Title sponsor strongly supports VELUX 5 OCEANS as the first Eco 60 race ever

As title sponsor the VELUX Group is happy to be part of this endeavour to raise awareness about sustainability.
VELUX 5 OCEANS is one of the most exciting and challenging ocean races. But the race is also about taking care of the planet. This is why the race has launched a sustainability agenda under the concept of Taking on the Elements. A key element to this concept is the new boat class which is introduced by race manager Clipper Ventures. The new class makes use of Open 60 yachts launched before 2003. These boats are ecological, sustainable and affordable ocean racing yachts with a proven record of reliability and safety.
Taking on the Elements brings together all the key stakeholders in the race under the umbrella of the shared value of sustainability, providing a basis of understanding and a platform for activities and com-munications. Through this concept the race and its partners aim to inspire people to think and act.
"Just like the race, the VELUX Group supports sustainable development in many specific ways. In our company we work with sustainable building principles to inspire the future of modern living and integrate daylight as a natural renewable source of energy through the roof to make houses carbon-neutral," says VELUX 5 OCEANS project manager Anne-Marie Hasselbalch, the VELUX Group.
The skippers in the race will demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by making use of renewable energy sources on board and through waste management systems. This is part of the concept for the new Eco 60s. Class rules limit the consumption of fossil fuel while encouraging the use of wind and solar power. Since all skippers in the race are competing in the Eco 60 class, this makes VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11 the first purely Eco 60 event ever. In addition, two skippers, Derek Hatfield from Canada and Brad van Liew from the USA, are aiming to be the first solo racers to sail around the world without using fossil fuels at all.
"As second time title sponsor, the VELUX Group is very pleased to be part of this development. Our goal is to reduce our negative impact on the environment and raise awareness of the need for sustain-able progress. We believe every contribution counts," says Anne-Marie Hasselbalch.
Sustainability is a pivotal issue for the VELUX Group's key goals, actions and solutions. The VELUX Group has an ambitious climate strategy in place to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20 per cent before 2012 and by 50 per cent before 2020. And the VELUX Group supplies products and develops sustainable solutions that help customers and society as a whole save energy and reduce CO2 emissions. The Group has already developed CO2 neutral buildings and more experimental buildings will follow.
At the start of the race on 17 October 2010, the three parties of the host port - the French city of La Ro-chelle, race organiser Clipper Ventures and the VELUX Group - will all contribute with initiatives to sup-port the theme. To this end, the VELUX Group will showcase a unique carbon-neutral building, VELUX House. It offers an opportunity for the visitors to see a carbon-neutral building and learn how older apart-ment buildings can be renovated by utilising daylight and natural ventilation and at the same time mini-mise the use of resources – and thereby CO2 emissions.
About The VELUX Group
The VELUX Group creates better living environments with daylight and fresh air through the roof. The VELUX product programme contains a wide range of roof windows and skylights, along with solutions for flat roofs. The Group also supplies many types of decoration and sun screening, roller shutters, installation products, products for remote control and thermal solar panels for installation in roofs. The VELUX Group, which has manufacturing companies in 11 countries and sales companies in just under 40 countries, represents one of the strongest brands in the global building materials sector and its products are sold in most parts of the world. The VELUX Group has about 10,000 employees and is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company wholly owned by foundations and family. For more details, visit www.velux.com.