FAQ`s om bærekraft

Glass is playing an important role in society’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate the effects of climate change. We aim to be the global leader in innovative high-performance glass and glazing solutions, contributing to energy conservation and generation, while working safely and ethically.
To access our Group Sustainability Policy, please click here.

https://www.nsg.com/-/media/nsgcom/sustainability/policies/nsg-group-sustainability-policy-poster_en_202304.pdf 

We publish a group integrated report, which includes a sustainability report.  Previous reports are also available.  To access the reports, please click here.

https://www.nsg.com/nsgcom/investors/ir-library/annual-reports  

What air emissions are associated with glass manufacturing?
The main emissions from a flat glass furnace come from the combustion of fuel and the decomposition of the carbonate and sulphate raw materials. The raw materials are melted at a very high temperature so the process is extremely energy-intensive.

The most significant pollutants from a glass furnace are: carbon dioxide, from both the decomposition of carbonates and combusted fuels, nitrogen oxides formed from the nitrogen and oxygen in the air at high temperature; sulphur oxides from the refining agent (and from oil fuel if that is used) and particulate matter derived from compounds volatilized from the molten glass.

We are tackling pollutant air emissions with a range of primary and secondary abatement techniques. Primary methods, such as special burners or carefully-chosen raw materials, including more cullet (recycled glass), reduce pollutant formation and can also improve the thermal performance of the furnaces. Secondary abatement removes the pollutants from the furnace waste gases before they are emitted through the chimney.

For more information on projects to reduce our air emissions, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/-/media/nsgcom/sustainability/policies/nsg-group-environmental-policy-poster_en_202304.pd

What are you doing to minimise packaging?
In Europe, much of our glass is transported on steel stillages - in cycles with the customers - without packaging and utilizing specialist ‘Floatliner’ vehicles for the large raw glass plates. We use a significant quantity of wooden packaging in our operations and work with our suppliers to design reusable units. Due diligence is carried out to ensure it comes from legal and sustainable sources.

For more information on materials for packaging purposes, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/environment/materials 

What are you doing to minimise water usage in your processes?
In glass-making, water is used for cooling, and most of our plants operate with closed loop systems and so only require top up. Water is also used for washing glass in plants but there the need is for very high purity, so water is treated and then reused. We seek to minimize our water consumption by working with suppliers to recycle water and to install advanced water treatment facilities. This not only reduces the consumption of water itself but also the chemicals used in the treatment of the water.

To find out more about our water-saving initiatives, and to find the NSG Group Water Policy please click here. https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/environment/water 

NSG Group is committed to support the mitigation of risks of climate change.
The original Greenhouse gas reduction target of NSG Group approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) in October 2019 was revised during FY22. The new target is significantly more challenging and represents the increased ambition of NSG Group to decarbonize its activities. The new target was formally approved by the SBTi in May 2022 and is aligned with a well below 2℃ global warming scenario. In addition to this increased level of ambition, the new target also includes a commitment to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

By 2030, NSG Group commits to reduce absolute GHG emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3) by 30% compared to the 2018 baseline level. 
NSG Group announced a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the FY22 financial results presentation to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (May 2022). This target is aligned to numerous stakeholder requests throughout the NSG value chain. The target covers all scopes of NSG GHG emissions with no exclusions.
For more information on our roadmap to carbon neutrality, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/climate-change/roadmap-to-carbon-neutrality 

We care passionately about the environment and are committed to integrating sustainability considerations into all our business decisions. As a minimum we comply with all relevant country-specific laws and regulations. Where relevant we take additional internal steps to meet our sustainability objectives, protect the environment and reduce any impact.
The use of many of our products will lead to positive environmental impacts and if adequately segregated, our glass is 100% recyclable at the end of the product life.  For more information on our group environmental policy, please click here.
 

We aim to certify our manufacturing facilities to the internationally recognized ISO 14001 environmental standard and now have 77 certified sites around the world, representing around 84 per cent of our business by number of employees.

