The environmental benefits of glass were discussed at the recent The All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation (AIGMF) Executive Committee and Annual General Meeting.
The meeting was held at the Paharpur Business Centre, which is a LEED Platinum/BEE 5 star building. The venue was chosen purposely to introduce the Green Buildings concept to its members and to also debate on the use of glass in buildings as an eco-friendly measure.
The talk on Green Buildings was organised in collaboration with the Paharpur Business Centre to brainstorm an Indian Govt vision of smart/solar cities including the Green Building concept that could be adopted for the betterment of society.
Mr. Barun Aggarwal, Director, BreatheEasy, a division of Paharpur Business Centre (PBC) gave an Introduction on Green Buildings presentation.
Mr. Aggarwal said BreatheEasy helps individuals breathe pure air and helps companies implement solutions to improve indoor air quality while reducing energy consumption. His presentation covered glass applications in buildings including the use of flat glass in doors and windows permits use of sun light and saves energy bills.
As a CSR initiative, AIGMF gifted 100 glass water bottles especially manufactured by Hindustan National Glass and Industries to PBC to strengthen the green building concept. The bottles carried an Act India logo, which aims for responsible and safe packaging.
Mr. Arun Kumar Dukkipati, Sr. Vice President, AIGMF said that glass containers made from cullet or weight-reduction technology saves energy. Every ton of glass recycled saves 322KwH of energy, 246 kg of CO2 and 1.2 tonnes of new raw material.
He also shared some of the main characteristics of glass. These include: glass is 100% recyclable. It does not lead to the generation of any solid waste, thus saving landfill space. This is a major advantage from an environmental viewpoint today, when municipalities are finding it difficult to find space to dump urban waste.
Mr. Dukkipati mentioned that the use of glass bottles supplements the Prime Ministers’ vision of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Campaign) as waste from other packaging material is usually found in streets.
Mr. Dukkipati concluded by saying that use of glass will make smart cities look more elegant, beautiful and eye-catching. The application of glass will not help buildings lit with natural and solar light and to monetary and energy savings.
Presentations and photographs of the event are available at http://www.aigmf.com/past-events.php
