On 12th December, over 200 attendees including key industry players, academics, policymakers and other stakeholders gathered at the third edition of Sustainable Solar Europe, a SolarPower Europe flagship event co-organised with Intersolar.
On the agenda for the day were sessions dedicated to the latest sustainability topics including carbon footprint, supply chain transparency, agrisolar, community engagement, biodiversity and more. The event also marked the launch of our landmark Solar Sustainability Report as well as the winners of the European Solar Sustainability 2024 Awards and our Sustainable Solar Photo Competition.
Opening the event, SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger, emphasised that: "Solar will be the number 1 electricity source by 2030; that growth and new responsibility push us to show leadership on sustainability. This event provides the opportunity to exchange best practices and use-cases, hopefully inspiring policymakers to get rid of the last bottlenecks that we experience."
The CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH, Markus Elsässer, joined the opening remarks stating: "It is particularly important for the clean tech industry to meet sustainability requirements across the value chain. This platform will be an opportunity to bring solutions to the table and exchange sustainability best practices."
We were delighted to welcome MEP Sara Matthieu, who highlighted the key role of European industry: "The solar industry is a key player to move towards resilience, job creation and meet climate requirements. The EU institutions realise that we need to take action to make our industry more green, resilient but also able to compete globally."
Our Deputy CEO, Dries Acke proudly presented our new report 'Sustainable Solar: Environmental, social, and governance actions across the value chain' remarking: "There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we need to respond to all of them. This report illustrates how the solar sector is addressing sustainability challenges, from supply chain phase, to use phase, and end-of-life phase."
The day continued with several engaging discussions and insightful panel sessions held across the three convention rooms. On the supply chain side, panellists representing the solar industry, from PV modules to inverters and steel producers, highlighted their company's strategies to decarbonise production and reduce carbon footprint.
Exploring the use-phase, we brought together players from the European Commission, and key organisations including The Nature Conservancy, BirdLife International, COPA COGECA and more to delve into the ways in which solar, nature, and agriculture can thrive together.
Rebecca Humphries, Head of Climate Policy Europe at the Nature Conservancy stated that: "We want to find positive solutions showing we can realise the energy transition and at the same time restore nature. The joint report between The Nature Conservancy and SolarPower Europe looks into how we can incentivise nature-inclusive solar".
Supply Chain Transparency is crucial, and the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) is making crucial progress through its Supply Chain Traceability Standard, which was published and presented during the event. Alexia Ruvoletto, Head of the SSI Secretariat, commented: “The SSI Supply Chain Traceability Standard sets a new bar for end-to-end supply chain accountability in the solar sector. By establishing a clear, verifiable chain of custody for materials, it lays the groundwork for a more sustainable and ethical solar industry.”
In true circular spirit, we rounded things up with the end-of-life phase: supporting research and innovation to boost efficiency, and explore exciting new ways to repair, reuse and recycle solar panels. Jérémie Aimé from CEA-INES, stated during a session on solar module reuse that: "Reuse is a huge opportunity for the next generation of PV owners. As part of the CIRCUSOL Project, we found that up to two thirds of second life solar panels can be repaired or refurbished".
Congratulations are in order for SOLAR MATERIALS, who were crowned our Gold European Solar Sustainability Award Winner, as voted by the attendees. Accepting the award, their CEO Jan-Philipp Mai exclaimed; "Winning the Gold European Solar Sustainability Award is a reflection of our commitment to close the loop in the solar industry".
Congratulations also to UNEFotovoltaica who won Silver and SoliTek for receiving Bronze in our European Solar Sustainability Awards. These three finalists were selected by a jury panel and then voted for during the event by the attendees.
The jury panel featured: Beatriz Argueso Estirado, Environmental Engineer, at Iberdrola; Guido Agostinelli, Principal Risk Officer, Sustainable Supply Chains, at IFC (International Finance Corporation); Noor Yafai, Europe Director Global Policy and Institutional Partnerships, at The Nature Conservancy; and Michael Schmela, Director of Market Intelligence, at SolarPower Europe.
We also revealed the winners of this year’s Sustainable Solar Photo Competition, showcasing photos from SolarPower Europe’s members highlighting the beauty of sustainable solar. Almost 800 votes were cast online, and the winner was RWE for this beautiful photo of sunflowers growing on their Agri-PV site in Germany.
"Sustainability is at the heart of solar in Europe; we must keep working together to ensure the highest standards for our sector" our CEO Walburga Hemetsberger concluded with words of inspiration, summing up an eventful day.
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