The basis for complying with the international ISO standard is the introduction of an environmental management system to administrate and to monitor the corporate environmental objectives. With their CS6 series modules, the company meets the requirements of the REACH directive: The relevant analysis has proven that the modules are free from so-called "substances of very high concern" (SVHC), and are therefore environmentally-friendly.
"We are proud to be compliant with ISO 14001. Environmental, technological, cost and performance are key concerns and anchors of our growth strategy," said Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. "Customers rely on Canadian Solar for our innovation leadership, product efficiency and environmentally-friendly policies. Central to our efforts and success is ensuring safe working conditions. Like we do in our product strategy, we also believe in permanently optimizing what has already been achieved in environmental standards."
The environmental management system required by ISO 14001 includes the corporate environmental policy, the goals that come with it and an environmental program. In the implementation, Canadian Solar has taken into account both aspects of environmental law and business. Moreover, the company has implemented mechanisms for the continuous improvement and development of the relevant measures and processes in the sense of the ISO standard.
REACH Certification
In addition to the ISO 14001 standard, Canadian Solar's CS6 series modules also comply with the European Union's REACH chemical directive. The substances used in the production of the CS6 modules are free from substances of high concern.
This includes, for instance, carcinogenic or mutagenic substances. The analysis of the Canadian Solar modules was performed by the approved SGS group.
"We basically welcome the REACH directive, because it gives us legal security and provides a comparison against European manufacturers. But most of all, the directive is also a gauge for our success in research, development and production," said Qu.
REACH applies to all manufacturers who import more than 1,000 tons of chemical substances and their follow-up products per year into the EU. This value will step by step be reduced to one ton per year by 2018.
REACH obliges domestic and foreign companies according to the "no data – no market" principle to have finished products analyzed for such substances of very high concern before they enter circulation. This applies to the entire value chain, ranging from preliminary products to production and recycling; the analysis also takes into account the working conditions for the people in production.
