03/2022 | Indian Edition MAGAZINE FOR EMPLOYEES LET’S GO WEST With its favorable production conditions and large sales market, America is an attractive location. LANXESS is seizing the opportunities and expanding. Now the Board flew over. PAGE 6 Striking Gold Nagardo® is gaining ground – now it has the EU in its sights. A success story. PAGE 20 Groundbreaking Work The goal: a carbon-neutral value chain. The path: complicated. PAGE 12

04 LANXESS Worldwide PRODUCTS AND QUALITY FOCUS 12 Curbing Our Carbon Footprint Raw materials are the most effective lever for reducing our carbon footprint, which is why our portfolio will be undergoing a lasting trans- formation. Three experts offer insights. 18 Lancer/Success Puzzles and Competitions 20 Striking Gold The natural preservative Nagardo® has now received EU approval and a coveted industry award – time to tell its success story. 22 Is Natural Always Better? Column 26 Quality Works PEOPLE AND TEAMWORK 06 Board on the Road For the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Board of Manage- ment is once again on the road together. The destination was the USA. This was no coincidence, as the group is shifting its priorities. The focus was primarily on the new locations. 11 When Demand and Prices Are Just Right... Interview with Neelanjan Banerjee, new head of the LAB BU, on his BU’s strong performance in the first half of the year. L A C O L l n e g ü m h c S / S S E X N A L : t h g i r e h t n o o t o h P S S E X N A L : o t o h p r e v o C 14 New Ways to Collaborate @LANXESS 17 Which Tool for Which Task? Head of IT Hermann Schuster explains how Microsoft 365 will improve our work and what else he and his team are currently working on. Experts from the “My Workplace” community offer tips. 19 Asking Around the Globe What’s keeping our colleagues busy at all our sites? We asked them. 23 More than Just Eating Fruit and Go- ing for a Run... LANXESS promotes employee health. Page 24 LANXESS INDIA What’s new at the India locations? 03/2022 | Xpress 03

UP TO 100,000 KILOWATT HOURS OF GREEN POWER are generated annually by the new solar power system at the Joo Koon site in Singapore. This reduces the site’s carbon emissions by 50 metric tons per year. A CLEAN AFFAIR Kallo/Belgium It treats 260,000 liters of waste- water per hour. Reason enough to celebrate an official opening ceremony for the wastewater treatment plant in Kallo, Belgium. This took place on September 7, even though the plant has been in operation since the summer. After all, it has a lot of work to do: it’s responsible for treating the wastewater from HPM’s glass fiber plant, Rhein Chemie’s rubber chemicals plant, and two oth- er facilities operated by neighboring companies. LANXESS has invested twelve million euros in the plant since 2020. “The modernized and improved wastewater treatment plant enables us to meet the highest environmental standards. We take respon- sibility for our sites. And this also includes investing in sustainable and state-of-the-art processes to pro- tect the environment,” said Board Member Anno Borkowsky. Front row from left to right: Anno Borkowsky; Carina van Cauter, Provincial Governor of East Flanders; Jens-Hendrik Fischer, head of the Rhe- in Chemie BU; Steffen Kühling, Country Repre- sentative for Belgium. In back: Yves Verschueren, Director General of the Belgian Chemical Indus- try Association. THREE QUESTIONS FOR Manfred Jansen, Head of Transport Procurement, GF GPL “All On Board” Mr. Jansen, logistics has been an ever-present issue for the past two years. How are things going? Manfred Jansen: Things were already tense even before the outbreak of the coronavi- rus. The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made the situation even worse. In the US and also in Europe, there is a shortage of truck drivers as well as dockworkers. Sea freight containers became a luxury item in the last 12 months, in some cases their prices had increased tenfold. These were developments that we had never seen before. And over the summer in