• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

  • About
    • Ambassador from the future
  • Past lives
    • Professional
      • Volans
      • SustainAbility
      • CounterCurrent
      • Boards & Advisory Boards
      • Awards & Listings
    • Personal
      • Family
      • Other Influences
      • Education
      • Photography
      • Music
      • Cycling
    • Website
  • Speaking
    • Media
    • Exhibitions
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Reports
    • Articles & Blogs
    • Contributions
    • Tweets
    • Unpublished Writing
  • Journal
  • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Day Out With Bayer

John Elkington · 27 August 2009 · Leave a Comment

Figure in reception Figure in reception Reflections Reflections

Charmian (Love) and I flew to Cologne yesterday, ahead of meetings and a dinner at Bayer, Leverkusen. Among those we met was Patrick Thomas, who I last worked with when he was at ICI Polyurethanes. The last time I was in Leverkusen was in 1983, I think, when Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth invited me to serve as an independent member of a 3-person group touring Bayer’s operations at the invitation of Dr Eberhart Weise, after Bayer had successfully won an injunction against Greenpeace after the group had blockaded the chemical company because of acid dumping at sea, though Bayer were quick to point out that they had shifted to this option, which offered higher dilution rates, while some competitors still discharged acid wastes direct into the Rhine.

Japanese Garden, Leverkusen, 1 Japanese Garden, Leverkusen, 1 Japanese Garden, 2 Japanese Garden, 2 Calm Calm Shadows Shadows Balloon over Leverkusen Balloon over Leverkusen Charmian, technically Mrs Gray, with Dorian Charmian, technically Mrs Gray, with Dorian

Blog

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

Recent Comments

  • PATRICK DICK on Reminder of Glencot Years
  • Milton Marino Gómez Ortiz on Tickling Sharks
  • John Elkington on Green Swans A “Must-Read”

Journal Archive

About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

Contact

john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

John Elkington

Copyright © 2025 John Elkington. All rights reserved. Log in