Environment & energy

The companies which are members of BV Glas deal with environmental policy issues on a daily basis. On the one hand, they have to obtain approvals for their production plants and equipment and, on the other, there are environmental issues associated with the production and use of their products.

Our politicians are increasingly calling for sustainable production practices which conserve natural resources. The glass industry has been satisfying their demands for decades already, and it is a pioneer when it comes to efficient technologies and innovative products. For example, pieces of waste glass are now increasingly used as a raw material in the production of new glass (see glass recycling). This reduces waste, conserves raw material resources and reduces specific energy consumption and emissions. One of the glass manufacturers' highest priorities is to avoid dust, NO_x, SO₂ and CO₂ emissions. They do this by optimising their production processes with the objective of controlling these processes to minimise emissions. For example, SO₂ emissions are avoided by using low-sulphur fuels such as natural gas. These and similar measures are known as primary measures, and they are the best methods of reducing emissions from both an ecological and an economical viewpoint. The glass industry implements as many of these primary measures as possible. Obviously, the right mix of measures is necessary to avoid contra productive effects. In addition to the primary measures, the glass manufacturers also implement efficiency boosting secondary measures such as the filter systems which are the state of the art in modern environmental protection.

Click here if you are interested in environmental issues.