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Go for the Green!

The Deutsche Bank Ladies' Swiss Open 2009, to be held in Switzerland's Ticino canton, promises to be the sporting event of the year and to make history as the Ladies European Tour's first-ever carbon-neutral event.

Switzerland's Ticino canton will once again play host to the Deutsche Bank Ladies' Swiss Open (DBLSO), one of the most popular international golf tournaments of the Ladies European Tour (LET) from May 11-17, 2009.

For the fourth time, the best of Europe's female golf elite including Gwladys Nocera – 2006 winner, Lotta Wahlin, Lisa Hall and Martina Eberl will play at the Golf Gerre Losone for the coveted trophy and prize money totalling € 525,000.

The Deutsche Bank Ladies' Swiss Open is not only the first open-field tournament on the LET, but also a qualification tournament for the Solheim Cup. But that is not all: The fourth Deutsche Bank Ladies' Swiss Open promises to set a completely new benchmark on the Ladies European Tour and rewrite sporting history, in addition to providing an outstanding sporting and social event.

"We are celebrating a world premiere", says Tournament Director Hanns Michael Hoelz. The Deutsche Bank tournament will be the first-ever carbon-neutral event of the LET under the motto "Go for the Green".

According to Hoelz, "environmental protection is a matter of social responsibility, and is one of the greatest challenges of our time." Every one of us contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases – but also to their possible reduction, as explained recently by EU Environmental Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

The Deutsche Bank is implementing this request with a bundle of palpable measures in its worldwide banking business, thus sharpening public sensitivity by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy sources, supporting the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, and offsetting unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions – as with the "carbon-neutrality" at the DBLSO 2009.

For the golf tournament in Losone, carbon-management is an integrated strategy: Starting with the event's preparatory stage concrete environmental measures are implemented: from reduced paper usage before, during and after the tournament, to establishing more efficient travel and traffic management as well as environmentally-friendly stand designs and using more energy-efficient or environmentally-certified electric devices and regenerative energy sources.

Environmental consciousness will even be redefined at the DBLSO as pertains to the catering. The highest-possible share of products used will be organic, seasonal and regional products will be given preference, and a collaboration with suppliers of organic goods will be sought.

Furthermore, preference will be given to reusable dishes, and greater importance will be attached to returnable bottles and to reusable transport packaging.

"Every event, however, will always produce a certain amount of emissions that are unavoidable, regardless of the level of effort put forth", according to Tournament Director Hoelz. Therefore, the total emission volume or "carbon footprint" of the tournament is determined in advance and the event organizer neutralizes the emissions that cannot be avoided through reduction, by purchasing and retiring emission certificates.

Hanns Michael Hoelz: "Thus it is ensured, that we will see first-class golf during the Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open, without polluting the environment with greenhouse gas emissions."

March 2, 2009