MWC Becomes World’s Largest Carbon Neutral Conference and Exhibition

BARCELONA - Thursday, July 10th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

Mobile World Congress 2014

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The GSMA today announced that the 2014 Mobile World Congress has officially been certified as carbon neutral, making it the world’s largest conference and exhibition to have achieved this important designation. AENOR (Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación) has verified that the GSMA successfully completed the certification process under the PAS 2060 international standard and Mobile World Congress has achieved a zero carbon footprint. The certificate was presented to John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. by Eva Subirá, Director of AENOR in Catalunya.

The 2014 Mobile World Congress generated approximately 165,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e); it is estimated that 89 per cent of carbon emissions related to Mobile World Congress resulted from attendees travelling to and from the event, as well as their stay at the event, while the remaining 11 per cent are associated with the venue and operation of the event.

“We are very proud to have received this certification, as it marks a major milestone in our long-standing commitment to reduce the impact of Mobile World Congress on the environment,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “However, this is just one step along the way. We will continue to work to reduce the carbon footprint of Mobile World Congress through a range of existing and new initiatives, in concert with Fira Barcelona and local partners. Importantly, we are focused on educating our exhibitors and attendees and providing them tools so that they can reduce their individual footprints and work with us to offset their emissions.”

In order to obtain the certification, the GSMA worked with consultancy Factor CO2 to calculate Mobile World Congress’ carbon footprint, develop a management plan for reducing its impact and compensate the remaining emissions. As an independent third party, AENOR has confirmed that the sources of emissions identified and the greenhouse gas emissions are correct, in accordance with the international standard PAS 2050:2011. Further, AENOR has verified that Mobile World Congress is neutral in emissions, following the GSMA’s implementation of reduction measures and purchase of credible carbon credits to offset the remaining emissions generated during the event, in accordance with the international standard PAS 2060.

Carbon credits purchased by the GSMA help finance several emissions reduction projects registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These projects include the Dongliuxi Erji Hydropower project in the Hubei province of China; bundled wind power projects in the Indian state of Rajasthan; and the Olkaria II Geothermal Expansion Project in Kenya, amongst others.

The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona from 2013 to 2018. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

Contacts
Media:
For the GSMA
Charlie Meredith-Hardy
+44 7917 298428
CMeredith-Hardy@webershandwick.com

Núria Picas
+34 93 236 09 36
NPicas@webershandwick.com

GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com

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