PITTSBURGH, PA. - August 27, 2008 - The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced today that it will officially honor PPG Industries Inc. and Bayer Corporation, both headquartered in Pittsburgh, as Signature of Sustainability sites on August 28, 2008, during a dinner reception held at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, starting at 6:00 p.m. Robert Johnson, WHC President, will formally present commemorative plaques to Rich Polaski, Bayer Corporation, and Bob Burpee, PPG, followed by remarks from Marcia Maslonek, WHC Vice President of Programs. PPG and Bayer are two of only 21 companies across the nation to receive this prestigious honor, and Pittsburgh is the only city in which more than one company is being recognized.

The Signature of Sustainability initiative is a one-time recognition program that aligns with WHC's 20th anniversary celebration, marking two decades of successfully promoting conservation and environmental awareness throughout corporate America and the world. The 21 honorees were selected by a Blue Ribbon Committee of judges and were evaluated based on a ranking system with points given per-level of involvement in focus areas, such as environmental education, habitat enhancement and community involvement.

PPG's 185-acre plot of woodlands and meadows, and Bayer's 200-acre wildlife and wetland reserve, have been certified by the WHC as natural habitats for more than eight years. Both companies utilize their land to provide public educational programs that go above and beyond the standards set forth by WHC's Corporate Lands for Learning(SM) (CLL) and Wildlife at Work(TM) curricula. For instance, PPG's 1,000 square-foot pollination meadow highlights the Monroeville Chemical Center property, which features a milkweed plot for monarch butterfly breeding. Each fall, PPG employees assist students from Gateway and Franklin Regional school districts as they capture, tag and release monarchs through the University of Kansas' Monarch Watch and WHC's Wings of Wonder programs. Similarly, Bayer Corporation's headquarters in Robinson Township uses Wings of Wonder to give employees and outside organizations, such as Boy Scouts of America, a unique opportunity to study Western Pennsylvania's bluebird population. The site also holds a pond study module in the spring and fall that challenges elementary-school students to apply classroom learning to a real-world environment as they explore food webs, micro-organisms and the importance of wetland stewardship.

"These Signatures of Sustainability make the communities around them a better place for both biodiversity and learners of all ages, and they represent the very highest standards for a WHC program," said Johnson. "We hope the Signatures of Sustainability will inspire even greater engagement by companies in voluntary actions for the conservation of biodiversity."

In celebration of this recognition, PPG and Bayer will host a collaborative, two-day interactive workshop on August 28-29 for employees, which will include an award ceremony and dinner at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. The event is designed to honor the extensive conservation education and outreach efforts of employee-based WHC teams at both sites. An active agenda is set to feature a tour of each habitat, an open forum for discussion and hands-on experience for attendees who wish to learn more about Bayer and PPG's environmental education programs. Representatives of other certified WHC sites from the Pittsburgh region will also be in attendance at the workshops to promote dialogue and the sharing of best practices.

For more information on the Signature of Sustainability initiative, please contact Thelma Redick, WHC Director of Conservation and Education, by phone: (301) 357-4864, or e-mail: thelma.redick@verizon.net.

About PPG
Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass. The company has more than 150 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.

About Bayer Corporation
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2007 net sales of 8.1 billion euros and employed 16,800 at year end. Bayer's three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability. To learn more, visit www.BayerUS.com.

About Wildlife Habitat Council
Celebrating 20 years in conservation, the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. WHC devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, biologically diverse and sustainable environment. More than 2.4 million acres in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 16 other countries are managed for wildlife through WHC-assisted projects, such as the Wildlife at WorkSM program.

To learn more about WHC, visit www.wildlifehc.org
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To learn more about WHC's 20th anniversary, visit www.wildlifehc.org/20years.

Bayer

Bayer

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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