Saint-Gobain launches low-carbon glass production

Addressing the need for low-carbon building materials in the Indian Construction Industry, Saint-Gobain India launches the first production of a new glass with a low-carbon footprint. The product should have an estimated carbon footprint reduction of approximately 40% compared to the existing Saint-Gobain Glass India products.

Such environmental performances could be reached thanks to the use of 2/3rd of recycled content as raw material, natural gas, and electricity from renewable energy sources. Production parameters will be recorded and used to obtain a verified EPD that should be published later this year, confirming the significant carbon footprint reduction. This achievement of Saint-Gobain is the culmination of a substantial R&D effort, the excellence of its industrial teams, and the persistent continuous efforts of achieving the Group’s ambition of Net Zero by 2050.

This low-carbon glass will retain all the technical, quality, and aesthetic performance of regular glass and will soon be integrated as a substrate option in the energy-efficient glass portfolio of Saint-Gobain Glass. This new low-carbon substrate in Saint-Gobain Glass India offer will give a boost to the embodied carbon reduction of buildings alongside the operational energy efficiency performance.

The building industry currently accounts for almost 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is at the heart of the decarbonization challenge. As stated in the joint study conducted by Engineering consulting firm Arup and Saint-Gobain Glass in 2022 on facades, it is key to act jointly on both reducing operational and embodied carbon. Saint-Gobain Glass advanced Magnetron coating technology can already drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by artificial cooling and lighting for buildings during the use phase (operational carbon footprint).

By associating energy efficiency performance together with lower embodied carbon in glass, one can contribute to a significant reduction in the whole-life carbon footprint of buildings, while continuing to provide the essential benefits of natural light, solar and thermal comfort for the occupants.