Better Health for All

Sunrun's core business of providing residential solar and battery systems has an exceptional positive health impact by reducing reliance on polluting energy sources, which are linked to severe health issues. Since 2007, its systems have generated 39.7 billion kilowatt-hours of solar energy, helping avoid 21.6 million metric tons of CO2e and conserving an estimated 85 billion gallons of water in 2024.

The company has made significant strides in making solar energy accessible, offering no upfront costs, predictable monthly payments, and generating over $1.3 billion in customer savings. It has also expanded access to low-income households, serving 12,185 low-income multifamily households in 2024 and aiming for 500 megawatts of low-income solar by 2030. Sunrun has implemented environmental justice initiatives and partnered with organizations to expand solar access for income-eligible families. During public health emergencies, Sunrun provided 2.8 million hours of backup power over 659,000 grid outage events, including free battery systems to low-income customers in wildfire-prone regions. The company has no revenue from products with direct negative health impacts. However, the company reported one work-related fatality in 2024 and 2022, and its safety record for employees is not applicable to user harm.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Sunrun's solar financing practices are described as predatory, involving hidden fees, undisclosed profit arrangements, and inflated panel prices by 25% or more when financed.

This leads to significant increases in energy bills for customers, despite promises of savings. Federal agencies are increasing enforcement against unfair and deceptive practices in residential solar financing, and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office has received over 170 complaints against Sunrun since 2023, more than any other solar company. The Connecticut Attorney General has also filed a lawsuit against Sunrun for alleged deceptive sales tactics. Sunrun has filed over 420 lawsuits against customers in Massachusetts since 2023. Solar financing contracts are often complex and lack transparency. While Sunrun has installed solar projects at several affordable housing communities, benefiting 260 apartment homes at The Knolls, 800 low-income residents across three Southern California communities, and 100 low-income senior homes at St. Mary’s Gardens, these are specific projects without evidence of a broader, robust outreach or standardized eligibility criteria for inclusion. Homeowners have reported significant increases in energy bills after installing solar panels, implying negative financial outcomes. The company provides education on solar energy benefits to residents in some projects, such as St. Mary’s Gardens. Sunrun's projects are located in specific areas like Orange County and Oakland, California, but there is no comprehensive data on its overall coverage of underserved geographic regions.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Sunrun aims to survey vendors that comprise at least 80% of its total transaction value to affirm awareness and compliance with its Vendor Code of Conduct.

This Code, adopted in January 2019, includes ethical clauses prohibiting human trafficking and involuntary labor, requiring responsible mineral sourcing, and mandating safe and healthy work environments. In 2023, Sunrun's total supplier diversity spend for goods and services was $475,115, which represented 3.65% of its total spend. This included 1.68% for Minority Business Enterprises, 1.88% for Women Business Enterprises, and 0.09% for Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises.

Honest & Fair Business

Sunrun has a formal whistleblower protection policy that prohibits retaliation against those reporting concerns, with reporting channels including an ethics hotline, a third-party hosted web portal, and an email address.

The company's 2022 Code of Business Conduct & Ethics outlines anti-corruption and anti-bribery measures, and its Vendor Code of Conduct requires vendors to comply with anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, prohibiting offering anything of value to government officials for improper advantage. Sunrun is BBB accredited. The SEC issued a subpoena to Sunrun in 2017 regarding the disclosure of customer cancellation numbers, with estimated customer cancellations as high as 40% in 2017. No specific violations or fines were mentioned in relation to this probe. Customer complaints filed with the BBB from April 2009 to December 2024 totaled 4,136 in the past three years, with 1,269 closed in the last 12 months, primarily concerning service, order, and product issues. The article notes inconsistent response times and resolution efforts for these complaints, with some experiencing significant delays, but specific timeframes are not consistently reported.

