Canadian Solar Releases 2018 Sustainability Report

GUELPH, Ontario, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced its latest Corporate Social Responsibility Report is now available online.

The report shows Canadian Solar's firm commitment to sustainable social and environmental development and the company's great efforts in making the difference in business and in local communities.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Report is prepared following the guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative™ (GRI) G4 CORE option, the global standard for sustainability reports. Below are the report highlights.

Operational highlights:

• In 2018, Canadian Solar delivered 6.6 GW of solar modules worldwide. As of the end of the second quarter of 2019, the company had shipped over 36 GW modules cumulatively, which can generate around 45,321,600 MWh of clean electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of approximately 10 million homes.
• In the latest bankability survey conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Canadian Solar was ranked as the No.1 most bankable module manufacturer by respondents based on product quality, reliability and trustable corporate reputation. PV-Tech also gave Canadian Solar an AA bankability rating, showing that the Company has managed to successfully pursue a dual manufacturing/downstream business.
• Canadian Solar's technology team set a world record of 22.80% conversion efficiency for p-type large area multi-crystalline silicon solar cell, and it was tested and certified by Germany's Institute für Solarenergieforschung GmbH (ISFH) in September 2019.

Environmental highlights:

• Water usage per kW production was reduced by 42.8% from 0.593 m³ in 2017 to 0.339 m³ in 2018.
• Electricity usage per kW production was reduced by 14.5% from 7.22 kWh in 2017 to 6.17 kWh in 2018.
• CO₂ emissions for every kW module production was reduced by 19% from 393 kg in 2017 to 318 kg in 2018.

Social highlights:

• In 2018, the Company employed more than 13,000 people worldwide and created 561 new jobs. It also provided 43,266 training programs to employees during the year.
• Canadian Solar continued to contribute to local communities, such as in Lungi, Sierra Leone and Bauru, Brazil, where the Company helped to build solar power systems for medical centers, kindergartens and elderly people's homes. The Company believes the participation and direct contribution to the society is the best expression of business success.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, commented: "I feel very proud that Canadian Solar has played a big role in the global solar energy development, and I am very grateful to all our customers, partners and employees for making this possible. I look forward to working with all of you moving forward. Only when we work together, we can make the difference."

Canadian Solar's 2018 Sustainability Report can be downloaded as PDF via http://www.canadiansolar.cc/fileadmin/user_upload/media/Canadian_Solar_Sustainability_Report_2018_en.pdf

About Canadian Solar Inc.

Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions and has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. Over the past 18 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 36 GW of premium quality modules to customers in over 150 countries around the world. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale project construction; delays in the completion of project sales; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 25, 2019. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

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