Our CSR values and commitments
Driven by strong corporate values and faced with the challenges of climate change, the GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE group is fully committed to a strategy of social and environmental responsibility in line with its raison d’être:
‘Acting for the energy transition, with the territories, by producing flexible and competitive solar energy, while respecting the environment’.
Our CSR commitments
Our CSR strategy is based on 8 priority issues, grouped into three major commitments: Environment, Social and Governance. The Group has defined its 2024-2028 CSR roadmap, which sets out objectives for each of these issues, as well as the concrete actions to be taken to achieve them.
Environment
Générale du Solaire is proud to promote strong environmental and ethical values, which are anchored in its DNA.
- Respecting biodiversity
- Calculating our carbon footprint and defining our climate strategy
- Developing recycling and waste management
Focus SOREN
Générale du Solaire is a member of Soren, a government-approved eco-organization dedicated to the responsible management of photovoltaic panel waste.
As a member of Soren, Générale du Solaire contributes to the implementation of collection and recycling systems for photovoltaic panels in order to guarantee their end-of-life treatment in compliance with environmental standards. Through an eco-participation, the Group contributes to the financing and development of collection, sorting and recycling operations.
Social and societal:
Similarly, we attach great value to our relationships with our external stakeholders.
- Guaranteeing health, safety and well-being in the workplace
- Increasing the acceptability of the projects we develop and working to educate our stakeholders.
- Strengthening our responsible purchasing policy
Governance :
As part of our commitment to sustainable development, we are taking concrete steps to strengthen our governance and ensure responsible management of our activities. To this end, we have set up a CSR unit to steer the deployment of our action plan and produce an annual report.
Our values
Commitment
As one of the leading companies in the French solar photovoltaic sector, GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE is contributing continuously to various debates, public consultations and working groups. In this context, GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE is:
- Trustee member of Enerplan, the sector’s professional union representing nearly 200 French companies. Daniel Bour, Chairman of GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE, was elected Chairman of Enerplan in September 2014.
- Member of France Territoire Solaire, the first French solar think-tank, created in 2011 at the initiative of Daniel Bour. The main objective of this think-tank is to produce proposals, including public policy recommendations, aimed at developing solar energy in France. France Territoire Solaire is at the origin of the Solar Photovoltaic Energy Observatory in France, a quarterly publication launched in 2010, whose purpose is to provide regular updates regarding the photovoltaic sector. The aim of the publication is to be accurate, objective and transparent, while analyzing the solar energy solutions proposed to meet the contemporary challenges.
Dynamism
GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE is driven by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and considers responsiveness and dynamism to be its main strengths in comparison to its large global competitors. Respecting commitments and deadlines, adapting to the local environment and executing tasks with high efficiency in a timely manner are key to our growth, which benefits from a very effective decision-making process.
Ethics
GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE considers that its business should not be developed at any cost. Our actions are therefore guided by principles on which we do not compromise.
Moreover, all our projects provide significant business opportunities for the local economy: we subcontract certain activities to local businesses in the project development, construction or operation phase; we employ workers participating in reintegration programs in close collaboration with local associations; we organize guided tours for educational purposes on our solar power plants, etc.
Aware of its responsibilities as an important player in the photovoltaic sector, GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE works almost exclusively with French or European suppliers to provide all the necessary equipment for a solar power plant (solar panels, transformers, cables, inverters, etc.).
Technical expertise
GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE has all the technical expertise needed to develop solar projects on the most complex sites. An expert in the installation of photovoltaic power plants on degraded land, GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE draws on its experience to develop former landfill sites and other sites unsuitable for any other use. In addition, the group’s design offices are working on grid integration solutions, with a particular focus on small-scale grids and isolated sites. The company has developed a number of technologies that enable the installation of hybrid power plants (both connected to an isolated mini-grid and coupled to a back-up generator) with or without electricity storage devices. These innovative technologies are particularly well-suited to developing countries, supporting GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE’s expansion into these promising markets.
Quality
The quality of its solar photovoltaic plants is at the heart of GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE’s priorities. Thanks to its experience and the proven know-how in completing a wide number of projects, the Group has established good practices, which are widely accepted and recognized. GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE was the first company in the French sector to be certified ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. However, these certifications are not being taken for granted. Quality is a constant concern for our teams, which are always seeking to improve our processes. GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE is also a member of Soren association (formerly PV CYCLE), which anticipates the future dismantling of solar plants. The importance of quality is also reflected in the safety regulations strictly applied throughout all our projects.
Kindness
The employees of the GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE group share and defend a common human value: kindness. This is at the heart of our corporate culture, and every member of staff strives to maintain this dynamic of friendliness, both within our teams and towards all our external contacts. We are convinced that by reconciling professionalism and good understanding in all our relationships, we create solid, lasting alliances.
GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE cares about the well-being of its employees and is flexible and adaptable in a constantly changing professional environment.
Our commitment to the industry
Board member of Enerplan, the industry trade association representing nearly 200 companies in the sector. Daniel Bour, Chairman of GÉNÉRALE DU SOLAIRE, was elected Chairman of Enerplan in September 2014.
He is a member of France Territoire Solaire, which was set up at Daniel Bour’s initiative in 2011. The purpose of this think-tank is to produce proposals, particularly for public policies, enabling the development of solar energy in France. It was behind the creation of the Observatoire de l’Energie Solaire Photovoltaïque en France, a quarterly publication that has been a benchmark since 2010, and whose aim is to provide regular figures on the photovoltaic sector in a bid to ensure objectivity and transparency in the study of the responses provided by solar energy to contemporary challenges.
Our certifications
Committed to continuous improvement, Générale du Solaire is naturally committed to ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 certification.
The achievement of these certifications since 2010 is the fruit of work carried out by the entire Group. These certifications validate the quality of Générale du Solaire’s organization and its commitment to reducing environmental impacts throughout the process of setting up photovoltaic power plants.
These certifications are a guarantee of reliability for customers, partners and suppliers.
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