Ger- many, we also had to contend with the low water level in the Rhine. This severely impacted inland shipping. How did you respond to that? With the collective swarm intelligence and dedication of our team. At that time, our warehouses at the sites on the Lower Rhine were full, and truck drivers were hard to come by. The Rhine’s water levels around the Leverkusen site were so low at the time that transporting goods by barge had become much more difficult. The entire inland waterway transport system had almost come to a standstill due to the low water levels. This situation led some members of the team to develop a new concept for train transport on their own initiative. That was an amazing team effort. In the end, thanks to their individual efforts, we were able to send a container train full of LANXESS products – mainly from the AII and PLA business units – from Leverkusen to Duisburg and back for the first time. In Duisburg, the train was connected to the inland waterway and rail links to the seaports in Antwerp and Rotterdam. From there, our products then made their way around the world. Will this example set a precedent? We think so. We believe that one of the fundamental prob- lems – the shortage of truck drivers – will become even worse in the future. The LANXESS train means that we aren’t affected by this. And when it comes to our Scope 3 target, rail offers the most ad- vanced opportunity to reduce carbon emissions in the supply chain (also see pages 12-13), of course. 03/2022 | Xpress 05

Cologne In the lab: This is what different flavors smell like. The focus of the F&F business unit is on a wide variety of flavors that are later added to the products. Matthias Zachert didn’t pass up the opportunity to take a whiff of them for himself. CEO Matthias Zachert makes no secret of the fact that he doesn’t like flying. In fact, he generally isn’t too fond of always being on the road. So if he then sets off on a trans- atlantic flight for a week-long trip to the US with all his fellow board members, the trip must be important to him. Especial- ly since it was their first big trip after two years of not being able to travel due to the coronavirus. “The United States is one of the most interesting markets for us, where we still want to grow,” Zachert explains. There are many reasons for this. Currently, the US is particularly appeal- ing due to its moderate energy prices compared to Europe. Strong domestic demand and the economy, advanced technologies, and skilled employees also contribute to the country’s attractiveness. The war in Ukraine, with all its incalculable risks, is much further away in America than it is in Europe. On top of all that, China has lost its appeal – constant lockdowns in the central ports and even entire regions make it almost impossible to plan the production and delivery of goods. With its lack of reliability, the Asian country is los- ing its economic power. But even without a pressing reason, the CEO had already Kalama begun to expand LANXESS’s business in the US years ago, both through organic growth and, above all, acquisitions: “It was no coincidence that LANXESS com- pleted the three largest acquisitions in its history there: Chemtura, Emerald Kalama, and IFF Microbial Control. That was part of our strategy and conviction. We want to steadily expand our presence in the US.” This is also reflected in the numbers, as the North America region accounted for 26.5 percent of global revenue in the first half of 2022 – six years earlier, the figure stood at just 17.2 percent. The revenue figures paint an even clearer picture: from 2016 to 2021, they grew from 0.7 to 1.9 billion euros in the USA. The number of lo- cations in the US increased to 21 during “Our activities in the US have become an extremely important part of our busi- ness. Today, we generate revenues of 1.9 billion euros here. In 2016, this figure stood at only 0.7 billion.” 03.2022 | Xpress 07 Plant manager Tricia Eastman (center) gave Matthias Zachert (front right) an in-depth tour of the plant.

