Bayer HealthCare
Bayer in the Bay Area: Building Strong Communities
Bayer HealthCare has a rich history in the Bay Area, and a strong legacy of scientific excellence that has created market - leading pharmaceuticals, from vaccines to treatments for hemophilia and multiple sclerosis, that improve and save lives around the world.Bayer has developed its site - originally 30 acres and today 45 - to become the second - largest private employer in Berkeley, with 1,500. Bayer today is the second largest biotechnology employer in the Bay Area, and Berkeley is the center of biotech research and development for Bayer worldwide. Based on 2006 financial results, Bayer's biotech protein drug portfolio, headquartered in Berkeley, is the sixth largest in the world.
Bayer and the City have established productive, enduring working relationships that extend to staff in departments including zoning, planning, parks and waterfront, landmarks preservation, transportation, economic development; to key elected officials including the Mayor and the City Council; and to members of the City's citizens commissions. These relationships have enabled Bayer to go beyond the specific requirements of the Development Agreement to act as a good neighbor and local leader on issues of importance including neighborhood development, environmental protection, and public education.
Operating in Berkeley for over a century, Bayer has a proud tradition of active engagement in our communities:
- Our Patients - Company support includes cash donations as well as the enthusiastic donation of employee volunteer hours for fundraising, summer camps, holiday parties, and a host of patient support activities.
- Our Employees - Offering a breadth of career opportunities, Ba yer provides a rich menu of company - sponsored programs designed to help employees develop their leadership abilities as well as their functional skills. Educational assistance is part of the employee benefits package, and diversity is a company value - in the Bay Area Bayer employs individuals from 47 countries, speaking more than 30 languages. We know employees appreciate the benefits and opportunities they find at Bayer - the average employee tenure is over eight years.
- Our Communities - Bayer strives to serve as a pillar of the communities where our employees work and live. In Berkeley Bayer has had a particularly positive impact which springs from an innovative, 30 - year Development Agreement, signed in 1992 with the City of Berkeley, which quickly became the backbone of a dynamic program that benefits both the company and the City. Through the Agreement Bayer contributes to an array of programs including street improvements, mass transit development, childcare (for neighbors as well as company employees), and support of science education in local public schools.
- Our Planet - Environmental responsibility is a core value for Bayer. The Berkeley site has been ISO 14001 certified - one of the most rigorous environmental standards in the world - every year since 2001. Bayer has won many awards for its environmental protection, including "Best Workplace for Commuters" (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, every year since 2001), winner of the "Waste Reduction Awards Program (state of California, every year since 1996), and recognition by the City of Berkeley as an "eco - business."
Local Philanthropy
Bayer's grant making on the West Coast is supported by a company - wide commitment to playing an active role in our communities. Current local priorities include:- Science Education: Improved science education is critical if we are to retain our worldwide lead in biotechnology and other sciences. Bayer is taking a leadership role with support to curriculum development and teacher training grades K - 12, in our colleges, and through post - doctorate programs. Our national Making Science Make Sense program puts Bayer volunteers into local classrooms and provides hands - on learning for budding scientists. In 2008, Bayer won the National Science Board's prestigious Public Service Award, presented at a State Department ceremony in Washington, DC.
- Workforce Development: Initiated through the Development Agreement with Berkeley and now supported by foundations and biotech corporations throughout Northern California, Biotech Partners is a multi - faceted program that educates high school and community college students, many of them economically disadvantaged, for careers in biotechnology.
- Community Programs: Bayer supports public schools, libraries, and local institutions that are crucial to healthy communities, including non - profits providing innovative or critical services. In our local grant making our focus is on collaborations and on leveraging our contributions to the maximum extent possible.
Employee Volunteerism: We Give Our Hearts, Our Minds, Our Time
In recognition that volunteerism both serves our communities and boosts employee morale, Bayer maintains a dynamic - and, in 2008, expanding - employee volunteer program:- In our schools: Employees help improve local schools by serving as volunteers through Making Science Make Sense, with its focus on hands - on learning. Special projects such as Berkeley's Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) Day, or the Rosa Parks Elementary School Learning Project, are also enthusiastically attended by Bayer volunteers.
- Through community projects: Bayer employees regularly join in projects such as Rebuilding Together workdays, beach clean - ups, and senior center visiting programs.
- Patient events: Employees support and participate in marathons and bicycle rides, holiday parties, summer camps, and special events supporting patient communities, with a priority on events associated with our product areas.
Recent Local Success Stories
Biotech Partners
Biotech Partners began in 1993 with Bayer's five - year commitment of $1.1 for program development. The mission is to train disadvantaged Berkeley High students for career - track technical jobs in the booming bioscience industry. Over the last 15 years nearly 900 students have participated. 97% graduated from high school, and nearly 60% have completed the community college program - more than twice the national average. Bayer has hired 48 graduates, some of whom are now supervisors."When I was in the 10th grade I never thought that I was going to make it out of high school," noted one Berkeley High graduate last June. "I did not think that I would be making a 3.7 GPA my senior year, [but Biotech Partners] made me realize that I could do whatever I wanted to do - that the sky was really the limit."
West Berkeley Branch Library
Built in 1923, the West Branch Library is Berkeley's oldest and busiest branch. It is home to the library's highly effective Berkeley Reads adult literacy program - and until recently it was the most dilapidated library in town. After a two - month closure last fall, the West Branch reopened on November 2 with new carpeting, freshly painted walls, wireless access and a beautiful new circulation desk - thanks to a $25,000 grant from Bayer. "Together, we can ensure that all of our neighborhood branches continue to empower and educate the Berkeley community," declared Roxanne Figueroa, Executive Director of the Berkeley Public Library Foundation.Water Conservation
In its 2007 Annual Report on Conservation and Recycling, the East Bay Municipal Utilities District profiled Bayer as a case study in innovative water conservation. After a water use survey conducted by EBMUD, Bayer designed a system to reuse manufacturing process reject water in its cooling tower. The project helped reduce company - operating costs by saving more than 2.5 million gallons annually.
