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On Wednesday, Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe, closed the activities of the first day with a keynote speech dedicated to the 2050 vision of the flat glass industry and the glass industry’s possibilities in the architectural sector. “This is the man on the moon moment for the flat glass industry”, said Bertrand Cazes. “The sector is constantly increasing its sustainability performance to meet the expectations of the construction industry and the society as a whole.” The European flat glass sector sees its mission as producing materials necessary for modernising Europe’s buildings, but also for supporting cleaner transport, and increasing the share of renewable solar energy.    “It is a massive transformation. Working together, the flat glass ecosystem can deliver on sustainability and create value across the sector,” he concluded.

On Thursday, Iva Ganev, Environment and climate policy manager at Glass for Europe, contributed to the session dedicated to the Industry trends with a presentation on the New carbon pricing system and new carbon border tax at EU level.  The presentation tackled topic such a the impact of the latest revision of the EU ETS on the EU flat glass sector and the potential consequences on the glass industry  of the Carbon Boarder Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) after its expected inclusion. Iva’s intervention was followed by a joint presentation of Glass for Europe and NGA (National Glass Association) on flat glass recycling in Europe and the US. Both European and American flat glass industry are working towards circularity and waste minimization. Recycling is increasingly being considered as a source of opportunity for lowering energy usage, CO2 emissions, raw material intake, and improving the sustainability credentials of glass products. Stronger societal expectations, tighter regulations and different business environments put Europe at the forefront of flat glass recycling. Bertrand Cazes and Urmilla Sowell, Technical Director at NGA, illustrated the state of play and portrayed the challenges for an enhanced circularity of flat glass products.