Bayer HealthCare included in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index

Bayer HealthCare has been included in the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, having been continuously featured in the ranking since its inauguration in 1999.

It was one of six pharmaceutical firms to be included in the index, receiving particularly high ratings in the areas of risk management, environmental management and stakeholder dialogue.

This confirms Bayer's position as one of the top ten percent of companies in the sector with the best economic, ecological and social performance.

The company has also been listed in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index for its transparent reporting of CO2 emissions and has consistently featured on this report since the first index in 2005.

Professor Wolfgang Plischke, the member of Bayer's board of management responsible for technology, innovation and sustainability, said: "It is a central component of our strategy to operate successfully and sustainably and to communicate openly about this."

Earlier this month, the company lent its support to international calls for a broad-ranging crackdown on the harmful trade of counterfeit medicines.