EcoVadis, a leading international CSR rating agency, has given Trina Solar a gold medal for our CSR work, putting us in the top three percent of companies globally in the electronic components manufacturing sector.

EcoVadis’ methodology takes into account 21 indicators across four themes: environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. It is derived from global CSR standards recommended by organizations including the United Nations and the International Labour Organization.

One of the CSR initiatives we have been involved in is the ‘World on Wheels’ programme in India. The idea was to build self-contained, internet-enabled digital learning labs on buses that can travel to rural areas. These mobile learning labs provide young people with computer skills and access to e-learning and online municipal and government services.

The buses are fitted with HP printers and computers with access to the internet and clouding computing. The digital labs are powered by our solar systems.  Each bus has 10 solar panels on the roof and the buses carry battery packs to store the electricity. Forty-eight of these special buses will be ready by this year with some already up and running. The India programme is expected to reach 6,400 villages and up to 15 million people over the next six years.

Another project we recently worked on is a 3kW rooftop solar system we gave to Vision Home, an orphanage in the Malaysian city of Ipoh. The orphanage is home to about 30 children between the ages of five and 18. The solar system is connected to the electricity grid, so any unused electricity is sold back to the grid under Malaysia’s feed-in-tariff scheme, giving Vision Home an additional source of income.

The panels have a 25-year energy performance guarantee. We think it is good to teach the children about the importance of taking care of the environment by living in a more environmentally sustainable manner,” says Asher Amos, Manager (Voluntary) at Vision Home.  Both projects not only showcase the cost-effectiveness of Trina Solar’s clean energy systems but also the potential of solar as a valuable community resource. We hope that the people we help today, through our CSR programs, will one day be in a position to help others and can highlight to others the benefits of using solar energy. 

Trina Solar’s CSR programmes reaffirm our ethos, ‘affordable energy for all’. We look forward to continuing to improve the world through solar power.