Goals: Michael Pontzen (left) explained the group’s strategy in Memphis at the plant that produces Oxone®, MPP BU. The site will be expanded this year. “This visit by the Board of Management sends an important message. It recognizes the achieve- ments of the US team and helps new employees feel like they are a part of the LANXESS family.” Antonis Papadourakis, Head of the Americas region One location that will particularly ben- efit from this investment is the Material Protection Products BU’s Memphis site. Michael Pontzen paid a visit to the plant, which is where Oxone® – the most im- portant precursor for the Virkon® family of disinfectants – is manufactured. In this era of the coronavirus, the disinfection busi- ness is generating significant revenue. Now the monkeypox virus continues to spread worldwide, which recent studies have shown Rely+On Virkon® to also be effective against. Before the end of this year, Memphis will expand its Oxone® pro- duction capacity by 50 percent. At the end of his trip, Matthias Zachert stopped off in Wilmington, at the MPP BU’s research center, so to speak. Innova- tive materials such as Nylon®, Neoprene®, and Teflon® were developed at this re- nowned chemical park in the past. The MPP laboratories there meet the highest scientific standards. And the company is making investments here, too. Pittsburgh At first glance, only the trip by Board Mem- ber Anno Borkowsky stands out from the rest. He was in Shelton, a site operated by the Lubricant Additives Business and Urethane Systems BU. In addition to his discussions with Neelanjan Banerjee, the new head of the LAB BU, he also chatted with the local employees. But this trip was also perfectly aligned with the business strategy, as the biggest drivers of the com- pany’s earnings this year included Special- ty Additives and Advanced Intermediates in addition to the Consumer Protection segment. The Specialty Additives seg- ment in particular, comprising the Rhein Chemie, Lubricant Additives, and Polymer Additives business units, succeeded in passing on higher raw material and lo- gistics prices and generating high profits in the second quarter – especially in the United States. “LANXESS’s performance in North America was very strong in the first half of this year, with revenues increas- ing by 42 percent from 707 million euros to 1.041 billion euros. The main revenue drivers were Polymer Addi “We had a great first half of the year. Revenues in- creased by 42 percent from 707 million euros to 1,041 million euros.” 03.2022 | Xpress 09 Below: Q&A session: The Board of Manage- ment, including Antonis Papadourakis, head of LANXESS’ American operations (far left), answering questions from employees.

Shelton STRONG DEMAND AND GOOD PRICING POLICY Interview with Neelanjan Banerjee, new Head of the Lubricant Additives Business Unit. Mr. Banerjee, how have you mana- ged to achieve such positive sales with LAB despite the challenging times (increasing energy costs and logistic problems)?? Neelanjan Banerjee: We have seen very strong demand in all three of our seg- ments , namely – Transportation Additives, Industrial Additives and Synthetic Base Stocks & Fluids. In many cases the inventory pipelines have been thin at our customers and with some rebound in the market, this leads to a pull – with increased demand. We have used these supply demand im- balances to pass on strong price increa- ses to the market and could overcompen- sate for raw material, energy & logistic cost increases. We are also trying to sign some long-term contracts to secure our position over the next years. We have no doubt, like others, faced a lot of logistical challenges. However, I also see that these challenges led to the ad- vantage of limited Asian competition in our home markets. What was the contribution of North America as a production location and what are the characteristics of the market there? Neelanjan Banerjee: Although our ma- nufacturing footprint is across three cont- inents , the Americas region – namely the US & Canada are very important geogra- phies for our business. We have a large asset base here and it is also our largest market. New head of LAB: Neelanjan Banerjee Our Application Technology Center in Naugatuck, Connecticut is also an import- ant pillar for our business. In Canada , our sites West Hill and Elmira, based near Toronto, are a very important part of our global production network. Our customer base is made up of the wor- ld’s largest additives companies, many of them are located in the U.S. How do you see the future of LAB in North America? Neelanjan Banerjee: I see a very strong development of the LAB Business in the Americas Region. Many of our custo- mers have growing demand across seve- ral end applications and we would like to grow on the back of this demand. The favorable energy cost position in the Americas and the strong domestic mar- ket are definitely positive to pursue solid growth for LAB in the region. Of course, LAB is a global business and hence it is only apt that we focus on all our regions for profitable growth. Our sites in the U.S. are located in Fords and East Hannover in New Jersey and we have a joint venture with Huntsman called Rubicon , based in Geismar, Louisiana. Our planned expansions in Kaohsuing, Taiwan and Mannheim, Germany are also very important cornerstones in our growth story. 03.2022 | Xpress 11

