Recently, photovoltaic materials developer and manufacturer GCL Technology released its 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. The report identifies R&D and innovation, product diversification, and strengthened risk and internal control as the company’s three key material ESG topics. In 2024, the carbon emissions of GCL’s FBR granular silicon fell 61% compared with 2021, once again setting a new global industry low and empowering carbon reduction across the value chain.

In terms of green and low-carbon development, GCL Technology has reduced product carbon footprints, built a full-lifecycle carbon footprint management platform known as the “GCL Carbon Chain,” lowered energy consumption, and improved production processes. On continuous innovation, the company’s R&D investment reached RMB 1.102 billion in 2024. In corporate governance, its ESG governance structure was further enhanced while digital management systems were promoted internally.

Strengthening Management of Material Topics

This report marks the 12th ESG report disclosed by GCL Technology. The company is a major global supplier of photovoltaic raw materials such as polysilicon and silicon wafers and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. As of the end of February 2025, GCL Technology received a Morningstar Sustainalytics ESG Risk Score of 19.8 (Low Risk), CDP Climate Rating B, Water Security Rating B-, and Wind ESG Rating BBB, placing its ESG performance in the upper-middle tier of the industry.

The report shows further standardization and improvement in ESG information disclosure. GCL Technology engaged third-party assurance provider SGS to independently verify the report, evaluating disclosure quality and accuracy. The three material topics identified are R&D and innovation, product diversification, and strengthened risk and internal control.

“R&D and innovation are the core drivers that keep GCL Technology at the forefront of the industry,” said Song Yunbo, Vice President of GCL Technology and Head of the Sustainability Center. In 2024, R&D spending reached RMB 1.102 billion, accounting for approximately 7.3% of revenue, up 1.7 percentage points year-on-year. “Long-term R&D investment has enabled continuous optimization of FBR granular silicon technology, lowering production costs, improving product quality, and steadily reducing carbon footprints,” Song noted.

A diversified product strategy helps the company respond to market fluctuations. Strategically, GCL Technology focuses on upgrading granular silicon products, breaking through upstream and downstream technical bottlenecks, reserving new materials and technologies, and cultivating a “second growth curve.” The company also expands innovative businesses through industrial investment and tech incubation.

Strengthened risk management forms the foundation of stable development. “In a complex market and strict regulatory environment, GCL Technology has comprehensively enhanced operational risk control, improved its risk management system, and elevated compliance standards to safeguard steady growth,” Song said. In 2024, the company revised its Comprehensive Risk Management System, clarifying the three lines of defense—business units, risk management departments, and audit committees—while conducting regular risk monitoring and assessments.

Meeting Overseas Customer Requirements

According to the report, environmental performance indicators improved significantly in 2024:

• Comprehensive energy consumption intensity down 12% year-on-year

• Greenhouse gas emission intensity down 21%

• Water consumption intensity down 23%

Carbon footprint has become a key metric of photovoltaic product competitiveness, making its reduction a critical environmental issue for GCL Technology. As the company’s core product, FBR granular silicon plays a vital role. Downstream customer requirements for PV carbon footprints are transmitted along the supply chain to raw material producers. “Overseas customers not only require carbon footprint certification but also impose stricter low-carbon standards. In some tenders, lower product carbon footprints have even become entry thresholds,” Song told reporters.

By the end of 2024, GCL Technology’s effective FBR granular silicon capacity reached 480,000 tons. Compared with traditional rod-type silicon, this capacity corresponds to annual electricity savings of approximately 19.5 billion kWh, equivalent to reducing about 10.48 million tons of CO₂ emissions. In 2024, FBR granular silicon received carbon footprint certification from France’s ADEME, with product carbon emissions 61% lower than in 2021, again setting a new global industry low.

Historically, PV companies passively used Europe’s high-emission rod-type silicon carbon factors in calculations, leading to inflated results. To enhance transparency, GCL Technology provides a carbon footprint traceability management platform for the PV industry. Leveraging GCL Group’s full industrial chain and Ant Digital’s blockchain technology, the platform connects every stage from industrial silicon powder to modules, building an end-to-end carbon footprint chain.

In June 2024, four production stages—industrial silicon powder, granular silicon, crystal pulling, and wafer slicing—obtained TÜV Rheinland certification. The verified carbon footprint of granular silicon was 40.68 kg CO₂e/kg, far lower than international rod-type silicon factors. This breakthrough signifies China’s shift from a “carbon factor acceptor” to a “carbon standard setter.”

GCL Technology also advances green production through energy reduction, process improvement, and resource recycling. For example, its subsidiary Inner Mongolia Xinyuan upgraded its hydrogen recovery system, fully reusing high- and low-pressure hydrogen without adding new equipment and saving 1,022 tons of standard coal annually. At the Xuzhou PV base, a new solid-waste recycling system reduced monthly waste to 600 tons and saved approximately RMB 180,000 in raw material procurement in 2024. An innovative bulk-bag cleaning and reuse process is expected to save RMB 138,000 per year.

Advancing Digital Management and Corporate Governance

GCL Technology continues to elevate corporate governance standards, contributing both economic and social value through compliant and stable operations.

“In 2024, we strengthened the professional leadership of the ESG Committee and established an ESG management system covering indicator and target management, empowering new-quality productivity,” said Zhu Gongshan, Chairman and Co-CEO of GCL Technology.

The company has established a three-tier ESG governance structure—governance, management, and execution levels—and introduced a Sustainable Development Management System to standardize internal sustainability practices.

Digital management has also been accelerated. In 2024, GCL Technology issued a Digital Transformation Project Management System, clarifying responsibilities and processes to ensure institutional support for integrating digitalization into business operations.

In supply chain management, the company focused on ESG topics such as environmental protection, labor rights, integrity and compliance, and workplace safety. It formulated and signed the GCL Technology Supply Chain Partner Code of Social Responsibility Conduct with suppliers, prioritizing cooperation with certified partners.

GCL Technology has committed to conducting annual supply chain due diligence. In 2024, together with independent third-party institutions, the company carried out ESG due diligence on 18 core suppliers of key materials such as silicon powder and graphite, identifying 564 risk management items and urging rectification while empowering suppliers through a combination of online platforms and offline training.

Link：https://csapp1.cs.com.cn/gs/2025/05/19/detail_202505199320683.html