2024 Impact ReportSilfab's journey toward sustainability
welcome to silfab solar’s 2024 sustainability impact report.
The content for this year’s report focuses on providing multi-year data trends and analysis for our most important sustainability metrics. It builds on the strength of this being Silfab’s third report, which enables trend analysis on our critical sustainability priorities: safety, employment, product driven carbon emission reductions, net zero targets, energy, carbon and water metrics, and donations to the community.
OUR PURPOSE
At Silfab Solar, our purpose is to make a difference in the world by reducing carbon emissions and improving access to clean energy with every module we make.
OUR VISION
Silfab Solar will become, in a sustainable manner, the largest photovoltaic (PV) supplier in North America and a leader in product and process technology.
OUR VALUES
In a safe, healthy and diverse environment, we value:
OUR SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT
Sustainability has been embedded in our corporate purpose and values since the company’s inception. Our North American-based facilities are focused on strong environmental and social responsibility as well as performance, backed by rigorous accountability and governance systems.
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIES
supply chain traceability
Silfab Solar has established a rigorous supplier quality scorecard process that not only ensures the materials we are using are of the highest quality for our solar modules and cells, but that they also have the highest standards of sustainability considered as well. As a condition of doing business with Silfab, all vendors must comply with Silfab’s Code of Conduct and agree to uphold its values.
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIESNET ZERO COMMITMENT
Since the company’s inception, Silfab Solar’s modules have provided clean energy, decreasing the demand for polluting sources of electricity. We are also focused on reducing our own footprint through Silfab’s net zero target which includes interim 2026 and 2030 ambitions.
The 2026 goal will be supported by our plan to cover the roof of Silfab Solar’s Burlington, Washington, manufacturing facility with our own solar panels. The project is scoped to be a 1.4 MW size solar installation, producing an estimated 1.5 MWh per year, which would equal 30% of the electricity demand at the facility, and avoid 600 tonnes of GHG emissions per year.
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIES
RESHORING SOLAR SUPPLY CHAIN TO USA
Silfab Solar is a member of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition, a group of American manufacturers working to restore the US domestic solar supply chain.
SEMA members provide high-quality jobs and have a significant positive economic impact on communities throughout the US. Its members represent every step in the value chain, enabling a complete onshoring of the solar manufacturing process.
Silfab’s Fort Mill, South Carolina factory will produce 1 gigawatt of American-made solar cells and an additional 1.3 gigawatts of PV modules, further contributing to the growth of the US supply chain. The facility will provide 800 new skilled jobs, $17 million in property taxes to local schools, $4.7 million taxes to York County, and, once fully staffed, an estimated annual payroll of more than $48 million.
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIESSILFAB SOLAR INVESTMENT TIMELINE
Over the past decade, Silfab Solar and its partners have made significant investments in the US solar industry.
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIES
sustainably-driven innovation
Silfab Solar is focused on manufacturing the most efficient solar cells and panels in the US market, which results in more clean energy, environmental benefits, and value for our customers.
Silfab Solar’s operations have expanded to include solar cell manufacturing. The N-type solar cells to be made at Silfab’s facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina will have the best energy conversion rates of any polysilicon-based solar cells in the world. Domestically made, they are the most efficient and the most environmentally friendly.
• HIGH EFFICIENCY
• BETTER LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE IN LOW LIGHT
• LOW OPERATING TEMPERATURE / HIGH TOLERANCE
• MADE TO WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME
SPOTLIGHT ON PRIORITIES
solar cell plant sustainability
Silfab Solar’s new Fort Mill solar cell and module facility is being built with the highest safety, environmental and health standards. Solar cells manufactured in South Carolina will have a far lower embodied carbon footprint than those manufactured elsewhere.
• AIR EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT
• WATER USE AND TREATMENT
• CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT AND SAFETY
• WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCING
• LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGYGOVERNANCE
Silfab Solar’s ‘Excellent’ rating by Green Financing experts Sustainable Fitch is a strong validation of the company’s sustainability performance.
