Environment

Sustainable products, energy efficiency and renewable energy, minimisation of CO2 emissions, waste reduction, water consumption

Management approach

Vetropack is committed to keeping the impact of glass production on the environment as low as possible and conserves natural resources accordingly. On the one hand, this is necessary in order to position glass as a product that is more sustainable than other packaging materials. On the other hand, a minimal environmental impact is important because an increasing number of stakeholders are now focusing on environmental issues. The political pressure being exerted in energy-intensive industries is growing and politicians and interest groups are demanding that effective measures be taken to reduce CO2 emissions. As part of the new strategy, Vetropack therefore formulated the objective of becoming an industry-wide leader with regard to environmentally friendly production. Under the heading “Clearly sustainable”, Vetropack established relevant key figures and short-, medium- and long-term targets. The main key indicator is CO2 emissions per tonne of glass produced. For this indicator, Vetropack has defined a reduction of 30% compared with 2019 as the target for 2030.

In the glass industry, it is largely the energy-intensive melting processes that have an impact on the environment and natural resources. In the supply chain, the processing of raw materials and packaging materials and the transport of raw materials and finished products primarily influence energy efficiency. Vetropack therefore focuses on increasing the energy efficiency of its furnaces and increasing the proportion of used glass in production. The company wants to achieve a proportion of used glass of 70% and operate climate-neutral logistics across the whole Group by 2030. Another important way of conserving natural resources is lighter glass containers. Efforts to reduce their weight are being made as part of VIP Glass technology.

Production operations already conserve water resources to a very large extent because water is used only as a coolant in glass production and its consumption is regulated in a closed-cycle system. Vetropack also seeks to produce as little waste as possible. Such waste mainly results from the processing of used glass, and this in turn is due to the fact that large amounts of foreign materials are still being deposited into used-glass collection containers.

The Environment specialist group is responsible at the Group level for coordinating and monitoring all environmentally relevant activities. This group develops and issues binding guidelines and minimum requirements on the basis of the Vetropack corporate strategy and sustainability policy and the Group’s environmental management targets (with respect to energy and water consumption, emissions and waste volume). In the reporting year, the furnace in Straža (Croatia) was renovated, for example. Because the latest technological knowledge is incorporated into the planning process for every furnace repair or new construction project, the specific energy consumption of the furnace was reduced by 14%.

Information on the environmental footprint of the glass packaging they use is becoming increasingly important to major customers. Vetropack therefore reviews the progress it makes in terms of environmental performance using various indicators for which annual targets are defined. The indicators used here include data on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and waste volume. Vetropack evaluates its environmental management activities by means of internal inspections and audits and – where required by law – inspections by certified external institutions.

Disclosures

GRI 301 Materials
301-2 Recycled input materials used
GRI 302 Energy
302-3 Energy intensity
GRI 305 Emissions
305-1 Direct GHG emissions (Scope 1)
305-2 Energy indirect GHG emissions (Scope 2)
305-4 GHG emissions intensity
GRI 306 Effluents and Waste
306-2 Waste by type and disposal method

GRI 303 Water and Effluents
303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resource

In general, no water is needed to produce glass. Water is used only as a coolant and its consumption is regulated in a closed-cycle system. Cooling water occasionally needs to be replaced, and Vetropack reviews its water consumption on an annual basis (see 303-5).

303-2 Management of water discharge-related impacts

The quality of wastewater discharge systems must comply with the minimum standards of national and/or local governments. As a basic principle, Vetropack complies with all wastewater discharge regulations that apply to its production sites. If a deviation is found, Vetropack takes measures immediately in cooperation with the relevant authorities.

303-5 Water consumption