GUELPH,
ON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/
-- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian
Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ) today announces the release of its 2022
Sustainability Report, which highlights the Company's progress
toward advancing its sustainability strategy from an environmental,
social, and governance (ESG) perspective.
The sustainability disclosure in this report are aligned with
global standards set by the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related
Disclosures), SASB (the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board)
and GRI (Global Reporting Initiative). The full report is available
here.
Highlights of the report include:
- Recognition by external ESG rating agencies. Canadian
Solar received a Prime ESG rating from Institutional Shareholder
Services (ISS) in early 2023, placing the Company among the top 5
percentile of the nearly 100 global companies rated in the same
industry. Canadian Solar also received an Excellent ESG rating from
Achilles, a reputable UK agency evaluating environmental, social
and governance factors across supply chains.
- Significantly expanded the Company's participation in
international ESG initiatives. Canadian Solar recently joined
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), committing to support and
adhere to the Ten Principles of the UNGC on human rights, labor,
environment, and anti-corruption. Canadian Solar has also recently
submitted a commitment letter to the SBTi (Science Based Targets
initiative) indicating its intention to set the near-term and
net-zero science-based climate targets. In addition, the Company
has completed CDP Climate Change 2023 Questionnaire, providing data
on how climate-related issues are addressed in alignment with the
TCFD recommendations.
- On track to achieve the Company's environmental goals and
targets. In 2022, Canadian Solar reduced its year-over-year
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy, water, and waste intensity
by 3%, 7%, 30% and 15% respectively. Specifically, on GHG
emissions, the Company has made further progress towards climate
impact transparency by disclosing certain scope 3 emissions. The
Company is also on track to achieve the goal of powering all global
operations with 100% of renewable energy before 2030.
- Ensuring ethical labor practices in the Company's operations
and suppliers. In 2022, the Company conducted 122 supplier ESG
audits and initiated a third-party assessment to evaluate the
effective of its Anti-Modern Slavery Policy, Supplier Code of
Conduct, and Human Rights Policy in preventing forced labor, among
other initiatives. Specifically, the Company engaged the
Responsible Business Alliance to conduct a Validated Assessment
Program, covering areas of labor practices, health and safety,
environment, ethics, and management systems.
- Promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity. Canadian
Solar is an equal opportunity provider who strives to build a
diverse workforce. For example, the Company has continued to
prioritize providing employment opportunities for people with
disabilities, hiring 120 employees with disabilities as of
2022.
- Advancing community engagement. Canadian Solar connects
employees with its mission by organizing sustainability-related
activities. This includes activities such as donations to
orphanages and mountain clean-up activity. The Company also
collaborates closely with stakeholders when it develops solar and
battery storage projects and provides operation and maintenance
services.
- Protecting biodiversity. Canadian Solar prepares
biological protection plans, takes measures, and obtains all
required approval in terms of biodiversity protection for projects
it develops and provides O&M services.
Ms. Hanbing Zhang, Chief
Sustainability Officer, said, "We are pleased to publish our
2022 ESG report which underscores the progress we have made toward
our sustainability goals. In addition to helping our customers and
other partners reduce their carbon emissions and environmental
impact, we also continue to reduce the environmental impact from
our own operations. At Canadian Solar, we advocate diversity,
inclusion, and equity and we are committed to maintaining a
responsible supply chain. ESG efforts are a long-term exercise and
we look forward to engaging with our stakeholders further."
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman
and CEO of Canadian Solar commented, "This is the third year
that we are executing on our revamped sustainability strategy and I
am proud of the achievements made by our team. As a clean energy
company, Canadian Solar contributes to global decarbonization goals
by providing affordable and clean energy. Our participation in
United Nations Global Compact and SBTi is a testament of our
commitment to ethical labor practice, business ethics and climate
change mitigation and adaptation. We will continue our sustainable
practices and create long-term value for our stakeholders."
About Canadian Solar
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar
technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading
manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar
energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of
utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a
geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of
development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has
successfully delivered around 94 GW of premium-quality, solar
photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since
entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar
has developed, built and connected over 8.8 GWp in over 20
countries across the world. Currently, the Company has
approximately 609 MWp of projects in operation, 6.9 GWp of projects
under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional
17.7 GWp of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline.
Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar
and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the
NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the
Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or
visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements
are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends,"
"estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable
terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
include general business, regulatory and economic conditions and
the state of the solar and battery storage market and industry;
geopolitical tensions and conflicts, including impasses, sanctions
and export controls; volatility, uncertainty, delays and
disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; supply chain
disruptions; governmental support for the deployment of solar
power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for
end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products
in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers;
changes in demand from major markets, such as Japan,
the U.S., China, Brazil and Europe;
changes in effective tax rates; changes in customer order patterns;
changes in product mix; changes in corporate responsibility,
especially environmental, social and governance ("ESG")
requirements; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing
pressure and declines in or failure to timely adjust average
selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in
utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale
project construction; delays in the completion of project sales;
continued success in technological innovations and delivery of
products with the features that customers demand; shortage in
supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of
financing; exchange and inflation rate fluctuations; uncertainties
related to the CSI Solar carve-out listing; litigation
and other risks as described in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual
report on Form 20-F filed on April 18, 2023. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee
future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements.
Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. All information provided in this press release is as of
today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian
Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as
required under applicable law.
Canadian Solar Inc. Contacts
Isabel Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
investor@canadiansolar.com
David Pasquale
Global IR Partners
+1-914-337-8801
csiq@globalirpartners.com
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.