CARBON DISCLOSURE PARTICIPATION
In 2011, as part of First Solar’s continued focused and commitment to environmental responsibility, First Solar participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) - an independent non-profit organization reporting on corporate climate change information. By the end of 2010, First Solar reported that 3.3GW of PV solar modules produced by First Solar are being used to displace over 2,160,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year for their 25+ year product lifespan. 1
Two-thirds of the S&P 500 index, of which First Solar is a member, participated in this year’s questionnaire with results being published in the CDP S&P 500 Report 2011, ‘Strategic Advantage Through Climate Change’. First Solar received a Carbon Disclosure Score of 82 and a Carbon Performance Band C rating. In addition, First Solar’s responses are publically available on the Carbon Disclosure Project website.
The CDP has two scored indices. The first, Carbon Disclosure Index, assesses the quality and completeness of a company’s response. First Solar’s score of 82 (max 100) resulted in First Solar falling within the top quartile of all S&P 500 respondents, of which only 23 percent scored 80 or higher. This score indicates a clear consideration of potential opportunities and business specific risks related to climate change, as well as good internal data management practices for understanding GHG emissions, including energy use. The second, Carbon Performance Index, assesses a company’s performance in contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation and transparency. A Band A rating indicates a fully integrated climate change strategy driving significant maturity in climate change initiatives, whereas a Band E indicates little evidence of initiatives on carbon management potentially due to a company just beginning to take action on climate change. First Solar received a Band C result – indicating some activity on climate change with varied levels of integration of those initiatives into strategy.
By enabling clean, renewable electricity at competitive prices, First Solar provides an economically and environmentally viable alternative to peaking fossil-fuel electricity generation. Furthermore, our product life cycle management approach has led to the development and implementation of the solar industry’s first prefunded.
1 Assuming average world-wide irradiance and grid electricity emissions.