Glass industry launches new sustainability hallmark for people and planet and invites brands to join forces

New packaging symbol serves as a visual tool for brands and retailers to better communicate health and environmental credentials of glass to consumers, backed by growing consumer preference for products in glass packaging.

Brussels, 24 November 2020 – The glass industry today unveiled a new glass hallmark, designed to highlight the environmental and health benefits of choosing products packaged in glass at a glance. The new hallmark is now available for licensed use on all glass packaging.

A hallmark to stand for people and planet

As part of the European Week for Waste Reduction, over 220 participants joined representatives from the European glass industry at the online event, together with Packaging Development Manager Arnaud Warusfel of plant-based food supplier Bonduelle and Researcher Simona Salcudeanu from Insites Consulting and Eyeka Creative Crowdsourcing, to officially launch the new hallmark.

A symbol of protection and recycling, the hallmark is the result of a collaborative year-long effort between industry, designers, customers and consumers to co-create a recognisable symbol of health and sustainability. The hallmark is available for licenced use on food and beverage packed in glass, as well as pharma, perfumery and cosmetics products. Jointly developed by designers and consumers – who voted on the final logo – each element symbolises the commitment made when we choose glass: to use resources wisely in an endless loop; to recycle wherever possible; to protect and preserve both the quality of the product and the health of the people who use it; and to actively choose a sustainable future.

Marking the first public reveal of the new symbol, Michel Giannuzzi, President of the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE), commented:

“This symbol marks the first milestone on our journey to work together with customers and brands to provide packaging solutions that answer to a growing sustainability focus from consumers. With glass already a success story in both sustainability and health, we want to remind the world what they already love about everyday products in glass. Our ultimate aim is for consumers across Europe to see this new hallmark on all products in glass packaging on the shelves – whether that’s preserved foods, beverages or olive oils – and to know that their choice of glass stands for creating a more sustainable future.”

Bonduelle, an industry leader in plant-based foods, voiced its support for the hallmark, with Arnaud Warusfel, Packaging Development Manager, offering the following endorsement:

“If we only try to tackle the issue of sustainability individually, we will arrive in 2030 and realise that we have moved no further than some numbers on a Powerpoint slide. Standing for both environmental preservation and health, this new symbol will be a useful  tool to coordinate brand efforts with those of our packaging suppliers, bringing together the concerns of business and the public to fully commit to sustainability.” 

Industry initiative backed by consumer desire for sustainable, healthy packaging

The new glass hallmark launch follows a survey of 10,000 European consumers across 13 countries, carried out by market researcher InSites Consulting. The findings demonstrate that not only are Europeans increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of packaging, but that the majority consider glass to be the safest, healthiest and most environmentally friendly form of packaging. This perception is increasingly driving their purchasing decisions:

• 42% buy more products in glass because they consider it can be recycled more than other packaging
• 33% do so because they consider glass better at preventing food contamination and preserving health
• 31% consider glass to give a strong health safety feeling
• 30% choose glass because it causes less littering of containers into the natural environment

While consumer desire to purchase more products in glass is high, they don’t always have the option: the top barrier cited for buying less glass (by 27% of respondents) is that their preferred brands are often not available in glass packaging.

For brands looking to grow their market share, these are all clear drivers in favour of both increasing the availability of products packaged in glass, and making the message of preservation and protection resonate directly at shelf point.

Reaffirming a commitment to sustainability

The new hallmark design is the latest in a number of collaborative sustainability initiatives from the glass industry, including June’s launch of ‘Close the Glass Loop’: a major material stewardship programme which connects the entire European glass packaging ecosystem to boost bottle-to-bottle recycling. In March, container glass manufacturers joined forces to launch the ‘Furnace for the Future,’ the world’s first large-scale hybrid oxy-fuel furnace which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by running on mostly green energy.

With the public expecting business to do its part for the environment, the glass hallmark represents the ideal visual medium for brands to demonstrate their commitment towards sustainability. The glass industry invites all brands, customers and retailers to participate in the glass hallmark initiative to promote glass as the packaging of tomorrow, for the health of the public and the planet.

Learn how brands can use the hallmark on packaging:
www.glasshallmark.com

Did you miss the event? The recording is available here.

Catch up on the presentation slides here.

View the market research here.

Download images:

About Glass Packaging:

Made of minerals abundant in nature – sand, soda-ash, recycled glass and limestone – glass is a 100% and infinitely recyclable and reusable material, manufactured in a one-step process under one roof. The majority of collected glass bottles and jars are used repeatedly to produce new food grade glass packaging in the closed loop system. Each time a bottle or jar is recycled into new containers, energy and raw materials are also saved and less CO₂ is emitted. In the EU, by recycling glass, over 12 million tons of raw materials are saved each year and over 7 million tons of CO₂ are avoided – equal to taking 4 million cars off the road. We save 2.5% energy and 5% of CO₂ for each 10% of glass recycled in the furnace.

About FEVE:

FEVE – the European Container Glass Federation – is the Federation of European manufacturers of glass packaging for food and beverages as well as flacons for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmacy. The association has some 60 corporate members belonging to over 20 independent corporate groups. Its members produce 80 billion glass containers per year, and include major companies working for the world’s biggest consumer brands. With its 160 manufacturing plants located across 23 European States, the industry is a key economic partner in Europe, and maintains 125.000 jobs along the total supply chain. See more on www.feve.org – Join us on Twitter @FeveEU