Yingli Solar is the not only the first solar PV manufacturer to join the WWF’s Climate Savers program but also the first Chinese company to join. The program aims to help multinational companies become low-carbon emitters and set targets for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

In 2011, Yingli and WWF signed letters of Intent to Join the Climate Savers program and assessments began. The company used its 2010 GHG emission results as a baseline and set very ambitious targets to be met by the end of 2015. In January 2013 Yingli officially became a member of the Climate Savers platform.

In 2014 another inspection was conducted and most of these targets that were to be achieved by the end of 2015 have already been met by Yingli and even exceeded. According to the company, “the inspection results demonstrated that Yingli:

• Decreased its GHG emissions intensity per MW of PV module production by approximately 22% in 2013, as compared to its initial target to reduce emissions intensity by 13% by the end of 2015;
• Decreased GHG emissions from purchased goods and services per MW of PV modules production by approximately 12%, as compared to its initial target to reduce emissions by 7%;
• Decreased its GHG emissions from upstream transportation by approximately 17%, as compared to its initial target to reduce emissions by 10%.”

In addition to this, Yingli have invested in large scale PV projects in order to power their own manufacturing facilities with clean energy. According to Yingli, “By the end of 2013, PV projects Yingli has invested in are estimated to generate approximately 167.85 GWh of clean electricity annually and the solar energy systems installed on its facilities could generate 39.3 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to 4.05% of its total power consumption in 2013.” They targeted for 4% of their total energy consumption to come from clean energy sources by the end of 2015.

“As the first member company of WWF Climate Savers Programme in China, Yingli has successfully gone beyond its emission reduction targets, and shows its leadership through practical actions. WWF will continue to partner with Chinese companies to address climate change, and to promote more companies to be leaders of the low- carbon economy,” said Ms. Winnie Lu, Climate & Energy Program Director of WWF.

“We are pleased to cooperate with WWF and showcase our commitments to the sustainable development and progresses in reducing our  GHG emissions through the global leadership platform, as reducing our own environmental impact is one of our most important corporate objectives. As a leading global renewable energy company, Yingli is dedicated to the pursuit of green, low-carbon manufacturing and business operations while providing clean energy for all,” commented Mr. Jingfeng Xiong, Vice President and Chief Climate Officer of Yingli Green Energy.