Manuella Appiah, ESG Manager Sunrock: ‘The truth is that the industry is still looking for a solution’

“The solar energy sector is still in its infancy. Companies within this sector are focused on the energy transition and CO2 reduction. However, no company can claim to be completely sustainable. There is inevitably a risk of negative impacts somewhere in the value chain -on the environment, biodiversity, communities or individuals. Only by acknowledging this can you begin to minimise your negative impact and perhaps even create a positive one.

The Agreement helps companies take steps towards exercising due diligence. It provides information and tools in a very accessible and cost-effective way. Hiring consultants to do this would have significant financial implications. It is quite a challenge to get an entire company on board to address risks throughout the chain. Therefore, we have to make sure that not only ESG employees, but also procurement and other departments in companies understand and are aligned with our ESG objectives.”

Human right risks

“Something can always be done to address negative impacts, but it is essential to understand the structure of your value chain and the associated risks. For instance, given we don’t yet have full transparency on our supply chain , we cannot at this moment be 100% certain that there are no incidences of child labour linked to our supply chain. That is something we need to investigate further. However, we are aware of various reports that point to the possibility of forced labour in procurement of solar panels through contractors from companies linked to Xinjiang. This is an area in China where, according to the reports, Uyghurs are exploited as forced labour. We perceive this as a significant risk and one that we are focused on addressing.

To gain a better understanding of the issue, we invited several representatives from the Uyghur community to our office in Amsterdam in February this year to share their experiences. We also extended invitations to our competitors, suppliers, and partners to engage in dialogue and deepen our insights.”

Steering in the right direction

“The industry today is not sure what the solution is. All solar companies rely on Chinese raw materials and products. More than 80% of the world's solar panels are manufactured in China. But change is needed. Luckily within our organisation everyone is united by the goal to invest in better, fairer and more sustainable panels.

First of all, we are striving to make our entire supply chain as transparent as possible, so that we can identify risks at every step along the way. We use the Open Supply Hub platform to do this. If other companies do the same, we can identify and address common risks together. Secondly, we are investing in alternative, proven and more sustainable sources of solar panels. Although these panels are substantially more expensive than conventional models, we aim to demonstrate that the market is willing to pay extra for a just energy transition. As demand for sustainably manufactured panels grows, their cost will eventually come down. Government can play an important role in incentivising this transition by creating favourable economic and financial conditions for the production and procurement of more sustainably manufactured solar panels.

We cannot eradicate all human rights and environmental risks in the value chain on our own. However, we can do something and take action to build partnerships and alliances. I want to be able to go to sleep knowing that we are continually pushing our company and the sector in the right direction, and that we are continuing to make a positive impact on an ongoing basis.”