Achieving emissions reductions and efficiency increases
LONGi noted in its most recent Sustainability Report (published in 2022) that the group was already 40.19% powered by renewables by 2021 and has since reiterated its commitment to achieve 100% dependence on clean energy by 2028.
The company’s Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions per unit were 20.8% lower in 2021 than the previous year, while Scope 3 emissions (representing more than four fifths of the total) were down 29.9%.
As a member of international reporting initiatives like Science-Based Targets (SBTi) and the RE100, and named a “2022 discloser” by CDP’s global environmental disclosure system, LONGi has made its ESG targets and achievements public. Additionally, all of the manufacturer’s production bases have passed the internationally agreed upon ISO14001 System Certification that lays out environmental management system requirements.
The company installed energy management systems at eight production facilities, achieving a 54% increase in energy efficiency since 2015. In 2021 alone, LONGi was able to reduce electricity consumption group-wide by 5.38%. Its water usage also fell group-wide by 10.73%, with its water recycling rate rising to 58.75%.
Reducing environmental impact through product design and lifecycle planning
The company has taken further steps to decrease its environmental impact through innovations in product design, creating a low-carbon module frame, deploying dehydrated silica gel, and lowering its use of precious metals. With consideration to the solar module’s entire lifecycle, LONGi has also tried to embed recyclability into its product design. In a recent French recycling case study of its module, a research partner achieved a 95% recovery rate for the module’s component materials.
Forbes also recently recognized LONGi as one of China’s most innovative companies.
Clean energy with clean energy
LONGi has stated that, as the largest photovoltaic module manufacturer globally, it aims to act as an advocate and leader in sustainable development in clean energy, in addition to being a practitioner. The company promotes the concept of “Solar for Solar” — manufacturing for clean energy, using clean energy.
