“Bayer was one of the first German companies to disengage itself from long-term electricity supply contracts and implement an active portfolio management programme instead,” says Wilfried Köplin, head of energy management and procurement for Bayer Technology Services, the Leverkusen–based division of the pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer.

This is just as well, since the company has considerable energy exposures resulting from its global production of chemicals. Today, Bayer manages