Joint press release from Glass for Europe and EuroWindoor

EU Window Energy Labeling: work must start without further delay

Glass for Europe, the association of Europe’s manufacturers of building, automotive and solar-energy glass, and EuroWindoor, the association of the fenestration and door industry in Europe, welcome the publication by the European Commission of the ‘second eco-design working plan’. In particular, both associations are satisfied that the work plan recognizes the energy saving potential of windows and places windows in the priority list of energy-related products to consider for energy labeling.

Three years after the extension of the energy labeling directive, the European Commission is ready to tackle energy-related products.

‘Right from the start of debates on energy-related products, windows were mentioned by many stakeholders as an obvious candidate product for energy labeling. This has been confirmed several times, including in the 2011 energy efficiency plan of the European Commission and, at last, windows find their place in a European Commission work plan’ explains Frank Koos, Secretary General of EuroWindoor.

Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe added ‘Although this should have come earlier, it is a positive news and our two associations stand ready to work with the European Commission to design a powerful labeling instrument that will help realize the energy efficiency potential of windows’.

The estimated energy savings potential from windows in European buildings reaches 785 PJ/year as of 2030 according to the European Commission’s work plan. Energy labeling can guide consumers towards the most energy efficient solutions and thereby exploit this potential further.

Glass for Europe and EuroWindoor call on the European Commission to launch without further delay a preparatory study to identify the best suited policy instrument, i.e. energy labeling or eco-design, and to start designing the energy balance equation that should underpin the EU labeling scheme.

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For more information, please contact either:

-          Bertrand Cazes, info@glassforeurope.com, +32.(0)2.538.43.77

-          Frank Koos, EuroWindoor-GS@eurowindoor.eu, +32 (0)2.502.33.96

The press release can be downloaded here.

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 About Glass for Europe – www.glassforeurope.com

Glass for Europe is the trade association for Europe’s manufacturers of flat glass. Flat glass is the material that goes into a variety of end-products and primarily in windows and façades for buildings, windscreens and windows for automotive and transport as well as glass covers, connectors and mirrors for solar-energy equipment.

Glass for Europe has four members: AGC Glass Europe, NSG-Group, Saint-Gobain Glass and Sisecam-Trakya Cam and works in association with Guardian. Altogether, these five companies represent 90% of Europe’s flat glass production.

info@glassforeurope.com, +32(0)2.538.43.77

About EuroWindoor – www.eurowindoor.org

EuroWindoor is the umbrella organization of the 4 European associations of the fenestration and door sector: the European Plastic Window association, the Federation of European Window and Curtain Wall Manufacturers’ Association, the Federation of the European Building Joinery Associations and the European Glaziers association.

EuroWindoor was created in January 1999 and is also covering 30 national federations in Europe representing the interests of more than 50,000 window and door manufacturing and installers’ companies, employing around 1 million workers in Europe.

EuroWindoor-GS@eurowindoor.eu, +32(0)2.502.33.96