What’s Ahead for SVTC in 2015?
By: Sheila Davis, Executive Director, SVTC 2014 was a very productive year for SVTC. We laid a solid foundation for two major initiatives that will keep us very busy in 2015 and beyond. I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on our latest projects—and also to encourage you to join us by making …
5th Annual Solar Scorecard Paves the Way for Environmental Sustainability
By: Sheila Davis, Executive Director, SVTC The results are in! 2014 marks the fifth consecutive year since the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) began releasing its Annual Solar Scorecard. In case you aren’t familiar with it, the SVTC Solar Scorecard ranks manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules according to a range of environmental, sustainability …
Wasted time, lives and our future
When the Consumer Watchdog’s report “Golden Wasteland” came out, I felt vindicated. For years, I have been sitting in meetings with DTSC, attending their workshops, reading their emails and have always felt like something was missing: logic and purpose. DTSC’s purpose is to protect California’s people and environment from harmful effects of toxic substances, but …
Hazardous Waste from Solar Energy?
A recent Associated Press (AP) article on hazardous waste in the solar industry was widely circulated on the web and ran in most major media and TV networks. If you’ve been following SVTC’s work, you know that hazardous waste from solar is news, but discussions about the solar industry’s environmental impacts are not new. Since …
DTSC’s Proposed Solar Recycling Regulations will haunt California for Years to Come
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (DTSC) proposed solar recycling regulations are so baffling they resemble San Jose’s haunted Winchester Mansion. The Winchester Mansion was built in 1884 by Sarah Winchester, the gun-manufacturer heiress. She believed she was being haunted by victims killed by Winchester rifles and she spent the latter part of her life building rooms …
Formal But Not Yet Safe
Apple products are poisoning workers who make them. This is well known, thanks to a long campaign by activists. Recently, Apple accepted this too and promised to remedy this….
SCORECARD FINDS SOLAR INDUSTRY LEADERS MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD SVTC’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE GOALS
Solar industry leaders are making slow but steady progress…
Why SVTC Created a Lifecycle Website
At SVTC, we’ve learned that just because we can’t always see pollution does not mean that it doesn’t exist. This is certainly the case for solar energy. Solar panels, after all, don’t belch smoke or emit horrible odors from dirty smoke stacks. So it’s difficult to imagine that the panels that sit passively on your …
Solar Manufacturing in the US is Taking a Beating
Several solar firms, calling themselves the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), have filed a suit with the International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Chinese solar panel makers are dumping cheap solar panels on the US market. The complaint filed by seven manufacturers has divided the US solar industry and resulted in another group, calling …
Cleantech’s “Double” Bottomline: Sustainability Still Treated Separate But Not Equal
I recently served as a judge for the 2011 Cleantech Open Business Competition’s National Sustainability Award at the CaliforniaCleantech Open (CTO). The competition provides training and mentoring to bring start- up cleantech companies to market. CTO, considered by some to be the Academy Awards of the cleantech industry, continues to help grow and define the cleantech sector. As …