- Global and high quality solar panel manufacturer, JA Solar, has relesed their sixth annual edition – Sustainable Development and ESG Report.
The report covers six main areas: corporate governance, green and low-carbon development, product and services, value chain management, talent growth, and social welfare. It comprehensively presents JA Solar’s innovative sustainable development practices in 2022.
Improving sustainable development management to support the UN’s sustainable development goals:
According to the report, JA Solar actively responded to the UN’s sustainable development goals with a mission to “develop solar power to benefit the planet”. In 2022, JA Solar proposed a sustainable development philosophy, strategy, and vision of “Green to Green, Green to Grow, Green to Great”, aiming to act with its value chain to embark on a green development journey. In February 2023, JA Solar renamed its board subcommittee from the Strategic Committee to the Strategic and Sustainable Development Committee. This committee is responsible for supervising and managing important ESG-related issues and initiatives within the company. The goal is to promote the development of ESG-related plans, goals, and regulations, and to further improve the company’s sustainable development governance structure.
Actively responding to climate change and building a green and low-carbon industry chain:
JA Solar highly values its response to climate change and follows the recommendations framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to systematically identify climate-related risks and opportunities, coordinate management efforts, and develop relevant strategies and goals. In 2022, the company’s greenhouse operations saw a 33% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
Additionally, JA Solar actively collaborates with external partners to explore new methods for the PV industry to respond to climate change. In 2022, the company signed strategic cooperation agreements with institutions such as China Beijing Green Exchange and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and became the first PV company to join the CDP supply chain project, to work with the value chain in jointly addressing climate change.
Meanwhile, JA Solar is exploring the development of green full-lifecycle products by promoting green production, operations, products, and innovative solutions, to establish a comprehensive, green, and low-carbon industry chain. The company’s six bases have been included in the “Green Factory” list by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. All its mainstream products have obtained carbon footprint certification from Certisolis in France, and mainstream type 182 products have received environmental product declaration certification from ULEPD in Italy. Additionally, JA Solar initiated the establishment of the “PV Recycling Industry Development Cooperation Center” and entered a strategic collaboration with PV CYCLE to promote the dismantling and recycling of discarded PV modules. As of the end of 2022, JA Solar had a PV power plant capacity of 963MW, with an annual power generation of over 800 million kWh.
Strengthening the foundation of corporate governance and promoting the company’s sustainable development:
JA Solar regards excellent governance as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Under the business principle of “steady growth and sustainable profitability,” the company continuously improves its corporate governance system and compliance system, safeguarding investor interests while supporting the company’s high-quality development. In 2022, one-third of the company’s board members were women, and there were zero incidents of internal control risks. In terms of intellectual property protection and information security, the report indicates that JA Solar has established a clear intellectual property management framework and a comprehensive information security and privacy protection system to effectively protect all employee, customer, and partner information.
Adhering to technological innovation, and providing customers with high-quality products and services:
JA Solar considers innovation as the driving force for sustainable development. In 2022, the company invested RMB4.608 billion in research and development. The company also adheres to the R&D strategy of “producing one generation, researching and developing one generation, and reserving one generation,” focusing on building a multi-level research and development system that is globally competitive. In 2022, JA Solar was approved as the first national-level intellectual property operation center in the PV manufacturing field (excluding polycrystalline silicon).
In terms of products, JA Solar continues to provide safe and high-quality services to users through technological innovation. The company released its first n-type module product, DeepBlue 4.0 X; the n-type Bycium cell achieved large-scale production, with the highest conversion efficiency reaching 25.30%. The company ensures the quality and reliability of its products and services by implementing comprehensive management systems for quality control and customer service alongside solid quality and risk control mechanisms. In 2022, JA Solar was awarded the title of “National Quality Leading Enterprise in the PV Industry”.
Continuously optimizing supplier management and working with the value chain to fulfill responsibilities:
JA Solar continuously optimizes its supplier management system and collaborates with suppliers for innovation to jointly create a harmonious and win-win industry ecosystem. The report shows that JA Solar focuses on three major areas: supplier access, daily management, and improvement and enhancement, all of which guided suppliers in fulfilling their responsibilities. In 2022, 100% of the company’s main material suppliers passed the ISO9001 quality management certification. The signing rate of the Supplier Environmental Health/Safety and Social Responsibility Commitment Letter has reached 100%.
Safeguarding employee rights, and focusing on talent development and growth:
JA Solar prioritizes the cultivation and development of talent and has built a comprehensive talent system to encourage professional growth, covering areas such as equal employment and rights protection, employee development, employee care and communication, occupational health and safety. In 2022, JA Solar offered its employees a variety of training and promotion opportunities with a total of 17,117 internal and external offline training sessions conducted. 131,245.60 hours of training was provided via the “Yidianzhishi” online learning platform and JA invested RMB2.3888 million to support employees in external training. Meanwhile, regarding occupational health and safety of employees, in 2022, JA Solar achieved 100% coverage of employees under the occupational health and safety management system, provided health and safety training to 362,732 employees, and had zero cases of occupational diseases.
Extensive participation in public welfare projects and contribution to society during business operations:
As one of the initiators of the China Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Alliance, JA Solar is committed to developing an integrated “photovoltaic +” industrial model that combines industry development with rural revitalization. As of the end of 2022, the cumulative donations for photovoltaic poverty alleviation power station projects was about RMB60.294 million. JA Solar also promoted the “Three Major Projects for the Benefits of the People” to support the development of education and healthcare. In 2022, the company donated solar lights to The UN Refugee Agency for displaced families and refugees around the world.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: JA Solar