CURBING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT! What will our sustain- able product pipeline look like in five years, Mr. Thielking? Heiko Thielking, Head of Corporate Strategy, knows where the group is headed when it comes to sustainability. “By today’s standards, around 85 percent of our products are highly sustainable. The question of what our product portfolio will look like in 2030, 2040, or even 2050 is, of course, an exciting one. How quickly will we succeed in reducing our carbon footprint on average across the portfolio? Where will we succeed in gaining a competitive advantage by offering a carbon-neutral or low-carbon version of a product? And in this respect, it doesn’t always have to be a Sco- peblue® product. Even small improvements can effectively differentiate a product from the competition. It’s important to begin, to develop the necessary expertise, to create the necessary conditions, and to gain expe- rience. After all, we’re running a marathon here. We won’t be able to implement every idea immediately or make it work exactly like the original. It’s going to take creativity and perseverance. But the coming decades will be exciting and full of innovations. When it comes to raw materials, we’re adding new players with completely different produc- tion processes in addition to developments introduced by our current partners. At our own production facilities, we will be testing new raw materials and at the same time improving our raw material and energy ef- ficiency. This will enable us to help our cus- tomers make their portfolios more sustain- able, giving us a solid position in the market over the long term.” S S E X N A L : s o t o h P 03/2022 | Xpress 13 Raw materials from sus- tainable sources, shipping goods in a climate-neutral manner – the challenges of the future are daunting. LANXESS is tackling them head on and has already accomplished quite a bit. al, global deliveries possible at all, Ms. Willenbrinck? Many truck manufacturers have already start- ed converting their vehicles to battery power or hydrogen. We stay in constant contact with our logistics service providers. Our cus- tomers increasingly request a sustainable shipping line – and of course we pass that information on. This increases the pressure from all sides. We are also working with other chemical companies at the trade association level to explore how we can take advantage of funding opportunities, because the transi- tion also presents a financial challenge. One thing is already clear: “just in time” is being put to the test. This guiding principle of the past poses a risk to supply chains and is bad for the environment. By the end of this year, for example, or by the beginning of 2023 at the latest, we will be extensively restructur- ing our container shipping operations. From then on, all of our containers bound for the seaports in Antwerp and Rotterdam will be transported by rail or ship from the Lower Rhine sites and Mannheim. This is also a consequence of the logistics crisis that in- tensified with the outbreak of the coronavi- rus. I don’t think we will ever go back to the previous status quo. The reduction in carbon emissions is simply too significant – a truck only carries one standard container, a train around 30 containers, and a ship 250 to 300. But the downside is also clear: we’re no longer quite as flexible, and long-term and medium-term planning once again takes up a lot more time. Climate-neutral – or even just climate-friendly – shipping makes just-in-time thinking obsolete. We all have to think differently.”

TE IN A COMPLETELY NEW WAY” Hermann Schuster isn’t a fan of beating around the bush. “Of course we know that with projects like FIT or the switch to Mic- rosoft 365, we’re already asking a lot of our users,” says the head of GF IT. That’s why he’s committed to communicating openly and transparently – not only with users, but also within his global team of around 450 employees. Mr. Schuster, you returned to LANX- ESS from ARLANXEO about a year ago. Since then, you’ve been leading the IT team through very eventful times. Reflecting back on the past 12 months, how do you feel? Hermann Schuster: I’m the kind of per- son who likes to take on new challenges, but I openly admit that I didn’t expect to face the number of issues that landed on my desk during this time. After all, it’s not every day that you roll