SolarPower Europe launches landmark Solar Sustainability report

• SolarPower Europe unveils its landmark ‘Sustainable Solar: Environmental, Social, and Governance Actions Along the Value Chain’ report, detailing how the solar sector is addressing key sustainability challenges across all stages of its lifecycle.
• The report offers best practices, context, and case studies to position the EU solar sector as a global sustainability leader. 
   

Brussels, BELGIUM (Thursday, 12th December 2024): SolarPower Europe’s latest report provides a comprehensive look at how the solar sector is addressing critical sustainability challenges across its complex value chain. ‘Sustainable Solar: Environmental, Social, and Governance Actions Along the Value Chain’ emphasises the sector's commitment to advancing sustainability and is aligned with global efforts to achieve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.  

The crucial role of solar in global decarbonisation and its significant contribution to economy-wide sustainability as one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity is undeniable. However, sustainability goes beyond clean energy and climate action, and the solar sector remains mindful of its own sustainability.

Raffaele Rossi, Head of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe (he/him) said; “As solar becomes the backbone of electrified and renewable-based energy systems and with exciting growth expected in the years ahead, it’s critical that the sector is doing its homework and demonstrating its ongoing efforts to reduce its impact across all stages of its lifecycle. To do so, long-term sustainability under all relevant dimensions – environmental, social and economic – must be achieved.”

The landmark report aims to advance and disseminate knowledge on solar sustainability and contribute to positioning the EU solar sector as a sustainability leader towards achieving the ESG goals.

The report covers sustainability considerations across the solar value chain – from the supply chain phase, through the use phase, and to the end-of-life phase

For each sustainability domain, the report outlines the overall context and background, – the current state of play regarding the sustainability challenge, the relevant legislation on the topic, and how the solar industry has advanced on the challenge so far.

The report also provides an overview of best practices to address the sustainability challenge and illustrates their implementation though several hands-on case studies.

Sustainable Solar: Environmental, Social, and Governance Actions Along the Value Chain 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. A joint offering from Intersolar Europe and SolarPower Europe, this annual event provides the solar community with an opportunity to discuss the most critical topics on solar sustainability, and exchange best practices.
 

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