Our Automotive business was one of the first in the automotive industry to achieve a corporate certificate for environmental management.  A single ISO 14001 certificate from TUV SUD Management Service GmbH covers group functions and the vast majority of our Automotive plants worldwide.

To access our ISO 14001 certificate for our manufacturing operations in Architectural Glass Europe, including UK operations, please click here.

Yes.  EcoVadis operates an independent, external platform allowing companies to assess and benchmark their environmental and social performance on a global basis.
The process assesses company policies, implemented procedures and published reports with regards to environmental, labour practices and human rights, fair business practices and sustainable procurement issues. The assessment is conducted by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) experts of EcoVadis on the basis of company answers to a survey which is dynamically adapted to country, sector and size, using scorecards covering 150 industry categories and 21 CSR criteria. The rating is based on supporting documentation, public and stakeholder (NGOs, trade unions, press) information.

For more details on our Corporate Social Responsibility rating, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/nsgcom/sustainability/evaluation-by-external-party

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide a means for manufacturers to provide transparent data about the environmental sustainability of their products and for specifiers to make informed purchasing decisions. 

We have EPDs for a comprehensive range of Pilkington products for use in architectural applications.  Each EPD is arranged by product groups.  Registered via The International EPD® System programme with the operator EPD International AB, these EPDs have been verified by an independent third party. They are based on a cradle-to-grave and module D approach in accordance with the requirements of EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021 and PCRs in accordance with EN 17074: 2019.

To access the EPDs for our architectural glass products, please click here.

We are not a member of a third party certification scheme for responsible sourcing.  However, many of the suppliers of our main raw materials, sand and soda ash, have third party certification to ISO 14001 for their environmental management systems.    

The NSG Supplier Code of Conduct can be found via this link: https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/environment/suppliers/supplier-code-of-conduct

We provide a published Health Product Declaration (HPD) with full disclosure of known hazards for float and coated glass in compliance with the HPD Open Standard.  Our HPD for flat and coated glass has been pre-checked for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit MRc4 Options 1 and 2.

To access HPDs for our products, please click here. https://www.hpd-collaborative.org/ 

NSG Group announced a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the FY22 financial results presentation to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (May 2022). This target is aligned to numerous stakeholder requests throughout the NSG value chain. The target covers all scopes of NSG GHG emissions with no exclusions.

For more information on our roadmap to carbon neutrality, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/climate-change/roadmap-to-carbon-neutrality 

According to a Glass for Europe publication, the flat glass sector is indispensable to the massive decarbonisation of the building, transport and energy sectors, which represent the lion’s share of
Europe’s CO2 emissions. Flat glass manufacturing is also an energy-intensive activity. The sector takes it as its duty to reduce its own CO2 emissions, which represents a significant challenge in moving towards carbon neutrality. In today’s climate urgency context, the flat glass sector wants to offer its vision of a rapidly actionable virtuous decarbonisation cycle.

To access the Glass for Europe flat glass decarbonisation, please click here. https://glassforeurope.com/2050-flat-glass-in-a-climate-neutral-europe/

NSG Group and its subsidiaries support the aims and objectives of the US legislation on the supply of Conflict Minerals.

NSG Group will not, for humanitarian reasons, knowingly use raw materials such as tin, tungsten, gold or tantalum which directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups or cause human rights abuses. If we discover the use of such conflict minerals in any material, parts or components we procure, we will implement an urgent action plan to eliminate the use of such materials.

Please click here for more details: https://www.nsg.com/en/about-nsg/governance/conflict-minerals

Yes. The NSG Group is fully committed to reduce adverse environmental impact by maximising the reuse, recycling or recovery of resources and minimising the production of waste involved in glass manufacture, processing, packaging, and delivery.

