Yingli Green Energy Plans to Become the First Ever Carbon Neutral Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup

BAODING, China and SAO PAOLO, Brazil, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) ("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"), the largest vertically integrated photovoltaic ("PV") module manufacturer in the world, known as "Yingli Solar," plans to become the first ever carbon neutral sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. The Company plans to offset all carbon emissions arising from its promotional activities in Brazil as part of its mission to help make the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil the greenest in history.

Yingli plans to have a carbon neutral footprint for all of the Company's promotional events and activities on-site in Brazil during the FIFA World Cup, including all solar powered stadiums, commercial displays, customer hospitality, media activities, and employee travel and accommodation. To achieve carbon neutrality, Yingli has:

• Supplied over 5,000 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 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," said FIFA's Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi.  

"By becoming history's first carbon neutral sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Yingli is honoring its commitment to our environment and to our planet," noted Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy. "As a company whose products and mission are deeply intertwined with sustainability issues, we are dedicated to reducing the ecological impact of all aspects of our business operations, including our highly visible and pervasive marketing activities."

"Our goal is to leave behind a positive legacy in Brazil even after the 2014 FIFA World Cup is over. 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," commented Ms. Judy Tzeng Lee, Vice President of Global Marketing of Yingli Green Energy.

Yingli plans to host a press conference on June 27^th in Rio de Janeiro to provide an update on its progress towards achieving carbon neutrality for the FIFA World Cup, as a well as issue a statement after the tournament's conclusion to report on the program's results.

About Yingli Green Energy

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), known as "Yingli Solar," is the world's largest photovoltaic module manufacturer in terms of production capacity and shipments. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the photovoltaic value chain from ingot casting and wafering through solar cell production and module assembly. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 30 regional subsidiaries and branch offices and has distributed more than 9,000 MW PV modules to customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.yinglisolar.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Weibo.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Yingli Green Energy's control, which may cause Yingli Green Energy's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Yingli Green Energy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yingli Green Energy does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

For further information, please contact:

In China:
Qing Miao
Vice President of Corporate Communications
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited
Tel: +86 312 8929787
E-mail: [email protected]

In the Americas:
Helena Kimball
Vice President of Marketing
Yingli Green Energy Americas, Inc.
Tel: +1 603 5915812
E-mail: [email protected]

In Europe:
Rebecca Jarschel
Public Affairs & Public Relations Director
Yingli Green Energy International AG
Tel: +41 (0) 44 567 6143
E-mail: [email protected]

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SOURCE Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited