Pilkington owner the NSG Group has appointed Kristian Chalmers to the newly-created post of Global Strategic Commercial Manager in the Architectural Glass Strategic Business Unit (SBU).
Kristian, based at the Group’s European Technical Centre in Lancashire, will support the delivery of the group’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. She will be responsible for broadening awareness of the group’s action towards decarbonisation, developing local action plans with the business’ international teams towards carbon neutrality, and for helping define the manufacturer’s product strategy for low carbon glass.
Kristian, who was previously Pilkington UK’s head of sales, said: “Our world-first proof-of-concept trials of hydrogen and biofuel form part of a broader effort in the industry to move towards its decarbonisation. This represents an exciting beginning of a long road ahead.
“We now need to closely consult with customers to understand how we can effectively meet their sustainability challenges by supplying glass that enables them to create buildings with both high energy performance, and low embodied carbon.
“Achieving this will require continued optimisation of our operations as we collectively learn internally and as an industry, on how we can reduce the carbon intensity of the glass.”
Last year, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) certified the NSG Group’s aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, compared to 2018 levels. This forms the basis of the business’ plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
David Cast, climate change director at the NSG Group, said: “We’re proud of our business’ early successes towards decarbonisation, but we can’t shy away from the operational and commercial challenge represented by decarbonising an energy intensive process like glassmaking.
“Kristian’s deep experience and connections in the industry will enable the depth of collaboration needed to help us deliver carbon neutrality, and for working with partners to gradually develop the standardised approach to low carbon glass that architects will ultimately require.”
The appointment comes after Pilkington UK announced a multi-million pound investment in its Greengate, St Helens, glass furnace – enabling the firm to operate out of one glass furnace in the town https://www.the-glazine.com/?p=9074 . The project will save 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk
