ESG

• Effort in ESG

Canadian Solar Asset Management K.K. (“CSAM”) serves as an asset manager of Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (“CSIF”) which invests mainly in renewable energy power generation facilities. Canadian Solar Project K.K. (“CSP”) is a developer of PV projects and a sponsor for CSIF. CSAM together with CSP has contributed to building a sustainable economic society in local regions while paying a great attention to the global environment. Thus, CSAM has run its asset management business with its focus on the environmental aspect among the ESG initiatives. In addition, CSAM fully recognizes that considering the social and governance aspects in the asset management operations is also deemed extremely important by investors and fund managers in Japan and overseas with a focus on SRI. Under such circumstances, CSAM believes that active, appropriate disclosure of information about its initiatives will be more important going forward; therefore, CSAM set forth its“Approach into UN PRI” as ESG basic policy late December of 2020.
CSAM has facilitated the “Contribution to the Global Environment” via an increased installment of renewable energy facilities in Japan since IPO of CSIF. Going forward, CSAM would like to make an opportunity for SRI available for investors by “Realizing A Sustainable Society” and “Vitalizing A Regional Society” as for the social and governance aspects.

As of August 13, 2019, our asset manager, Canadian Solar Asset Management K.K. (“CSAM”), became the first Japanese asset manager of a listed infrastructure fund to be a signatory to the UN PRI (United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment) to promote ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investments.
As a signatory to the UN PRI, CSAM devised an “Approach to UN PRI Guidelines” as of the end of December 2020 as its basic ESG policy, which can be found on CSIF’s website as of February 17, 2021.

• CSAM endorsed the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations in February 2022.
  CSIF and CSAM published the ESG report in February 2023.
• CSIF selects ESG subjects (materiality) of particular importance to CSIF and promote efforts to achieve and further improve targets by setting KPIs and implementing specific measures for materiality items through future activities.

TCFD was established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to promote transparency on climate-related information disclosures and discuss implementation methods for financial institutions.As of February 14, 2022, CSIF conducts climate-related disclosures in accordance with the guidelines of the TCFD Recommendations.

• In order to prevent greenwashing (falsely claiming the sustainability of a particular product) and to create a more transparent playing field for ESG investors in their investment decision-making, EU SFDR was created for the purpose of enhancing transparency of sustainable investment.
• Disclosure covers all information relevant to policies on sustainability risk, sustainability of financial products, and ESG factors.CSIF is scheduled to conduct SFDR Article 8 disclosure requirements of pre-defined ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors.

• CSIF revised a new Green Finance Framework which obtained a Green1(F) assessment from JCR, the highest assessment rating as of June 30, 2023. The green rating has now also been applied to the issuance of new investment units and CSIF has issued new investment units as “Green Equity.” Going forward, all CSIF’s finance, whether equity or debt finance, will be green finance, in principle.

The Canadian Solar Group is focused on reducing the environmental impact from solar panel manufacturing processes such as greenhouse gases and industrial waste water and have achieved the following reductions in our environmental impact from 2017 to 2022.

• Reduction of industrial water consumption (/MW)

  2017

  Approx.

  153 ton

  - 20 %

  2022

  Approx.

  123 ton

• Reduction of industrial water consumption (/MW)

  2017

  Approx.

  2,249 ton

  - 67 %

  2022

  Approx.

  750 ton

Power plant carefully developed by protecting the rich environment of Daisen-cho

The district in which CS Daisen-cho Power Plant is located is in close proximity to districts known for their diverse and rich ecological environments with forests, plants and wild birds. Efforts were made to refrain from using chainsaws when developing the project to avoid damaging the habitat of rare species of indigenous falcons, while painting the fence around the site using camouflage colors.
The power plant can provide 27MWp of clean regenerated energy, equivalent to electricity for approximately 8,000 households.

Canadian Solar Asset Management Inc. is sponsoring the Xavier‘s Way Walking in Hiji-machi, where CS Hiji-machi Power Plant and CS Hiji-machi Dai-Ni Power Plant are located. In 2023, CSAM employees participated in this event, which is a walk along a historic trail that Francisco Xavier is said to have passed through.

The Sponsor constructed the Daisen Canadian Garden and donated it to the Daisen-cho Town Government in commemoration of the completion of CS Daisen-cho Power Plant, now owned by the CSIF after development, and as part of its contribution to local communities in an effort to create harmony between nature and the large-scale solar power plant. In addition, it repaired the Hima Jinja Shrine in the same town and donated an incense holder made of white granite to the Shimpukuji Temple.

The sponsor and CSAM offered donations to the Marumori-machi Town Government. The town was severely hit by Typhoon Hagibis in October 2019.