Kind to Animals

Sunrun Inc. operates as a provider of residential solar electricity and home battery storage. Its core business model is service-oriented, focusing on the design, development, installation, sale, lease, and maintenance of solar energy systems. This business model does not involve activities such as manufacturing products requiring cruelty-free certification, conducting animal testing, engaging in animal husbandry, sourcing animal-derived ingredients, or participating in animal agriculture. While the company has engaged in environmental initiatives like planting 2 million trees, the provided evidence does not offer specific, measurable biodiversity impact or species recovery metrics required by the 'wildlife_conservation_impact' KPI.

Therefore, all KPIs related to animal welfare are not applicable to the company's operations based on the provided evidence.

No War, No Weapons

Sunrun's core business is residential solar electricity and home battery storage, which are civilian products. The company's 2023 Impact Report explicitly states it does not focus on defense or arms-related activities, and there is no evidence of revenue from arms or defense contracts or R&D in dual-use technologies.

A partnership with the Mayport Naval Air Station involves installing solar systems and batteries, which are civilian products, not arms or defense contracts. Therefore, for KPIs like revenue from arms contracts, dual-use technology, ethical red lines, and zero exposure to controversial weapons, the company's core business model means these are not applicable. However, while Sunrun's Vendor Code of Conduct mentions responsible mineral sourcing and human rights, there is no specific data on the percentage of the supply chain certified conflict-free, nor any evidence of alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, leading to negative scores for these KPIs due to lack of demonstrated action or reporting.

Planet-Friendly Business

Sunrun's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions were approximately 0.919 million tCO2e in 2024, representing a 13.7% reduction from 1.065 million tCO2e in 2023.

The company's near-term and long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets have been assessed and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These targets include a 54.6% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2033, and a 61.1% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services per megawatt of solar energy capacity installed by 2033. Sunrun has a verified net-zero science-based target for 2050. The company monitors its actions related to renewable energy and reports results with a focus on TCFD.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Sunrun reported working with 8 total community groups in 2023.

The company partners with organizations such as Blacks in Green, GRID Alternatives, Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, and WE ACT. In September 2020, Sunrun launched a community fund with the Honnold Foundation, which included a $1.5 million commitment. The company's 2023 Impact Report indicates that 52% of its workforce is ethnically diverse. No cultural appropriation incidents were reported in the provided articles. The company's operations are primarily residential solar installations, which typically do not involve cultural sites or require FPIC processes.

Safe & Smart Tech

Sunrun experienced a data breach on August 30, 2024, where a hacker bypassed multi-factor authentication (MFA) via push notification spamming, compromising employee accounts and exfiltrating internal documents.

This incident occurred within the past three years. In January 2017, a spear-phishing attack compromised W-2 tax forms and other personally identifiable information (PII) of thousands of current and former employees, leading to unauthorized use of data for fraudulent tax returns. Following the 2017 breach, Sunrun stated it would revise its internal data security training program, and currently provides annual cybersecurity awareness training for employees. The company's privacy policy indicates data is retained only as long as necessary for the purpose of collection. Sunrun mentions compliance with various data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. The company states it conducts vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Users can opt out of marketing communications via email, mail, and phone.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Sunrun achieved a 100% redeployment or recycling rate for decommissioned solar panels, batteries, and inverters in 2023, indicating that these specific waste streams are fully diverted from landfill.

This also means 100% of these products are covered by take-back or end-of-life recycling programs. The company's decommissioned batteries and inverters were 100% remanufactured or recycled in 2023, and a 100% recyclable hybrid supercapacitor energy storage solution is mentioned. Sunrun partners with SolarCycle, which claims to recover over 95% of vital materials from solar panels. Sunrun's environmental management system includes product end-of-life stewardship, and the company explicitly mentions managing the end-of-life cycle of hardware products, indicating that circular design principles are standard practice across all product development. Solar panels are noted to have a lifespan of 20-30 years, with Sunrun's systems projected to last over 30 years, which is superior to the industry standard. The company redeployed or recycled over 1 megawatt of solar panels in 2020. Sunrun's environmental management system includes vendor sustainability policies and responsible mineral sourcing, indicating waste requirements for all tier-1 suppliers.