SCHOTT solutions no. 2/2009 > Environmental Protection

Photo: Shotshop
More Green for the Future
SCHOTT is systematically expanding its ecological commitment by offering environmentally friendly products.
Christine Fuhr
Green is gaining ground, not only for ecological and environmental, but also for competitive and image reasons. Trend scouts are noticing a “greenobalization”, as well as growing environmental consciousness all over the world. One thing is clear: the mass production techniques of the past consume a lot of energy and resources and are under immense pressure to become more innovative. At the political level, directives and ordinances like the chemicals act REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), and EURO standards on cars and recycling of electronic devices for Europe are setting new environmental standards and thus accelerating the development of more environmentally friendly products.

Photo: SCHOTT

Photos: SCHOTT
“Project Green” from the Research and Technology department at SCHOTT focuses specifically on assessing environmental policy regulations, such as REACH and RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances). “We analyze current and future environmental legislation and requirements, anticipate their execution and evaluate them with respect to whether they can be realized in terms of technology and materials science,” explains project manager Dr. Jochen Alkemper. He says the goal is also to identify opportunities for green products and develop innovative green solutions that even exceed the legal requirements. By avoiding the use of raw materials that are harmful to the environment and doing without arsenic and antimony during the purification process, for example. Or by optimizing the production process by attempting to save energy. But also by pointing out limitations. The objective of this project is to act as a pioneer in the development of materials and processes that are as environmentally friendly as possible and thus encourage the development of these types of products.
”More than one third of the patents filed can be categorized as environmentally relevant.”
Thomas Harbach, head of the SCHOTT patent department
SCHOTT is driving the further development of ecologically compatible products: Photovoltaic modules from SCHOTT Solar, for example, enable environmentally friendly power generation. Besides, there are already eco-versions of products in areas like fire-resistant, thin and optical glasses, as well as SCHOTT Ceran® glass-ceramic cooktop panels. Photos: SCHOTT
Eco products have already been developed
SCHOTT has already implemented a process on the consistent (further) development of environmentally friendly materials, products and techniques on a company-wide basis. For instance, eco-glasses are being offered in a number of different product segments.In the Home Tech division, for example, Ceran Suprema® and Ceran Hightrans® eco, the world’s first and currently only glass-ceramic cooktop panels manufactured without adding the toxic heavy metals arsenic and antimony, truly set a milestone in the area of environmental friendliness (see solutions 02/2008). A superlative product in two different respects was developed especially for the u.s. market: Pyran® Platinum is the world’s first transparent floated glass-ceramic to ever be manufactured without using the environmentally harmful heavy metals arsenic, antimony and barium.

SCHOTT began extracting the dust from glass melting tanks in Mainz in 1978. Ten years later, the exhaust air from the smokestacks was already 99 percent free of dust. Photo: SCHOTT

With “green” products, for example, no substances that are harmful to the environment are used during melting and arsenic and antimony are not used during the purification process. Photo: SCHOTT
SCHOTT Website
Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection
SCHOTT Website
Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection
Your contact
jochen.alkemper@schott.com
jochen.alkemper@schott.com
Your contact
matthew.kraft@us.schott.com
matthew.kraft@us.schott.com