At the 2024 PV Green Supply Chain Forum held recently, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and PECC released the results of the first phase of the CATI index evaluation of corporate climate action of listed PV companies, and ten listed PV companies, including LONGi Green Energy (601012), JinkoSolar (688223), and Canadian Solar (688472), led the climate action ranking due to their active promotion of green and low-carbon transformation, but the overall climate performance of the PV industry still needs to be improved.
The first CATI index evaluation covers a total of 42 relevant listed companies, and quantitatively evaluates the performance of corporate climate action from five dimensions: governance mechanism, measurement and disclosure, carbon target setting, carbon target performance, and emission reduction action. In terms of governance and management, 33 PV companies have begun to formulate and publish climate policies, and 17 have included climate-related issues in the oversight responsibilities of the highest decision-making level of the board of directors. In terms of calculation and disclosure, 18 companies have accounted for and disclosed Scope 1 & 2 emissions, and 6 have already carried out Scope 3 emissions accounting and disclosure. 10 companies have calculated and disclosed product carbon footprint information.
In terms of target setting, 8 PV companies set and disclosed Scope 1&2 emission reduction targets, and 3 companies included Scope 3 in their climate targets. LONGi Green Energy (601012) and JinkoSolar (688223) have obtained Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) certification. 3 companies proposed to strive to achieve the goal of Scope 1 & 2 carbon neutrality by 2050; JinkoSolar (688223) has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050. Six companies have pledged to use 100% renewable energy in their own operations by 2030.
According to this evaluation, 29 photovoltaic companies are actively engaged in the use of renewable energy. Enterprises have increased the proportion of renewable energy utilization by building their own photovoltaic projects in the factory area, signing green power procurement agreements directly with suppliers, and purchasing energy attribute certificates. According to an on-site survey conducted by Green Jiangnan on a total of 61 subsidiaries of some participating PV companies, 70% of the PV enterprises have built their own rooftop PV projects, and most of them have a rooftop PV coverage rate of more than 50%. Twenty-eight companies carried out energy efficiency improvement, advanced technology substitution, or emission reduction actions for mobile source emissions, and 18 companies carried out systematic energy management to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
Zhejiang JinkoSolar Co., Ltd. rooftop photovoltaic
In terms of promoting the construction of low-carbon supply chains, 6 PV companies publicly disclosed that they were promoting suppliers to carry out corporate carbon accounting or energy management projects, among which LONGi Green Energy (601012), JA Solar Technology (002459), and TCL Zhonghuan (002129) further disclosed their emission reduction projects in cooperation with product production and logistics providers.
The research team found that as one of the key pathways to achieve global net-zero emissions, the new energy industry, including photovoltaic power generation, is developing rapidly under the impetus of the global zero-carbon sprint. At present, China's photovoltaic industry has developed into an undisputed global leader, and it is inevitable to face global industrial competition. Protectionist tendencies have emerged in many key regions around the world. Some regions have tightened the green entry threshold for the PV market through rules such as carbon footprint limits, eco-design, and eco-labels for PV products.
In view of the fact that the production and manufacturing of silicon materials, silicon wafer modules and other products in the photovoltaic industry, as well as the upstream and downstream transportation and distribution and disposal of waste photovoltaic modules, will consume a large amount of energy and water resources, and correspondingly produce a large amount of carbon emissions and pollutant emissions, as well as a large amount of waste, the research group reminds Chinese photovoltaic companies to pay attention to the global green development trend, accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of their own industrial chain, and shift from focusing on "green manufacturing" to "green manufacturing" and "green manufacturing".