Since 2014, SunPower has manufactured a portion of its direct current E-Series and X-Series solar panels to meet Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver standards and now 100 percent of SunPower direct current panels hold this certification. This week, Environmental Leader an energy, environmental and sustainability news source published by Business Sector Media LLC named SunPower's Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver solar panels the 2016 Environmental Leader Product of the Year.
With rapid advancements and a continuous rate of change in the industry, it can be challenging for sustainability and energy professionals to know what products best help their companies increase energy, environmental, and sustainability performance. The Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards give companies a solid base of products, vetted by experts, to choose from, as well as a variety of successful projects to illustrate how sustainability and energy management are helping companies improve.
Scores were determined by a panel of independent judges headed by Peter Bussey of LNS Research and also including judges from Ball Aerospace & Technology, BSI Group, C&A, ConAgra Foods, Denver International Airport, ERM, Fetzer Vineyards, General Motors, LNS Research, MUFG Union Bank, Sears Holding Corporation, Staples, the University of California Berkeley, University of Colorado, U.S. Department of Energy, and USG Corporation.
One judge had this to say about SunPower's Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver solar panels:
"A comprehensive approach to the sustainable development of highly efficient solar panels. SunPower is an industry leader in the solar panel market and the only provider who has achieved the Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver designation."
The Product of the Year award criteria specifically focuses on innovative products that improve energy management, waste management, water efficiency, supply chain efficiency, packaging, air quality, or any other area of energy and environmental management. Administered by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, Cradle to Cradle certification evaluates a product across five similar categories including material health, material reutilization, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social fairness.
"SunPower's manufacturing facilities and employees around the world operate with environmental sustainability and social responsibility at their core," said Marty Neese, SunPower chief operating officer. "Customers can trust that we make our solar panels as sustainably as the clean energy they produce, helping them reach long-term sustainability goals like achieving LEED certification for a building or reducing a home's carbon footprint."
Four SunPower facilities located in Mexico, France and the Philippines are producing Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver solar panels the only solar panels in the world that carry the mark. 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 (LEED) certification to their list of sustainability achievements.
