Making Steady Progress on ESG criteria

In today's financial world, investors, stakeholders and government entities are increasingly enforcing environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and business growth opportunities. LONGi, the world’s leading supplier of Solar PV solutions and a world leader in clean energy transition, has made great strides in accelerating and keeping its ESG factors up to date.  

Earlier this year, LONGI published its 2022 Sustainability Report highlighting major achievements in technology innovation, sustainable development management, green energy breakthroughs, ESG practices, among other fundamentals. In addition, the report discloses LONGi’s actions and achievements on a wide range of issues, including environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance (ESG) in 2022. 

According to LONGi’s website, the company’s team is committed to providing innovative products and solutions that help make the world a healthier, safer, and more sustainable place. LONGi values its role in the global business community and honors its obligation to pursue the highest standards of environmental, social and corporate governance.

“At LONGi, we firmly believe that green energy technological innovation is crucial to achieving global carbon neutrality at ever-decreasing costs. As the global leader in clean energy, we are committed to being the advocate, practitioner and trailblazer in sustainable development in the global clean energy sector, striving to make a positive impact on the environment and society,” said the company.

LONGi has a long list of accolades for its ESG accomplishments, which include the 2022 Bloomberg Green ESG Pioneers Enterprises, Fortune’s 2022 China ESG Impact List, and Forbes’ 2022 ESG 50. In addition, LONGi promotes the integration of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within its value chain, identifies the importance and significance of the relevant SDGs for the company, and strives to include sustainability concepts and actions into corporate strategy and operations, according to the company’s website.

“In recent years, LONGi has made steady progress in its climate action, accelerating the establishment of a sustainable development management system and ESG criteria. LONGi tops major ESG rating systems among Chinese solar peers in overall performance,” said Ivan Reyes, Head of Utility Mexico, Colombia, and Caribbean.

Moreover, LONGI is committed to making contributions to the PV industry and the world. The company believes that improving conversion efficiency and reducing the cost of electricity are fundamental themes for the PV industry. In an effort to contribute to this contribution, in November 2022, LONGI set a new world record efficiency at 26.81% with its independently developed heterojunction (HJT) silicon solar cells, certified by the Institut fur Solarenergieforschung in Hameln (ISFH), thus breaking a five-year record for silicon solar cell efficiency.

To better understand the 26.81%, LONGI explains that it is estimated that for every additional 1 terawatt of PV installed globally, the silicon cell technology with a conversion efficiency of 26.81% can save approximately RMB300 billion, while also reducing land use by 10%. This means that 1 percent increase PV module efficiency is equivalent to a 4 to 7% decrease in electricity costs.

“The figure 26.81% marks a starting point, not the end point.” The pursuit of enhanced efficiency fundamentally stems from the pursuit of energy quality. The record of the 26.81% solar cell efficiency exemplifies LONGi´s commitment to creating value and propelling industrial advancement, with an attempt of ensuring accessible and affordable clean energy for all,” said the company.

Environmental

Green Energy

LONGi is a leading solar manufacturer and global supplier of green energy products, and concentrates its efforts on sustainability practices within its production facilities and operations.

According to LONGI´s 20222 Sustainability Report, the company used 4.2 billion kWh of renewable energy in 2022, accounting for 47.18% of its total energy consumption, which was higher than 40.19% of total green energy use in 2021. By using green power, LONGi has reduced 2.43 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions throughout 2022. This is equivalent to planting 135 million trees.

One example of this is LONGi’s firm commitment to the strategy of "producing clean energy with clean energy.”The company aims to build a zero-carbon community by building its own environmental control system, increasing its investment in environmental protection programs, reducing energy and water consumption, using more renewable electricity to reduce emissions, and making responsible use of its waste,” said Reyes.

The company also aims to change the mix of its energy use by increasing the percentage of renewable energy used. “LONGi is implementing the commitments made when it joined the RE100 initiative, while continuing to grow large-scale production,” said Reyes.

 

The numbers: (taken from LONGi’s website).

4,278,675,400 billion kWh - Renewable electricity used in 2022.

2,429,288 (tCO2e)- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

47.18% - Green renewable electricity ratio in 2022.

Electricity Production

In 2022, the consumption of electricity per unit in LONGi production decreased by 9.75%YoY, saving about 607 million kWh of electricity.

Water Production

In 2022, the consumption of water per unit in LONGi production decreased by 34.84% YoY, saving9.593 tons of water.

Module Recycling

More than 90% of LONGi’s module products are comprehensively recycled and reused.

 

LONGI´s Revenue Growth and Emission Reduction

In 2022, the company experienced significant 60.03% year-on-year revenue growth, reaching 128.998 billion yuan, its net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company also grew by 63.02%, reaching 14.812 billion yuan, according to LONGi.
 
“The report credits our success to the company's leading position in the solar industry, continued growth of the global solar energy market, and the company’s focus on innovation and technological advancement,” said the company.
 
