Glass for Europe

The recycling of flat glass presents environmental and industrial advantages and should therefore be explicitly integrated into the Circular Economy Act. Incorporating recycled glass cullet into new flat glass production reduces energy consumption, as cullet melts at lower temperatures than virgin raw materials.

The European flat glass sector shares the objective of boosting demand but also production for glass and glazing products primarily made in Europe with minimal environmental impacts. Based on the flat glass sectors experience, Glass for Europe calls on the European Commission to carefully balance the extra administrative burden of introducing new labels and requirements with the marginal benefits expected from such…

Public procurement represents approximately one-third of government spending and over 16% of the EUs gross domestic product (GDP). When implemented effectively, it serves as a powerful mechanism to foster lead markets, drive innovation, and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon, European-made products while promoting circularity in supply chains.

Glass for Europe, the trade association of the flat glass sector, supports a review of the public procurement directives to improve their effectiveness in supporting the sustainability goals, as well as contribute to the EU's resilience and energy security ambitions. Glass for Europe supports the following principles.

Glass for Europe welcomes the European Commission’s initiative on Environmental product performances’ claims and supports the objective to limit the number of methods to evaluate the environmental impacts of the products. The roadmap highlights the central role of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methods to reach this objective.

AUGUST 2025 Accompanying paper to the consultation on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – downstream extension, additional anti-circumvention measures and rules for the electricity sector The flat glass sector is an EU ETS sector exposed to carbon leakage. It is also a hard-to-abate industry.

Opening of the attached position paper · the full paper is on the Commission’s record (source link above)

The draft revised delegated act marks a step forward by proposing an increase to the current threshold. However, a single pan-European maximum U-value of 1.2 (W/m² K) for windows remains a significant limitation. While the manufacturing capacity is not an issue, a maximum U-value of 1.2 (W/m² K) is not fully appropriate for all European climates.

Glass for Europe welcomes the European Commissions (EC) proposal for a revision of Directive 96/53/EC (COM(2023) 445/2) but considers that additional improvements are needed to increase logistic efficiency and reduce transports CO2 emissions in the EU. European flat glass manufacturers organize thousands of transports every year to deliver products to their customers.

Glass for Europe, the trade association for Europe’s flat glass sector, would like to thank the commission for this opportunity to provide feedback. While the harmonization aimed at by Directive 96/53/EC is welcomed to realize the internal market in practice, the minimum harmonization approach gives rise to limitations that prevent optimization of transport flows of flat glass products.

Glass for Europe, the trade association representing the flat glass sector in Europe, welcomes the European Commission's commitment to developing an integrated framework for climate resilience and risk management.

Glass for Europe, the trade association of the EU flat glass sector, welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft Digital Product Passport (DPP) Registry implementing act. Flat glass products used in buildings will be required to have a DPP as soon as they are covered by the Construction Products Regulations of 2024.

Please find attached the contribution of Glass for Europe, the trade association for Europes flat glass sector. Flat glass is the material that goes into a variety of end products, primarily in windows and facades for buildings, windscreens and windows for automotive and transport as well as solar energy equipment, furniture and appliances.

In the February 2024 communication, the European Commission explicitly recognises dynamic optically transparent and glazing technologies as advanced materials. These technologies qualify as advanced materials as they enable energy-efficient buildings, clean mobility, enhance occupant wellbeing, and increase circularity and overall environmental performance.

Glass for Europe is the trade association for Europes flat glass sector. Flat glass is the material that goes into a variety of end products, primarily in windows and facades for buildings, windscreens and windows for automotive and transport as well as solar energy equipment, furniture and appliances.

Glass for Europe, the trade association of the EU flat glass sector, has long been involved in the standardisation of building glass products and welcomes the opportunity to give feedback on the planned revision of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012, based on our experience in CEN and ISO. The attached contribution outlines four key recommendations to improve the current functioning of the EU standardisation framework.

Glass for Europe welcomes the opportunity to comment on this draft delegated act on declaration without testing of reaction to fire. Considering that Article 1 offers a clear set of provisions to address building glass products, Glass for Europe recommends deleting the Notes for the material "Glass" in Table 1 of the Annex ("Including heat strengthened, chemically toughened, laminated and wired glass").