The European Commission has been working for some time on reviewing the EU taxonomy delegated acts in order to update and simplify the technical screening criteria. The public consultation closed on 14 April. Glass for Europe seized the opportunity to call for the criterion for windows to be revised.
Glass for Europe has long requested a revision of the criterion for windows under section 3.5, ‘Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings’ of the Climate Delegated Act of the EU Taxonomy. Indeed, based on the expertise of the flat glass industry, the current criterion is neither effective nor meaningful in identifying sustainable manufacturing activities. This single, uniform threshold fails to account for the substantial climatic diversity across the EU and promotes the most material-intensive windows everywhere in the EU without securing environmental payback.
The European Commission’s draft revised delegated act demonstrates a willingness to progress by proposing a value of 1.2 (W/m²K). However, while this is a step forward, the new single pan-European U-value remains a significant limitation which is not adapted for some climates but also misaligns with national building-code. A value of 1.4 W/m²K would still ensure the deployment of energy-efficient windows while encouraging investments in high-performance products that can be installed across all European regions.
In parallel, Glass for Europe is also advocating for the g-value (solar factor) to be considered as an alternative criterion as part of the EU taxonomy. This flexibility would channel more sustainable finance towards solutions optimised for specific climatic contexts and is fully coherent with the recommendations and methodological intentions set out in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Glass for Europe’s full contribution to the public consultation is available here.
