Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires SEC-reporting companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals cassiterite, coltan, wolframite and gold or their derivatives tin, tantalum and tungsten sourced from the conflict regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries. Bayer MaterialScience has established a process of due diligence in its supply chain to assess products and raw materials for conflict minerals. This process includes reasonable country of origin inquiries to suppliers of raw materials.
Based on the information obtained from this process, we conclude that all products manufactured by Bayer MaterialScience AG and its subsidiaries are “DRC Conflict Free” as defined by the SEC Conflict Minerals Final Rule (Release No. 34-67716; File No. S7-40-10; Date: 2012-08-22).
Bayer was one of fifty companies worldwide that established the UN Global Compact in the year 2000. On a global level it has four overriding objectives: to promote human rights, to guarantee international labor standards, to improve environmental protection and to fight corruption. Bayer expressly supports the objectives and the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. As part of a special management system, Bayer expects its suppliers to adhere to certain economic, social, ethical and ecological standards. Furthermore, Bayer was one of the first signatories of “LEAD”, the platform for corporate sustainability leadership of the Global Compact.