Although current levels within the flat glass industry are low, we are seeking to increase the levels of pre-consumer recycled content in our manufacturing processes.  We do make active use of recycled glass, referred to as cullet, in our processes to improve our environmental performance.  Internal and pre consumer cullet consists of broken glass generated from edge trimmings and off specification product.  While internal and pre consumer cullet is generated from the manufacturing process, it is reintroduced into the float furnace and makes up approximately 20% of the batch materials used to manufacture flat glass (dependent upon product). The use of cullet is essential to the manufacturing of quality flat glass and has the benefit of improving the melt of other batch material, reduces the amount of virgin material that must be extracted and generates a net energy savings.  Since combustion processes are heavily involved in the manufacture of flat glass this energy saving reduces emissions into the atmosphere.

In addition to cullet, batch material also includes silica sand (one of the world's most abundant naturally occurring minerals) and other abundantly available minerals such as limestone. 

For more information on re-use and recycling of glass, please click here. https://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/environment/waste-and-recycling 

We are working with Glass for Europe to develop a European flat glass life cycle analysis. The Building Research Establishment has a generic rating for double glazed windows incorporating glass in the Green Guide.

The NSG Group is working closely with key raw material suppliers to ensure that materials are responsibly sourced both to protect and enhance the environment and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of supplier employees.

NSG Group Procurement has functional level policies and procedures that follow the NSG Group Code of Conduct but relate more specifically to the operating practices of the Procurement function.   The NSG Group aims to enjoy the highest reputation worldwide for the professional, legal and ethical way in which it conducts its business. The overriding intention of the NSG Group Supplier Code of Conduct  is that our suppliers will carry out their business in a safe, professional, legal and ethical manner and in a way that demonstrates corporate social responsibility. In order to provide materials or services to NSG Group, suppliers are required to comply with this Code of Conduct.

NSG Group Supplier Code of Conduct   

Social behaviour : All suppliers must conform to the relevant International Labour Organisation Labour Standards as a minimum requirement. This means suppliers must strive to apply employment standards which promote the application of human rights. There should be no intentional discrimination for recruitments, promotions, job transfer, dismissal and other employment related activities on the basis of race, colour, creed, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, origin, disability, union membership, political affiliation or other status protected by law. Local laws on age discrimination must be observed. Abuse, harassment or intimidation will not be tolerated under any circumstances nor will the act of pressurising or retaliating against the individual who reports such harassment. While these general principles are applicable to all of our suppliers, each specific case should be carefully reviewed with reference to the law in each of the countries in which they operate.

Environmental Behaviour : Our suppliers must recognise the crucial importance of their role in reducing environmental impact. They must play their part in creating a prosperous and sustainable future by continually seeking to achieve best practice in environmental protection.

In most cases, the finished product does not contain hazardous substances. Glass is produced from non-toxic, naturally occurring substances (e.g. sand, limestone, dolomite etc.). Glass is an inert material. Hazardous substances may be used during the subsequent processing of the glass. These are carefully managed on our sites to ensure no harmful release to the environment and are rendered harmless in the final product. The Group is active in ensuring that its most critical supplies are REACH compliant.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are not used in the manufacture of flat glass. Although they may be used during the back painting process, there are no VOCs present in the finished product.

In Europe, much of our glass is transported on steel stillages – in cycles with the customers – without packaging and utilizing specialist 'Floatliner' vehicles for the large raw glass plates. We use a significant quantity of renewable wooden packaging in our operations and work with our suppliers to design reusable units. Due diligence is carried out to ensure that timber comes from legal and sustainable sources.

For more information on materials for packaging purposes, please click here.

There is no reason in principle why a window or other glass structure could not be reused. However, in many constructions the frame and size of glazing units is bespoke which would limit re-use in this form. Having said that, most window and glazing materials can be re-used in some form and, in several countries, some companies are actively collecting and recycling windows.

Glass is 100% recyclable. One of the significant sustainability advantages of glass as a material is that, unlike many other materials, it can be recycled indefinitely. The only real constraint in glassmaking terms is colour. Whilst it is possible to use clear glass cullet in the production of coloured glass it is not practicable to do the reverse. However, this does not mean that all glass products can be recycled easily. Removal, segregation and transport impacts can affect the viability and environmental impact of recycling. The level of contamination determines if the glass will be used in the float, container, fibreglass or aggregate industries.