British Glass member hosts BEIS for talks on the future of the glass industry

This visit follows on from the government department’s tours of Allied Glass’ container plant and Pilkington UK and Encirc’s sites last year.

Eleven members of the BEIS team, including Deputy Director for Energy Intensive Industries Rory Wallace and Deputy Head of Energy Intensive Industries Carolyn Campbell visited the Eggborough site to gain an insight into the industry.

They were joined by members of British Glass Environment team and Technical Director Nick Kirk and hosted by the new British Glass President and Managing Director of Saint-Gobain UK Steve Severs.

As UK glass manufacturers prepare to leave the EU, the site visit maintains British Glass’s close working relationship with government. On behalf of its members, British Glass strives to ensure that the glass sector continues to give the industry a voice and communicate the challenges facing the sector.

Both British Glass and Saint-Gobain gave presentations on the short term and long term challenges facing the glass sector and held discussions with BEIS on the pressing issues for the industry surrounding energy prices, decarbonisation, carbon reporting and Brexit’s impact on environmental regulations.

This visit gave Saint-Gobain UK direct access to government officials to explain their ambitions and raise their concerns for the future.

Commenting on the visit, Paul Pearcy, Environment, Health and Safety Advisor at British Glass said:

“We’re delighted to provide opportunities such as this for BEIS to meet our members and get first-hand experience of the glass industry to help inform and shape future governmental policy.

“With the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the effect of Brexit, it’s important that the government understands the current pressing issues surrounding our industry.”

Managing Director of Saint-Gobain UK and British Glass President Steve Severs commented:

“Eggborough were delighted to host representatives of BEIS to actively demonstrate a modern high-performing plant representing many of the positives of glass within the UK manufacturing scene.

“We were also pleased to take the opportunity to reinforce our message regarding the reality of the enormous impact of energy on our cost make –up and to underline how far out on its own the UK sits in relation to Energy costs, particularly electricity, with its competitors in the EU and those further afield”