Industry insiders speak about CO₂ reduction and the paths to climate neutrality

This industry is among the most energy-intensive sectors there are. Melting tanks operate round the clock, fossil fuels dominate production. Decarbonising this industry is a challenge. However, climate targets and regulatory pressure leave no room for doubt: transition is unavoidable.

At glasstec 2026, the world-leading trade fair of the glass industry, decarbonisation will again feature as one of the three key Hot Topics. Exhibitors at the trade fair show where the sector stands and what is feasible in technical terms – along the entire value chain.

When it comes to the material composition of their own tools, Biesse relies on a newly developed cobalt-free bond. 

„Diamut’s continuous commitment to research and innovation has led to the development of a new cobalt-free bond, now implemented across the entire product range. This bond utilises low environmental impact metal powders that are non-hazardous to human health.

The use of cobalt-free powders provides benefits to operators throughout the entire tool manufacturing process, including waste handling and disposal. It also represents a significant advantage for customers by enabling reduced disposal costs associated with waste generated during material processing.“

Alessandro Ceccolini, Product Manager Glass, Biesse

On the process side, Biesse's glass-grinding example shows how efficiency and CO₂ reduction reinforce one another.

„One concrete example from our operations that shows how CO₂ reduction and efficiency gains can reinforce each other comes from our glass‑grinding process. The Biesse patented water pressure intensifier ensures the perfect water impact point on the grinding wheel, enabling higher speeds and optimised energy consumption without compromising grinding finishing. Combined with Diamut cobalt-free Hybrid or Chevron tools, it delivers up to 200 % faster processing on monolithic glass and up to 45 % energy savings on laminated glass grinding cycles. This demonstrates that technological efficiency, higher speed and optimised tool performance directly translates into lower energy consumption and therefore lower CO₂ emissions. In practice, productivity improvements and environmental benefits amplify one another.“

Valerio Cavallini, Product Manager Glass, Biesse

BENTELER Maschinenbau delivers not one but two concrete examples proving sustainability and efficiency are not a contradiction in terms – neither in production nor in the finished building:  

“Our hybrid pre-laminating furnace combines two different heating technologies thereby enabling particularly flexible and energy- efficient laminated sheet glass production. Our washing systems save just as much energy in operation. These improvements lead to a measurable ROI, a reduced carbon footprint and compliance with future energy regulations.”

On the building side BENTELER does not work with own glass products but leverages the quality of the manufacturing technology:

 “Indirectly using the high-precision production of high-quality architectural glass, with a low-E coating for instance. This makes for excellent thermal insulation and solar protection values thereby minimising heat loss in buildings. BENTELER Maschinenbau is a global leader in coating washing systems.”

Olaf Patsch-Berkemann, Head of Sales Architectural Glass, BENTELER Maschinenbau

Bucher Emhart Glass shows how stable forming processes are the foundation of lightweight container glass production:

„Bucher Emhart Glass supports decarbonisation in the glass industry by enabling the reliable production of lightweight container glass, which significantly reduces material usage and associated CO₂ emissions. One of the key challenges in lightweighting is maintaining a stable and consistent forming process. Bucher Emhart Glass addresses this through advanced forming technologies and innovative approaches that ensure high process stability, allowing manufacturers to produce lighter containers without compromising quality or efficiency.“ 

Thomas Bewer, Senior Director Forming Technology, Bucher Emhart Glass

The German Flat Glass Association (Bundesverband Flachglas e. V.) takes a holistic view of the entire value chain and highlights where glass can make its greatest contribution to decarbonisation: 

„The greatest progress is made where individual measures work together: more energy-efficient manufacturing processes, improved recycling of high-quality glass cullet, optimised logistics, and modern glass products for energy-efficient buildings. It is crucial to assess glass in terms not only of the energy required to produce it, but also of its entire life cycle. When used correctly, glass can save energy in buildings for decades, thus making a significant contribution to climate protection.

Modern glazing is a key factor in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Glass is therefore not just a design feature; it is an active component of the energy transition in the construction industry. There is enormous potential here, particularly in existing buildings.“

Jochen Grönegräs, Managing Director, Bundesverband Flachglas e. V.

