OPTIMIZING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OUR PROCESSES
As a key element of our competitiveness, environmental impact is one of our priorities. In our glassmaking business, this impact depends primarily on the energy consumption of our furnaces.
In our glassmaking business, this impact depends primarily on the energy consumption of our furnaces: a challenge in the context of the rising demand for glass ("glassification"). By choosing to work to increase the quantity and quality of recycled glass in luxury glass bottle manufacturing, Verescence has made a clear commitment to a more ecological glass production. This is a good first step, as new prospects are opening up in our sector. Not to mention the finishing processes that are an integral part of the equation.
1.33 kg/tg our NOx emissions are 35% below regulatory thresholds |
1.02 kg/tg our SOx emissions are 24% below regulatory thresholds |
0.051 kg/tg our fine particle emissions are 65% below regulatory thresholds |
Digitization at the service of sustainable development
The intelligent and fast processing of production data is a powerful performance driver. To this end, a battery of high-tech sensors is being rolled out in Mers-les- Bains. For now, this pilot site must first realize this ambition before envisaging a roll-out at all of our sites. The aim is to equip our plants with numerous smart sensors in order to be able to measure precisely, line by line, station by station, our energy consumption and our emissions. Another objective of this very precise monitoring is to translate our initiatives within the framework of our future SBTi (Science Based Target initiative) commitments into technological solutions and avenues for continuous progress.
The digitization of the key parameters of our processes - glass and decoration - via the “eprod” project, is a means to optimize our performances and capitalize on the big data analyses from our production facilities. The deployment of digital solutions, collaborative tools, high-resolution connected glasses, virtual reality solutions, etc. are all initiatives implemented in 2019, which will have a significant impact on the reduction of certain types of travel and therefore of our Scope 3 emissions.
-3,652 tons of CO2 emissions in 2019 |
10% gas savings following the reconstruction of the Covington furnace in 2019 |
-24,159 MWh energy consumption in 2019 |
Energy
Verescence has massively renewed its furnaces in recent years, with the aim of reducing its consumption and CO2 emissions. The latest example of this intensive program was the commissioning of our furnace in Covington (USA) with a cleaner and more efficient oxy-combustion glass melting technology. This investment has saved 10% in gas and significantly reduced our NOx and fine particle emissions. We want to prepare for the future, which is why, together with European glass partners, we are actively contributing to the financing and development of an even more efficient pilot furnace by 2023.
In addition, we are studying the de-carbonization of our electricity, with priority given to Spain and the United States. This strategy must take into account the culture of Verescence, which means it will involve carbon-free electricity in the country in question, as part of well-identified projects. We examine local conditions a caseby- case basis for the production and transmission of so-called green electricity, in order to either buy it or consider acquiring new capacity, thereby improving the available mix.
CO2 emissions (scopes 1 and 2)
Between 2018 and 2019, these emissions decreased by a further 2.44%; that is more than 3,652 tons of CO2 that were not released into the atmosphere while our production increased over the same period. Not only furnace technology, but also the type of glass produced has an impact on greenhouse gas emissions. That's why Verescence seeks to promote glass made from recycled materials: each additional 10% of recycled glass in a furnace generates an additional reduction of 5% of its CO2 emissions, and +3% of its energy consumption, according to the FEVE (European Container Glass Federation).
In addition, after having won over the world of luxury with our Verre Infini® 40 which incorporates 40% PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) glass, in 2021, we will fully dedicate our “flagship” furnace in Mers-les-Bains to the production of glass with a lower proportion of recycled material (20%) but likely to appeal to a larger number of customers.
Our 2022 objective is to reduce our CO2 emissions to 0.9 metric tons per ton of glass drawn – a 25% decrease compared to 2016 with a target of -50% emissions by 2030. This will be achieved through continuous improvement of our performance, and through the technological breakthroughs in which we are currently investing.
82,1% of waste recycled in 2019 |
-79,864 water withdrawal in m3 in 2019 |
98% water-based lacquers in 2019 |
Waste
The objective remains to recycle 97% of our waste by 2022. 82.1% of our industrial waste was recycled in 2019. Our monitoring and improvement tool to get us there: mapping our waste by category and type of treatment at all our sites worldwide. Local initiatives across our various sites have helped improve the Group's recycling rate. Among the concrete examples: the reuse in the production process of the wastewater recovered from the pressing lacquer sludge at Verescence Orne and Verescence Somme; and, in 2019, the reduction by 60% of common industrial waste (CIW) at the La Granja site, by completely reworking collection and sorting.
Water
Our strategy is clear in this area: each site draws up a very precise diagnosis and implements an action plan to reduce consumption, reuse wastewater in a closed circuit and, when this is not possible, reprocess it. The average performance is 2.53m3 of water per ton of glass drawn in the Group. Another possibility is that of a “dry plant”: initiated in 2019 in Mers-les- Bains, this operation, which is currently under examination, will reduce consumption thanks to the recovery of rainwater, on the one hand, and waste water on the other. We also want to take things further in optimizing our consumption in tight water zones.
Solvents (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Precursor of the so-called “hydrosoluble" lacquers 10 years ago, Verescence proved its commitment to remove solvent- based solutions from all of its finishing sites in 2019. In addition, we equipped our lacquering lines in France and Spain with new technologies enabling us to reduce lacquer consumption by nearly 30%. Beyond VOC emissions, we consider it our duty to work with our customers to offer more sustainable decorations, for example, by replacing enamels with alternatives based on organic inks. We are also working on replacing gold and platinum with hot stamping, and have invested heavily in this technology in recent years to quadruple our global capacity. Finally, we are expanding our Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool to specifically take into account the impact of decorations and finishes in this context, making it a useful decision- making tool for our customers.