The report sheds light on how the EU solar sector is addressing various sustainability challenges at every stage of the value chain — from the supply chain phase to the operational and the end-of-life phase.
For each sustainability domain, the report outlines the overall context and background, highlighting innovative approaches and best practices, as well as hands-on case studies.
This report was drafted with the invaluable support of 62 SolarPower Europe members from the Supply Chain Sustainability Workstream, the Product Sustainability Workstream, the Land Use and Permitting Workstream, and the Lifecycle Quality Workstream.
This report, which is an expanded, and updated version of SolarPower Europe’s Solar Sustainability Best Practices Benchmark (2021) was launched at the Sustainable Solar Europe 2024 event in Brussels.
The report structure follows sustainability considerations along the solar value chain:
Supply Chain Phase
The Supply Chain phase includes considerations on Human rights due diligence, responsible sourcing and decent work (Chapter 1.1), solar Carbon footprint (Chapter 1.2), and Circular design (Chapter 1.3).
Use Phase
At the Use phase, the report delves into Community engagement (see Chapter 2.1), Land use (Chapter 2.2), and Biodiversity (Chapter 2.3).
End-of-Life Phase
The End-of-Life phase addresses the areas of Revamping and repowering (Chapter 3.1), Reuse and repair (Chapter 3.2), and Waste management and recycling (Chapter 3.3).
Sustainable Solar: Environmental, social, and governance actions along the value chain
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