Bayer - Young Enviromental Envoy

“Environmental Envoys” from 19 countries visit Bayer

Since Sunday, some 50 Young Environmental Envoys from 19 countries on four continents have been spending a week in Leverkusen, Germany, at the invitation of Bayer to find out more about environmental protection and sustainable development. The young people on the field trip were selected from around 1,300 participants in environmental competitions organized by Bayer in their home countries.

Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, Bayer AG (2nd f. l.) with Bayer Young Environmtal Envoys (f. l.) Hari Bowo, Indonesia, Malgorzata Placzek, Poland, Beth Wambui Mbote, Kenya, and Maria Ines Gomez, Venezuela.

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Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, Bayer AG (2nd f. l.) with Bayer Young Environmtal Envoys (f. l.) Hari Bowo, Indonesia, Malgorzata Placzek, Poland, Beth Wambui Mbote, Kenya, and Maria Ines Gomez, Venezuela.

“The visit gives the young people a wide range of options for expanding their environmental knowledge and making contacts with like-minded contemporaries from all over the world,” said Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, the member of Bayer AG’s Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, when welcoming the program participants. “We are delighted that in the years since its foundation the program has led to the formation of a network of young environmental protection activists who look to tackle global environmental challenges armed with sound expert knowledge.” So far, some 9,500 young people have applied for a place on the program and around 450 have been invited to visit Germany.

“It is encouraging how young people are committed to environmental and climate protection”, says Satinder Bindra, UNEP's Director of Communications and Public Information. “They, tomorrow's leaders, can inspire today's world leaders – especially in the run up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit. After all, combating climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind today. It requires a sense of responsibility, dedication and action shown by all the Bayer Young Environmental Envoys.”

The Young Environmental Envoy Program, launched in Asia in 1998, is one of the key elements in an alliance between Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) centering on environmental education programs for young people. The program focuses primarily on the world’s fast-growing emerging economies. Originally introduced in Thailand, the concept was subsequently extended to India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Poland, Turkey, Kenya and South Africa. This year for the first time, the Environmental Envoys include young people from Chile.

The study trip gives young people from around the world an opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the principles and application of modern environmental protection in Germany. The Young Environmental Envoys thus visit various Bayer sites and talk there to experts on the environment. The program also includes excursions to the North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection and to AVEA, a waste processing and disposal facility in Leverkusen. The aim is to give young people a fuller understanding of how industry, authorities and private households interact in the field of environmental protection. Discussion sessions and an international exchange of ideas round off the program.