Program
Sustainable Solar Europe 2024

Launch of the report: Sustainable Solar. Environmental, social and governance actions along the value chain. Keynote speech followed by moderated high-level discussion.

SolarPower Europe’s Sustainability Award 2024 recognises top sustainability performers in the sector for their work to maximise the positive impact of solar on communities, the climate and environment. The Award aims to highlight and share sustainability best practices within the sector – and ultimately take solar forward as the sustainable energy leader.  

The Sustainability Award is a competition that aims to give visibility to top sustainability performers for their use of solar energy to reduce their environmental footprint and increase sustainability.

The European PV sector is adapting to a changing legislative framework, in which more focus is being given to sustainability and resilience considerations in public procurement. Under Art. 25 of the Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA), the European Commission is currently defining the public procurement rules to boost EU manufacturing competitiveness while improving the sustainability profile of purchased PV products. This legislation comes at a time when EU buildings, and especially public buildings, are being systematically equipped with solar PV under the European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). In this session we will bring together representatives from public procurement authorities, EU policymakers and product suppliers to exchange views on sustainability and resilience criteria in public procurement.

Solar parks do not only produce renewable, clean energy, but they can also improve the environmental conditions of the land they stand on. In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, SolarPower Europe has developed a Biodiversity Net Gains Policy paper, assessing how solar PV can contribute to the EU nature restoration goals. This session will discuss what role the EU decision-makers play in enhancing the scaling of nature-inclusive solar parks in Europe. It will assess the different biodiversity net gain schemes that exist and how these schemes can enhance the development of nature-inclusive solar PV.

This session will explore the critical intersection of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in securing the long-term sustainability of solar assets. Industry experts will discuss best practices for integrating ESG principles into solar asset management, emphasising strategies that enhance commercial performance while promoting environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Participants will gain insights into industry experiences, innovative financing models, and effective stakeholder engagement techniques that can drive sustainable growth in the solar sector. Join us to learn how to navigate challenges and seize opportunities that ensure the continued success of solar investments in a rapidly changing market.

Solar and nature go hand-in-hand. In this session, key cross-sectoral actors will discuss what role agrisolar plays in providing environmental and economic benefits to the farmer. Following the launch of our Agrisolar Handbook in November, the session will concentrate on discussions around different types of economic models for agrisolar and how different types of farming systems can be applied to these business models.

The solar sector has made significant progress in decreasing its carbon footprint in the recent years. This session will discuss methods and strategies of lowering carbon footprint of PV modules and components and it will present best practices based on the newest Solar Sustainability report published by SolarPower Europe.

PV's crucial role in the energy transition demands vast energy and materials, making resource efficiency essential. A strong circularity strategy, encompassing reuse, repair, and material recovery from end-of-life systems, is vital for sustainability. Effectively recovering and valorising material from end-of-life PV is key to closing the circularity loop, with R&I having a central role to play to solve recycling challenges.

In this session, four EU-funded R&I projects will outline how they are tackling these challenges, focusing on the recovery of high purity silicon, recycling of polymers, and recovery of silver from end-of-life PV panels.

Introducing the SSI Supply Chain Traceability Standard

Building on the success of their ESG Standard, the Solar Stewardship Initiative is set to reach a new milestone with the publication of the final SSI Supply Chain Traceability Standard. This step marks the completion of the SSI certification programme, and paves the way for SSI product claims to be made by the end of 2025. The finalised system will enable the independent certification of production sites against the SSI ESG Standard, and establishes the tools to trace and prove where, how, and by whom solar products are made. Join this session for the launch of the SSI Supply Chain Traceability Standard, to discuss the SSI’s next steps, and how it will support the implementation of critical, upcoming EU legislation on sustainable supply chains.

Most renewable installations will happen at the local level, making cities and local authorities the perfect candidates to accelerate the energy transition. But increased solar installations will need to go hand-in-hand with a reinforced participation of local communities to guarantee citizens’ empowerment and, ultimately, public support for the energy transition.

This session will explore how solar developers can engage with local citizens, and how collaborations between the public and the private sector are possible to facilitate energy communities and collective energy actions by reducing the operational burden for citizens while still guaranteeing sufficient local engagement.

This session will discuss the development of a market for solar PV reuse in Europe. From decommissioning, testing and preparation of modules for second life, to a successful deployment of reused modules to a new site, there is a wide range of challenges and opportunities. Building upon lessons learned from the Sustainable Solar report and End-of-Life Best Practice Guidelines published earlier this year, stakeholders from the public sector, industry and academia will discuss the current state of play and the way forward.