out a new SAP sys- tem at the group’s largest location – and at almost the same time, migrate all of the group’s employees to a new operating system and Microsoft 365. Fortunately, we have many very skilled and dedicated employees on our team. They quickly got me caught up on and closely involved me in the issues. So the first year was definitely quite challenging and flew by – but I also enjoyed it immensely. Was the rollout of Microsoft 365 one of the first projects you initiated that was extremely important to you? Hermann Schuster: Yes, because from my point of view it’s simply the market stan- dard. The fact that we were finally able to convince the Board of Management – at that time still together with GF dLX – to ap- prove the Microsoft 365 project was, in my view, important in order to keep LANXESS competitive over the long term with a high- ly performant IT landscape. And the feed- back we’ve received from employees who are already using the new system proves that this was the right decision. was already underway when I joined the company. A massive project like this takes years to complete. And we simply didn’t want employees to have to wait for Out- look or MS Teams any longer. After all, we had received requests for them from many different parts of the company. During the hot phase of the FIT go-live in Germany, we more or less paused the rollout of M365 for our German colleagues. Never- theless, we are, of course, aware that we demanded a lot from the users. But I’m sure the effort will be more than worth it because of the new ways we’ll be able to collaborate in the future. How exactly will we collaborate digi- tally in the future? Hermann Schuster: Definitely in a less formal and less hierarchical way. Tools like MS Teams rely heavily on team collabo- ration and direct communication. I’m ab- solutely certain we’ll all get into the habit of working in a completely different way as a result. The new chat features allow us to communicate much more quickly with a coworker or the entire team – and if necessary, start a short video call with one click. And we’ll also work in a much more integrated way in the future. Instead of sending documents back and forth, you can simply give someone permission to directly view or edit them via a link to OneDrive. Another goal is to more or less eliminate the need for landline telephones in one to two years’ time. It will, of course, take a while until we’re all familiar with the new features. In this context, I’d like to en- courage everyone to not be shy and just give things a try! And check out our “My Workplace” community. There’s a lot to discover there. “My first year at LANXESS was extremely challeng- ing – but I also enjoyed it immensely.” The migration is now nearly com- plete. From your point of view, did everything go as planned? Hermann Schuster: On the whole, yes! In the beginning, it was a bit difficult for the project team to pull themselves back from the extremely detailed technical view and focus on the users and provide them with the information they actually need- ed. But we managed to do that as well. Among other activities, our digital info events, where we also transparently ad- dressed some of the less pleasant topics, played an important role in this regard. In my view, communicating openly in this way significantly increased acceptance on the part of employees. At the same time as Microsoft 365 was being rolled out, FIT was also being launched in Germany. Could the time have been better? Hermann Schuster: The FIT program You briefly touched on FIT. Your GF will assume responsibility for the project at the end of October, i.e., af- ter the rollout in Germany has been completed. The project initially faced 03/2022 | Xpress 15

WHEN DO I USE WHAT...? Outlook, MS Teams, and OneDrive are the new tools available as a result of the rollout of Microsoft 365 and offer many new ways to work (and collaborate) on a daily basis. But which application do I use for what? Below you’ll find tips from the “My Workplace” community. MS TEAMS • With its chat and group chat functionality, MS Teams is particularly suitable for quick, informal con- versations – especially if coworkers already know each other. Meetings or calls can also be started directly from the app. • If you are working on documents together as a team, you don’t have to send them around by email, but can instead save the files in the Files section. The other members of the team can then check out and edit the document via the integrated Sharepoint app. • The Calendar app in the column on the left gives you direct access to your calendar and allows you to quickly join a meeting without having to switch to Outlook. ONEDRIVE • Saving a file in OneDrive is handy when you want to work on a docu- ment at your leisure before sharing or saving it publicly. • In addition, if you want to access a document from