Corporate responsibility
Sustainability equals competitiveness
It is currently already possible in Germany to use green electricity on an industrial scale at competitive prices. Q.CELLS has proved this to be the case since 2009. The production facility in Thalheim only uses electricity from renewable energies. This has made it possible to reduce CO2 emissions at German sites by 86%.
Q.CELLS is dedicated to transparency in terms of highlighting the environmental impact of manufacturing solar cells and solar modules. 2011 saw the launch of a project for drawing up an ecological balance sheet for our products.
An ecological balance sheet (also referred to as an LCA – Life Cycle Assessment) represents a systematic approach to analysing the environmental impact of products throughout the entire life cycle. This includes the full impact on the environment during the production, use, and disposal of a product, as well as the associated upstream and downstream processes (such as the manufacture of raw/auxiliary and operating materials).
Our aim is to undertake a systematic assessment of our operations in terms of possible ecological risks and weaknesses and highlight possible areas for improvement.
Efficient environmental monitoring
Success in terms of environmental protection can be measured and managed too.
Q.CELLS regularly records data and costs relating to environmental protection with a view to devising indices for drawing meaningful conclusions about environmental efficiency. The focus is on the entire value added chain for the production of a solar cell or solar module, with consideration also being given to entire systems. As far as Q.CELLS is concerned, environmental monitoring starts with sustainable purchasing and ends when the final product is recycled.
The input-output analysis brings together the main material flows for the year.
As data is recorded on a monthly basis, this allows existing contamination of the environment to be detected at an early stage and improves environmental protection at the site concerned.
Energy and resources management
A transparent database is crucial to the efficient management of energy and resources. The tools used for this purpose provide comprehensive environmental monitoring, as does the process monitoring system we implemented in 2011. This data feeds into continuous energy analyses and the ongoing search for potential savings. The findings, having been assessed in house by our specialists, are incorporated into an environmental programme.
Environmental objectives
Objectives are defined and measures devised on the basis of an established process for clarifying the various environmental aspects, as well as on the findings from the energy and resources management process. There is a direct correlation between the various environmental aspects clarified, the objectives defined, and the corporate policy agreed.
Environmental objectives 2010 - 2011
| Objectives | Actions | Achievement |
| Reducing media jams in Berlin | Optimizing IT - settings for printers: 1. Setting default black / white print 2. Setting default double-sided printing |
100% |
| Increasing the share of renewable energies | Conclude a contract for the supply of "green electricity" in Berlin. | 100% |
| Collection of consumption data for potential reduction of CO2 2Emissions in Berlin | Collection of current electricity consumption levels for the year 2011 | 100% |
| Optimization of the compessed air | Reducing the oil- concentration by 0,29mg/m³. | 100% |
Environmental aspects
Using raw materials sensibly from an ecological perspective, makes us more efficient and helps save natural resources. Q.CELLS identifies the environmental aspects and impact of its activities each year as specified under DIN EN ISO 14001.
Waste
The primary focus is on avoiding waste and then on possible recycling options prior to removal. Thanks to a waste gas treatment plant (SCR plant), which started operating in March 2010 at the Bitterfeld-Wolfen site, it has been possible to reduce annual waste and drinking water levels by 17,000 tonnes in each case. The procedure involves treating nitrogen oxides (NOx) via a thermal, catalytic process.
CO2 emissions
Direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions (Scope 2), and emissions associated with employee travel (Scope 3) are taken into account for the purposes of determining CO2 emissions at Q-Cells SE sites in Germany. Since 2010, emissions from company cars have also been included. Extending the survey to include company car emissions saw emission levels rise by around 30% compared to 2009, based on kWp generated.
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Waste gas emissions from production processes (Scope 1):
The productions plants contain state-of-the-art waste gas treatment systems. Our voluntary use of an emission record to monitor waste gas emissions enables us to respond quickly to any changes. The emission record is updated on a regular basis and the data entered assessed.
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Emissions from business travel and transport (Scope 3):
International business travel is a fact of life for a global company like
Q.CELLS. In collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, we offer our employees a 'job ticket', an affordable and environmentally-friendly way to get to work.
We choose regional transport companies for our own short-notice deliveries. We try and ensure optimal use is made of transport capacity. 80% of the products leaving our sites are picked up on site by the customers themselves.
Water/Wastewater
It has been possible to reduce water use, measured specifically in terms of kWp generated, by around 19% at Q.CELLS sites in Germany. This is partly thanks to the newly-established SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) plant, which started operating in March 2010.
Use of resources
Q.CELLS is fully aware of the need to use resources responsibly. With this in mind, we are constantly looking to develop our processes even further, as well as the plants and materials we use for production purposes. Here, the emphasis is very much on reducing the levels of raw/auxiliary and operating materials used.
