operating function, with CEO oversight, pay tied to sustainability targets, third-party validation, and detailed data that can be checked independently.