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REC Annual Report 2011
22
In 2011, REC Silicon paid two fines related to 1) an authority inspection
of process safety management and 2) not meeting emission limits. Both
cases occurred in 2010.
People and organization
The number of permanent employees decreased by 15 percent to 3,587
at the end of 2011. The decrease is mainly driven by the permanent shut
down of some of the manufacturing sites in Norway.
Of the total number of employees at the end of 2011, 28 percent were
female, which is similar to 2010, but slightly up from23 percent in 2009.
Out of the total of seven executives in the GroupManagement team at
the end of the year, one was female. In the company’s Board of Directors,
one of four employee-elected Directors was female, while three of the
eight shareholders elected Directors were female.
Average absenteeism rate due to sickness is just above 1.5 percent,
which is lower than four percent reported both in 2010 and 2009.
REC and its subsidiaries are committed to equal opportunity
employment and practices. All employees and applicants shall be
treated without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality,
race, religion, disability, marital situation or any other protected status.
REC has succeeded in recruiting individuals and teams globally with the
necessary competence, potential and cultural fit needed.
REC has made changes to REC Group management in 2011 and
2012. Erik Sauar resigned as SVP & CTO and member of Group
Management at the end of the third quarter 2011. In the first quarter
2012, Alessandro Perrotta was employed as Executive Vice President
Wafers, Cells &Modules and a member of GroupManagement, with a
base in Singapore. John Andersen, Jr. continues as EVP &Group COO,
and member of REC GroupManagement. Florian Krumbacher was
appointed SVP & Chief Legal Officer and member of Group
Management, after Kristine Ryssdal, decided to leave REC.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety has the highest priority in REC and the target is zero
harm. In 2011, a key focus area for all RECmanufacturing units has been to
risk assess work activities to eliminate inherent risks or apply control
measures, with the significant involvement of employees. Another key
area for continuous improvement is incident management. All employees
are encouraged to register hazards and incidents in order to identify and
implement preventivemeasures that can eliminate recurrences and
reduce the total level of risk. More than 20,000 hazards and incidents
were registered in 2011, equating to approximately five per full time
employee.
All employees at RECmanufacturing sites are represented in formal
joint management-worker health and safety committees, where they
monitor and advice on occupational health and safety programs.
REC ended 2011 with no work-related fatalities in more than 7.5million
worked hours across the workforce. The number of Lost Time Injuries
(LTI) was 11, down from29 in 2010. The LTI- rate (number of LTI per
million worked hours) was 1.4 in 2011 compared with 3.9 in 2010. The
number of Total Recordable Injuries (TRI) was 44, down from59 in 2010.
The TRI-rate (number of TRI per million worked hours) decreased from
8.0 in 2010 to 5.7. Even if the results represent an improvement, REC is
continuously working to reduce the TRI rate.
Environment and Climate
REC’s environmental performance is best measured by two important
factors: energy efficiency and carbon footprint.
The energy efficiency of PV can be measured as total generation of
energy through the lifetime of a PV-system, as energy generation per m
2
or as energy payback time. The total generation of energy provided by a
PVmodule over the lifetime is an important indicator for customers
investing in a PV system.
ALifeCycleAssessment (LCA) studywas undertaken in 2011based on
production data fromthe first quarter of the year. The LCA, conducted
independently by the Energy Research Centre of theNetherlands (ECN),
calculated the carbon footprint and the energy payback time. For
polysilicon produced in theUS, and for wafers, cells andmodules produced
in Singapore, a carbon footprint of 21 g CO
2
-eq/kWhwith a corresponding
energy payback time of 1.2 yearswas achieved. Formoduleswith
wafers and cells produced inNorway, the corresponding valueswere
18 g CO
2
-eq/kWh and an energy payback time of 1.1 years. Modules
containing 100percent silicon produced using the proprietary Fluidized
BedReactor (FBR) process in theUSA, wafers and cells produced in
Norway andmodules assembled in Singapore have an energy payback time
of 1.0 years. The energy source used for the calculationwas hydropower for
the polysilicon process inMoses Lake, hydropower for theNorwegian
processes and natural gas power for the operations in Singapore.
In 2011, for the first time, REC provides environmental performance
data within the annual report, reflecting information collected for
selected GRI indicators. REC will continue to develop its reporting and
disclosure, which will be used as a basis against which to measure and
drive continual improvements in environmental performance. In 2012,
REC plans to report carbon emissions in accordance with the
requirements of the GHG Protocol and to expand its reporting to
include additional indirect emission sources such as transportation.
REC has a range of HSE-related permits for operations at its sites, and
maintains a record of any non-compliance as part of regulatory HSE
requirements. Non-compliances constitute breach of permit, citations or
violations identified by regulatory audits. In 2010, a total of 34 non-
compliances were recorded, of which seven were open at year end. In
2011, a total of 31 new non-compliances were recorded, and at year-
end, three were still open. Of the total 31 non-compliances, 15 were
violations from regulatory audits and 16 were permit breaches. Of the
16 permit breaches, 13 were short term excursions of emission limits,
and three were specific breaches of permit conditions. No breaches
resulted in significant long-term environmental impacts.
Sustainability in the supply chain
RECseeks to contract services and topurchase, hire, or lease equipment
andmaterials in amanner that ensures that REC’s own sustainability policies
aremet. This process includes audits and contractual obligations.
Report from the Board of Directors