Sustainability Standards in PV: What’s Missing, What’s Working, and What’s Next

Solar PV is scaling faster than ever, adding record volumes of clean electricity each year. But as deployment accelerates, the question is no longer just about cost or efficiency. Increasingly, investors, policymakers and the public want to know: how sustainable is solar across its entire life cycle?

A new report from IEA PVPS Task 12 – Review of PV Sustainability Standards – provides the first comprehensive overview of the standards and frameworks that shape PV’s environmental and social footprint. It looks at how sustainability is defined and measured, where progress has been made, and which gaps still need to be addressed to ensure PV delivers on its promise as a truly sustainable energy source.

The Landscape of PV Sustainability Standards

The report identifies three main groups of standards that shape sustainability in PV:

• Sectoral reporting frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and ESG disclosure rules under EU law. These help increase transparency but often overlap, creating a reporting burden.
• Product-related standards including ecolabels, ecodesign rules, and ISO life-cycle and circular economy standards. While PV has strong product quality standards, end-of-life management is still a major gap.
• Regulatory frameworks such as the Ecodesign Directive and the WEEE Directive on electronic waste in the EU, which set binding requirements and influence market access. Or in the US, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a voluntary ecolabel for sustainable electronics.

Together, these mechanisms form the rules of the game for how PV sustainability is assessed.

Gaps, Overlaps and Varying Maturity

The Task 12 analysis reveals both gaps and overlaps.

Gaps are most visible in recycling and circularity: with millions of tonnes of PV modules expected to reach end-of-life in the coming decades, robust standards for reuse and material recovery are still lacking. This is an area where clear, harmonized standards could quickly accelerate progress to ensure products and materials are recovered and reused. Strengthening end-of-life requirements will be key to ensuring PV’s sustainability across its full life cycle.

Overlaps occur mainly in reporting, where companies are asked to follow multiple frameworks. This duplication can enhance robustness but also risks inefficiency and confusion.

The maturity of standards also varies. While the EU’s Ecodesign framework is well-established and already driving changes in the market, PV-specific ecolabels are still in early development. Compared to sectors like automotive or electronics, the PV industry is only beginning to build a comprehensive sustainability framework.

Supply Chain Responsibility

 One of the most sensitive issues highlighted is the PV supply chain. Polysilicon – a critical material for solar modules – has faced scrutiny due to concerns about sourcing from high-risk regions. While the share of polysilicon from Xinjiang has declined in recent years, ensuring traceability and responsible sourcing remains a challenge.

Legislation such as the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the EU’s Forced Labour Ban is pushing companies to prove that their supply chains are ethical. Voluntary initiatives such as the Solar Stewardship Initiative provide useful tools, though like other certification schemes they face challenges in balancing rigorous criteria with broad industry uptake.

Without credible, transparent supply chains, the social sustainability of PV will continue to face scrutiny.

Market Impacts and ESG Premiums

The report also shows that sustainability is beginning to shape the economics of PV. In Europe, buyers are already willing to pay a premium of up to 1.5 euro cents per watt-peak for modules with documented ESG performance, low carbon footprints and strong warranties, while PV continues to rank among the most cost-competitive sources of new electricity generation.

This demonstrates that sustainability is no longer a peripheral concern: it can directly influence competitiveness and procurement decisions. For PV companies, good ESG performance is becoming a market advantage.

Linking PV to the Sustainable Development Goals

The report maps the reviewed standards against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This map shows that the standards are clearly aligned with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Bubble chart of SDGs and targets detected in PV sustainability standards. The SDG Mapper tool (from European Commission) identifies SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) as the most frequently referenced goal in this report, representing 43% of linkages.  This highlights the sector’s focus on resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circularity. SDG 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) follow, reflecting PV’s role in clean energy and climate mitigation.Bubble chart of SDGs and targets detected in PV sustainability standards. The SDG Mapper tool (from European Commission) identifies SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) as the most frequently referenced goal in this report, representing 43% of linkages.  This highlights the sector’s focus on resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circularity. SDG 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) follow, reflecting PV’s role in clean energy and climate mitigation.

The Road Ahead

The report concludes with a clear message: sustainability standards must evolve alongside the PV sector’s rapid growth, technological evolution and changes to both supply and demand. That means:

·      Regular updates to track new challenges and technologies.

·      Better harmonisation to reduce duplication and strengthen efficiency.

·      Greater focus on end-of-life to support recycling, reuse and circularity.

·      Stronger supply chain traceability to ensure responsible sourcing and maintain public trust.

Only with clear, credible and widely adopted standards can solar PV remain not only the cheapest, but also the most sustainable energy technology.

Read the Report

📖 IEA PVPS Task 12: Review of PV Sustainability Standards (Report T12-30:2025)

About Task 12

Within the IEA PVPS programme, Task 12 promotes international collaboration, knowledge creation, and information exchange on the environmental and social sustainability of PV. It compiles and disseminates reliable data to experts, policymakers, and the public, supporting due diligence, risk assessment, and informed decision-making. By strengthening consumer confidence and policy support, Task 12 contributes to the broader adoption of PV and advances the global energy transition.

About IEA PVPS

The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) is one of the collaborative R&D Agreements established within the IEA and, since its establishment in 1993, the PVPS participants have been conducting a variety of joint projects in the application of photovoltaic conversion of solar energy into electricity.