Solar Becoming Greener But Key EU Decision On Cadmium Awaits In June

May 25, 2010

Top solar manufacturers are making progress on greening their supply chains and recycling efforts, but a key European Union decision on cadmium could redefine what it means to be good for the environment

The EU’s decision on whether to exempt solar makers from regulations on hazardous chemicals, such as cadmium and lead, could come as soon as next month.

Its repercussions could be profound, particularly on market leader First Solar, which makes a cadmium-telluride thin-film cell. But First Solar is not alone in feeling the pain. General Electric and its partner PrimeStar Solar also work with cadmium, as does Abound Solar.

The EU could decide whether to exempt the solar industry from hazardous chemical regulations in June, including those on cadmium, a component of many cells.

Industry sources say the EU review may not be finalized until the fall, but the exemption should be decided by the end of June. If it is not granted, chemicals such as cadmium could eventually be banned from use.

Already this year seems to be a big one for solar’s efforts to manage its supply chain, improve manufacturing  and scale-up recycling. In Europe, a voluntary recycling program created to take back spent solar panels is ready to begin, and the number of companies participating has almost doubled to more than 25.

“This is a key year for PV recycling,” says Ben Santarris, public affairs manager at crystalline silicon cell maker SolarWorld. The program calls on companies to aside money ahead of time to process the panels they sell, a step Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, considers critical for the industry.

For companies such as SolarWorld, which has had a panel-recycling program at a factory in Germany since 2003, the new efforts don’t represent a big change. For others, the change is more significant.

However big changes do confront SolarWorld – specifically the removal of lead from its cells and panels. “We are committed to beginning to remove lead from our production facilities this year,” says Santarris.

The effort is a challenge both chemically and financially, and without an exemption from EU hazardous chemical regulations, could be mandated. The company uses lead during metallization, to coat silicon wafers with circuitry, and then to connect cells inside modules. A substitute is hard to find.

While the amount of lead is small enough not to violate California’s strict regulations, says Santarris, the pressures on the industry are considerable.

These pressures may weigh heaviest on cadmium telluride companies. First Solar defends its use of cadmium and has stepped up efforts to monitor the material in its supply chain.

Cadmium is a byproduct of zinc refining and purification, and would go to waste if not used, says Lisa Krueger, vice president of sustainable development. More so, by the time it ends up in the cadmium telluride compound First Solar uses, it is very stable and insoluble to water, so it doesn’t run off with the rain.

The compound is then placed between two pieces of glass, insulating it from exposure to the environment. “There is very little opportunity for the cadmium to be exposed to people or the environment,” says Krueger. “We’ve done a lot third-party validation.”

She also points out that a cadmium-telluride cell takes less energy to manufacture than a crystalline-silicon one. This means the CO2 output is lower, 14 to 15 grams per kWh of product compared with 28 to 29 for crystalline silicon, she says.

The company is nonetheless stepping up its efforts to monitor its supply chain. “There are things we can do to improve (our) supply chain,” acknowledges Krueger. One thing is to peer deeper, all the way back to the refiners and purifiers who handle raw materials. It is an effort now underway.

That means getting more information and validating the information suppliers do release, Krueger says. The company already audits some of companies. It will decide whether to audit more.

Still, long term, it doesn’t seem possible Europe will leave the industry unregulated. “Solar has an impact,” says Davis. “If it wants to be green, it needs to proactively address those impacts.”

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Green Supply Chains Lead To A Rise In Partner Policing

May 13, 2010

Companies such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard impose new demands on their supply chains.

But do they simply take yes for an answer? Or do they ask for proof?

Company officials and experts say the push for green suppliers and customers is leading to a surge of partner policing – audits and verifications are on the rise.

With no green supply chain standards in place, "we can (only) measure ourselves compared to ourselves," says P&G's Stephen Meller.

“We’re seeing much, much more,” says Alex Salkever, director of marketing communications at Picarro, a maker of gas analyzers. “We’re seeing much more of a trust and verify” atmosphere.

Experts say the increase in so-called green forensics has been occurring for several years. But it appears to be intensifying as corporations place new hurdles for suppliers to clear.

Last month, IBM for the first time required its suppliers to adopt formal management systems to reduce energy use and emissions – and to disclose results publicly. H-P placed similar requirements on its supply chain last September when it imposed management systems on partners and ordered them to report directly to the computer maker.

