The Pilkington Mirai™ glass by Pilkington United Kingdom, part of the NSG Group, has been independently verified as having 52% less embodied carbon, certifying it as the lowest carbon glass of its kind.
The independent verification comes from a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) now available for Pilkington Mirai™ launched in October last year.
Pilkington Mirai™ has 52% less total embodied carbon when compared to standard float glass produced by Pilkington UK. The glass offers the lowest carbon alternative to regular float glass on the market, with no difference in performance, quality, or aesthetic appearance.
Pilkington UK will showcase Pilkington Mirai™ to architects and specifiers at Futurebuild 24 at London’s ExCeL 5th-7th March 2024. The team will be on hand to provide technical guidance to attendees interested in low carbon glass. The Futurebuild conference presents some of the very best in built environment innovation solutions that the UK has to offer.
EPDs provide data about the global warming potential (GWP) of products by assessing the carbon emitted at each stage of a product’s lifecycle. Manufacturing and transport, emissions generated while the product is in use, and the disposal of the glass at the end of its lifespan are all evaluated when procuring the EPD.
EPDs not only empower architects and specifiers to make more informed, environmentally conscious decisions when purchasing materials but also to calculate a building’s embodied carbon.
This allows architects to have their project certified to demonstrate it meets certain standards in sustainable building design, such as LEED or BREEAM certification. Pilkington UK’s EPDs will also enable processors selling full units containing glass, such as windows or doors, to calculate the total embodied carbon of their products.
Kristian Chalmers, Global Strategic Commercial Manager in Architectural Glass SBU, said: “In our latest industry polling, four in five architects told us that their clients are more concerned about embodied carbon than they were five years ago. EPDs provide the crucial transparency they need to make informed decisions on what materials will help to enhance the sustainability of their projects.
“With EPDs for Pilkington Mirai™ and many more of our glazing products, we are offering architects and specifiers architectural glass that helps them meet their carbon objectives.”
The EPD for Pilkington Mirai™ joins 21 additional EPDs already available for Pilkington UK product ranges, including float, coated, laminated and toughened glass varieties as well as Insulating Glass Unit combinations.
All of Pilkington UK’s EPDs have been prepared by sustainability consultant EuGeos and independently verified by a third party, Studio Fieschi & soci.
Why it matters: Glass makers around the world have a huge responsibility to reduce carbon levels in both manufacture while also facilitating the use of products that reduce carbon levels in the built environment. Pilkington is leading the way in this and Mirai™ is another example of this process in action.
