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Meyer Burger pursues these SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals

Our contribution to a better world

As a company, Meyer Burger is currently committed to implementing nine specific sustainability goals. The focus is on energy and the environment.

«At its essence, sustainability means ensuring prosperity and environmental protection without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A sustainable world is one where everyone can access clean energy that doesn’t contribute to climate change.»

This is how former UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon described the core message of the global development goals in 2015. In 17 categories, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point the way to a fairer world. The target horizon is 2030, which is not that far away.

With the implementation of the SDGs, Meyer Burger seeks to ensure that the share of renewable energies in the global energy mix is significantly increased, that the availability of electricity can be realized worldwide with new PV technologies and that a large proportion of the raw materials used are fully recycled as well as processed in a way that conserves resources. We are setting new standards in terms of sustainability and are together heading towards a livable and peaceful future.

Energy and environment: these SDG are particularly important to Meyer Burger

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 7
Affordable and Clean Energy

The production of solar cells and solar modules is an essential element of the PV value chain. The use of photovoltaics as the primary energy source ensures access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy worldwide while at the same time increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

SDG 8
Decent Work and Economic Growth

As a modern company, good working conditions, gender equality and fair treatment of each other as well as our partners and customers are a matter of course for us. We promote productive employment as well as sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Our production sites are located where employee rights are enshrined in law and actively co-determined.

SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 9
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Moreover, we are actively contributing to developing a resilient infrastructure through industrial innovation and are committed to sustainable industrialization. Our goal is to support the emergence of a sustainable energy infrastructure especially in regions that are threatened with losing their energy independence. A more independent power supply can be achieved through the use of photovoltaics. To achieve this, sustainable, and if possible regional, supply chains, which Meyer Burger is currently systematically setting up, are essential, as is stepping up investment in research and development.

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 11
Sustainable Cities and Communities

Sustainable municipal development is impossible without implementing innovative solar systems that are integrated into modern living concepts, emission-free transport and public infrastructure. In a strategy paper, Meyer Burger has identified numerous realization possibilities in the context of urban development and in connection with existing infrastructure, including solar house roof systems on large apartment blocks, PV roofing on freeways or as an integral part of agriculture in innovative “agri-PV” concepts.

SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 12
Responsible Consumption and Production

Our strategic orientation is based on a production process that conserves resources and is both cost-effective and energy-efficient. Our patentprotected technology requires fewer production steps and significantly less energy than conventional solar production. For Meyer Burger, it is imperative that the products resulting from this process are not discarded but rather recycled and returned to the material cycle. In this way, the material footprint of our products is reduced to a minimum.

SDG 13 Climate Action

SDG 13
Climate Action

Solar power is the solution to some of the most pressing problems of our time. The dramatic climate crisis calls for the fastest possible switchover to a very high proportion of renewable energies. Photovoltaics promotes the emergence of new forms of energy storage, such as hydrogen or innovative battery systems for the transportation or public infrastructure sectors, for example. Solar energy is used in a variety of ways: from detached houses to commercial use and large solar parks, every single solar module is vital to reduce CO₂ emissions and stop climate change.

SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

SDG 17
Partnerships for the Goals

Meyer Burger has been involved in numerous sustainable partnerships in the solar industry for many years, among other things as a member of Solar Power Europe (SPE), bne, BSW, Swissolar, PV Austria and Silicon Saxony. This commitment helps increase awareness of the company as a trusted European PV producer. Meyer Burger is also a member of the Ultra Low Carbon Solar (ULCS) Alliance and is committed to low-CO₂ production without forced labor (GRI 102–13).

Meyer Burger is pursuing several promising projects in the field of solar research with highly regarded scientific institutes. Our R&D teams in Switzerland and Germany work in exclusive cooperation with CSEM (Centre Suisse d’Électronique et de Microtechnique) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. They are driving the industrialization of IBC (Interdigitated Back Contact) technology at various levels. This technology is based on our current heterojunction platform and promises further advantages in terms of solar technology resource efficiency.

«There is no ‘Plan B’ because we do not have a ‘Planet B.’ We have to work and galvanize our action.»
Ban-Ki Moon, former UN Secretary-General

Here you can find out more about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).