Heinz-Glas to receive award in December
On December 5 in Düsseldorf, German glassmaker Heinz Glas will receive the German Sustainability Award from the glass and ceramics industry for the first time. “Thanks to its approach combining technological innovation, circular thinking, and sustainability, Heinz-Glas is asserting its pioneering role in environmental matters and leading the way for the entire glass industry,” said the jury.
This award comes at a time when the glass group, which achieved a turnover of €454 million in 2024, has undertaken a number of significant investments in 2025, including the rollout of the SAP system across all its sites in Germany, the expansion of its finishing unit at its Spechtsbrunn site, the ongoing replacement of its CNC milling machines for mold manufacturing and maintenance, the repair of its electric furnace in Kleintettau scheduled to continue until 2026, and the investment in an additional production line at its Changzhou plant in China. The company currently employs around 4,000 people worldwide and has 17 production sites and/or sales subsidiaries in 12 countries, including Germany (Kleintettau, Piesau, Spechtsbrunn), the Czech Republic (Hranice), Poland (Dzialdowo), the United Kingdom (London), France (Paris), Spain (Barcelona), Italy (Parma), China (Changzhou, Shanghai), India (Kosamba), the United States (New York), Peru (Lima), and Brazil (Sao Paulo).
Numerous launches
This award comes at a time when the company’s managers can take pride in having participated in several perfume launches over the past few months, including LIBRE Vanille by Yves Saint Laurent, Darphin StiMulSkin Plus, Prada Paradigme, Jil Sander/Olfactory Series 1, Diptyque/Les Essences, Kering/Bottega Veneta Perfume Collection, Shiseido/ Zadig & Voltaire, Interparfums/Audace Rochas, Coty/Daisy Wild Marc Jacobs, and PUIG/La Collection Rabanne.
Germany’s first sustainability award!
It should be noted that in order to win this award, the jury takes into account a number of criteria such as innovation, capacity for evolution, product impact, development potential, and long-term responsibility, with the pioneering aspect of the approach being the key factor.
According to the jury’s report, what impressed them most was the industrial tool itself, which uses electricity as its energy source to melt the glass, with this electricity coming mainly from renewable sources. Other decisive factors were the eco-design approach that guides the company’s managers and the commitment to resource efficiency. The eco-design takes into account the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials in glass production (made possible by technically advanced protective coatings that combine recyclability and product protection), the desire to reduce weight, and consideration of the recycling phase. Not to mention the refill/reuse aspects. Not to mention the study of the product’s carbon footprint (from cradle to customer) from the development phase onwards in order to be able to show the impact of the product in a measurable, transparent, and understandable way.
Other factors that tipped the balance in favor of the German glassmaker include the maximum reuse of heat produced by furnaces, the company’s own photovoltaic energy, and advances in the field of electric melting, as well as the use of hydrogen, partly for the fire polishing phase. The glassmaker was also able to highlight a 56% reduction in its CO₂ emissions per gram of glass since 2015 thanks to the widespread use of electricity in its furnaces since 2016, which has significantly reduced energy consumption.
At the same time, the glassmaker is participating in industry-wide initiatives such as “Close the Glass Loop,” a European partnership involving the entire value chain of glass packaging collection and recycling. It is implementing a responsible materials management program that ensures glass packaging is collected and recycled into new glass packaging, for infinite cycles.
