Yingli Solar to be a carbon neutral World Cup sponsor

Yingli Green Energy, the vertically integrated photovoltaic module manufacturer known as Yingli Solar, plans to become the first ever carbon neutral sponsor of the FIFA World Cup.

The company aims to offset all carbon emissions for its promotional events and activities on-site in Brazil during the FIFA World Cup, including solar-powered stadiums, commercial displays, customer hospitality, media activities, and employee travel and accommodation.

To achieve carbon neutrality, Yingli has:

• supplied over 5000 Yingli solar panels and nearly 30 off-grid solar energy systems to help power matches at multiple FIFA World Cup stadiums;
• partnered with ClimatePartner, an independent, certified environmental agency, to accurately calculate and verify emissions data for the duration of Yingli’s sponsorship activation in Brazil;
• committed to investing in carbon emission reduction certificates that are generated by a local Brazilian project, and that are certified by the Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS.

“Sustainability is one of the key tenets in our vision for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” said FIFA Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi. “Environmental initiatives such as the one presented by our sponsor Yingli today are contributing to increasing the positive impact of the FIFA World Cup on society and the environment.”

“Our goal is to leave behind a positive legacy in Brazil even after the 2014 FIFA World Cup is over,” said Vice President of Global Marketing of Yingli Green Energy Judy Tzeng Lee. “We are proud of the solar projects we have provided, but we also wanted to do more to directly support local Brazilian communities who are making positive impact on the environment. By contributing to a Brazilian project while at the same time offsetting our own ecological impact, we can make a more significant contribution.”

The goal of Yingli Solar is to help make the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil the greenest in history.

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