multiple devices, saving it to OneDrive is a good solution. This way you also have the ability to precisely define the document permissions – if, for exam- ple, no one else but you should be allowed to edit the document. • If you want to ask someone for feedback on a presentation, for example, you can send them a link to the document – eliminating the need to email numerous different versions of it back and forth. OUTLOOK • For sharing official information: Emails are primarily suitable for more formal communication – like when you need to obtain approval for a document or share an official piece of information (like a contract, project status, etc.) with customers or man- agement. • For sending meeting invitations: If you want to schedule a meeting that involves a larger group of peo- ple, invite external partners, or send additional information – such as an agenda – with the appointment, it’s best to send an invitation from Outlook. For more tips on how to use Microsoft 365, visit the “My Workplace” community on MS Teams. WEBEX STILL AVAILABLE UNTIL NOVEMBER 15 • The Webex Meetings and Webex Chat applications will be shut down on November 15, 2022. From then on, any content in the apps will no longer be available. delete all Webex-related information from the invitation and Add Teams Meeting click . Then send an updated invitation to the meeting to the participants. • For this reason, please migrate Meetings from Webex to MS Teams as soon as possible: Open the appointment in Outlook (it doesn’t matter if it’s a single meeting or a series of appointments) and click Delete Webex Meeting. Then • Documents that you still need from Webex groups need to be moved manually. Plan enough time for this, if necessary. • Training sessions on MS Teams can be found on the Knowledge Portal and on LinkedIn Learning. 03/2022 | Xpress 17

PEOPLE AND TEAMWORK ASKING AROUND THE GLOBE Our colleagues share what’s recently been happening at their place of work. France Germany Stephanie Galois-Drouard, Stepha- nie Galois-Drouard, Sales Manager, AII BU, formed an environmental working group with dedicated coworkers: Two years ago, we established the environmental work- ing group. The goal was to promote a deeper awareness of environmental issues and to take action together. We started by calculating our personal carbon footprint; on average, a French LANXESS employee has a carbon footprint of 13 tons per year. We wanted to reduce this number and offered coworkers some practical tips that they could immediately implement. In the course of do- ing so, we also launched initiatives and critically exam- ined how data was stored on the server, for example. Our short news items on environmental issues are met with immediate interest and often elicit direct responses. Peo- ple now share their ideas and opinions on environmental topics more frequently overall, and we regularly discuss the implementation of specific climate-friendly solutions. Today, we talk more about our labor practices, provide more information on LANXESS initiatives, and have lively discussions about market changes. This shows us just how important raising awareness is. After all, once peo- ple realize how harmful a certain behavior is, they usually make a change. Most of our colleagues are really enthu- siastic about doing so! China How Allen Sun, Technical Representa- tive of LPT BU, Greater China, experienc- es the annual water competitions: My story with LANXESS begins in 2015, back when I was still a student and was lucky enough to win second prize in the first LANXESS water competi- tion. In the meantime, I’ve worked for the LPT BU, Great- er China, for six years, and I also participate in the water competition as a volunteer to provide theoretical and hands-on support to the students in their research on wa- ter treatment. The water competition is now in its eighth consecutive year. It not only demonstrates our corporate responsibility, but also provides a platform for young tal- ent in China to apply what they have learned and help solve water issues and environmental problems. Georg Lux, day shift foreman at SSB’s Leverkusen plant, AII BU, reports on the introduction of FINITO: We already used a digital shift book be- fore FINITO, but FINITO offers many more features. We really got going with FINITO at the beginning of March. In the meantime, 40 employees use it – not only in pro- duction, but also in the laboratory and shipping. Everyone was motivated to use it right from the start. Used correctly, it saves us a lot of work. Today, no one needs to manually check the levels of the container on site – FINITO pulls the data into the table we create itself. We currently still enter the laboratory data manually, but this is something we also want to automate. We are increasingly seeing the wide range of possibilities FINITO offers. And we want to continue leveraging them. Another