Sustainability Report 2023: Contributing to a sustainable future

AGC Glass Europe is committed to reaching the AGC Group objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in 2030 and achieve carbon-neutral glass production by 2050. Step by step, we make progress on our decarbonisation journey, and all the details of this journey can now be found on the corporate website in the Sustainability report on www.agc-glass.eu. The report covers our approach and objectives, gives a detailed view on all the elements of our roadmap, the latest progress of our decarbonisation journey and proves that glass is a truly sustainable material, at the heart of sustainable architecture and mobility.

Together, committed to sustainability

We consider Sustainability as a fundamental part of our Corporate Social Values and a prerequisite for all our activities. It requires continuous improvement and involves everyone within AGC. Guided by our policy, objectives and certified environmental management systems, we aim to contribute to a sustainable future. 

Leading our industry to decarbonise

AGC Glass Europe monitors its carbon footprint on a yearly basis and has set out an ambitious roadmap in order to achieve carbon neutral glass production by 2050. Our carbon roadmap takes all parts of the value chain into consideration. It covers sustainable sourcing of raw materials, using highly efficient melting furnaces, increasing the use of cullet, using green electricity and optimising transport.

Decarbonisation highlights of 2022

Sustainable sourcing :

• Local sourcing of sand. “Just good enough” sands allowed to reduce the transport needed, decrease the processing actions, reduce waste and our use of natural resources.

Recycling :

• Glass recycling : AGC Glass Europe recycles around 1,000,000 tonnes of cullet per year, saving about 1,150,000 tonnes of raw material and 700,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The average cullet ratio in our raw materials is close to 30% today, but this will be increased significantly. 
• Recycling DeSOx waste as raw material : 4,600 tonnes of sulphates were recycled as raw material in 2022, bringing the total to around 59,500 tonnes since the start in 1999.

Using highly efficient melting furnaces :

• Electro-boosting. An interdisciplinary AGC team is in the process of installing electro-boosting on our float production lines to partially electrify our production lines all over Europe. In 2022, the first furnace was equipped with the electro-boosting technology in Moustier, during the cold repair of the furnace. The technology was also installed on the float line in Seingbouse* (France)
• Hybrid melting. AGC and Saint-Gobain announced that they are collaborating on the design of a pilot breakthrough flat glass line that is expected to reduce very significantly its direct CO₂ emissions.

Use of green energy : 

• In 2022, the total green electricity production reached 28,927 MWh of recovered and self-generated energy. As a result, close to 2,100 tonnes of CO₂ were saved in 2022.

Glass at the heart of sustainable architecture

Thanks to a holistic approach to decarbonise, AGC Glass Europe is now offering its customers Low-Carbon float glass with 40% less embodied carbon. AGC is committed to being at the forefront in developing new products with better environmental performance, enhancing health and well-being of people to play an important role in sustainable architecture.

Discover now on www.agc-glass.eu 

Find the latest progress of our decarbonisation journey on 
https://www.agc-glass.eu/en/sustainability/latest-news-our-decarbonisation-journey

(*) The installation in Seingbouse was co-funded with a grant as part of the French economic stimulus programme “France Relance”, financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. The programme “France Relance”, operated by ADEME, helps to enable the decarbonisation of the French industry.