In an effort to offset the carbon emissions generated as a result of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, European lighting technology provider Lemnis Lighting and local partners have started the Light-emitting diode (LED) Kick Off programme.

The sporting event was expected to generate a carbon footprint of about 900 000 t of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Lemnis Lighting, through its South African subsidiary Lemnis Lighting Africa, has embarked on the large-scale refitting of inefficient lighting with LED lighting in hotels, office buildings, households, on the streets and in rural areas.

A portion of the carbon credits generated as a result of the programme would be donated to South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to compensate for part of the overall carbon footprint of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

This initiative would form part of the DEA’s national greening programme initiative and is linked to DEA programmes.

Lemnis Lighting CEO Remko Gaastra noted that about 240 000 MWh of electricity could be saved by retrofitting three-million LED light bulbs. This would be equivalent to a 60-MW coal-fired plant, he stated.

The LED Kick Off project was the first programmatic clean development mechanism programme in the world using LED lighting.

Through the generation of carbon credits, Lemnis Lighting was able to offer attractive financial incentives to remove the hurdle for customers and institutions in implementing LED lighting.

“With the achievement of project status for our LED Kick Off programme, momentum is added to our recent entry into the South African market and the broader African continent. The envisaged education programme will also ensure that the benefits of this programme will not only be related to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but will bring a lasting change in climate change awareness for generations to come,” commented Lemnis Lighting Africa MD Francois van Tonder.

Lemnis Lighting, which recently opened an office in Johannesburg, was planning on investing further in local manufacturing and research and development facilities, in future.

The LED Kick Off programme had been initiated in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, the Department of Energy, the Department of Tourism, the Central Energy Fund, Eskom and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.