With many utilities, universities, and Fortune 500 companies establishing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, there’s an increasing need to understand the environmental impacts of developing and constructing solar projects, solar equipment, and the manufacturer’s related supply chain. That’s one of the reasons why Inovateus published our second annual sustainability report, and as Inovateus’ Director of Procurement, it’s also the reason why I recently obtained my Certified Green Purchasing Professional (CGPP) accreditation from the American Purchasing Society.
As noted in our report, Inovateus’ goal is to have our operations be net-zero by 2025. While metrics exist for measuring the energy used by our company and employee travel, it’s more challenging to assess the carbon footprint of the solar modules, inverters, and other equipment that we procure for our solar projects. These manufacturers not only use a combination of clean and fossil fuel energy for manufacturing, but their packaging and transportation methods also have a carbon impact. Moreover, the quality and ethical treatment of workers is also important to the ESG goals of Inovateus and our customers.
While evaluation methods and metrics will continue to be honed as more suppliers measure their environmental impacts, becoming a CGPP has given me some standard evaluation metrics to ask the right questions and more accurately evaluate our suppliers’ environmental and social impact.
Many may wonder whether being more sustainable will increase the costs of solar development, but that’s actually a myth. My CGPP course demonstrated the ways that cost-saving measures can also achieve sustainability goals as well. Whether through the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle), energy conservation efforts, or new green construction methods, procurement can make a significant contribution to sustainability without increasing the upfront cost or levelized cost of energy.
With my new green certification, I’m working with our team to create Inovateus’ first Green Purchasing Sustainability Plan. Our plan will be as practical as possible, embedding cost savings with environmental stewardship. The plan will require input from micro stakeholders such as customers, employees, and suppliers, as well as macro stakeholders, such as the environment, community, and cities.
Once completed, we hope to be able to evaluate each supplier with a total-cost-of-ownership and environmental impact score card that addresses top sustainability concerns, including:
Measuring the carbon intensity of manufacturing, including the manufacture’s supply chain. Are the factories powered by solar or other types of clean energy? If not, how much of their factory’s utility grid is made up of clean energy? Was the steel mined locally or from another country? All of these factors and more are important to the total environmental manufacturing cost.
The recyclability of the solar products and supply chain. Are the products made with toxic substances like lead? If so, can these substances be separated and recycled or reused at the equipment’s end of life? Are they made with aluminum, which is typically easier to recycle and reuse for other products?
The environmental impact of equipment’s packaging. How much packaging was used? Is it recyclable? For example, can the wood pallets be locally reused, recycled, or composted?
The carbon impact of delivery. From the factory to the job site, what is the carbon cost of transportation? The closer the factory is to the job site, the better, but it’s also important to know the proportional carbon intensity of the trucks and cargo ships used.
Evaluating power density. By using the most powerful and most efficient solar modules such as bifacial panels, Inovateus can use fewer modules on a smaller plot of land, preserving land and leasing costs. In addition, high power modules can also reduce the cost and environmental impact of wiring, trackers, inverters, and other equipment.
Social governance. Does the supplier comply with SEIA’s no-forced labor pledge? Inovateus is making every effort to ensure that our solar equipment was manufactured with ethical labor standards.
While this procurement evaluation process will be challenging due to the many stakeholders and metrics involved, the good news is that many manufacturers are already addressing their climate impacts. One example is that foreign module producers are building more factories and assembly plants in the U.S., significantly reducing their transportation costs and carbon footprint.
By next year’s sustainability report in Spring of 2022, we expect to have our Green Purchasing Sustainability Plan in place, procuring the highest quality solar products at the lowest cost and environmental impact.
Jefferson Gerwig is Inovateus Solar’s Director of Procurement and a Certified Professional Purchasing Manager, Certified Green Purchasing Professional, Certified Purchasing Professional.
