Environmental Responsibility

Environmental protection has been one of SCHOTT's key corporate goals for decades. Time and again, we have set new sustainability standards in the glass industry, and we want to do the same when it comes to protecting the climate. As a globally operating group, we want to actively contribute and decarbonize our production as far as possible.

CO2 Reduction
Environmental protection
Responsible use of valuable resources
EHS management system

Transformation of the glass industry

As a global specialty glass manufacturer, we are part of an energy-intensive industry with a large CO2 footprint. SCHOTT has set out to meet the challenges that the sustainable transformation of our company entails. We have already reached the first milestones.

CO2 Reduction

First Successes

First successes

First successes
Learn more about our environmental goals.

"Reducing our carbon footprint is not only good for the environment and the climate. It also makes us an even more sustainable partner for our customers."

Anja Schlosser

Manager Sustainability, Coordinator of the "Zero Carbon" strategy program

"We need big and bold changes. We need to do it for our kids and our grandkids. I know we can do it."

Tania Meese

TCS Specialist

"I think it’s great that we’re encouraged to think more about environmental protection concerns. You know you are doing something good."

Markus Langer

Mechanical Services

"We are working hard to adapt our melting technologies to use green electricity and hydrogen."

Michael Hahn

Head of Hot Processes

Our action plan

On our way toward climate neutrality, we act according to the principle "Avoid - Reduce – Compensate”. Our action plan comprises four fields of action.

Technology change

Reducing our emissions requires a massive upheaval in glass production. The greatest challenge is technology change, along with the time factor. In the long term, we want to completely abandon the use of fossil fuels as far as technologically possible. In developing new technologies, we are focusing on the most energy-intensive process step of glass melting. Here we are pursuing two main transformation paths: electrification and hydrogen technology. In both approaches, electricity from renewable energies plays a decisive role.

Using digitalization and artificial intelligence to improve melting processes

Improvement of energy efficiency

The continuous improvement of energy efficiency and the associated reduction of energy consumption has been an ongoing task for us for decades. As part of our proven energy management system, we are constantly working to identify and utilize energy efficiency potential. The digitalization of the melting process and the use of artificial intelligence are providing new impetus. With new types of sensors and technology in the field of big data, we can improve the structure of the mass data we collect at the glass melting tanks, analyze it automatically, and use it for process improvements.

100 percent green electricity

It is our goal to use electricity from renewable sources only. Since the end of 2021, we have been covering 100 percent of our electricity requirements worldwide with renewable energies with corresponding certificates of origin. In this context, we attach great importance to high-quality green power certificates that confirm a strong contribution to the energy transition. We have also been using the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) instrument since 2022, by which we purchase power directly with operators of renewable energy plants such as onshore wind farms or marketers of electricity from such plants.

Compensation for remaining emissions

We also examine how we can offset any remaining climate-damaging emissions through our involvement in climate protection projects. These are certified according to strict standards. We focus primarily on nature-based solutions, such as afforestation and reforestation as well as peatland projects.

Corporate Carbon Footprint

Glass production is energy intensive

As a specialty glass manufacturer, SCHOTT is an energy-intensive company. Specialty glasses and glass-ceramics are melted in large melting tanks at temperatures of up to 1,700 ºC. Until now, we have been heating the melting tanks with the fossil fuels natural gas and heating oil, and in some cases with electricity. Glass processing also requires a lot of energy. Due to this total energy demand, our climate-relevant footprint in 2019 was around one million tons of CO2e.

Our calculations are based on the market-based method of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG). The exact location-based footprint was 641,081.0 tons of CO2e. To calculate our Corporate Carbon Footprint, we consider the emissions of all greenhouse gases. We currently include emissions from our own production (Scope 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) and from purchased energy (Scope 2) in the calculation. In order to establish comparability in terms of their climate impact, we report greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents (CO2e).

SCHOTT in Mainz_Climate neutral. (12).jpg

Environmental protection

Since 1987, environmental protection has been an important corporate goal for SCHOTT

Setting standards

Through the use of state-of-the-art technology and continuous process improvements, we repeatedly set standards in the glass industry when it comes to environmental protection.

Dr. Andrea Frenzel, Member of the Management Board SCHOTT

Environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources are high-priority company goals for us. We therefore work continuously to improve – both to make a contribution to society and to our company’s sustainable success.

Continuous process improvements to reduce emissions and energy and water consumption

Dust

Using filter technologies, we reduce dust emissions in the exhaust air from the glass melting process by over 99 %.

Nitrogen oxides

By introducing catalytic and non-catalytic processes, we have been able to reduce specific nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 75 %.

Energy

Specific energy consumption has been reduced by over 30% by converting the melting tank heating fuel to oxy-fuel technology.

Energy management

Energy management systems according to ISO 50001 and our energy efficiency network ensure that energy consumption is reduced.

Water

With closed-loop and water treatment systems, we significantly reduce fresh water consumption.

Responsible use of valuable resources

Natural resources are finite. We must use them responsibly and conscientiously. We have been reducing our water consumption, waste and emissions for decades.

Our internal recyclables loop is already well developed. We are now driving forward with additional solutions in the circular economy. Together with our customers and processing companies, we are developing the first innovative processes in pilot projects.

We want to make greater use of renewable and recycled materials and close material cycles. Furthermore, we want to reduce our water consumption and waste generation relative to value added.

Our long-term vision is to reprocess products in such a way that they can be reintegrated into the production process in an ecologically and economically sensible way.

EHS management system

Integrated EHS management system

Since 1995, we have been using an integrated EHS management system to ensure that high standards of environmental protection and health and safety are maintained at all our sites worldwide. It is based on the international ISO standards 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) and 45001 (Occupational Health And Safety).

In the meantime, the EHS standard for material compliance has also been added. These group-wide standards supplement national laws and regulations where it is important to SCHOTT to uniformly regulate relevant compliance topics and define a worldwide minimum standard.