Saint-Gobain Glass publishes its sustainable ambitions

Entitled ‘Our Commitment to Sustainable Development,’ the 46-page document stands as a record of the glass company’s ethical philosophy and achievements, while laying the foundations for future improvements.Headline commitments include: helping to meet local social challenges; developing products that reduce energy consumption; and creating sustainable businesses.“Publishing ‘Our Commitment to Sustainable Development’ is important in many ways,” explained Pierre Lucien-Brun, Managing Director. “Primarily it is useful for the company to constantly reappraise the impact it has on the environment, society, and the economy, and to help us to constantly seek ways to improve.“We hope that our customers and other companies will see that the path to sustainability has a very positive effect on business – and that they may develop their own environmentally friendly working practices with confidence.“‘It also has a practical use – larger projects in particular require that companies in the supply chain are taking measurable steps to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions.Saint-Gobain Glass customers can be reassured that its supplier has a total and measurable commitment to sustainability at every level and that they can offer our products to their customers on that basis with confidence.”

Saint-Gobain Glass’ products are already recognised as being energy efficient in their own right, despite being energy-hungry in its manufacture. A recent study from TNO (Netherlands Institute for Applied Scientific Research) concluded that low-emissivity (low-E) glass (such as the SGG PLANITHERM range) can offset its carbon cost of manufacture in just ten and a half months when used to replace standard double glazing, making it carbon positive for the rest of its lifetime. The payback time is further reduced if it replaces older single glazing in buildings.

Specific targets in the brochure include: to increase recycling amounts by between 5% and 10%; to expand the range of recyclable cullet to include mixed loads; and to reach a further reduction of 25% waste to landfill by 2012.

Click here to read a copy of the report, if you would like a copy of the report are available by emailing marketing.uk@saint-gobain.com