Hisense Becomes World's First Corporate Partner of UNEP's SEED Award

QINGDAO, China, February 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Committed to the UN's Green Actions, Promoting Green Innovations to Global Companies

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and representatives from Hisense Group officially signed a cooperative agreement at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 15. Under the agreement, Hisense becomes the world's first corporate partner of the UNEP's SEED Award over the next three years, representing the first time a Chinese company has committed to being a part of the UNEP's SEED Initiative.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110216/CN48409 )

Founded at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the UN's SEED Award creates global partnerships for sustainable development and the green economy, and supports innovative small- and medium-sized entrepreneurships around the globe to integrate social and environmental benefits into their business model.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, explained that the eight permanent members of the UNEP unanimously selected China's Hisense as the first corporate partner of the SEED Award "in light of the company's consistent commitment to innovation and environmental protection." Hisense Group developed the Hisense Green Development Outline in 2010 aiming to lead the green development of the industry -- taking the lead in developing the international LED Backlight standard for environmental protection and energy saving; hitting global, daily refrigerator power-consumption lows six times; and breaking the world record three times in air-conditioning energy saving. Hisense's sponsorship of the SEED Award and support for green innovations of outstanding SMEs re-affirms the company's commitment to green technology. Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Liu Guangyuan, said at the event that an increasing number of large Chinese companies are active in public affairs around the globe, showing their strength for and vision on going global, and to some extent further enhancing the international image and global status of China.

It is reported that the SEED Award will be presented in South Africa on April 15.