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Summary of the Review of PV Sustainability Standards

Core Content

This report provides a comprehensive review of sustainability standards and frameworks in the photovoltaics (PV) sector, highlighting their role in advancing the industry's sustainability performance and alignment with global goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It outlines the current state of these standards across the entire PV value chain, from manufacturing to end-of-life management, and evaluates their effectiveness and impact.

Main Authors and Editors

• Main Authors:

  • Nieves Espinosa (University of Murcia, Spain)
  • Parikhit Sinha (Electric Hydrogen, USA)
  • Karen Drozdiak (First Solar Inc., USA)
  • Andreas Wade (Carrier Corporation, Germany)

• Editors:

  • Garvin Heath (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)
  • Connor O'Neil (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)

• Task 12 Managers:

  • Garvin Heath (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)
  • Etienne Drahi (TotalEnergies, France)

Key Objectives of Task 12

Task 12 aims to:

1. Quantify PV electricity's environmental profile to enhance supply chain sustainability and enable comparisons with other energy technologies.
2. Enhance PV technology and materials circularity through novel analysis, legislative tracking, and technical standards development.
3. Investigate synergies between PV system deployment and its environmental and ecosystem impacts.
4. Identify and tackle social and socio-economic challenges to PV market growth.
5. Share analytical findings with technical experts, policymakers, and the public.

Key Findings

1. Sustainability Standards Categorization

The report categorizes sustainability standards into three main sections:

• Sectoral Reporting Standards:

  • Focus on industrial reporting obligations, including corporate reporting, environmental performance declarations, and other industry standards.
  • Examples: CDP, SASB, GRI.

• Product-Related Standards:

  • Cover standards that set requirements for production, processes, and services.
  • Examples: NSF 457 PV ecolabel, EN 4555x (horizontal standards), EPEAT, IECRE.

• Regulatory Frameworks:

  • Include mandatory, voluntary, and waste-related standards.
  • Examples: EU Ecodesign, Ecolabel, WEEE Directive.

2. Evaluation of Standards

The report evaluates the standards using the OECD's six criteria:

• Relevance: Standards should meet the needs and priorities of stakeholders.
• Effectiveness: Standards should achieve their intended outcomes.
• Efficiency: Standards should use resources efficiently.
• Impact: Standards should have a broad, long-term effect on the sector and society.
• Sustainability: Standards should ensure long-term benefits.
• Coherence: Standards should align with and support each other and with broader policies.

3. Key Conclusions

• Gaps and Overlaps:

  • Gaps exist in end-of-life management of PV products.
  • Overlaps in reporting requirements can be both beneficial and burdensome.

• Maturity of Standards:

  • Regulatory frameworks like EU Ecodesign are mature and well-established.
  • Newer ecolabels and product-specific standards are still in development.

• Novelty and Comparison with Other Sectors:

  • This is one of the first comprehensive reviews of PV-specific sustainability standards.
  • Similar analyses exist in other sectors, but PV standards are still developing.

4. Future Work

• The PV industry is evolving rapidly, and sustainability standards need to be periodically updated to reflect new developments and challenges.
• Mapping the connections between standards and the SDGs can help align PV sustainability efforts with global goals.
• The SDG Mapper tool, developed by the European Commission, is used to visualize these relationships.

Key Challenges and Opportunities

• Greenwashing Concerns:

  • There is a need for clearer standards to prevent misleading ESG representations and ensure genuine sustainability efforts.

• Forced Labor and Recycling:

  • Issues such as forced labor in the supply chain and solar panel recycling remain under-addressed.

• Shift from Product-led to Operation-led Sustainability:

  • The report questions whether the solar sector should move from focusing on product sustainability to promoting sustainable operations across the entire value chain.

Conclusion

This report serves as a foundational analysis for stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers in the PV sector, offering a structured overview of sustainability standards and their alignment with global sustainability goals. It sets the stage for future research and development in harmonizing and advancing sustainability standards within the PV industry.

References

• IEA PVPS Task 12 is operated jointly by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and TotalEnergies.
• The report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and includes contributions from international experts.

Authors and Editors

• Main Authors: Nieves Espinosa, Parikhit Sinha, Karen Drozdiak, Andreas Wade
• Editors: Garvin Heath, Connor O'Neil
• Task 12 Managers: Garvin Heath, Etienne Drahi

Acknowledgements

The report received valuable contributions from several IEA-PVPS Task 12 members and other international experts. Special thanks to Sarah M. Jordaan, Claire Agraffeil, Cara Libby, and Máté Heisz for their inputs and reviews.

Disclaimer

The views, findings, and publications of the IEA PVPS TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the IEA Secretariat or its member countries.

Copyright Statement

This content may be freely used, copied, and redistributed, provided appropriate credit is given. Some licensed images may not be copied, as specified in their captions.

Suggested Citation

Espinosa, N., Sinha, P., Drozdiak, K., Wade, A. (2025). Heath, G., O'Neil, C. (Eds.), Review of PV Sustainability Standards (Report No. T12-30:2025). IEA PVPS Task 12. https://iea-pvps.org/key-topics/t12-sustainability-standardss-review-2025/