Canadian Solar
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 1 November 2026 · 12 sources
Solar panel and battery maker based in Canada, with factories mainly in China.
Canadian Solar's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2022, which it has only partly acted on, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2022) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly acted on.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 0 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in China and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces the silicon in its panels to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang (for batteries and inverters: traces its battery metals to the mine)
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Canadian Solar says it makes products in China and the United States. Press and retailer reports name Thailand.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: about a third of the world's polysilicon and silicon metal is made in Xinjiang, where state-run labour transfers amount to forced labour, and home batteries rely on cobalt, lithium and other metals linked to child and forced labour.
- Traces the silicon in some of its panels, or only back to the polysilicon plant
- Modern slavery statement
- It traces some of its silicon, or traces it only to the polysilicon plant, but doesn't show that the panels it sells here use silicon traced back to the smelter outside Xinjiang.
Research notes Canadian Solar is headquartered in Canada but makes most of its ingots, wafers, cells and modules in China through its 64%-owned Chinese subsidiary CSI Solar, with wafer production in Thailand and module and cell plants in the US for the US market; it does not say which factories make the panels sold in Australia. It holds Solar Stewardship Initiative traceability at Silver at one ingot and one cell site, but not at any module factory, and gives no share of traced output or statement about its Australian range. It signed the Clean Energy Council's Pledge Against Modern Slavery in 2023, and gave Sheffield Hallam polysilicon regions that the researchers could not verify, but publishes no supplier list.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Stewardship Initiative certified sites | Listed | Currently holds Solar Stewardship Initiative Supply Chain Traceability at Silver (traced to the silicon-metal smelter) for an ingot site in Baotou and a cell site in Suqian, China, valid to March 2027; no module factory is certified. Its ESG certificates for the same two sites expired in July 2026. View |
| Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) | Listed | Assessed in the 2025 Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark (35 wind and solar companies), which found no company publicly discloses its full solar supply chain. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Sheffield Hallam University's 2023 assessment, posted by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, rated Canadian Solar's exposure to Uyghur forced labour in its supply chain 'high'. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Canadian Solar MSS (Australia) Pty Ltd lodged a modern slavery statement for 2024, and a joint statement with Canadian Solar (Australia) Pty Limited for 2020; none is on the register for 2021-2023 or 2025. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Canadian Solar and its subsidiaries are not on the UFLPA Entity List (29 October 2026 edition); two former ingot suppliers, Hongyuan (Shangji) and Shuangliang, were listed in January 2025. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names Chinese polysilicon and metallurgical-grade silicon as made with forced labour, and Chinese ingots, wafers, solar cells and modules as made with those inputs. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University found Canadian Solar bought ingots from Shangji (now Hongyuan Green Energy) from December 2020 to December 2022 and from Shuangliang, both put on the US forced labour Entity List in 2025 for sourcing Xinjiang polysilicon (Over-Exposed, 2023; DHS, 2025). Source · archived copy | PartlyCanadian Solar says it buys polysilicon only from outside Xinjiang, which researchers couldn't verify; it holds SSI Silver traceability at one ingot and one cell site, not its module factories. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Sheffield Hallam University rated Canadian Solar's exposure to Uyghur forced labour 'high' for all modules it makes in China, Thailand and Vietnam, including those for the US (2023). Source
- The Globe and Mail reported in 2021 that Xinjiang polysilicon maker GCL Poly, whose Xinjiang subsidiary took in state-transferred 'surplus labourers', agreed in 2019 to supply Canadian Solar; Canadian Solar said it was not aware of any forced labour in its supply chain. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 12
Show all 12 sources
- Certified sites (Solar Stewardship Initiative) · search the archive · Canadian Solar Baotou ingot and Suqian cell sites: Supply Chain Traceability Silver to March 2027; ESG certificates valid to 14 July 2026; no module site
- Report from Sheffield Hallam University reveals significant risks of forced labor in solar supply chains (BHRRC, 2023) · search the archive · Canadian Solar: allegation of high exposure
- Renewable Energy and Human Rights Benchmark 2025 (BHRRC) · search the archive · Canadian Solar assessed; no company publicly discloses its full solar supply chain
- Canadian Solar Inc. Form 20-F FY2025 (US SEC) · search the archive · Manufacturing mainly in the US and Asia Pacific including China; module plant in Mesquite, Texas and cell plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana; CSI Solar about 64% owned; zero tolerance of forced labour
- DHS announces addition of 37 PRC-based companies to UFLPA Entity List (2025) · search the archive · Hongyuan Green Energy (formerly Wuxi Shangji) and Shuangliang Silicon Materials (Baotou) listed for sourcing Xinjiang polysilicon
- Statement #2021-1989 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Canadian Solar (Australia) Pty Limited and Canadian Solar MSS (Australia) Pty Ltd joint statement for 2020
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Chinese polysilicon and metallurgical-grade silicon listed for forced labour; solar cells, modules, ingots and wafers for forced-labour inputs
- Australian Modern Slavery Register search: Canadian Solar · search the archive · Statements for 2020 (joint) and 2024 (Canadian Solar MSS (Australia) Pty Ltd)
- Canadian Solar is building a 5 GW wafer fab in Thailand (TaiyangNews) · search the archive · Canadian Solar wafer manufacturing in Chonburi, Thailand
- Canadian Solar denies use of forced labour at its solar farm in Xinjiang (The Globe and Mail, 2021) · search the archive · GCL Poly, whose Xinjiang subsidiary took state-transferred labourers, agreed in 2019 to supply Canadian Solar; company denies awareness of forced labour
- Australian Clean Energy Council announces anti-slavery code of practice for renewables supply chain (PV Tech, 2023) · search the archive · Canadian Solar and REC the only significant manufacturers to sign the CEC pledge
- Over-Exposed: Uyghur Region Exposure Assessment for Solar Industry Sourcing (Sheffield Hallam University, 2023) · archived copy · Canadian Solar rated HIGH for modules made in China, Thailand and Vietnam; ingots from Shangji (Hongyuan) Dec 2020-Dec 2022 and Shuangliang; cells from Aiko and Tongwei; company's claimed polysilicon regions unverifiable
Company details
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Last researched
- 1 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Canadian Solar ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/canadian-solar, last researched 1 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Canadian Solar.