TSG join "Alliance for Development and Climate"

"As a Bundesliga club, we're a medium-sized company, a world traveller and a role model all rolled into one. In view of our overall strategy 'TSG is movement', it is therefore a logical step for us to join this iniatitive and to recognise the responsibility we all bear for the major challenge that is climate change," said TSG Hoffenheim managing director Dr. Peter Görlich in a statement.

Federal minister Dr. Gerd Müller presented the idea for the alliance during his visit to the Rhein-Neckar Arena on the occasion of the signing of the Africa Cooperation Agreement between TSG Hoffenheim and the BMZ in September this year. TSG subsequently accepted the invitation to attend the first initiative group meeting on 12 November at the Bonn-based ministry. "There was fundamentally no question as to our participation, because the idea of the alliance perfectly combines the two pillars of ecology and Africa in our strategy," explained Görlich.

The objecive of the alliance is to link climate protection and sustainable development. The members strive to become climate-neutral by avoiding, reducing or compensating for their emissions.

Already 70 partners

To compensate for the remaining CO₂ emissions, they invest in projects in developing and emerging countries. Climate protection there is especially effective and often generates important, positive side-effects for the population and the development of the region concerned. Seventy partners have already joined the alliance: companies, authorities, compensation providers, civil society and TSG Hoffenheim − the only representative from the world of sports to date.

"Although we're very active in climate protection, for example with the solar systems at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, we do cause CO₂ emissions. We will now make up for this by engaging in climate protection projects in Africa. The planned production of a new product brand and the education programs for sports and the environment in southern Africa will be sustainably strengthened in this way. Creating such connections is the fundamental idea of our future strategy 'TSG is movement'," emphasised Görlich.

Background information on the Alliance for Development and Climate can be found here:

http://www.bmz.de/klimaallianz