At Filtraglass, decarbonisation takes place in both the melting furnace and the water treatment process. Closed-loop systems are employes to minimise resource consumption and reduce operating costs:  

„We see the greatest progress in water reuse, process optimisation, digital monitoring and cleaner production methods. Closed-loop water treatment systems significantly reduce fresh water consumption, waste generation and operational inefficiencies while helping manufacturers maintain stable production conditions. Cleaner process water also protects machinery from abrasive glass particles, reducing maintenance requirements and improving equipment performance. Sustainability and operational efficiency are no longer opposing goals — they increasingly reinforce one another, creating measurable environmental and economic benefits.“

Alberto Medina, Commercial Director, Filtraglass

glaston shows how material savings, process efficiency and CO₂ reduction mutually reinforce each other using the ULTRA TPS®-Technology as an example::

“Glaston’s ULTRA TPS® Technology makes possible the mass production of triple insulation glass units with an up to 05 mm thin centre glass thereby noticeably reducing the material input. Thanks to the low centre glass thickness, less raw material is needed, and the total weight is reduced by around 30%, as is the energy needed for melting, transport and handling. At the same time, Glaston’s proven TPS® Technology makes for a high gas tightness of the units, low reject rates and stable, automated processes. In this way, CO₂ savings along the value chain can be made without added costs or efficiency losses in production.”

Of particular relevance for the building stock: 

“Tripe IGUs with thin glass achieve U‑values of approximately 0.7–0.9 W/m²K thereby clearly reducing thermal losses compared to conventional double glazing. Since the thin-glass IGUs are only as thick as traditional double IGUs despite their high performance they are especially easy to integrate in existing buildings. This means renovations can be carried out even without changing window frames – with immediately measurable savings in energy consumption and operational CO₂ emissions.”

Uwe Risle, Director Product Management IG, glaston

For Guardian Glass systematic innovation on all levels – from furnace control to packaging – reconciles efficiency with environmental performance:

“Over the past ten years we have invested over US$ 1 billion in our European operations and in doing so consistently focused on installing highly energy-efficient assets.

On a global scale our Expert System automates the data collection from furnace sensors to optimise energy use and stabilise temperature through model-based predictive control. By improving process stability this contributes to reducing fuel consumption while increasing operational efficiency at the same time.

The Lean Packaging Programme, which resulted from plant-based cooperation in Asia, is a good example of the bottom-up innovations that are setting the path for sister plants around the globe, improving material efficiency by reducing wood consumption per container.

These initiatives illustrate how innovations on various levels can promote efficiency increases, cut the associated CO₂ emissions and support the responsible handling of resources.”

On the product side digital planning tools complete this approach: 

“High-performance glazing plays a role in reducing the energy needs of buildings in use. The Performance Calculator and, subject to regional availability, the Building Energy Calculator help to assess glazing configurations and their impact on energy consumption and operational carbon in different climatic zones.”

Guus Boekhoudt, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial, Guardian Glass

ISRA VISION GmbH explains how precise inspection technologies reduce material losses while combining ecological and economic goals:  

„ISRA VISION's technologies reduce the carbon footprint in glass production primarily through lower material losses and more efficient processes. A reduced reject rate lowers raw material and energy consumption per usable product. The modular system architecture also reduces changeover times and downtime, increasing plant availability and avoiding energy-intensive losses. Overall, yield per tonne of glass increases while specific energy consumption decreases, with direct economic and ecological benefits."  

Bertrand Mercier, Global Manager General Industries, ISRA VISION GmbH

LiSEC shows how decarbonisation begins in practice – not with giant technology leaps but with concrete interventions in media supply and consistent data transparency:

“One concrete lever for reducing CO₂ emissions is the energy-efficient design of media supply. In our ES-LRS model compressed air is replaced by electrical dust extraction and vacuum technology. Since compressed air is one of the most energy-intensive media, this changeover significantly reduces energy consumption, measurably cuts CO₂ emissions and brings down operation costs.”

Just as important is the underlying data basis: “The transparent capturing of energy and media consumption data such as that of electricity, water or compressed air forms the basis for measurable CO₂ savings. Measurability therefore becomes the driver for sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness.” 

For LiSEC decarbonisation does not end with manufacturing – Jandls also sees concrete potential in the building stock:

“Using thin glass as a centre sheet in triple IGUs the weight and thickness of the units can be markedly reduced. This allows old double glazing to be replaced by modern, energy-efficient triple insulation glass units – while conserving the existing window frame. This approach reduces construction costs, raw material consumption in production as well as the energy required for transport.”

