November 6, 2024Environment & CSRExhibitions & Events
AGC to exhibit at COP29 Japan Pavilion, organized by the Ministry of the Environment
AGC (AGC Inc., Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Yoshinori Hirai), a world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals and other high-tech materials, will be participate in the Japan Pavilion organized by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, 2024. AGC will exhibit its efforts to create a resource-circular economy through the recycling of glass resources, including solar panels. This will be AGC’s second time exhibiting at the Japan Pavilion, following COP28.
Recycling glass cullet (waste glass) contributes to reducing GHG emissions, preserving natural capital, minimizing waste, and reducing landfill disposal*1. However, currently, the majority of discarded glass from demolition of buildings, automobiles, solar panels, and etc. is still being sent to landfills. To promote recycling in the future, it will be necessary to establish a supply chain by collaborating with various stakeholders, in addition to verifying quality, cost and technological aspects of waste glass recycling.
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Cover glass from a solar panel that was collected |
Glass collected in a flat form from solar panels and then crushed, allowing |
To address these challenges, the AGC Group has been collaborating with diverse business partners such as project owners, demolition contractors, resource recycling companies, and waste management operators to promote horizontal recycling of waste glass generated at the end of the lifecycle, such as buildings*2.
The Group is also working on recycling of cover glass from solar panels*3. As the service life of solar panels reaches its end, it is predicted that a significant amount of them is expected to be disposed worldwide after the 2030s, highlighting the need for their recycling. In view of this situation, in 2023 and 2024*4, the Group successfully conducted a groundbreaking demonstration of utilizing cover glass as cullet for architectural glass, first in Japan, in collaboration with a solar panel recycling company, where cover glass was separated by a special heat treatment process.
The Group continues its efforts to promote glass recycling by collaborating with business partners and addressing technical challenges globally.
In its medium-term management plan, AGC plus-2026 , the AGC Group has defined "three social values" that it creates through its products and technologies. Under the "Blue Planet" category, the Group is working to achieve a sustainable global environment by reducing the environmental impact of its products, from the sourcing of raw materials to their use by customers. To effectively utilize limited resources, the Group will continue to strive to improve resource circularity throughout the entire product lifecycle.
NOTE
*1 Recycling 1.0 ton of glass cullet saves (1) approximately 1.2 tons of natural resources and reduces (2) 0.5 to 0.7 tons of GHG emissions and (3) 1.0 ton of landfill industrial waste.
(Calculation based on internal data)
*2 See page 35 of AGC Sustainability Data Book 2024.
*3 AGC Glass Europe and photovoltaic recycling pioneer ROSI announce strategic partnership to advance circularity in the glass industry
*4 AGC Achieves Additional Success in Demonstration Test of Solar Panel Cover Glass Recycling — First in Japan for float glass raw materials — (announced in 2023)
AGC Achieves Additional Success in Demonstration Test of Solar Panel Cover Glass Recycling— First in Japan for float glass raw materials — (announced in 2024)
REFERENCE
COP29 JAPAN PAVILION - Ministry of the Environment
- Media inquiries
- Chikako Ogawa, General Manager, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Division
AGC Inc. - Contact: Nakao
- TEL: +81-3-3218-5603