Making an Impact

A Letter from Our Founders

A Letter from Our Founders

We founded Sunrun in 2007 with the vision to create a planet run by the sun. What began as graduate students building a company during the Great Recession has grown to thousands of employees and more than 298,000 customers across the country.

Sunrun is committed to serving all stakeholders: our employees, our customers, our financial partners, and the communities in which we operate. To ensure alignment with our mission, we created a formal committee of senior management to oversee Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters at the company, while also establishing board level oversight of ESG performance by our Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. These steps build on many actions we have taken over the years to be a company that embraces all aspects of sustainability.

We are already deeply carbon negative, and seek to help our customers and partners become carbon negative as well. Our solar systems have prevented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totaling 5.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Our goal is to replace fossil fuel plants one at a time, and the choices we’re making as a company are getting us a little closer to this goal every year.

We are also a financially sustainable company. In 2019, we grew our customer base by 22% while generating $102 million in cash, after adjusting for certain activities. This strong financial foundation and attractive ongoing margins supports continued growth and innovation. In the decade ahead, we look forward to continuing to provide clean, resilient energy to people across the nation.

Lynn Jurich's Signature

Lynn Jurich

Co-founder Chief Executive Officer
Edward Fenster's Signature

Edward Fenster

Co-founder Executive Chairman

ESG

Sunrun is committed to serving all stakeholders: our employees, our customers, our financial partners, and the communities in which we operate. Our annual impact reports allow us to evaluate and understand the impacts of our business on the world around us.

View 2019 Impact ReportView 2018 Impact ReportView 2017 Impact Report

Our Impact

Our impact spans across multiple areas. Beginning with our customers saving money on their utility bills by switching to solar power, to creating quality jobs in our communities and finally, to protecting the planet for future generations.

298K

We have 298,000 customers, as of the end of Q1 2020

$300M+

Savings to our customers

7.4B

Kilowatt hours of clean energy produced since 2007

Environmental Stewardship

Sunrun’s systems have prevented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totaling 5.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

That is the equivalent to negating:

13B

Miles driven by an average passenger vehicle

586M

Gallons of gasoline from an average passenger vehicle

882K

Home’s electricity use for a year

At Sunrun, we offer clean, reliable, affordable solar energy and battery storage solutions to accelerate the transition away from polluting fossil fuels. We recognize that inaction on climate change threatens global security and stability, and bringing solutions to bear on the issue remains the driving force behind our mission to create a planet run by the sun. Sunrun is committed to comprehensive environmental stewardship as demonstrated through the following avenues:

Climate Change and Emissions


Climate Change Strategy

Sunrun exists to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. However, we must appreciate that climate risks, which could disrupt or compromise our operations, are real today and will persist. Only through tireless efforts to deploy our products and services and to adhere to our evolving environmental and social policies can we insulate ourselves, our partners, and our communities from the consequences of unchecked climate change.

Reducing GHG Emissions

Sunrun’s solar energy systems offset GHG emissions every moment that they deliver clean energy to our customers. During 2019, we deployed 413 megawatts of solar to 53,900 customers. These systems could generate nearly 16 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy during the next 30 years, enough to prevent the emission of nearly 11 million metric tons of CO2e. This quantity is more than 33 times greater than the quantity of CO2e emitted to deploy these systems, which means that Sunrun negates significantly more emissions than we produce.

Positive Carbon Returns

Once Sunrun’s solar energy systems begin operating, positive carbon returns accrue rapidly. Our deployed solar energy systems prevent more GHG emissions than they emit over their product lifecycle, resulting in a net-positive carbon balance. After operating for just 10 months, a Sunrun solar energy system will prevent the emission of as much GHGs as were emitted to create and install the system. Because Sunrun’s systems are expected to produce clean energy for 30 years or longer, our systems prevent the release of harmful GHGs for 97% of their lifetime.

Environmental Management

Sunrun strives for exceptional environmental performance, and maintains an environmental management system (EMS) based on principles of continuous improvement. Our EMS is continually improved to remain aligned with Sunrun’s business strategy and to ensure progressive environmental performance over time.


Vehicle Fleet

We continually strive for environmental responsibility at Sunrun, including how we manage our vehicle fleet. In 2019, we continued retiring gasoline vehicles in favor of hybrid and electric vehicles. Currently, nearly 50% of our vehicle fleet is hybrid, and we expect this number to continue increasing throughout 2020 and beyond. Additionally, in 2019 we added real-time monitoring to our vehicle fleet in telematics solutions, providing opportunities to track drivers, optimize route patterns that result in enhanced safety, and reduced emissions and operating costs.

Facilities

We promote employee wellbeing and minimize negative environmental impacts across all of our facilities. From the coatings and carpet we use to our extensive preventative maintenance policies, we continually search for opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2019, Sunrun relocated both our Denver and San Francisco corporate headquarters to LEED certified buildings.

Equipment Recycling

As we deploy more systems, we also bear a greater responsibility for managing the end of the systems’ useful lives. We are integrating product end-of-life considerations into our EMS and are preparing to decommission, recycle, resell, or redeploy our energy systems. Sunrun uses monocrystalline and multicrystalline photovoltaic modules, thereby avoiding the mounting concerns about hazardous materials present in alternative chemistries such as thinfilm modules. We are prepared to sustainably dispose of modules, batteries, inverters, and other electronic equipment used in installations through partnerships with third-party recycling and refurbishment vendors. These vendors are certified under the Responsible Recyclers R2:2013, OHSAS 1800:2007, and ISO 14001:2007 standards. Learn more about the industry’s approach to lifecycle considerations from the Solar Industry Energy Association (SEIA).

