The glass industry can be subdivided into four subsectors namely hollow glass, flat glass, fibre glass and specialty glass. In terms of production volume, hollow glass and flat glass are by far the most important subsectors. The widest range of products can however be found in the category of specialty glass that covers also products like hand made glass jewellery or optical glasses. In order to acquire information and data on the glass sector, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovations Research (ISI) is in contact with CPIV, the Standing Committee of the European Glass Industries. CPIV is the umbrella association for national associations and the following glass federations: FEVE, the European Container Glass Federation; Glass for Europe, the European Flat Glass Federation; APFE, the European Continuous Filament Glass Fibres Association; ESGA, the European Special Glass Association; EDG, the European Domestic Glass Association. In the glass industry, heavy fuel oil and natural gas are widely used and often interchangeable. While CPIV fully recognizes the need to curb CO2 emissions, it is of the opinion that simply promoting gas (by prescribing it as the benchmark fuel) without taking into consideration other important issues is not a reasonable approach.
