Saint-Gobain Glass wins G25 Sustainability Initiative

Left to right: Michael Butterick, marketing director, Steve Severs, MD and Richard Wall, commercial director

Saint-Gobain Glass has been named winner of the Sustainability Initiative of the Year category at the G25 Awards, securing the accolade for its pioneering Glass Forever circular economy programme.

This marks the second year in a row that the business has taken home the sustainability title – an achievement that underscores its sector-leading commitment to decarbonising flat glass manufacture and transforming glass recovery across the UK.

The win follows a landmark year for the Glass Forever programme, which recently celebrated the recovery of one million tonnes of end-of-life flat glass. By returning high-quality cullet to the production cycle, the initiative is significantly reducing carbon emissions, cutting the need for virgin raw materials and helping glazing partners meet increasingly ambitious environmental targets.

All recovered glass is remanufactured at Saint-Gobain’s Eggborough plant, where it is used to produce high-performance products including Oraé, which is said to be the world’s first low-carbon flat glass with verified EPD. Containing 64% recycled material and produced using 100% renewable electricity, Saint-Gobain says that Oraé delivers a 42% lower carbon footprint than standard float glass, providing a measurable sustainability uplift for commercial and residential glazing projects.

More than 100 partners across the glazing and construction supply chain are now reported to be collaborating with Saint-Gobain Glass through Glass Forever. Many have adopted the company’s patented cullet crushing equipment and optimised return-load logistics, enabling glass waste to be collected on-site and transported back to Eggborough in empty inloaders. This approach has rapidly increased the volume and quality of glass being recycled, while also reducing transport emissions.

Glass Forever is also supporting the transformative refurbishment of 30 Duke Street in London – said to be the UK’s first commercial building renovation to follow a true circular economy approach to flat glass. Old glazing recovered from the former buildings will be remanufactured into new Oraé Cool-Lite SKN 183 glass for the project’s new façade. The development, led by Great Portland Estates (GPE) with main contractor Mace, was shortlisted in the Commercial Project of the Year category at this year’s G25 Awards.

Lee Glover, sustainability and Net Zero delivery manager at Saint-Gobain Glass, said: “Winning the Sustainability Initiative of the Year award for a second consecutive year is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the commitment of our partners across the glazing and construction sectors. Glass Forever continues to prove that true circularity in flat glass is not only possible but scalable, and capable of delivering meaningful carbon reduction today.

“We are immensely proud of the milestone we’ve reached this year and of the growing network of partners who share our vision. This award further validates the impact of the Glass Forever model and motivates us to push even further in driving circularity throughout the supply chain.”