Since 2020, the Sustainability Council, composed of external experts, has advised Bayer’s management and internal working groups on sustainability issues. Effective June 1, 2025, the following five new members have joined this committee: Facundo Etchebehere , Lisa Lange , Philipp Roesler , Toyin Saraki and Cori Wittman Stitt . At the same time, Agnes Binagwaho , Suzanne Hunt , Sabine Miltner and Jeff Seabright are ending their terms on the council. Ashok Gulati , Christian Klein , Carolyn Miles and Dante Pesce-Gonzalez will continue their work on the Sustainability Council, thus ensuring continuity.

In the areas of healthcare, food safety and environmental protection, Bayer has set ambitious sustainability goals, which it aims to achieve by 2030. These goals, an integral part of the company's strategy, were reaffirmed by Bayer's Board of Management at the end of 2024.

"We are delighted to welcome five new distinguished experts to our Sustainability Council," said Matthias Berninger , Head of Public Affairs, Sustainability and Security at Bayer. "In recent years, the company has made significant progress towards achieving our sustainability goals, but we are obviously not there yet. For the remaining five years until 2030, the Sustainability Council will engage even more in specific projects in cooperation with Bayer's working groups, creating added value for the company, but also for patients, farmers and consumers," Berninger added.

Five new members with diverse expertise enrich the Council, contributing their expertise in regenerative agriculture, food security, healthcare access, climate and sustainable investments.

Facundo Etchebehere is co-founder of Ambition Loop, a global NGO that promotes systemic change to address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, food systems and water security. With over 30 years of experience in leadership roles in public affairs and sustainability, he has been a key force behind transformative initiatives that promote inclusive and sustainable growth. This includes his leadership in advancing Danone’s B Corp certification and its broader sustainability strategy. An economist by training, he has worked extensively as a researcher and consultant and has held senior positions in Argentina’s public sector.

Lisa Lange is Associate Director Eos at Federated Hermes Limited, a provider of stewardship services. Lange leads Eos’ work on the circular economy and zero pollution and contributes to the team’s work on other key areas for long-term value creation, such as corporate governance, climate change, nature, human rights and human capital. In this role, she leads corporate engagements across multiple sectors, primarily in Europe. Lange holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh. She is also a CFA charterholder. Before joining Federated Hermes in 2018, she worked as a sustainability consultant in London and was a research fellow at the Institute for Sustainability Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Philipp Roesler is a former German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister and a doctor by training. After leaving politics, he moved into business. From 2014 to 2017, he was CEO of the World Economic Forum and has since held various supervisory board positions. In 2020, Roesler founded Consessor AG, which advises companies in Europe and Southeast Asia, focusing on the healthcare, agriculture and energy sectors, with a focus on sustainability. Since 2021, Roesler has been Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Switzerland.

Toyin Saraki is the founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa and has been advocating for the rights and health of mothers, newborns and children for over 20 years. She is committed to ending gender-based discrimination and violence, as well as improving education, socioeconomic empowerment and community livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. She serves on several global advisory boards and sustainability councils, working to align frontline health systems with equitable development goals.

Cori Wittman Stitt has extensive experience in sustainable agriculture. She is the CEO of Wittman Farms, a fifth-generation, family-owned crop, livestock and timber company that focuses on regenerative practices that benefit the land and farmers. Previously, she held positions at the US Grains Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of Wheat Growers. She is also the founder of Breakthrough Thailand, a human trafficking prevention and youth development nonprofit focused on human rights.