Welcome to our first Glass Forever Newsletter
Welcome to the inaugural edition of our quarterly newsletter, Glass Forever News. I am delighted to introduce this new initiative, keeping you informed and engaged with the exciting developments under the Glass Forever Programme. At the heart of the programme is a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and partnership, and this newsletter will serve as a platform to share our progress, insights, and stories from our journey towards a more sustainable glass future.
The Glass Forever programme encapsulates our dedication to the circular economy, emphasising glass re-manufacturing and recovery. We are proud of the strides we’ve made and the growing community of partners and customers who share our vision. In this first edition, we will highlight some of our key milestones, including significant advancements in our deconstruction projects in London and the increasing number of customers joining our programme.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Together, we can create a future where glass continues to make a positive impact on our environment and society.
Sustainable Synergy: A Complete Collaboration with Glass Forever.
Minerva House, an iconic yellow brick building on the south bank of the River Thames, is undergoing a major transformation.
Originally built in 1983, it is being retrofitted by GPE for modern use. Dan Pitkin, Project Manager, GPE said: “Minerva House is our latest best-in-class, riverside o ce development. To reduce the embodied carbon impact, our retrofit strategy aims to maintain as much of the existing structure and façade as possible. The Morrisroe team has risen to the challenge of reusing as many of the deconstructed materials as possible, including recovering glass for the Glass Forever programme and transporting it from the site utilising our river logistics strategy. This demonstrates the Minerva project team’s commitment to finding an innovative solutions-based approach.”
Morrisroe, a leader in sustainable demolition practices, partnered with Saint-Gobain Glass to implement a large-scale glass recycling solution. Initial conversations between David Entwistle, Director of Major Projects at Saint-Gobain Glass, and Morrisroe’s team led to a successful glass recovery model. This model prevented contamination and ensured e cient site cost and labour management.
Paul Moody, Operations Director at Morrisroe, emphasised the significance of this collaboration, noting the logistical challenges and opportunities for innovation presented by the site’s location. He said: “Minerva House was chosen as the first collaboration because it provided the right amount of glass and challenges around recovery. Situated along the River Thames, the site presented logistical challenges, offering an opportunity for both teams to experiment, develop, and implement learnings that can be extrapolated and replicated in future joint projects with confidence.”
Click here to view the case study video
Padiham Joins Glass Forever Programme
Padiham Glass is adding to its sustainability credentials by joining the pioneering closed loop
glass recycling programme, Glass Forever.
The sealed unit manufacturer, which is part of the Emplas Group, will return glass from old end-of-life windows removed during window replacement projects plus any waste glass generated from its manufacturing process to our cullet processing plant in Eggborough, East Yorkshire. Cutting-edge technology and environmentally conscious practices come together to transform the pre and post-consumer glass, also known as cullet, into new high-performance glass, reducing the environmental impact of glass production and window refurbishment projects.
We are leading an industry change with Glass Forever, a pioneering closed-loop approach to glass manufacturing where materials are reused, waste is minimised, vital raw materials and resources are conserved, and sustainable operational practices are prioritised throughout the supply chain.
Ryan Johnson, Emplas Group MD, said: “We value a sensible, scalable, and sustainable approach to enhancing the UK’s housing stock through our product range – and this includes the way they are manufactured, recycled and reused. Homeowners are increasingly looking for more sustainable options and Glass Forever, which helps to create new windows made from recycled glass, is a key differentiator in a very competitive market.
“It is important that as an industry we embrace the opportunity to remanufacture old poorly performing first-generation double-glazed windows into new high-performance windows that contribute to improving the comfort and thermal performance of our housing stock, and by doing so help to meet our net zero climate change targets.”
John Spiby, MD at Padiham Glass, adds: “Participating in Glass Forever reinforces our commitment to the principles of the circular economy. As part of our broader sustainability strategy, which includes switching to renewable sources of energy in production, investing in the latest fuel-efficient fleet, and facilitating the recycling of old PVC window frames, Glass Forever creates an opportunity for us to engage in an impactful programme that further enhances our operational efficiency and promotes glass recycling.”
Lee Glover, Sustainability and Net Zero Delivery Manager at Saint-Gobain Glass, says: “We’re excited to welcome Padiham Glass and the Emplas Group to the Glass Forever programme. These companies share our commitment to minimising our carbon footprint and are proactively integrating Glass Forever processes into their business operations. This seamless integration ensures the efficient collection of pre and post-consumer waste glass, helping us to utilise around 40% of cullet in the remanufacture of glass for new high performance windows.
“As an industry, we must be more responsible and sustainable in our operations, which is why we have proudly developed Glass Forever and hope to see more suppliers and manufacturers prioritise circulatory environmental practices.”
The award-winning Glass Forever programme sees Saint-Gobain Glass working in partnership with a number of customers and stakeholders in the wider glass supply chain to ensure that pre and post-consumer glass is recycled and reused in the remanufacture of new windows. Our cullet processing plant in Eggborough was a £4.5 million investment, underscoring our dedication to reducing carbon emissions and achieving net zero by 2050.
Saint-Gobain Glass products made in the UK now use around 40% of cullet in the manufacturing process, making it one of the most sustainable products on the market. High performance glass manufactured in this way requires less energy in the furnace, reducing CO2 emissions, all with no impact on the quality of the new product.
We have independently verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life-Cycle Assessments (LCAs), along with the more usual ISO 14001 standards, to demonstrate the sustainability credentials and positive impact the use of cullet has in the glass manufacturing process.
