Sustainability at SEIA
Where is Our Impact?
As we work every day to support the low-carbon technology of solar, SEIA is also dedicated to reducing the carbon and environmental footprint of our everyday office operations. SEIA is committed to adopting sustainable office practices and finding innovative ways to reduce consumption. Though our projects, we aim to engage many aspects of sustainability, engage remote employees, and look for ways to measure changes and determine the impact of our actions.
Whether our team is at the office, working from home, or simply enjoying life, we are dedicated to practicing sustainable and healthy practices. Through friendly competitions and team-building activities, SEIA is building on our existing human resources by providing opportunities to learn new approaches to sustainable living and serve local communities.
Our Programs & Events
From SEIA’s working groups and committees to our research publications or other efforts, the work we do is a critical part of our sustainability practice. As a trade association representing an industry that reduces CO2 pollution by more than 52.3 million metric tons, we are dedicated to carry on this important work by implementing sustainable practices throughout our programs. Whether we are planning a small board meeting or working with our partners to plan the industry’s largest trade show, SEIA is committed to reducing our carbon and environmental footprint at our meetings and events.
Current Projects & Recent News
Securing SRECs and Carbon Offsets
- SEIA and 3Degrees Group, Inc. (3Degrees) have a 2020 Clean Energy Partnership to offset electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with SEIA’s events and operations.
- Carbon emission reductions:
- As part of a two-year agreement, 3Degrees will annually provide SEIA with 235 Green-e® Certified solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) and 835 registered and verified carbon offsets.
- This will cover, approximately, all office and event electricity usage as well as all emissions associated with SEIA staff travel, commuting, and event attendee travel in each year.
- The solar energy generation SEIA supports avoids 166 metric tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent to taking 35 cars off the road for a year.
- The carbon offset projects SEIA supports each year have a greenhouse gas reduction benefit equivalent to an additional 177 cars driven for a year or over 93,000 gallons of gasoline consumed.
SEIA's National PV Recycling Program & End of Life Considerations
- SEIA Members are committed to responsible end-of-life management and are proactively developing collection and recycling processes for the solar industry. Many SEIA member module manufacturers already operate take-back and recycling programs for their products. By creating a member-based program that aggregates the services offered by recycling vendors and PV manufacturers, SEIA is making it easier to select a cost-effective and environmentally responsible end-of-life management solution. Click here for more information on PV Recycling and End-of-Life Considerations.
- SEIA staff worked hard to design and implement a sustainable process for our October 2018 office move including:
- Furniture inventory and disposal plan: We created an inventory of all office furniture to make sure as many items as possible were sent to new homes and diverted from landfill.
- SEIA staff Sustainability Team representatives participated in meetings with our office architects to ensure that our new space was designed to meet LEED standards and that new furniture was responsibly sourced.
- Engage in multiple E-Waste Days per year, working with our building to properly recycle or dispose of electronic waste to be recycled. Electronic waste contains toxic materials that are dangerous to dispose of in a traditional landfill.
- Competed in the “Joulebug Challenge” – an office sustainability challenge – against our colleagues at AWEA. The competition allowed staff to track and record how they live sustainably each day and encouraged them to make better environmental decisions both at work and at home.
- Transitioned the office coffee system away from single serve plastic pods to a system that allows us to compost our coffee grinds.
- Conducted a procurement assessment to understand the organization’s purchasing habits, then used this information to find more sustainable options that are both cost-effective and popular with staff.
- SEIA staff is diverting food scraps and other organic matter from reaching landfills by hiring Veteran Compost to compost these items.
Events & Programs
- Created Meeting & Events Sustainability Guidelines document to address venue energy use, event waste, food and beverage, signage, printing, and more. We send these guidelines to our potential vendors.
- Reduce waste from events by adding composting services when available and donating leftover food when possible.