Welcome to the Glass Age

135 The Furnace for the Future is the pinnacle of the container glass industry’s efforts towards climate neutrality, but it’s by no means the end of our ambition. As an industry, we’re constantly improving our energy efficiency and resource management through sustainable innovation. 610 million Euros is invested each year on decarbonization, energy efficiency and upgrading our 160 EU plants —adding up to 10% of annual operational and maintenance costs. The industry is also investing in other areas of sustainability— from making more lightweight products to decoupling emissions from production. These efforts are paying off: while glass production continues to grow, energy consumption has been reduced by almost 50% in 40 years; meanwhile CO 2  emissions are down by 70% in 50 years. We’ve even created the world’s lightest beer bottle —a 330 ml container that weighs just 155 g!— that performs identically to heftier products. Our shared circular economy ambitions don’t stop at production. Glass is a key resource for achieving a thriving, circular European society, and the industry —a longtime leader in circularity— is convening stakeholders across the entire glass value chain to Close the Glass Loop and make our circular economy work better for sustainable towns and cities. An action platform for a healthier planet, we want to achieve 90% average EU collection rate of used glass packaging by 2030 (up from the current average of 78%) and unlock better quality of recycled glass, so more recycled content can be used in a new production loop. We aim to do this by collecting more and better glass upfront, involving everyone who interacts with glass, at all parts of the value chain —from the glass producer to brands and consumers, Extended Producer Responsibility and Waste Management Schemes to municipalities. That’s why we’re bringing them all together with a common goal: to increase the quantity Figure 8.6. Building on a longstanding cultural heritage of glassmaking dating back thousands of years, the container glass industry is continuously innovating to contribute to thriving local circular economies. Source: FEVE.