How Bayer decreases direct emissions at scale using a carbon reduction platform

Many companies have set bold carbon reduction targets. Some even have their goals approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative. But while ambitions are high, businesses are struggling to implement scalable strategies that turn these targets into clear action.

Spreadsheets, reporting tools, and other more manual approaches can get you so far, but without greater visibility across your facilities, there’s no certainty your targets will be met.

Here’s how Bayer, one of the largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the world, is decreasing Scope 1 & 2 emissions at scale using a carbon reduction platform.

Rising pressures to meet carbon reduction targets

In 2019, Bayer established carbon reduction targets under the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This best-practice initiative helps companies assess how much and how quickly they need to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) emissions. It also evaluates and approves targets in line with strict scientific criteria.

"We had to think about how to bring these targets to specific regions, divisions, and facilities. Up until this point, our solution to manage carbon emissions was spreadsheets, a carbon reporting tool, and project management software," said Thomas Gosmann, Sustainability Lead for Pharma Engineering at Bayer.

"Although this approach had been feasible for one division, with an additional 200 crop science manufacturing sites to consider, there was no way it would scale across our operations."

“There was a lot of manual work involved. For example, reaching out to key contacts to collect the information we needed. It was time-consuming and took us away away from bigger priorities,” said Mark Schuerman, Global Product Supply Sustainability Lead at Bayer.

“We were also facing pushback from some manufacturing sites. Their schedules were busy, so many did not want to manage this work manually if it could be helped,” added Thomas.

“And while we had some oversight of progress, we needed greater visibility to give us the confidence to meet our targets. Visibility that would enable us to track work and forecast the impact of future tasks,” said Mark.

From the pressure of meeting science-based targets to reaching the limit with their current solution, the Bayer team knew they needed to find a new, scalable way of working.

Complete clarity to manage carbon reduction across facilities

Thomas and his team were first recommended Manufacture 2030 (M2030) by the Together for Sustainability initiative. After some initial conversations, they assessed the platform against two other tools Bayer had been using in the interim.

“To do this, we ran a cross-divisional pilot across approximately five manufacturing sites and developed specific evaluation criteria, with weighted cost-benefit analysis. M2030 was the clear winner, especially in relation to collaboration.”

How Bayer is using M2030 today

To date, Bayer has implemented M2030 across 146 facilities, covering its divisions of crop science, pharmaceuticals, and consumer health. The company has more than 400 active users building and implementing carbon reduction pathways in their facilities. Each manufacturing site has visibility into what others are doing and can collaborate together.

“We have established M2030 as our company-wide tool that serves as the only truth for tracking GHG reduction projects,” said Mischa Theis, Global Site Support (Environmental & Utilities Technology) at Bayer.

“At a glance, we can see the locations of our biggest emitters as well as the facilities that are developing plans and making progress, which helps us focus attention,” added Thomas.

“Through the platform, we can see whether we are on track to meet our carbon reduction targets all the way up to 2029, which is our goal end date. It enables us to understand where savings are coming from and plots actual versus target emissions, so we know if we need to be doing more or less work.”

“By forecasting the impact of our carbon reduction activities across a 10-year period, we can identify abatement costs (the cost of an intervention that will decrease GHG emissions by one tonne) and calculate how much budget we need to reduce emissions. We can also identify the actions that are driving money back into the business easily, through energy-savings as an example, and the ones that are not.”

Today, Bayer’s carbon reduction activities are cascading across 146 manufacturing facilities with more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, giving the company the confidence it needs to meet its targets.

Confidence to meet carbon emissions reduction targets

“The level of transparency into our carbon reduction activities we can achieve today is huge. Forecasting the impact of future actions so we know if we are on track to meet our science-based targets through the platform is crucial. It enables us to know how much we need to do to ensure we meet each goal and by when.”

A scalable approach to reduce carbon emissions

“Before, this work often happened in isolation across different departments, locations, and divisions. It was impossible to scale. Now, with one system in place, all sites are contributing to one shared goal, and they can see that they are not alone in their efforts.”

Eliminate manual work and improve efficiency

“We’ve removed a lot of manual work. In fact, there’s quite a few tasks we’ve now digitized and automated, which saves us time and enables us to focus on more important priorities.”