Vendor Sustainability

Sunrun works with vendors that share our commitment to creating a better, greener, and kinder planet. That’s why we advocate to include policies on environmental protection and sustainability as well as responsible mineral sourcing in our first Vendor Code of Conduct, adopted in January 2019. All of Sunrun’s relevant vendors are required to sign our Vendor Code of Conduct, and in 2019, there were no known violations of the agreement.

People and Communities

Sunrun employs more than 4,800* people throughout the United States and collaborates with many partner organizations to enable access to clean energy and achieve important diversity milestones, such as hiring women, veterans, and people of color.

As part of Sunrun’s efforts to increase diversity and inclusion, this year Lynn Jurich became the first CEO in the solar industry to sign both the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion and the Catalyst CEO Champions for Change pledges. These commitments will help Sunrun and other member companies achieve their goal of modeling best practices in gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

People and Communities

Company Culture

CEO

Company for Diversity

Company for Women

Pay Parity

Women make up 50% of our senior management team, and 43% of our Board of Directors. We believe achieving pay parity is a significant step toward gender equality in the workplace. Sunrun became the first national solar company to achieve this milestone after committing to The White House Equal Pay Pledge in 2016 under the Obama Administration. In 2018, Sunrun achieved 100% pay parity for its employees, regardless of gender, who perform similar work in similar locations across the United States.

Diversity and Inclusion

Sunrun’s mission to create a planet run by the sun relies on making solar inclusive. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and a welcoming place for everyone without consideration of race, color, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, political activity or affiliation, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex or gender, or any other basis protected by law. We seek to attract, develop, advance and retain the best diverse talent through the use of job boards and paid campaigns.

Our employee resource groups foster a culture of inclusion and belonging. These groups include Sunrun Women’s Network, Blacks & Allies, Latinx & Allies, Asians & Allies, LGBTQ & Allies, and Veterans & Allies.

Employee Benefits & Satisfaction

Our competitive benefits program provides employees with the means to ensure the health and financial wellbeing for themselves and their families. Full-time employees are eligible for the Sunrun benefits package, which includes medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance. It also includes an employee stock-purchase plan (ESPP) and a 401(k) retirement plan, with a company match feature.

We believe it is important for our employees to spend time with their families and focus on personal well being. In addition to 11 paid holidays and traditional paid time off, Sunrun offers two paid volunteer days per year, one annual flexible holiday, and 10 days of paid leave for active military service. Additionally, Sunrun provides 10 weeks of paid parental leave for all employees who have been at the company for more than a year.

To measure employee engagement and satisfaction, we conduct a company-wide survey twice a year.

Our Global Society

Sunrun supported GRID Alternatives, a non-profit serving low income communities, in installing more than 3,500 home solar systems over the past few years. These installations will save customers more than $92 million in energy costs over their lifetimes.

Sunrun announced a commitment to develop a minimum of 100 megawatts of solar on affordable multi-family housing, where 80% of tenants fall below 60% of the area median income, over the next decade in California. This will directly benefit 50,000 families.

Corporate Governance

At Sunrun, we are committed to upholding strong corporate governance practices and conducting business responsibly. The company expects all its employees and business partners to act according to the highest standards of honesty and ethical conduct. Our commitment to good corporate governance is reflected in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, our Vendor Code of Conduct, and other related governance policies, which are reviewed annually by the Nominating and Governance Committee. Any changes deemed appropriate are submitted to the full Board of Directors for its consideration.

View Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
View 2019 Impact ReportView 2018 Impact ReportView 2017 Impact Report

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors makes recommendations and conducts unbiased evaluation and supervision of management activities. It maintains an independent majority at all times and comprises seven members, all but two of whom are independent. Gerald Risk serves as Lead Independent Director and is responsible for overseeing separate meetings of the independent directors. Our co-founder Edward Fenster has served as Chairman since March 2014. The Board has three female members, including our CEO Lynn Jurich. 

Board Level Oversight of ESG

To ensure alignment with our mission, we created a formal committee of senior management to oversee Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters at the company, while also establishing board level oversight of ESG performance by our Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

Vendor Integrity and Ethics

We require our vendors to act with integrity and to adhere to our Vendor Code of Conduct. This Vendor Code of Conduct, along with Sunrun’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, prohibits undisclosed conflicts of interest, money-laundering, and whistleblower retribution.

Whistleblower Protection

Sunrun is committed to maintaining high standards of financial integrity and takes very seriously all complaints and concerns regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, auditing, and other legal matters, including violations of Sunrun’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Sunrun prohibits retribution or retaliation in any way against any person who has in good faith made a complaint or reported a concern or against any person who assists in any investigation. Sunrun also requires that vendors strive to allow their workforces to raise similar concerns without fear of retaliation.

Sources and Notes

  1. Based on Sunrun’s monthly and prepaid lease customers using (i) estimated pre-solar utility bills minus (ii) estimated post-solar utility bills and any annualized payments to Sunrun through December 31, 2019.