Yingli Green Energy plans to leave a sustainable legacy in Brazil by becoming the first ever carbon neutral sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, and supplying 400 to 600kW for a solar legacy project in Brazil that is expected to be among the largest solar energy systems in the country.

Judy Lee, Yingli’s vice president of global marketing; Markus Vlasits, country manager of Yingli Green Energy Brazil; Thierry Weil, FIFA director of marketing; and Federico Addiechi, head of FIFA corporate social responsibility addressed the media and explained these initiatives at the event.

Yingli has been working with FIFA to leave solar legacies in the host countries of the FIFA World Cup competition since 2010, when the Company became the first renewable energy sponsor and the first Chinese sponsor. The Company provided customised solar solutions to 20 “Football for Hope” centres all over Africa through the “Football for Hope, Energy for Hope” program, focused on improving the social environment for disadvantaged children in Africa even after the FIFA World Cup.

This year, Yingli plans to continue its tradition of leaving a sunny legacy by becoming the first carbon neutral sponsor in FIFA World Cup history, and by developing one of the largest solar energy installations in Brazil, a project chosen jointly by FIFA and Yingli as an official CSR project of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

To become carbon neutral, Yingli is offsetting all carbon emissions generated through its onsite sponsorship activations in Brazil for the tournament’s duration. The Company has invested in carbon emissions reductions certificates generated by two factories operating via biomass in the Caatinga region of Alagoas in Brazil, thereby helping prevent deforestation and protect Brazil’s valuable biodiversity.

“Sustainability is one of the key tenants in our vision for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 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. We are grateful to Yingli and their local partners for helping us leave a lasting legacy in Brazil,” says Mr. Addiechi from FIFA.

“Our solar legacy project will not only be an important legacy of the FIFA World Cup, but it will also be a boon to the country’s emerging solar energy industry,” Mr. Vlasits from Yingli says.

“We are pleased to deliver a high-quality reference project that we hope will drive demand for similar projects across the country.”

“As the world’s largest solar panel provider and renewable energy partner to FIFA, we are proud to utilise our expertise to leave a positive legacy in the host countries of Africa and Brazil,” notes Ms. Lee from Yingli.

“We are excited that our joint project with FIFA will continue to serve the community and the environment here in Brazil well after the competition finishes.”