Europe’s glass industry will continue to lead the development of energy saving technologies in buildings, following the newly revised EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD).

The Directive provides a framework for EU Member States to follow when setting energy efficiency targets, and has been created to address the limitations of the previous Directive in 2002.

As a member of Glass for Europe, the NSG Group (which acquired Pilkington in 2006) has been pushing for EPBD, lobbying for MEPs to recognise the important role glass can play in helping to deliver the EU’s targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The main points of the Directive are: It will result in opportunities for Europe’s glass industry to market high-performance glass products; all new buildings will need to be ‘nearly zero energy’ by 2020, with new requirements for existing structures; the implementation of the Directive in each country will create employment opportunities across Europe; and the NSG Group and Glass for Europe will continue to lobby governments to ensure consistent application at national level.