Dealing with Hazardous substances
As part of our process for managing hazardous substances, we try out possible substitutes when introducing new materials. Tests and assessments are performed for all hazards associated with using the material, right down to the waste generated.
Sustainable purchasing
As a global company, Q.CELLS has dealings with suppliers across the world.
Social responsibility is a core element of the Q.CELLS purchasing strategy. Suppliers are selected and assessed on the basis of a fully-integrated supplier management system. It seemed logical to us to develop a comprehensive Code of Conduct for our suppliers. All our suppliers are requested to act in accordance with the Code of Conduct. Checking compliance with these basic principles is an integral part of the audit process for our suppliers.
Link to the integrated management system
Download Code of Conduct (PDF, 145 KB)
Download Terms and Conditions purchase (PDF, 233 KB)
Download Coordination of external companies (PDF, 525 KB)
Download supplier information (Excel, 678 KB)
Every supplier working with Q.CELLS knows a collaborative approach is the way to find the best solution from a both a financial and a technological perspective.
Product life cycle
A forward-looking company, Q.CELLS SE is involved in the sustainable recycling of photovoltaic modules. As a member of the voluntary association of producers and importers of photovoltaic modules within the European Economic Area, or PV CYCLE for short (also referred to as the European Association for Voluntary Take Back and Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules), Q.CELLS is promoting the establishment of a mandatory take-back system operating on a break-even basis.
A lot of preparatory work was done in 2009 from both an organisational and a technical perspective, the results of which were presented to the European Commission and the European Parliament in April 2010 as a formal Voluntary Agreement. According to this agreement, the members of the association undertake to ensure PV modules are taken back and finance this arrangement on a break-even basis. The process involves collecting old modules at special take-back stations and recycling them in the proper manner.
This voluntary initiative is helping Q.CELLS match its own expectations regarding sustainable business practices across the entire life cycle of our products. The great progress achieved in this area is reflected by our own modules, such as the Q.PRO-G2, for which we already offer a free take-back service under the PV Cycle.
Social responsibility
We place just as much importance on our corporate values of fairness, training and responsibility as we do on the performance values of efficiency and quality. We are guided in these areas by such international standards as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
Competent, committed and motivated employees provide the basis for our success. This is why we place so much emphasis on the skills of our employees. In 2010m a total of 1194 employees took part in 315 events, spending 8669 hours on training in the process. This included training on legal issues for managerial staff, as well as auditor training.
In 2010, Q.CELLS had a total of 132 trainees and students signed up (spread across four yearly training and study intakes). Based at the company's own Q.CELLS Training Center and in twelve classrooms with the best possible level of technical equipment, they have everything they need for a successful start to their careers in the solar industry. In November 2009, one of the Q.CELLS trainees was nominated the best machinery and plant operator by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Halle-Dessau. To help ensure those new to the solar sector have the right skills, we set up a dual course of solar technology studies at the Köthen site of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Anhalt) during the winter term of 2008. An endowed professorship of photovoltaics has also been instituted at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg MLU. Q.CELLS employees teach as lecturers there, with considerable emphasis being placed on practical applications.
Our social responsibility goes way beyond regional boundaries, as our commitment to the Solar Energy Foundation shows.
SOLAR ENERGY FOR ETHIOPIA - One real-life example showing how photovoltaics can make life better for millions of people.
In July 2009, two Q.CELLS technologists taught 25 secondary school teachers in Addis Ababa the basics about the physical properties and production of solar cells.
In November 2009, two more Q.CELLS employees travelled to Rema in Ethiopia, some 150 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, to train 25 solar technicians. Since 2007, Q.CELLS has been the main patron of the locally based International Solar Energy School, which is run by the Solar Energy Foundation. Armed with solar cells, measuring devices, cables, soldering rods and a wealth of demonstration material on the topic of photovoltaics, the two Q.CELLS technologists arrived with a mission (which they duly accomplished) to teach the basic theory and practice of solar energy generation within a week. Trained with the help of this support, the 'Rural Solar Energy Managers' work in solar centres across the country once the course is over, where they provide financing for small roof installations, which they also fit and maintain.
In a country where less than 1% of the rural population has access to electricity, solar power – stored in a car battery – makes one massive difference: electric light! Solar power means people can carry on reading, sewing, cooking, drawing, and listening to the radio even after the sun goes down, which also means progress.
Emergency planning und hazard prevention
At an organisational level, we do what is required to ensure Q.CELLS leads the way in terms of the delivery and quality of its occupational health and safety culture. Our strategic objective is for:
1. Q.CELLS employees to be healthy and fully fit for work and to avoid anyaccidents at work or occupational illnesses (target of zero).
