The Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification (AENOR) has awarded ATERSA the Carbon Footprint certificate for its photovoltaic modules of 60 and 72 cells in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), a body responsible for quantifying and managing greenhouse gas emissions. This certificate confirms that ATERSA emits 395kg of CO2 eq for each module manufactured.
ATERSA is one of the few photovoltaic cell manufacturers to have obtained the Carbon Footprint certificate, which calculates the total quantity of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted directly or indirectly throughout the entire value chain of the product (cradle-to-grave life cycle). It is a measure of the real impact of the company's modules on the environment. The footprint is expressed in tons of CO2 equivalent and is represented by the corresponding ecolabel.
By the end of 2012, ATERSAs carbon footprint was 23 g CO2e/kWh, equivalent to an energy payback time of less than one year for its manufacturing output during the period (based on a useful life of 30 years for the product). For 2013, ATERSA plans to take further measures to improve this figure.
ATERSA is committed to environmental protection and to ensuring that sustainability has a high priority in its production processes.