Judges of this year’s G Awards (G23) have shortlisted Saint-Gobain Glass in both the Sustainability Initiative of the Year and the Commercial Project of the Year categories. The G23 Awards presentation ceremony is set to take place on Friday 24 November at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel.
The Saint-Gobain Glass team is in the running for the Sustainability Initiative of the Year award after joining forces with staff at the integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass and Glazing to create a closed-loop post-consumer glass recycling scheme that sees old glass units being turned into new, high-performance window glass.
Representatives of the two companies have together saved more than 1m tonnes of raw materials from the flat glass manufacturing process, plus vast amounts of energy and CO2 emissions. The teams have also donated thousands of pounds to environmental and social good causes, as our previous report explains.
“The initiative involves collecting old insulated glass units, removed during window replacement projects, and converting them into cullet (crushed glass) using a patented automated crushing machine,” said Mike Butterick, marketing director at Saint-Gobain Glass. “The cullet is then used in the manufacture of new high-performance window glass.
“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. By doing so, we can help to meet our net zero climate change targets.”
The G23 judges have also recognised the Saint-Gobain Glass team’s work on the 17.8m high Black and White Building in central London, in the Commercial Project of the Year category.
The building is the tallest mass timber office building and the first fully engineered timber structure in the city since 1666, Saint-Gobain Glass’ representatives have said. It is powered by 100% renewable energy sources and has over a third less embodied carbon than equivalent concrete structures, they added.
The six-storey property is framed by a glazed curtain wall featuring Cool-Lite SKN183 outer pane with a bespoke, digitally printed, wood-effect inner pane of glass, to continue the natural wood effect used throughout the exterior and interior of the building.
“Both these award shortlistings further enhance our reputation and credibility as a glass company that is ‘making the world a better home’ with our commitment to the environment and more sustainable business practices,” added Mike.
