Published 27th September, 2022 by Greg Morris

AGC Glass Europe will produce a float glass range by the end of 2022 that features a reduced carbon footprint of less than 7 kg of CO2 per m2 for clear glass (4mm thick).

The move will enable AGC to reduce the carbon emissions generated during the production of the float glass by more than 40%.

The float glass manufacturer’s production plant in Moustier, Belgium, will be the first company plant to produce low-carbon glass.

It has already been successfully converted to meet the strict conditions required. The Moustier plant is centrally located for sourcing sustainable raw materials and strategically situated for optimal delivery to customers.

AGC will then transfer its low-carbon strategy to other sites, starting with the Seingbouse plant in France in early 2023.

The glass will be processed into AGC’s glazing products, such as safety glass, thermal insulation glass and solar control glass.

AGC is taking a holistic approach to sustainably producing low-carbon glass:

Sustainable sourcing of raw materials

Use of highly efficient melting furnaces

Increased use of cullet (recycled glass)

Use of green energy sources

Optimisation of transport between group sites for finishing processes

Optimisation of transport for finished products

Greg Morris has been editor of Glass International and organiser of the Glassman conferences since 2012, specialising in glass packaging. Prior to this he spent five years working in newspaper journalism.