Business, trade & economy

The UK’s glass capability is a vital economic and technological asset with a key role to play in the modern manufacturing economy. That’s why British Glass works with its members and government to ensure our industry can plan, invest and grow successfully in the UK.  

Much of twenty-first century life depends on products that use glass – from energy-efficient glazing to optical technologies that enable anything from barcode scanning to internet communication.

High-volume glass manufacturing contributes around £1.3 billion to the UK economy each year, while UK manufacturers of specialist glass are developing novel compositions and treatments for fields such as medicine, communications, navigation and power generation. These underpin a wealth of advanced manufacturing potential.

Find out more about glass products and uses.

British Glass is in regular dialogue with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department of International Trade to shape effective policy solutions that will: 

  • ensure a healthy environment for UK glass manufacturing 
  • drive technical innovation 
  • expand the market for glass products
  • create jobs and prosperity.

Our current areas of focus include...

Brexit

We're working to understand issues as they arise and ensure the best outcome for the glass sector on matters such as import/export, access to skills and environmental legislation.

Industrial strategy

We're responding to key issues for our sector from the government’s Building a Britain Fit for the Future industrial strategy white paper. British Glass will be presenting a sector deal to Government in early 2018 addressing the government’s challenge areas of:

  • ideas – innovation and research 
  • people – apprenticeships, workforce development, aging workforce 
  • infrastructure – waste management, in particular recycling 
  • business environment – investment in innovations and high potential business, help for SMEs.

To find out more about our work in this area email information@britglass.co.uk
 

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