In 2024, Silfab Solar raised $50 million in senior secured financing in the form of a Green Loan led by Breakwall Capital, an energy-focused asset manager and employee-owned firm committed to supporting the growth and improvement of conventional, renewable, and next generation energy companies. The Green Loan and equity financing will advance the overall capacity of Silfab’s cell production and PV module manufacturing within its new facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and to reshore US-made solar products that are in high demand by the company’s customers. Silfab’s newest US facility will be operational by mid 2025.
Sustainable Fitch provided a second-party opinion on the Green Loan and considers the transaction to be structured in line with the Loan Market Association, Loan Syndications and Trading Association, and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association Green Loan Principles.
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (ISO CERTIFICATIONS)
In 2024, our focus continued to be on solidifying our ISO 9001:2015 foundation with future plans to build a road map to a more advanced integrated management system (IMS). In an IMS, all systems work together aligned behind a single goal—operational excellence.
SAFETYSAFETY PROCEDURES AND TRAINING PRIORITIES
At Silfab Solar, safety is paramount. It is a permanent KPI on our corporate scorecard, approved annually by the company’s board of directors. We are very proud of our safety results and will continue to work hard to ensure strong performance.
Silfab’s safety performance has improved year over year for the past 4 years. The improvement is a result of a heightened emphasis on safety metrics and performance across the entire organization. Safety metrics are a key corporate KPI that remains in place year after year, with updates regularly informed by learnings in all areas of the company.
• MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP
• EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
• HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• HEALTH OF THE PROGRAM / CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
• COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION
SOCIAL
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
ENVIRONMENT
ENERGY, CARBON AND WATER IMPACTS
Silfab Solar’s tracking data on key environmental impact areas provides the company with important baselines and trend analysis to enable performance improvement plans.
Silfab Solar’s carbon footprint has been increasing in recent years as production has shifted from Ontario, Canada to Burlington, Washington. The carbon intensity of the electricity grid in Washington State is much higher than that of Ontario. As production at Silfab’s newest site in Fort Mill, South Carolina increases, the company’s carbon footprint will begin to reduce due to the fact that the electricity grid there more resembles that of Ontario. Silfab’s facility in South Carolina is supplied by nuclear, solar and hydroelectricity generation, all close to zero for carbon intensity. In Washington State, we are keen to see the commitment for the coal generating facility on the electricity grid to be retired as planned, and the grid (and the air) to become cleaner.
Silfab’s water use has remained low given it is not necessary for the production of solar modules. In 2025, as cell manufacturing ramps up, water use will as well as it is a key input for that production process. Our water use safety measures are intensive as noted in the Fort Mill section of this report, and we will continue to report transparently on adherence to all regulatory requirements related to water use.
WASTE & RECYCLING
Silfab Solar expanded its recycling efforts in 2024, continuing its commitment to recycle manufacturing waste and packaging materials associated with our manufacturing inputs. A particular challenge in waste management is finding recycling options for the different kinds of plastics used. We have been able to find re-use options for plastics such as shipping pallets and continue to look for new options to reduce landfill.
Environment
In 2024, Silfab established a Green Team at its Burlington facility to identify opportunities for increased environmental sustainability and enhanced community involvement. The team consists of ten people from various functions within the facility—human resources, logistics, maintenance, marketing, operations, production, and supply chain—and meets once a month. Short-term initiatives include improved recycling and community donations. Longer-term initiatives include equipment donations, investments in waste reduction infrastructure, and research into alternative packaging materials.
ENVIRONMENTENGAGEMENT
Silfab Solar regularly donates solar panels to various causes, both in the US and further afield. Our continuing collaboration has helped to enhance the lives of people throughout the world by supplying clean energy to power schools, medical facilities, and clean water.
SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES
Looking forward to 2025:
Future objectives will cover:
Integrated Management Systems – 9001/14001/45001/26000, Expanded safety metrics, Net Zero target progress, Increased scope of recycling activities, Solar cell sustainability metrics