Staticus’ CBDO, Aulikki Sonntag, discussed sustainability in the glass industry at Glasstec 2022.
Sharing the stage with Christop Timm, Senior Leader at SOM Enclosure Group, Graham Coult, Technical Director at Eckersley O’Callaghan, and Geoffroy Knipping, Environmental Officer at Befimo / Bruxelles, Aulikki covered sustainability-related themes, including end of life and embodied carbon.
Among the insights Aulikki shared with her fellow panellists and the audience was Staticus’ holistic approach to façade design.
“I wanted to stress that a holistic approach to sustainability means a focus on ‘closing the loop,'” Aulikki says. “In other words, we need to find the right balance between 3 factors: embodied carbon, operational carbon, and end of life, which includes carbon and costs. For us as façade contractors, a crucial element in addressing end of life questions is taking full responsibility for our supply chain.”
The panellists also discussed the differing views in sustainability circles on renovating existing buildings.
“There are those who favour investing into maximum durability of components. But some advocate for materials that are light and easily accessible so they can be replaced and merged back into the value chain,” Aulikki explains.
During the discussion, the panellists were encouraged to ask questions to two members of the Guardian Glass team, VP of Research and Development Sheldon B. Davis and Executive Leader for Legal, Compliance, Regulatory Affairs and ESG, Tom O’Connor.
“One of my questions to members of the glass industry was this: is the glass industry prepared to sell less glass?,” Aulikki shares. “In the world of carbon, less is more, so they may have to prepare for this possibility.”
About Staticus Care
Staticus Care is the research wing of Staticus, and is currently working on a project to decrease a façade’s CO2 footprint by up to 70-75%, in partnership with OsloMet, Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and SINTEF. This project is called “Developing a more environmentally friendly automated façade system that is integrated into the building’s control systems” and is funded by the 2014-2021 Norwegian Financial Mechanism Program “Business Development, Innovation and SMEs” and EEA and Norway Grants.
This project was funded by the 2014-2021 Norwegian Financial Mechanism Program “Business Development, Innovation and SMEs”. Project amount financed by NorwayGrants: 1 659 888.10 Eur.