good thing about the system is that you can still change everything after the fact. When I recently came back from leave, I entered my query into the search box and immediately had the most important entries in front of me at a glance. In the past, you had to dig through stacks of paper or lots of individual files to get the same result. South Korea Jinwha Choi, Head of Corporate Com- munications in South Korea, supports the Climate School education initiative: In 2021, LANXESS initiated the Climate School program in South Korea to educate young people about climate change mitigation. As one of the world’s leading chemical companies, we are increasingly committed to combating climate change. During the last summer break, when the weather was extremely hot, LANXESS hosted the Climate School to support climate and environmental education for students in Seoul and help them put climate action into practice. In July and August alone, about 400 stu- dents from six elementary schools took part. Seeing them listening intently in class with bright eyes gave me confi- dence that we are doing the right thing for their future and that we are doing our part to make our society climate neutral. I’m also very proud that the local community ap- preciates our efforts and looks forward to our continued support... 03/2022 | Xpress 19

It has a bright orange color and grows in ear-shaped spatulas, hence the name sweet osmanthus ear. The fungus is found worldwide and is also used in a number of Chinese dishes. These scientists from Dortmund discovered the fungus. Since its acquisition in 2017, the biotechnology start-up IMD Natural Solutions GmbH has been part of LANXESS. “In Nagardo®, we offer a preservative that is superior to others in many areas,” Ebener enthuses. For example, it requires a dos- age up to 50 times lower than commonly used chemical preservatives and does not change the color, scent, or taste of a bev- erage. Nagardo® is also effective against microorganisms that have adapted to con- ventional preservatives over time or heat-re- sistant germs. “In this way, our product also makes production more sustainable. It elim- inates or can help optimize energy-intensive hot filling operations. This also helps reduce the increased PET demand associated with thermal processes,” Ebener explains. The team is convinced that Nagardo®’s suc- cess story is only just beginning and their hard work was worth the effort. “We’re now expanding our global presence,” Ebener vows. the course of several years. For this com- pletely new additive, the entire toxicological testing and safety assessment also had to be carried out to ensure its safe use in food. With its vast wealth of knowledge in tow, the start-up won over LANXESS and sub- sequently became part of the Beverage Technology business line within the Ma- terial Protection Products business unit in 2017. The scientists wanted to see their unusual product in use around the world. “That’s why LANXESS was a godsend for us. Our know-how was complemented by MPP’s distribution capabilities, indus- try experience, and marketing expertise. Together we make an unbeatable team,” proclaims Jens Bitzer, Nagardo® Technical Head of Marketing and codiscoverer of the active ingredient. A fairly proud team: The MPP team presented its innovative preservatives at the drinktec trade show in Munich in mid-September. Monika Ebener with Jens Bitzer (on her left). 03/2022 | Xpress 21 S S E X N A L : s o t o h P microbial efficacy of the edible fungus Da- cryopinax spathularia, also known as sweet osmanthus ear. And they didn’t even have to travel to the tropics, where the fungus is native. Instead they found it with the help of their software application, which was based on state-of-the-art research processes and search algorithms. With it, they browsed one of the world’s largest screenable libraries of more than 100,000 natural molecules from plants, bacteria, algae, and fungi. This is how they landed on the fungus, which until then had received little attention. The scien- tists recognized the potential of their find, unraveled the novel molecular structure of these unusual glycolipids, and developed them into the active ingredient that can now be used in the form of Nagardo® in beverag- es in many countries. They developed and refined the fermenta- tive production, specification, associated analytics, and application technology over NAGARDO® IN ACTIONThe natural preservative can be used in any non-alcoholic beverage, for example in:• Carbonated and still soft drinks• Isotonic sports drinks• Ready-to-drink teas• Juice-based beverages• Kombucha-based beveragesNagardo® is already on the market in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and is now being marketed in the EU. When Nagardo® is used in the EU, the list of ingredients includes “glycolipids.” Outside the EU, different designations are possible..

