Football is of enormous social significance – that was, is and will be the case in the future. For exactly that reason, Bayer 04 have had the target for years of making football sustainable and fit for the future. This happens in three areas: environment, society and club management. Bayer 04 also always gets involved regionally and globally as a locally rooted and internationally famous football club, both inwardly and outwardly. The Werkself thereby accept responsibility in times of sustainability transformation. Bayer 04 want to continue to promote and extend the community influence of football, lead the way as an exemplary enterprise and attractive employer as well as accept ecological challenges to make professional football more environmentally friendly through innovation.
Bayer 04 is aware of its responsibility regarding the promotion of sustainability. This challenge is accepted as a significant partner in the region (in particular working with the City of Leverkusen), as a modern company and as a responsible member of the football community. The mission consists of integrating sustainability, in all its respects, as an important aspect in the decision-making process in our operations, in prioritising key subjects and using the charisma and role model function of the club to achieve greater sustainability and to make it attractive and rewarding.
Professional football has high environmental effects. Bayer 04 look for innovative solutions that are better for the environment and always implements them. The club never wants to stop improving.
Bayer 04 sees its local, regional and international endeavours in the area of community issues as a given as the sport of football is by definition a social event. Bayer 04 also sees itself as a responsible employer off the pitch, a committed neighbour and actor for positive cooperation.
Bayer 04 is not only one of the biggest football clubs in Germany but also a medium-sized enterprise with commitment to the home city of Leverkusen and Bayer AG. That also involves a high standard in terms of integrity and compliance. The club believes in fair play – both on and off the pitch.
The seventh edition of the ‘Einfach Fußball’ ('Simply Football') Cup once again delighted participants and spectators alike. On Saturday in the Ostermann Arena in Leverkusen, around 200 sports-mad children, young people and adults with disabilities had the opportunity to compete with players from other clubs and to socialise off the pitch. A highlight of the tournament was the visit of two players from the Bayer 04 women's team.
Show moreOn the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, Bayer 04 again joins in with the Orange Your City campaign. On Monday, 25 November, the BayArena will be lit up in orange between 17.00 and 22.00 CET. It is traditional on this day to have other significant buildings in Leverkusen lit up in orange.
Show moreBayer 04 and the Plastiks company are working together. The sustainable organisation is committed worldwide to the reuse of waste and acting against waste pollution. As part of this cooperation, Bayer 04 is working with the green mining organisation in São Paulo, the most populous city in South America and hometown to club legend Paulo Sergio, where the waste recycling rate is currently only around 3%.
Show moreMouth open, swab in, become a donor – and then get behind the Werkself! The charity organisation Nordkurve karitativ, in partnership with DKMS, are holding a stem cell donor registration event at the home game against VfB Stuttgart on Friday, 1 November (kick-off: 20.30 CET). The aim is motivate as many fans as possible to register as a stem cell donor with DKMS.
Show moreWhile there are no Bundesliga fixtures during international break, last weekend brought overweight fans from 16 first, second and third tier sides together on the pitch in Leverkusen. Over 200 participants in the health promotion programme 'Football fans in training' (FFIT), organised by Deutsche Krebshilfe (the German cancer support organisation) and the Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord) accepted the invitation from Bayer 04 and Deutsche Krebshilfe on 12 October for the 2024 XXL fans tournament.
Show moreBayer 04 has been committed to a large number of successful projects for years in and around Leverkusen as well as worldwide.
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.
Bayer 04 is financially supporting the construction of a recycling station by Green Mining and is helping to collect and recycle up to 100,000 kg of plastic waste (equivalent to around 2.9 million 1.5-liter PET bottles). The recycling station provides both a point of contact for selling recyclables to Green Mining and a base for educational work. Plastiks verifies the proper implementation of waste collection and recycling of recyclables using environmentally friendly CELO blockchain technology, thus ensuring the transparency of the joint environmental efforts.
The Bayer 04 shop also donates a portion of the sales of sustainable items to the project. Bayer 04 fans can also participate in the project by making direct donations to the Green Mining Project. A banner on the right-hand side of the screen shows the current progress of the project, which is updated regularly.
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.