On 14 April 2021, Glass for Europe dedicated its second 2021 workshop to “EU Taxonomy”. The significant attendance of representatives of flat glass companies and national glass and glazing associations confirms that the taxonomy issue is of high concern to the flat glass industry.
Undoubtedly, high-performance windows are energy efficiency equipment for buildings. The first draft delegated act circulated by the European Commission, and its annexes, rightly identified the manufacturing of high-performance windows as a key activity to achieve the taxonomy environmental objectives. However, while all NACE codes covering the production of windows are included in the list, the NACE code C23.12 “Shaping and processing and flat glass” is missing and should be added to the list.
NACE code C23.12 covers a key component of windows: the fabrication of insulating glass units (IGU), which are necessary to produce ‘double or triple glazing’. The insulating glass units (Prodcom code 23.12.13.30) represent between 70 and 80 percent of the surface area of a window and are a key component affecting its energy performance.