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In the last Glass for Europe newsletter, part of my editorial read as follows: ‘The strive for a competitive European flat glass industry in a climate neutral Europe will however require more EU initiatives and conducive policies. The availability and affordability of clean energy sources, the development of recycling infrastructures, the renovation of buildings will be equally decisive factors. All these items are precisely what Glass for Europe will keep focusing on in the next months to make our Glass for Europe 2050 vision ‘Flat glass in a climate neutral economy’ a reality.’
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Three months later, Glass for Europe is on all these topics with an unprecedented strategy and outreach. Energy, recycling, renovation of buildings were taken up by Glass for Europe’s Chairperson, Joana Arreguy, at the highest EU political level on November 30th when she was invited to intervene in the Clean Transition Dialogue in presence of EC President Von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Šefčovič. Never did our industry have the chance to address its priorities at such a high political level.
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This must be seen as the start of a dialogue and not the end! There will be elections to the European Parliament next year and a new Commission will be appointed that will want to rapidly leave its footprint on the course of EU policy. It is now the right time to intensify our outreach so that our priority messages can be reflected in the next EU mandate 2024-2029. With this in mind, Glass for Europe has just launched the first of its five-video series that makes its European policy manifesto 2024-2029, entitled: ‘a mandate to focus on enabling sustainable transformation’. The first video is the opening one that presents the overall vision and introduces the four policy priorities of the sector, among which building renovation, recycling and other energy-related topics.
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This forward-looking advocacy work of Glass for Europe is the topic of this newsletter’s special focus. Next to this, EU policy followed its course, and our trade association continued its activities. Many exciting developments took place, for example on the Energy Performance of Buildings directive, the Construction Products Regulation or automotive glazing to name only a few. Learn more about those in this newsletter and don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
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Bertrand Cazes
Secretary General, Glass for Europe
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Glass for Europe at the 2023 Sustainable Solar Power Conference
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Earlier today, Iva Ganev, Environment & Climate Policy Manager of Glass for Europe, joined a panel discussion of the 2023 Sustainable Solar Power conference.
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This year is the second edition of the Sustainable Solar Power conference. It was opened by several keynote interventions including from Walburga Hemetsberger from Solar Power Europe and European Commission Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius. Iva was part of a panel discussion on Sustainability...
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2023 Second Annual Meeting of Glass and Glazing National Associations
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The second meeting of Glass for Europe’s National Partners Group took place on 22 November, bringing together national glass and glazing associations.
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The meeting provided an opportunity for participants to discuss the latest developments in key legislative files that have a direct impact on their activities. Discussions focused mostly on the recasts of the Energy Performance of Building and the Weights and Dimensions Directives as well as the Construction Product Regulation.
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Glass for Europe at the Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit, SIPS2023
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On December 1, Bertrand Cazes, Glass for Europe Secretary General, participated in the Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit 2023 conference on sustainability through science. Bertrand Cazes co-chaired one of the sessions on glass sustainability and presented the Glass for Europe 2050 vision on flat glass in climate-neutral Europe. One specific intervention by Mr Niels Schreuder was devoted to presenting the Dutch flat glass collection and recycling system of the Netherlands, VRN. “One very positive take away for me: more and more people are looking into how we can boost the recycling of old glazing into new flat glass.” B. Cazes declared following the session.
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Joana Arreguy participates to the EU Clean Transition Dialgoue on industry with EC President and Executive Vice-President
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Today, Glass for Europe’s Chairwoman Joana Arreguy from Saint-Gobain took part in the Clean Transition Dialogue on Energy Intensive Industries. This meeting was the second of a series of high-level dialogues launched by EC President Von der Leyen. Glass for Europe thanks the European Commission President for involving the glass industry in this dialogue and our Chairwoman Joana Arreguy for taking an active part inthe discussion.
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In her opening statement, President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the importance of industry in Europe’s economy and acknowledged that that circumstances industry faces are ‘incredibly challenging’, partly due to stronger international competition.