With a strong focus on research and development, LONGi is well-positioned for more growth in 2023 and is committed to creating long-term value for the industry and society.

Moreover, on August 11, 2023 LONGi announced that its emission reduction targets were approved by the independent Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). As a result, LONGi has become one of more than 4600 companies worldwide to the SBTi and set science-based targets. Among them, LONGi is the first Chinese solar photovoltaic company that has obtained the official validation, said the company.

LONGi has a net-zero commitment and as a member of the RE100 Initiative, the company promises 100% renewable energy consumption by 2028, and traces and reports the use of renewable energy on an annual basis according to RE100 Technical Criteria

LONGi is the only Chinese company of PV industry to join the both three “100” and SBTI initiatives.

 

R100 - Achieve 70% renewable electricity consumption by 2027 and 100% by 2028.

EP100 - Installation of Energy Management System for all operational sites by 2025 and to improve power utilization efficiency by 35% on the basis of that in 2015.

EV100  Install vehicle charging facilities at 100% of operational sites by 2030.

One of LONGi’s main goals is carbon neutrality. In regard to emission intensity, the company has achieved a 20.8% decrease in operational emissions per unit of revenue compared to 2020. This result indicates that LONGi has met the rapidly increasing global demand for PV capacity while further lowering its carbon emission intensity, said the company.

To promote and develop the green value chain, more than 150 suppliers have been involved in LONGi’s Green Supply Chain Carbon Reduction Initiative. In addition, LONGi has supported 27 suppliers in carrying out self-assessments for their environmental performance.

“LONGi has launched its Supply Chain Green Partner Empowerment Program, which will involve more than 200 suppliers participating in empowerment learning, more than 50 suppliers to measure organizational carbon footprints and more than 10 suppliers to set scientific emission reduction targets,” said the company.

 

Society

LONGi practices the core values of "Reliablility, Value-add, Fulfillment." This adds value to stakeholders while creating a robust business value.

LONGi´s Social Performance Overview (reported by the company)

The numbers:

100% new suppliers screened using social criteria.

91,12% employee satisfaction score.

RMB 37.16 million on labor union benefits 2,217,208 hours of occupational health and safety training for employees.

39.66 hours per-capita training on employees’ occupational health and safety.

CNY101 million (US$14,109,892.00) investment in occupational health and safety.

 1,175 times of emergency drills carried out throughout the year.

Awards:

LONGi has been awarded two honorable titles: China’s Best Employer 2021 and China’s Most Sustainable Employer 2021 – Forbes 2021

It was also awarded the Humanitarian Badge of Red Cross of China by the Red Cross Society of China – Red Cross of China.

One of LONGi’s main objectives is to protect human rights throughout the entire value chain. “In the future, we plan to strengthen our focus on high-risk suppliers, consider commissioning third-party labor human rights due diligence, and share the findings with the industry. We will also conduct training for suppliers to enhance their understanding of international labor standards and to help them identify and manage illegal labor risks in their own operations and supply chains.” said the company.

 

By the numbers:

 60,601- total number of employees.

 11,827- female employees.

 35,087- people below the age of 30.

 23,772- people with a bachelor’s degree and junior college education certification.

 48,774- male employees.

352- people above the age of 51.

 25,162- people between the ages of 31 and 50.

 1,746- people with master's degree or above.

 

Governance

LONGi has been working with its customers and partners to continuously improve its governance capabilities, standardize its internal control system and risk management mechanism, and comply with business ethics for transparent and efficient operations. The company strives to maintain sustainable development even after the solar sector enters the era of subsidy-free grid parity.

The numbers:

 578 integrity training sessions for all employees 40 Cooperation projects with 25 universities

185 - follow-up visits to 185 auxiliary material suppliers to further publicize the anti-bribery requirement for suppliers.

Selected as “IR Work Model of Listed Companies” according to 2020 Annual Report on Investor Relations of Listed Companies.

Won awards for the Best Board of Directors for Investor Relations of China’s Listed Companies and the Best Investor Relations of China’s Listed Companies granted by the Securities Times.

Board Of Directors

The Board of Director heads LONGi’s sustainable development efforts and instructs the Strategy Committee of the Board of Directors to review, make decisions and provide guidance on the sustainable development strategy and action plan of the company.

Sustainable Development Committee

The Sustainable Development Committee was established at the management level. The Brand Management Department takes the lead in establishing corporate sustainable development guidelines and policies as well as a continuous improvement of the sustainable development management framework.

“LONGi is committed every day to bringing added and lasting value to clean energy that will benefit customers, partners and the company itself,” said Reyes.

Pioneer in Photovoltaic Science and Technology

LONGi continues to invest in research and development to provide better and sustained values for its customers. With each technological upgrade, the company leads technical innovation in the solar sector and hastens a further push toward global energy reform and green development.