Glass for Europe at the Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Glass

On 14 December, Glass for Europe was at the Glass Palace of the United Nations, New York, for the Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Glass 2022.

The event offered the opportunity to present to UN representatives the outcome of an intense year which celebrated glass, its industry, and its contribution to the UN sustainable development goals. A year that Glass for Europe devoted to raising awareness about sustainability in the flat glass industry.

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Glass is essential to build a net zero energy future. Glass allows better performing buildings and can have a major impact on reducing emissions and addressing climate change.

During the panel dedicated to “Sustainability and Climate change”, Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe, underlined the main challenges for decarbonising the building sector: reducing energy consumption and reducing embodied emissions.

“In Europe, we are currently discussing strict legislations to reduce the consumption of energy in buildings and to move toward Zero Emissions Buildings”, he said. “But the issue of sustainability is also being taken up in other parts of the world”, he added.

“We need to reduce embodied emissions” he continued.  “But we need to primarily focus on operational emissions as they will remain by far the most important for the time being”, B. Cazes concluded.

Flat glass has a major role to play in decarbonising buildings.  Today, flat glass manufacturers ensure high energy conservation properties in their products  while limiting embedded emissions. In addition, flat glass technologies do not limit their contributions to energy savings. Extra clear glass for example maximises solar energy production in PV panels or in facades as BIPV.

The flat glass industry and its products are clearly part of the solution to tackle climate change and contribute to a more sustainable built environment.

Watch the panel dedicated to “Sustainability and Climate change” during the Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Glass 2022.