SunPower says it now manufactures 100% of its direct-current E-Series and X-Series solar panels to meet Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver standards. Administered by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the certification evaluates a product across five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy use, water stewardship and social fairness.
“Consumers can drive significant environmental change by supporting products that are sustainably designed, sourced and manufactured, and Cradle to Cradle certification provides trusted validation that these products are made with minimal impact to our earth and local communities,” states Lewis Perkins, president of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
SunPower says four of its facilities located in Mexico, France and now the Philippines are producing Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver solar panels – the only solar panels in the world that carry the mark to date. The company adds that these same SunPower manufacturing sites are on a path to becoming “triple certified” to add landfill-free verification and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification to their list of sustainability achievements.
At the end of 2015, SunPower facilities in De Vernejoul and Toulouse, France, joined the company’s Mexicali facility in earning landfill-free verification from NSF Sustainability, a division of the global public health organization NSF International. With this recognition, three SunPower facilities now hold the verification demonstrating that 99% of the waste generated at each location is diverted from landfills.
“SunPower has proven that there’s a holistically better way to help residential, commercial and power plant solar customers globally achieve their renewable energy goals with minimal impact to the environment, and we look forward to further reducing our carbon footprints, together,” comments Marty Neese, SunPower’s chief operating officer.
Image courtesy of SunPower: An image of SunPower’s company’s X-Series panel.
