ESG – Canadian Solar

POWER THE WORLD WITH SOLAR ENERGY

As a global leading renewable energy company, Canadian Solar aims to power the world with solar energy and to create a cleaner Earth for future generations. At Canadian Solar, we are making progress toward advancing our sustainability strategy from an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective and will continue to improve our practices to ensure long-term sustainability. Our sustainability report is aligned with global standards set by the SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), and GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), and with reference to the IFRS (the International Financial Reporting Standards) set by ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board). CLICK AND DOWNLOAD Canadian Solar 2023 ESG Sustainability Report.
INTERNATIONAL ESG INITIATIVES, CERTIFICATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS

We have significantly expanded our participation in international ESG initiatives, recognitions, and certifications. Canadian Solar received numerous ESG ratings and awards from leading agencies worldwide, including the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Environmental Finance, EcoVadis, the Unión Española Fotovoltaica (UNEF), Achilles, and Ernst & Young (EY). The Company has joined the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) and will continue to participate in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Climate Change Questionnaire in 2024. The Company is also developing its science-based climate targets in alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Canadian Solar has also expanded the universe of our ISO certifications. Our operations are certified under ISO9001 (quality management system), ISO14001 (environmental management system), ISO45001 (occupational health and safety system), and ISO50001 (energy management system), demonstrating our commitment to maintain a high standard of product quality, environmental protection, energy conservation, and operational safety.
ENVIRONMENTAL

From 2017 to 2023, we achieved year-over-year reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy intensity, water, and waste intensity of 37%, 37%, 72%, and 54%, respectively. We updated our 5-year rolling targets, aiming to achieve GHG emissions, energy, water, and waste intensity reductions of 22%, 22%, 15%, and 20%, respectively, from our 2023 levels by 2028. Specifically, on GHG emissions, we have made further progress towards climate impact transparency by broadening our scope 3 categories. The Company also advocates for a circular economy and follows the 3R principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle across its operations and businesses. We remain on track to achieve its target of powering all global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2030.
SOCIAL

We aim to increase female employees’ representation in our global workforce from 32% to 40%, their representation in middle management from 26% to 30%, and their representation in senior management from 9% to 10% from our 2023 levels by 2028. We also plan to increase the share of employees with disabilities to 1-2% by 2028 from 0.7% in 2023. Our operations are certified under ISO9001 (quality management system), ISO14001 (environmental management system), ISO45001 (occupational health and safety system), and ISO50001 (energy management system). In 2023, our recordable injury rate was 0.75 cases per million working hours. We are committed to ensuring ethical labor practices across our own operations and within our supply chain. In 2023, we conducted 129 supplier ESG audits, an increase from the 122 audits conducted in 2022. To ensure the integrity of our operations and supply chain, we also engage with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to conduct Validated Assessment Program (VAP) audits at our own facilities as well as those of our suppliers. The RBA VAP audit is an industry-leading standard for on-site manufacturing evaluations, assessing labor practices, health and safety, environment, ethics, and management systems.
GOVERNANCE

The Sustainability Committee at Canadian Solar’s Board reviews sustainability (including climate)-related risks and opportunities associated with our strategy and business development; monitors progress, advises, and assists the Board on strategic measures related to the Company’s long-term sustainability; and oversees the progress and execution of ESG plans. Canadian Solar’s Board is dedicated to enhancing board diversity. Our Board has met the requirements of the NASDAQ New Rule 5605(f) for Diverse Board Representation in the specified time frame. Canadian Solar's sustainability policies provide a framework for our sustainability commitments. CLICK AND DOWNLOAD Canadian Solar Sustainability Policies.
Green Financing

As part of our long-standing commitment to sustainability, we updated our Green Financing Framework (“Green Financing Framework”) in 2024. This comprehensive update extends beyond project development to encompass the entire spectrum of our operations, including both solar and battery energy storage project development and product manufacturing. Both the previous and current versions of the Framework have received a second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, a leading firm in ESG and corporate governance research and analytics. The new Framework is aligned to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles (“GBP”), 2021 amended in June 2022, aiming to encompass future issuances in the capital markets, and the Green Loan Principles (“GLP”) updated in February 2023 published by the Loan Market Association (LMA), Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), aiming to encompass bilateral or syndicated loans with financial institutions and/or multilateral agencies. CLICK AND DOWNLOAD the updated Green Finance Framework and the Second-Party Opinion from Sustainalytics. Case Study Canadian Solar’s indirectly wholly owned subsidiary Canadian Solar EMEA Capital Markets, S.A.U. on December 2, 2021 successfully completed a EUR30 million green bond issuance due on December 2026 under its EUR100 million Canadian Solar EMEA Green Medium Term Note Program in the Spanish multilateral trading facility (MTF) for debt securities (MARF). The notes are qualified as “green bonds” pursuant to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principals and the Green Financing Framework adopted by Canadian Solar in Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA region. CLICK to see more details.