Can you talk about you or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability or other environmentally- friendly activities?

As a pioneer in the solar industry with a heritage dating back to 1985, commitment to the environment has been at the core of our operations since the company was established. We produce the world’s most efficient and longest lasting solar panels with an industry leading 40-year warranty. We also possess numerous circular economy credentials such as LEED certifications for our buildings and certifications on lead-free products and landfill-free facilities.

As an independent company, we adopted a journey approach to achieving industry leadership in sustainability. We joined the UN Global Compact in our first year of operations and adopted the most robust reporting standards in our Sustainability Reports and our Modern Slavery Statement, aligning to Australian, Californian and UK laws. We established long-term targets for the areas identified as our material topics and continually look for ways to improve.

We are humbled that we are already achieving results demonstrating leadership in sustainability. Our human rights reporting processes received Silver in Asia and we were recently ranked by Corporate Knights as one of the world’s top 100 most sustainable companies, placing us in the top 1% of all companies evaluated globally.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations?

Due to my experience advising the United Nations Global Compact for many years, Maxeon put the entire ESG and sustainability programme under the legal department. I oversee the programme’s strategic direction, initiatives and reporting approaches. This helped the legal department play a key role in leading ESG operations, setting high standards in line with applicable laws and international industry best practices. We are recognised by the organisation as well suited to attract the interest and attention of stakeholders, given the importance of legal and compliance to the company.

It can be difficult to truly measure a company’s track record and accomplishments in terms of their environmentally friendly behaviour. What do you think has, until now, been mostly missed when discussing how green a company is?

I think public perception has been driven by superficial factors rather than details. This has led to accusations of greenwashing, or companies making public statements that don’t reflect their actual corporate conduct.

Sustainability is not a slogan but requires rigorous work in all aspects of a company’s operations. This includes everything a company does, including reduced emissions in the supply chain, reduced waste in manufacturing and recycling. At Maxeon, we take a holistic approach to the circular economy, incorporating every step in the life of our products and rigorously report on it in our sustainability reports.

Even as we focus on the environment, it is also important to remember social factors – such as ensuring the absence of forced labour in the supply chain – when discussing environmentally friendly behaviour.