Ambitious targets will direct Gerresheimer's sustainability strategy in the coming years. Among other things, the company wants to cut its CO2 emissions by half by 2030. The number of occupational accidents is to be significantly reduced by 2028. By 2023, ecodesign criteria are to become a fixed component of product development at Gerresheimer.

"For us, thinking and acting sustainably means taking a long-term view on our impact as a company. Sustainability has thus become an important pillar of our corporate strategy. It will be an important driver of innovation and growth for us," says Dietmar Siemssen, CEO of Gerresheimer AG.

The Furnace for the Future (F4F) has been selected out of 311 projects to progress to the second phase of the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the demonstration of innovative, low-carbon technologies.

The F4F project is a breakthrough technology, which will enable the industry to switch to renewable electricity and cut CO2 emissions by up to 60% in the furnace (50% for the whole factory). Container glass production currently uses a mix of roughly 80% gas and 20% electricity. By inverting this to have a mix of roughly 20% gas and 80% renewable electricity, the carbon footprint of glass packaging will be dramatically reduced.

Staged exclusively for members, the GlassTrend spring seminar took place online on 24 March. 130 delegates registered for the event which focused on the application of sustainable technologies in energy-intensive industries.

With the challenge to cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions not being exclusive to the glass industry, the seminar detailed experiences and technologies available and under development in other energy-intensive industries that are facing the same issues with respect to process decarbonisation technologies, dedicated sensors and control schemes.

Glass and glazing products manufacturer NSG Group has developed a new antibacterial and antiviral coating for glass substrates, based on its proprietary sol-gel technology.

Sol-gel technology is a material synthesis method for producing ceramics and glassy coatings by densifying a gel synthesised by the chemical reaction of the solution raw material by heat treatment. Capable of forming highly adhesive coatings with the same silica structure as the glass substrate, sol-gel produces a coating that is highly durable against friction and chemicals, suitable for frequent contact operations.

On March 9, 2021 EcoVadis, the global corporate social responsibility (CSR) assessment and rating platform, honoured small and medium-sized enterprises with the highest EcoVadis 2020 scores at Sustain 2021, the annual international event dedicated to sustainable procurement. Based on statistical analysis of EcoVadis 2020 scorecards, the Sustainability Leadership Awards recognises companies with the most advanced CSR practices within each region and each sector.

Renowned glassmaker for the beauty industry Verescence performed strongly, with five of its EcoVadis Platinum medal-winning sites – in France, Spain and the USA – recognised for excellence in sustainability and named Best Performers among some of the most successful SMEs in terms of CSR worldwide.

The Department for International Trade in Spain rewarded 14 British and Spanish companies at the UK-Spain Business Awards 2021.

Leading producer of glass containers for the Food & Beverage industry Vidrala won the ‘Growth in the UK’ category at the virtual ceremony organised by the British Embassy in Spain and hosted by British ambassador, Hugh Elliot.

The award recognises the investment effort made by Vidrala in the UK since its acquisition of Encirc in 2015. Since then, the company has deployed over £150 million for projects in the UK.

Dutch brewing company Heineken is working in partnership with global glass manufacturer Encirc and Glass Futures to trial bottles made from up to 100% recycled glass, using only the energy from burning low-carbon sustainable biofuels.

The pilot scheme, funded by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will assess the relative resilience of the new bottles throughout the entire supply chain.

Currently in its early stages, the trial will see 1.4 million bottles of Heineken produced with the intent of hitting supermarket shelves in the UK. Findings from the trial will contribute to continuing work on sustainable glass solutions to advance the reduction of carbon in the industry.

On March 16, 2021 Ursula Soritsch-Renier joined Saint-Gobain to commence duties as the

Group’s Chief Digital and Information Officer.

Born and raised in Austria, Ms Soritsch-Renier developed a strong and international experience with several global companies, mainly in digital/IT roles.

She started her career in 1995 at Philips, where she spent 14 years (in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA), before joining Novartis in 2009 in the USA, and then Sulzer in Switzerland in 2013. More recently, she was Chief Information Officer and Digital Leader for Nokia between 2018 and 2020.

Featuring four distinct bird-friendly patterns for exterior building applications, Guardian Bird1st Etch glass is now available from Guardian Glass North America. The Bird1st Etch glass joins Guardian Glass’ family of bird-friendly products designed to reduce the likelihood of bird collisions with windows.

Available in four different patterns on translucent glass, Guardian Bird1st Etch glass products include Threat Factor scores (the percent of times in which birds will not avoid collision) to quantify collision-avoidance effectiveness.