ROADMAP
OUR JOURNEY
Assurance protocol and code are tested at various sites, participating sites are selected and assessments against the Code and traceability readiness assessments are conducted by independent auditors.
Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback on consultation draft of the Code
Anonymised summary of pilot results are shared with SSI community, assurance protocol and code are revised based on pilot results
Code is revised based on stakeholders' feedback and finalized
Our journey began in 2015 with the launch of SolarPower Europe’s Sustainability Workstream, when Europe’s solar fleet total capacity was only around 86 GW. With European solar having almost doubled capacity, SolarPower Europe, in partnership with Solar Energy UK, began work on making the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) into a reality in March 2021.
The first key step towards this end has been to define the standards that our industry should hold itself to, building on SolarPower Europe’s Solar Sustainability Best Practices Benchmark, launched in May 2021.
This was followed by the launch of a Supply Chain Working Group in July 2021, as well as wider activity platforming and promoting sustainability best practices. The first presentation of the Solar Sustainability Award came in March 2021, at the annual SolarPower Summit. September 2021 brought the first of the Sustainability Champions Podcast series.
After a year of development, bringing together over 60 solar organisations, independent ESG experts, and supply chain consultants, the solar sector launched the beginning of the Solar Stewardship Initiative in October 2022.
This Roadmap shows how far we have come on the journey to lay the foundations for change. This is only the beginning of the important work that lies ahead.
Our Pilot Programme was launched in October 2022 as a means to ensure the SSI Code and assurance system are practical before their full rollout in 2023.
In parallel to the continuation of the Pilot Programme, a multi-stakeholder consultation on the Code will be held from 17 May 2023 to 12 July 2023.
This will enable our Governance structure and Grievance Mechanism to be put in place by September 2023, the Assurance System to launch in December 2023, and first assessments to be made against the Code in January 2024.
Follow the Solar Stewardship Initiative’s Progress