The National Energy Globe Award China 2014 was awarded to UPM Umwelt-Projekt-Management GmbH, Chengdu Oasis Science & Technology Co., Ltd and Sichuan Rural Energy Office for an outstanding project that seeks to mitigate climate change by supporting the installations of bio-digesters and providing plentiful clean renewable energy to enhance the quality of life of the rural people of the Sichuan region in a sustainable way.

Mr. Martin Dilger, UPM Managing Director, Mr. Wang Hai, Oasis Managing Director and Mr. Yin Xianzhi, Director of the Sichuan Rural Energy Office were honored in a festive ceremony hosted by Advantage Austria on 9th of July in Beijing and received the winner’s certificate from Austrian Commercial Counsellor Dr. Oskar Andesner.

As a national Energy Globe Awards winner, UPM’s Sichuan Poor Rural-Household Biogas PoA automatically qualifies for Energy Globe’s 2014 International Awards/World Award. The International Energy Globe Award distinguishes the best projects in the five categories earth, fire, water, air and youth. The first prize in each category is endowed with 10,000 Euro. The five nominees in each category are invited and the winners are announced at a festive ceremony which in this year is scheduled for November 2014.

The awarded project provides up to one million poor farming households in China’s rural Sichuan Province with this renewable energy source in the form of an advanced biogas digester and utilisation technology. This innovative project allows the company to promote sustainable regional development and improve the quality of rural life in Sichuan while achieving massive GHG emissions reduction in a most cost-efficient way.

This project serves to save an enormous burden on the environment. By avoiding both CH4 emissions from the pits and CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, the PoA will achieve a total GHG reduction of approx. 20 million tCO2e. The high-quality carbon credits (Gold Standard CERs) generated by the project are delivered to the mandatory and voluntary markets around the globe, supporting companies and institutions to realise their commitments to the environment by offsetting their GHG emissions.

In that regards, Mr. Dilger announced during the event, that UPM will provide and retire the 24 tCO2e of Gold Standard CERs from the Sichuan Household Biogas PoA to compensate for the carbon footprint of the ceremony event and the transportation of participating guests.

In the upcoming weeks many more national Energy Globe winners will be honored in their countries in co-operation with Advantage Austria. The winning projects range from high-tech to simple but effective ideas and provide answers to most of our environmental problems – be it through energy efficiency or renewable energy use or the careful use of our resources, such as water, etc.

All national Energy Globe winners from more than 160 countries have been introduced online at www.energyglobe.info in the realm of Energy Globe’s unique and global online Best Practice Week. Kick-off date was the UN World Environment Day on 5th of June. Under the patronage of UNESCO and in cooperation with UNEP and UNIDO this unique awareness raising campaign from Energy Globe runs under the motto: We save the planet by acting, not by talking. Sustainability starts with you!

Since the end of May sustainable projects can be submitted again for Energy Globe Award 2015. All details and the entry form are available for download on www.energyglobe.info

For more information, please contact:

Energy Globe, Cornelia Kirchweger, T: +43 7617 2090-30, 
cornelia.kirchweger(at)energyglobe.com

UPM Germany, Martin Dilger, T:+49 89 1222197 – 50, mdilger(at)upm-cdm.eu

UPM China, Guo Gaiai, T: +86 10 6468 0500-13, guog(at)upm-cdm.eu

A China Daily video of the Chinese Energy Globe Award ceremony can be viewed at:

http://video.chinadaily.com.cn/2014/0710/3447.shtml