The Furnaces for the Future: the glass industry’s shared ambition for a low-carbon future
Brands and retailers alike have committed to ambitious sustainability goals, and as a material we use every day, glass packaging is playing a big part in this transition.
Whether you’re a manufacturer, a brand, or a consumer, reducing our carbon emissions is a shared challenge that requires innovative solutions from all stakeholders. The joint Furnaces for the Future (F4F) vision represents our industry’s ambition to make glass packaging carbon neutral.
Players throughout the European container glass industry are trialing new furnace technology designed to cut direct furnace CO2 emissions by up to 60%. These Furnaces for the Future (F4F) represent a strategic breakthrough. While today, furnaces producing commercial glass are mostly powered by natural gas, the F4F vision will ensure low-carbon, sustainable glass packaging for brands, retailers and consumers around the world to rely on.
Here’s what you need to know.
A world first
From upgrading hybrid technology to testing new energy sources, the European Container Glass Industry F4F vision is charting new territory. Electric melting, while not new, has only ever been limited to producing flint (clear) glass, containing little recycled glass content, in small furnaces. In contrast, the F4F’s goal will be electric melting at a large scale, potentially melting 350 tonnes of glass per day in all colours, with much of it being recycled glass content.
The glass industry comes together for a sustainable future
The big hitters of Europe’s container glass industry have joined forces to take on carbon emissions. The whole industry stands behind the Furnaces for the Future vision, with glass container manufacturers from all over the continent signed on:
Cutting back significantly on CO2 emissions
The F4F vision technology is aiming to cut direct furnace CO2 emissions by up to 60%, but that’s just a start. The potential CO2 reduction of this innovation is even higher if it can be subsequently combined with other innovative sources of energy such as hydrogen or biogas. The industry is committed to investment in sustainable innovation for years to come.