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Launch of the flat glass industry Policy Manifesto for Europe 2024 - 2029
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Executives from Glass for Europe member companies introduce the challenges and opportunities faced by Europe’s flat glass sector and present concrete policy priorities for the next mandate.
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Today, the first of a series of five videos is released to mark the launch of the flat glass industry policy manifesto for Europe for the next five years 2024 – 2029.
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In June 2024, European citizens will go to the polls to elect new Members of the European Parliament. This event is the first of a series of institutional changes – new European Commission, new President of the European Council, etc. – which will mark the start of a new five-year mandate for the European Institutions. New impetus, policy direction and strategy will emerge from these institutional changes and will guide European policy from 2024 to 2029.
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Glass for Europe releases a paper on reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of flat glass.
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When it comes to end-of-life flat glass management, several options can be envisioned to process used glass most sustainably. Glass for Europe has produced a paper on the possibilities and constraints related to the practices of reuse and remanufacturing. The paper also highlights the potential of flat glass recycling as a sustainable end-of-life management option. View the paper here.
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The paper addresses how ‘reuse’ and ‘remanufacturing’ can be defined when discussing flat glass products and explains the technical feasibility and the challenges of these processes for glass in buildings. A detailed analysis of end-of-life options for a large panel of float glass types is provided and the main criteria to evaluate feasibility for reuse/remanufacturing are outlined.
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Glass for Europe contributes to the Stakeholder Request Mechanism on the EU Taxonomy
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On 15 December, Glass for Europe contributed to the Stakeholder Request Mechanism on the EU Taxonomy launched by the Platform on Sustainable Finance and the European Commission. The EU taxonomy is a classification system which aims at providing clarity on what environmentally sustainable activities are and under which circumstances.
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New Construction Products Regulation: a political agreement was found
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On 13 December, a political agreement was reached by the EU Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the EU Commission, on the revision of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Glass for Europe welcomes this achievement which will be crucial to enable the putting of safe, efficient, and sustainable construction products on the EU single market.
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Political agreement reached on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
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Following the fourth interinstitutional meeting which took place on 7 December, EU co-legislators reached a political agreement on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. This crucial text for the Green Deal and the flat glass industry is meant to make the Renovation Wave a reality, helping to double the annual energy renovation rate by 2030.
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A new Industrial Emissions Directive in sight
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On 29 November, EU institutions have reached an agreement for a revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive. This directive is very important for flat glass manufacturers. It sets conditions for the obtention of permits to operate industrial installations of importance, such as a float glass melting plant. It therefore acts as a license to operate for the industry.
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European Solar PV Industry Alliance (ESIA): Publication of the first two recommendations papers
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As a member of the European Solar PV Industry Alliance (ESIA), Glass for Europe contributes to the “Finance” and “Value Chain” working groups. Both have recently released their recommendations papers which aim at supporting a massive and rapid deployment of renewable energy in Europe and the EU solar energy strategy.
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The European Parliament adopts its position on the Net-Zero Industry Act
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On November 21, the European Parliament has adopted its position on the Net-Zero Industry Act with 376 votes to 139 and 116 abstentions. The Act aims at increasing the share of decarbonisation technologies in the EU and the global market and sets the objective to manufacture in Europe 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030.
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Glass for Europe releases an informative paper on pedestrian protection
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Today, Glass for Europe released a position paper on pedestrian safety and the parameters of glass components which may influence windscreen breakage when vehicles are tested under UN Regulation No. 127 (R127).
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The paper reminds that R127 evaluation and tests address complete vehicles and are therefore car manufacturers’ responsibility; windscreen manufacturers do not have access to final vehicles before their launch and thus cannot perform R127-related tasks. Besides, automotive glass safety is ensured by the requirements of Global Technical Regulations No. 6 and UN Regulation No. 43.
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