Sus­tai­na­bility

For Bayer 04, waste is one of the key topics of its sustainability strategy, which is why the conscious and responsible handling of recyclable materials and their reuse is one of the central goals of the club's sustainability efforts, both in Leverkusen and beyond.

Plastiks, a green tech company with roots in Barcelona, combats greenwashing by making recycling cycles traceable. Plastiks is now active in over 20 countries - including Brazil - in cooperation with local organizations. As part of its collaboration with Plastiks, Bayer 04 supports the company Green Mining in Sao Paulo. Green Mining has been promoting the separation of recyclable materials since 2017. They not only collect around 40 tons of plastic waste per month, but also attach great importance to good working conditions and fair pay.

Started as a one-off project in 2015, the 'Bayer 04 HILFT-Tag" day of support is becoming more and more of a traditional event for the Bayer 04 workforce. Every summer a public entity in Leverkusen is given a revamp – very much to the pleasure of all involved.

In cooperation with the City of Leverkusen, the club annually selects a public entity that can be improved in many ways. With the final building work the Bayer 04 staff, the Werkself and the Bayer 04 Women are supported by Lebenshilfe e.V. Leverkusen. The day of action was held at a Leverkusen day nursery in 2015 and 2016. The Opladen driver training course was spruced up in 2017 and in 2018 the players and staff are involved at the Wildpark Reuschenberg. In 2019 it was the turn of the Neuland Park. After a two-year break due to the pandemic, 2022 brought help to the Burgloch allotment society and in 2023 it was the turn of NaturGut Ophoven and this year at a children´s day-care centre.

Since 2010, Bayer 04 have been involved with the network partners in supporting the ‘Einfach Fußball’ project initiated by Bayer AG. At over 20 venues in Germany, intellectually challenged young people have the opportunity to regularly take part in their favourite hobby. A team of coaches from Bayer 04 supports the training sessions at SSV Leverkusen-Alkenrath e.V. as well as in the winter months at the "Liga 20" facility. The focus at the sessions is on fun in sport. Individual training content is led by Young Coaches. They are long-term participants of the programme who have been able to complete additional training.

The ‘Bayer 04 Lernkurve’ (Learning curve) set up in 2001 is a programme aimed at linking the areas of education and sport. The provision has been taken up by countless schools in and around Leverkusen covering all age groups and types of school.

The workshops deal with the issues of the ability to work as a team, nutrition, preventing bullying, media skills, racism and sexism. These courses are offered to classes 1 to 10 but working groups can also be booked on a range of themes.

Be as close to the players like never before and on the hallowed turf at the BayArena: That is not a problem as part of the Werkslöwen Aktionen. It doesn't matter whether as an active child in the matches ahead of a Bundesliga game, children accompanying the Werkself players onto the pitch or as part of a banner and choreograph team. Visiting the BayArena becomes an unforgettable experience for children and young people of different age groups. Following the events, all groups have the opportunity to watch the Werkself live from the stands.

PRE-MATCH GAMES

Two hours before kick-off at a Bundesliga match, selected teams under the age of nine from Leverkusen have the unique opportunity to play on the hallowed turf at the BayArena. The focus is always on fun for the children.

THE FOOTBALL CLUB SOCIAL ALLIANCE (FCSA)

Bayer 04 has been an official member of the Football Club Social Alliance since the end of January 2009. The Alliance is an association of professional football clubs working together on social programmes in areas of conflict and development plus in the field of disability football. The aim is to get involved in supporting children and young people in difficult circumstances using the positive power of football. Working alongside football clubs of the Alliance, Bayer 04 trains teenagers and young adults across the world to be qualified coaches in children’s and disability football. They are known as Young Coaches. Instructors from the professional clubs impart specialist football knowledge as well as social expertise. They inspire the Young Coaches to become involved in sport for disadvantaged children in their areas and have a positive effect on their development. The targeted football projects enable the Football Club Social Alliance to reach thousands of children in Asia, Africa and Europe each year and provide sustainable support in the areas of social expertise, health, education and development.

Bayer 04 have been active for many years in the area of "healthy and active growing up for children and young people." It is close of the club's heart that children in nurseries or infants schools have a good and continuous offer of exercise in their everyday. The Werkself looks to lead the way as a "good neighbour" and serve as a role model and support for Leverkusen institutions. That is evident in the implementation of concrete measures for children and young people for example at the Catholic kindergarten St. Josef in Manfort-Leverkusen.

The project "Bundesliga bewegtt" aims to give every child the opportunity to take part in a low-threshold activities. This is not exclusively targeted at football but is also a general, broad provision of activity that covers the the broadest possible range from motor activity through ball games to catching and running games.

Working in partnership with the Deutsche Krebshilfe Cancer support group and the Institute for therapy and Health Research (IFT Nord), Bayer 04 launch the project "Football fans in training" in the 2016/17 season. Under the motto of "Your home game. Your club. Your health." overweight fans had the opportunity in 90-minute courses, under professional guidance at Bayer 04 sites, to lose kilos and be able to room joy being active in the group. With the sports – nutrition – motivation course for overweight men and women between the ages of 35 and 36 it is also about looking at your own nutrition in circles of similar people. The 12-week free program contains both coaching for long-term improvement of nutrition and lifestyle as well as a range of light to moderate physical activity.

Year after year, during the festive season, Bayer 04 supports numerous charities in Leverkusen and the surrounding area. Every year, the club supports the voluntary homeless charity Kältegang Leverkusen with care packages, bakes its own biscuits and, together with the Kinderarmut (Child Poverty) network, provides gifts for disadvantaged children and young people. In addition to the biscuits, the packages contain surplus items from older merchandising collections and various items of clothing from the fan jumble sale. 

The Sterntaler community campaign run by the Leverkusen civic trust has also become a firm tradition at Bayer 04 over the past five years. The aim is to bring joy to children and seniors from day-care, pre-school and senior citizens' centres who cannot afford Christmas presents. To this end, the Werksclub employees all receive a wish list from senior citizens and children so they can fulfil the Christmas wish written on there.

In cooperation with Ypsomed, the Bayer 04 Soccer School runs exclusive one-day football camps for children and young people with diabetes every year. In 2017, for the first time, there was even a choice of several camps at different locations. The camp is aimed at children aged 6 to 15.

The full-day event includes two training sessions, supervision of participants by medical professionals, individual and age-appropriate coaching by licensed coaches from the Bayer 04 Football School, professional training conditions, assistance and technique training, professional training equipment, lunch and refreshments, as well as two tickets for an upcoming Werkself home game.