Bayer AG — Ethics Grade D

Bayer AG receives an overall ethics grade of D (28/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Agriculture. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 50
• privacy: 70
• consumer: 20
• environment: 15
• humanRights: 40

Documented incidents (3)

• Roundup Cancer Lititgation (high, 2020) — Following the acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer agreed to pay billions to settle thousands of claims that the weedkiller Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company maintained the product was safe but faced massive liability.
• Dicamba Herbicide Damage (high, 2020) — A US court ruled that Bayer was liable for damages caused by the herbicide Dicamba drifting onto neighboring farms and destroying non-resistant crops. This led to a massive settlement with impacted farmers.
• Legacy PCB Water Pollution (high, 2023) — Bayer/Monsanto was ordered to pay massive damages for the historic production of PCBs, chemicals that contaminated soil and waterways in several US states despite internal knowledge of toxicity.

Documented good deeds

• Smallholder Reach Program — Bayer reached 52 million smallholder farmers in low-to-middle income countries with tailored products and digital tools to improve food security.

Ethical alternatives

• Syngenta Group — While still in the chemical space, Syngenta has lower legal liability profiles and higher scores in soil health initiatives.