Furthering its commitment to sustainability, NAM member Bayer Corporation last week opened an electric vehicle charging station for employees at its U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh. The Bayer charging station is one of the 45 stations that will be built along Pennsylvania Interstate 376 as part of the “Energy 376 Corridor” project. The project’s goal is to create one of the most extensive charging station networks in the country. The station is located next to Bayer’s EcoCommercial Building Conference Center, which is a net-zero energy facility.

Dan Santmyer, Director of Operations at the Bayer Pittsburgh site, said in a press release, “the installation of the EV charging station is part of the company’s global commitment to sustainability. We are proud to provide our employees with the infrastructure that supports their efforts to drive, rent or purchase EV’s and reduce their personal footprint on the environment.”

Learn more about Bayer’s comprehensive sustainability program here.

Nice roundup by WSJ, “CEOs React to State of the Union“:

President Barack Obama made some concessions to the business community in his State of the Union address Tuesday, saying he’d like to lower the corporate tax rate and foster U.S. job growth and innovation. Many CEOs reacted with skepticism as to the President’s ability to deliver on these areas, but noted positively the President’s changed tone in addressing the business community.

Lots of good comments, including Greg Babe of Bayer talking about trade.

Greg Babe, CEO of Bayer North America, was encouraged by President Obama’s mentions of innovation. Bayer’s North American operations spent $700 million on research and development in 2010, and Mr. Babe says the yearly uncertainty on whether R&D tax credits will be renewed is a stress to the company. Mr. Obama didn’t specifically mention these credits.

Mr. Babe says he would have liked President Obama to speak more on free trade. “A lot of other free trade agreements are in the queue waiting for [Korea] to move,” he says. Mr. Babe says the lack of agreements negatively affects the company’s business globally.

Reuters, reporting from Davos, “Obama dose of austerity gets two cheers from CEOs“:

John Studzinski , senior managing director of U.S. private equity company Blackstone, told Reuters Insider in Davos that “the devil is in the details” of Obama’s words.

“Innovation is very important. We have to look at American workers,” he said. “The debate on spending and spending freeze is predicated on the fact that it’s been difficult.”

On trade, the President again alluded his desire to resolve issues with the pending Free Trade Agreements with Panama and Colombia. But what are they? Are we ever going to hear specifics?

President Obama’s speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 7 would seem like a good opportunity to provide a detailed plan for moving these Colombia and Panama FTAs. We’d be happy with a clear statement: “I am submitting these agreements to Congress for action.”

UPDATE (3:30 p.m.): Christian Science Monitor, “What businesses liked in the State of the Union – and what they didn’t,” which includes this funny observation from Brian Bethune, chief US financial economist for IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass.: “After being estranged from someone for two years, you can’t just call them up out of the blue and say, ‘Let’s go out on a date.’”

From The Pittsburgh Business Times, “National, state manufacturing groups unite“:

The National Association of Manufacturers and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association launched an initiative today to combine their efforts and those of their members to educate federal legislators and candidates on the needs of the American manufacturing industry….[snip]Local manufacturers included in this effort are: Mine Safety Appliances, PPG Industries Inc., Alcoa, U.S. Steel, WESCO International Inc., Bayer Corp., Kennamental Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Co.

“Manufacturers in Pennsylvania employ over 550,000 people across the state and in local communities,” said Kennametal CEO Carlos Cardoso in a written statement. “We need policies that allow us to compete so that we can create new jobs and keep the ones already here.”

A key reference document is the NAM’s policy guide and call to action, “Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and a Competitive America.”

Some facts about manufacturing in the Keystone State, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association:

Manufacturing is the engine that drives our economy. The manufacturing sector is the largest contributor to Pennsylvania’s economy, generating 13.6 percent of Gross State Product and directly adding over $75 billion in value every year. Nearly 575,000 Pennsylvanians are directly employed in manufacturing. Pennsylvania manufacturers sell almost $21 billion worth of goods overseas, representing 92 percent of all Pennsylvania exports.