Markus Jandl, Director Product Management, LiSEC 

NorthGlass shows that glass can contribute to the decarbonisation of buildings using its own a manufacturing strategy as an example:

“Façade glass plays a direct role in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. High-performance low-E insulation glass units can contribute to reducing solar gains, improve thermal insulation and reduce the energy needed for cooling and heating. NorthGlass has its own 24-m low-E coating systems that enables the production of large-format, energy-efficient glass for architectural façades. Thanks to integrated coating, toughening, lamination and insulation glass processing we can offer complete glass solutions for more sustainable building skins and thereby help to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in use.”

Nancy Wang, International Sales Director at NorthGlass, NorthGlass

The NSG Group looks at the complete value chain – and explains where decarbonisation has the greatest impact today:

“The biggest progress towards climate neutrality along the entire glass value chain are made in primary production, where the decarbonisation of furnaces brings the highest emission reductions. Advances made in alternative fuels, electrification attempts, and the increased use of waste glass address the biggest source of CO₂ in glass production. Circularity initiatives such as ‘renew:glass’ accelerate the short-term effects by reducing energy needs and raw material emissions.”

For the use phase the Pilkington brand banks on high-performance glazing: 

“Buildings are a major source of global energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, attributable especially to the need for heating, cooling and lighting. Glass solutions by Pilkington can help mitigate these operational impacts by combining low-carbon glass with high-performance glazing that improves thermal insulation, regulates solar gains and maximises daylight use.”

Kristian Chalmers, Global Strategic Commercial Manager, Architectural Glass Europe, NSG Group

Zippe Industrieanlagen shows how state-of-the-art plant engineering addresses both energy savings and efficiency at the same time:

“When glass manufacturers use modern batch preheating systems, for example, they directly achieve substantial savings in energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and energy costs. The same applies to increasing the percentage of cullet through advanced recycling solutions. Cutting-edge batch and cullet preheating systems work highly efficiently, monitor and optimise energy input continuously and thereby make a measurable contribution to efficiency and sustainable glass production. Efficient charging machines and optimised batch makeup can also contribute to bringing down energy costs for glass melting.”

Dr. Philipp Zippe, CEO Zippe Industrieanlagen GmbH, Zippe Industrieanlagen GmbH

HEGLA sees the unique properties of glass as a key to greater sustainability.  

“Sustainability has rarely been as cost-effective as it is with the recycling of insulating glass. One reason for this lies in the glass’s unique material properties: If the material to be recycled is properly sorted, the high quality of the end product is maintained even after repeated melting, making its reuse in the recycling cycle attractive. The IG2Pieces plant technology has laid the foundations for separating and sorting coated and uncoated panes by type. The rapid, automated separation process makes the operation cost-effective. Once the glass has been sorted by type, the purchase price paid by the recycler increases. At the same time, the high purity of the glass allows for a higher proportion to be used in the float tank. This benefits the environment: a ten per cent increase in recycled glass reduces CO₂ emissions by 3.6 per cent, conserves resources and lowers the number of CO₂ allowances required.”

Dr. Heinrich Ostendarp ,CTIO, HEGLA

Saving Costs Through Sustainable Use of Resources: 

“Utilising scrap material from the cutting process, reducing costs, and sustainably cutting CO2 emissions: For over 20 years, the ReMaster scrap sheet system has proven that a single technical solution can meet all these requirements. The ability to use sheets multiple times, as well as the integration of horizontal and vertical temporary storage, make this innovation more relevant than ever. Glass scraps left over from the cutting line are automatically held in the system – either above or next to the cut piece – until they can be used in a way that optimises material utilisation for future orders. The significant reduction in waste and the resource-efficient use of glass benefit more than just the environment. The solution also has a noticeable impact on costs. Material costs are reduced, whilst productivity is increased through automated handling and the elimination of downtime. This makes it a best-practice example of cost-effectiveness and decarbonisation.”

Toni Schön, CSO, HEGLA

Our glasstec exhibitors’ statements make one thing clear: CO₂ reduction and economic efficiency are not mutually exclusive, they are interdependent. What’s more, decarbonisation will not be achieved by a single breakthrough but by many concrete steps – in melting tank technology, glass processing and in the building skin.