Judy Glazer, director of global, social and environmental responsibility, says H-P has increased its use of onsite audits, which require a couple of employees to spend several days at a partner site, even pull workers off assembly lines.

The activity may intensify, she said at an SDForum sponsored Modern Green Supply Chain event. It also is beginning to shift the responsibility to suppliers. Suppliers would rather be certified once rather than numerous times by their top 20 or 30 companies, Glazer points out.

With corporate clean-energy policies on the rise, increased supply-chain probing can be expected to continue.  It also should renew calls for standards.

At present, “there is no definition of what green means,” says Stephen Meller, chief innovation catalyst at Procter and Gamble. “We can (only) measure ourselves compared to ourselves.”

The industry needs to address this, he says.

But Glazer says she doesn’t expect quick agreement on benchmarks for air, water, chemicals and pollution. “It will be quite some time before different kinds of rating systems converge,” she says.

Until then, verification will require many companies to see supply chain improvements for themselves.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Computer Giants IBM, H-P Battle For The Eco High Ground

April 23, 2010

Hewlett-Packard has received accolades for imposing environmental requirements on its sprawling network of suppliers — but IBM isn’t ready to cede the eco high ground.

The battle between the world’s two largest information-technology giants is heating up this year. The fallout could be a massive shift in the way supply chains monitor, measure, manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

IBM unveiled new demands on its suppliers including the public release of environmental performance

Big Blue this week unveiled a sweeping new policy the company will impose on its 28,000 suppliers in 90 countries. At its heart is the demand that companies selling everything from electronics components to tax services develop formal management systems for monitoring, measuring and reducing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste.

The new sustainability policy requires for the first time that companies make public their progress against voluntary goals. Public disclosures could also include carbon footprints, water consumption and incidentals, such as environmental fines.

The initiative takes IBM policy “up another notch,” says Edan Dionne, director of corporate environmental affairs. “It’s a natural step in the process. It behooves us to have a [systematic] approach to dealing with environmental issues” instead of the sometimes ad hoc measures of the past.

H-P put a similar policy in place last September. The Silicon Valley company’s Global Citizen effort requires suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their operations — including the products and services they provide H-P. The policy covers energy use, emissions and the use of hazardous materials.

It also requires the creation of management systems to measure and monitor improvements on environmental, occupational health, human rights and labor issues. The systems must be integrated into a company’s business practices, according to a statement released at the time.

Furthermore, “suppliers are to provide clear, timely, accurate and appropriate reporting to H-P upon request,” the policy states.

Joseph Sandor, a professor of supply management at the Eli Broad School of Business, says the two companies’ intentions are aimed at mitigating a big chunk of their environmental impact. Most corporations generate 30 percent of their carbon footprints from internal operations and 70 percent from their suppliers’. The ratio at high-tech firms is more one-sided. As much as 90 percent comes from the supply chain since manufacturing and distribution are typically outsourced, says Sandor.

He says the public disclosure requirement in the IBM policy may have a lasting impact on doing business with corporate America. “The more public nature of IBM’s initiative may be more ‘sustainably’ positive insofar as it raises awareness among multiple stakeholders,” he said in an e-mail. Further, the company’s demand that first-tier suppliers impose the management-system requirement on their suppliers is “clear evidence that IBM is using its position and spending power to influence the broad supplier network,” he wrote.

H-P is unlikely to let down its guard. The company was the first major IT firm to report greenhouse gas emissions from its supply chain — 4.1 million metric tonnes in 2008, which is more than twice the emissions of its own operations. Suppliers representing 86 percent of materials and manufacturing spending reported their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, up from 81 percent in 2007.

“We are working more broadly to better standardize tools and methodologies to facilitate consistent and reliable reporting among suppliers,” the company said in the Global Citizenship Report for 2009 it recently issued.

As to the new IBM policy, Dionne says the initiative is not designed to be a “one-size-fits-all” requirement and that it could be several years before all companies have a formal management system in place. “Some suppliers are already there,” with institutionalized policies that extend from the top of the organization to the bottom with integrated business processes and accurate measurement tools, she said. Others have significant ground to cover and will create policies appropriate for their businesses.

In the process, will firms be required to buy needed software and hardware from IBM? “No,” says Dionne. But suppliers should take note: failing to meet the requirements could mean an end to an IBM business relationship. It has happened in the past over environmental concerns, says Dionne.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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