Our stakeholders
SolarWorld in dialog.
Broadly defined, stakeholders include all people or groups who have an interest in the progress or result of a process or project. For SolarWorld AG, sustainable management means incorporating the needs of all groups of stakeholders.
Stakeholder analysis
The SolarWorld Group strives not only to maintain, but to enhance its ongoing contact with stakeholders. Consequently, SolarWorld analyzes the needs of the different stakeholders at different levels based on data collected inhouse and through external surveys.
Stakeholder mapping
Stakeholder mapping
The graphic below provides an overview of our stakeholder mapping. Reporting at SolarWorld follows the AA1000 standard. Defined by the non-profit member organization "Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility", this process standard is designed to ensure that stakeholders are involved in sustainable corporate management.
Employees, customers, suppliers
Employees, customers, suppliers
An annual survey among our employees, our customers and our suppliers provides key insights. And a systematic customer survey is carried out among our wafer customers, wholesalers and installers. So far, end customers have only been interviewed on an ad-hoc basis – surveys like these (still) require a lot of time and effort. These surveys are also planned for other groups of stakeholders over the medium term.
Local communites
Local communites
We also maintain close links with the communities at our SolarWorld sites. In Freiberg, for example, we held an open house for employees and their families at the launch of the Solar Factory III. We also extended invitations to the open house of the Industrial Estate East as part of the Night of Science.
In our Solar2World projects, we work closely with local stakeholders (e.g. communities and NGOs) in order to offer solutions that afford the population the maximum possible benefit and that can be continued later on by the local stakeholders themselves.
Professional associations, advocacy organizations, academic institutions
Professional associations, advocacy organizations, academic institutions
Thanks to our membership in professional associations and advocacy organizations as well as our cooperative initiatives with academic institutions, we maintain regular dialog with stakeholders on social policy issues. We exchange ideas on topics like life cycles, recycling and sustainability with the EPIA (Sustainability Group), Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), as well as within the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), and we participate in IEA Task 12 (Sustainability, Health & Safety).
We also make our expertise available by way of panel discussions, like for example at PVSEC in Hamburg and Tokyo. The anti-dumping complaint in the U.S. was also a major topic of discussion with various stakeholder groups.
Other stakeholders
Other stakeholders
To create our Annual Group Reports, we request feedback from rating agencies and sustainability experts. Since 2007, we have also submitted our reports to be in the running for the Corporate Register Reporting Award presented by the online directory www.corporate-register.com.
The Communications on Progress follows the 10 Principles of the Global Compact and is made through group reporting procedures, which means it is available to all stakeholders. Stakeholder initiatives can even influence the implementation of these principles, for example via networks built by/with stakeholders or standards requested by stakeholders.
Write to us
All stakeholders can get in touch with us at any time by writing to placement(at)solarworld(dot)de or sustainability(at)solarworld(dot)de.
Alternatively, stakeholders can use the contact form in the side bar to send us a message – even anonymously if so desired.