MORE THAN JUST EATING FRUIT AND GOING FOR A RUN… No aches and pains. Our minds are clear and we’re full of energy. This is what it feels like to be completely healthy. But how do I achieve this? The following stories from some of our colleagues can serve as inspiration. It isn’t always easy, especially in today’s challenging times, to really hear your inner voice or at least not to overhear it. After all, what will people think if, in the face of all the crises around the world, I suddenly focus on my own personal wellbeing? Am I being egotistical? Not at all – thinks Katja Borghaus, Head of LANXESS Human Resources. After all, we need strength and we only gain it when we also take care of ourselves. Through its global health program Xhealth, this is precisely how LANXESS aims to support its employees. “A lot of people know they’re not doing well mentally or that they’re stressed, but they feel like they don’t have the time to do something about it. Work, family, every- thing else seems to be more important,” Borghaus explains. “That’s why we want to encourage you to be mindful of your mental health and ask yourself: How am I doing? What do I need right now? What can I do over the long term to reduce my stress level and improve my mental health?” She is certain that taking a look at local company health offerings can go a long way toward that end. And for inspiration, maybe these suggestions from colleagues will help. “To me, being healthy means maintaining balance and harmony between your physical, mental, and social health. If you manage to feel healthy in all three categories, they complement and strengthen each other. That’s why I think it’s great that we often go hiking or climbing together as a team – I’m filling two needs with one deed. And that’s good for you mentally, too.” Maik Zander, MPP BU “I think managers need to embrace the topic of mental health more and be more open about it. We should all become more aware of how we’re feeling, and how our own behavior and communication affects others. Without acknowledging how import- ant mental health is, I don’t think you can talk about it authentically and honestly.” Peter Henrichfreise, GF GPL “To me, athletic activities are some- thing that can significantly enrich your own life. When I work out in the morning, it’s the perfect way to wake up my body – I don’t need coffee anymore and start the day feeling calm and level-headed. What I like most about sports is the sense of camaraderie – and the opportunity to personally improve in something. I highly recommend it to everyone. Britta Siegers, GF LEX 03/2022 | Xpress 23 PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING • LANXESS aims to provide its employees with a workplace that promotes mental and physical well-being and offers a wide range of options at its sites worldwide as part of its Xhealth program. • Mental health is one of the core elements of this. Inter- ested? The “Let’s talk about mental health” learning path on LinkedIn Learning offers an exciting introduction to the topic. • If you have questions or would like to learn more, con- tact the person responsible in your region: Americas: Susan Prasad; APAC: Lisa Xue; Germany: Karen Peilstöcker; India: Vijayalakshmi R; EMEA: Mohammad Razzaq • You can also find more on the topic on Xnet by navigat- ing to: For Me -> Family and Health -> Health

The The NGOs exhibited unique products like home décor items, accessories for men & women, soft toys for children, stationary items, handmade textiles, food preservatives. et 9TH ANNUAL NGO MELA CONDUCTED AT THANE OFFICE Support and fundraising for the local non-government organizations L ANXESS India organized its 9th an- nual ‘NGO Mela’ at Thane office on 5th August, 2022 to support and raise funds for the local non-government organiz- ations. The mela aimed at providing an op- portunity to the NGOs across various sectors to showcase and sell products created by individuals who come from underprivileged sections of the society. Like every year, the event witnessed active participation from all colleagues who purchased a wide range of products from the NGOs and contributed funds of approximately INR 60,000. This year, 5 NGOs namely Aftertaste, Wo- men’s India Trust (WIT), Advitya, Suadha and Seva Charitable Trust participated in the event. All these NGOs support different causes like helping adults with intellectual disabilities, empowering underprivileged women and children, prevention of violence against women and children, providing bet- ter services for maternal & newborn health, upliftment of the poor and needy people and empowering communities living in forests to save forest and wild life. The event was a huge success and every year we have seen an unprecedented growth in the number of employees who participate and buy products at this fair. All the NGOs exhibited unique products like home décor items, accessories for men & women, soft toys for children, stationary items, handmade textiles, food preservatives etc. The emplo- yees bought generously to contribute to the worthy cause. Anuj Tulaskar from GF GPL who shopped at the mela said, “NGO Mela has always been a good experience. This year, I got to buy several essential things which will be useful in my day to day activities. The quality of the handmade items were really at par. The most satisfying part was that I could support a no- ble cause.” Deepti Khamkar from BU MPP said, “It gave a sense of satisfaction realizing that we are not only shopping fancy stuff but also making a small yet important contribution altogether towards the society. This thought struck me when I got to know from a casual conversati- on that one of the attendants at the stall who spoke very polished English was the child of a deprived woman and the NGO has helped him complete his graduation in Commerce.” 03.2022 | Xpress 25