UNEP and Bayer, the German-based multinational involved in health care, crop protection and high-tech materials, are working together to strengthen young people's environmental awareness and engage children and youth in environmental issues worldwide.

A partnership agreement, originally signed in 2004 and renewed in 2007 and 2010, runs through 2013. It lays down the basis for UNEP and Bayer to implement the projects under the partnership. Theses include: TUNZA Magazine, the International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment, the UNEP Tunza International Youth and Children's Conferences, youth environmental networks in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and West Asia, the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Program and a photo competition, 'Ecology in Focus', in Eastern Europe.

The long-standing partnership between UNEP and Bayer has become a public-private partnership that serves as a model for both organizations.