2. As such, we subject our plants to organised hazard prevention inspections with the focus on the safety of their design and operation and how to minimise the impact of hazardous incidents.
Thanks to this approach, we can ensure the way we use our plant meets the very latest safety standards, from the planning, construction and operational phases, right through to decommissioning.
Social responsibility
A company in an industry dedicated to sustainability has a special responsibility. We want to uphold this by supporting dedicated initiatives.
Stiftung Solarenergie, a solar energy foundation
The top target of the Stiftung Solarenergie is the promotion of development aid. This particularly concerns the fight against poverty through the use of environmentally friendly technology. Environmental protection as well as upbringing and education are to be promoted. The Stiftung runs solar electrification projects in Ethiopia under the motto “light for education” and supports a school for solar technicians in Ethiopia. Q.CELLS supports the work of the foundation financially and by sending trainers to the school, the patron of which Q-Cells SE is.
Solar taxi
Around the world with solar energy – this idea by the Swiss adventurer and climate activist Louis Palmer has inspired us. Because it shows how the solar mobility of tomorrow is possible. Therefore, Q.CELLS is supporting the solar taxi on its journey around the world, in which it takes people for a part of the way and therefore advertises solar energy.
Regional commitment
Q.CELLS supports initiatives and associations in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen region as well as sports clubs and their youth work. They take on an important role for social cohesion and political education in the region. They also support the political work involved in attracting new investors to help the prospects of as many people as possible in the region.
Q.CELLS has appointed a management coordinator with several years' experience in DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001.
The coordinator, with the support of all executive board members, is responsible for the implementation and further development of standards for quality and environmental protection. With its certified quality and environmental management systems, Q.CELLS has made a great deal of progress with regard to sustainability. Issues relevant to quality, the environment, energy- and safety, as well as the legal obligations of our company, are continuously analysed, evaluated and communicated. The ISO 50001 energy management system and the BS OHSAS 18001 regulations on occupational safety were also taken into consideration in the creation of the management system.
The certificate is valid for the following processes:
The development, production and distribution of highly efficient solar cells, photovoltaic modules and standardised system applications and the distribution and procurement of individualised photovoltaic systems solutions ranging from project planning to installation, operation and maintenance over the entire life of the system as well as the performance of qualification tests for PV modules according to IEC Standards.
Future-oriented company policy
We take responsibility for the future. A sustainable product requires a sustainable company policy. For sustainability is an investment in our future. When we make decisions about investments or the introduction of new processes or products, we take economic and environmental criteria into consideration as well as the health and safety of our employees and our quality standards.
Further development of our management system
The improvement process integrated within our management system ensures that the quality of our processes and products is continually being improved.
Each business year, and when major changes are made within the management system, the executive board and the management coordinator conduct a management review, in which they plan and decide on the key aspects of the further development of the system including necessary actions, the cost and the resources required.
Download Further Development of our Management System
An annual audit programme ensures that company processes and corporate standards are effectively implemented. All company divisions are audited once every 3 years. Key divisions undergo an annual audit. The Quality Management Department is responsible for planning and conducting these audits. The management system is regulated within the corporate group by means of standardised evaluations and key performance indicators based on these evaluations.
Modern process management system
Q.CELLS SE process architecture forms the basis of the management system .
The core business processes are underpinned by detailed sub-processes and procedure instructions. These processes are continually developed and improved. The improvement process is based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
The principles outlined in the corporate policy underlie the processes in all our divisions which are implemented in accordance with:
- accepted codes of practice
- the latest knowledge and scientific practice
- statutory and trade association regulations
- the requirements of our customers
The highest possible levels of health and occupational safety, as well as environmental protection, must also be ensured. In addition, the executive board has the responsibility of constantly promoting safety awareness through training, informing and motivating employees as well as by setting a good example through its own actions.
Quality Assurance
Q.CELLS SE continually strives to find the optimum solutions to meet customer and market requirements. To this end the quality assurance department of our QM division monitors the quality of our products using quality criteria, laid down in documentation, that are designed to ensure a level of quality that meets customer demands.
It has a wide variety of tools at its disposal for measuring and monitoring product and process quality.
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Acting responsibly
We assume responsibility. For our environment, customers, employees and shareholders.
Our Executive Board
Our sustainability report
Read the short version of Q.CELLS sustainability report directly online.
And the winner is...
Q.CELLS wins prize after prize for its innovations - the future is secure as the leader of solar energy!
Sustainable trading
As a company within a sustainable sector, we take a critical look at the requirements set and check how far we can extend these to our subsidiaries.
For 2010, we can relay the data from Q.CELLS MALAYSIA SDN. BHD., Q.CELLS SE and Solibro GmbH. Reporting is based on the guidelines of the GRI Index. You can read more about this in our sustainability report.
