Innovations
Innovation: Guardian Glass introduces Guardian Nexa low-carbon glass into Europe
Following successful pilot production runs, Guardian Glass is introducing a lower-carbon float glass to the European market. The new lower-carbon float glass, Guardian NexaTM, can also be used as a base glass or laminated glass for Guardian high performance products, including the Guardian SunGuardTM and the Guardian ClimaGuardTM ranges of coated glass products.
Gardian Nexa glass, developed through research and development, technical innovation and manufacturing expertise, can be used in a wide range of building facade applications and will help to reduce the embodied carbon of the built environment. When compared to our standard float glass production, the benefits of Guardian Nexa glass include:
-Reduced embodied carbon by more than 30% to approximately 7.0 kg CO2e/m2 for 4mm float glass*
-Higher cullet content – from both internal and external sources
-No compromise on performance and aesthetics, similar to Guardian ExtraClearTM float glass
Environmental Stewardship
At Guardian Glass, we strive to improve both the environmental performance and effectiveness of our manufacturing processes and of our products, while consuming fewer resources. This involves considering each stage of the process, including the sourcing of raw materials and the efficiency of our furnaces. Taking this approach has enabled us to achieve the results that we have with Guardian Nexa. Guus Boekhoudt, Guardian Glass Executive Vice President commented: “This is a significant accomplishment by our R&D and operations teams, achieved through a combination of ongoing innovation in manufacturing processes and the optimization of cullet use. It reflects our dedication to our Environmental Stewardship priorities, including improving energy efficiency and air emissions, and managing resources responsibly.”
Environmental Product Declaration availability
Detailed environmental data on Guardian Nexa will be documented through an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This is currently under development and is expected to be available in Q2 2024. Since 2021, the scope of the EPDs for Guardian Glass products in Europe has been widened to consider CO2 emissions generated from production processes, increasing the level of transparency provided to customers.
Why it matters: This is further evidence of the global markets shift towards greater emphasis on energy efficient products. Despite certain economies recent hand-break on net-zero ambitions – the movement is still forward and large building product manufacturers like Guardian are taking a lead on this and committing to a greener future.
