Excellence in Sustainability; Beyond the Law

The paths of sustainability are inscrutable, and to understand that statement we only have to analyze the evolution of environmental and socio-economic responsibility, which is understood, that companies must exercise over their environment.

To define this responsibility, in the early 1970s, social impact assessment (EIS) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) emerged, primarily as a regulatory tool. And given the interconnection of environmental, social and health aspects, it gradually evolved to integrated evaluations and environmental, social and health impact assessment is now common practice in the private sector (ESHIA, for its acronym in English). Also common is the term ESG, acronym in English for “Environmental, Social and Governance”, which was used for the first time in 2004 and today is already one of the essential criteria for raising financial resources linked to sustainability.

At the sectoral level, several initiatives seek to translate this environmental and socio-economic responsibility into certifications and seals to guarantee sustainability.

In this regard, the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) promotes the UNEF Seal of Excellence in Sustainability, a proprietary system for the certification of the sustainability of photovoltaic installations aimed at all organizations that may have an interest in obtaining it, whether they are development companies, construction companies (Epecista), owners or any other company in the field of solar plants on the ground.

This is a certificate that is in line with integrated evaluations, since they prove that the photovoltaic plant project has been designed taking into account high sustainability criteria in the following four blocks: socio-economic impact, governance, environmental integration and protection of biodiversity and circular economy.

• Socio-economic impact

The criteria for socio-economic impact have been defined following a logic of creating shared value (CSV, for its acronym in English “Creating Shared Value”), in the municipalities where the project will be located. The aspects that are valued positively are such as the creation of local employment, training for employment in the plant, Employment of women and disadvantaged groups, contracting local goods and services, development of land sharing activities (agrovoltaic) and measures to promote local community investment in the project (crowdfunding).

• Governance

The governance criteria in the UNEF Seal of Excellence in Sustainability seek to guarantee the involvement of the local community in the development of the project and that its success involves meeting specific needs of the territory. In this regard, collaboration agreements with municipal authorities, dialogue with associations and local actors and the refusal to forcibly expropriate land for the photovoltaic plant are valued.

• Environmental integration and protection of biodiversity

The certificate implies proof that the incorporation of multiple integration and renaturalization measures on the following axes: Location outside the Natura 2000 Network, cumulative impact assessment, permeable fencing, renaturalization of native fauna, prevention of soil degradation, minimization of occupied space, design of connecting lines, respect for the natural vegetation layer and transplanting trees.

• Circular Economy

In this criterion, the management of photovoltaic panels at the end of their useful life must be ensured by an authorized company that allows compliance with regulations on waste electrical and electronic equipment. In addition, the Seal of Excellence certifies that this compliance occurs through measures such as: recycling of construction materials, operation and maintenance, recycling of PV panels and other components and waste management during construction, avoiding contaminating soils and waters.

At Ideas MedioAmbiental, we offer companies that wish to obtain the UNEF Seal of Excellence in Sustainability, both for projects under development and for facilities in operation, all the necessary studies to obtain the certificate, as well as the necessary steps with the certification bodies.