Ecodesign, Ecolabeling and Green Procurement Policies - enabling more Sustainable Photovoltaics?

The exponential deployment of photovoltaic (PV) systems over the past decade has led to increasing stakeholder interest in their sustainability performance. Public tenders, corporate customers, and private consumers alike have begun considering environmental performance criteria and discussions on ecodesign requirements, ecolabels and environmental footprinting have gained significant momentum across many regions in recent years. This paper presents the current status of voluntary and regulatory activities focused on improving the sustainability performance of PV modules and systems. We estimate the potential sustainability benefits of introducing product environmental footprint-based performance metrics as steering instruments for private and public sector PV investments.