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Technical paper
Technology

Decarbonisation in glass machinery manufacturing

How do I reduce my CO2 footprint as a manufacturing company ? The industry working group Research & Technology conveyed various approaches that can also be implemented in glass machinery manufacturing .
The European Green Deal - climate neutrality by 2050 - has a massive impact on society and industry . European regulation , financial and capital markets , market perspectives as well as product branding and the handling of resources and nature are topics that companies have to deal with when it comes to their future competitiveness . There is no way around measures that serve to improve one ’ s own environmental balance . This is primarily a matter of reducing and avoiding carbon dioxide , not so much of compensating for it . According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol - a recognised international standard for accounting and reporting greenhouse gas emissions - reporting for companies distinguishes between direct emissions from own combustion ( Scope 1 ), indirect emissions from the purchase of grid-bound energy ( Scope2 ) and other indirect emissions from processes and products caused directly or indirectly by the company ( Scope 3 ).
More transparency via software
Not only the company ’ s own production , but also the climate footprint of its suppliers plays a decisive role ( Scope 3 ) - especially with regard to the European Supply Chain Act . Siemens AG , a global corporation with 66,000 suppliers in 145 countries , is mastering this challenge with a software tool that Siemens developed together with the company ctrl + s . Suppliers go through an assessment that influences the company ’ s purchasing decision . By 2030 , Siemens wants to reduce its upstream
CO 2 footprint ( Scope 3 ) by 20 per cent and be climate neutral by 2050 . The aim is not only to evaluate primary data supplied by suppliers , but also to make suggestions to the supplying business partners as to what steps they can take to improve their own CO 2 footprint . Two years ago , Siemens launched the carbon-reduction @ suppliers programme . With the help of the Carbon Web Assessment Tool - now renamed “ supplier + s ” - Siemens asks its suppliers about categories ranging from energy efficiency , green electricity , economic options for low-carbon electricity and low-carbon heating and cooling , energy-efficient processes , logistics and the use of recycled products to business travel . Suppliers can enter both current values and target values for subsequent years . The system calculates an overall rating in percent from the individual entries and shows the deviation from the industry average . Since not every supplier already knows his processes so well that he could provide detailed information on them , the tool allows adjustments and updates at any time . The system uses model graphics , for example , to illustrate where further optimisation possibilities exist are and provides suggestions . In this way , it helps companies to continuously improve their carbon footprint and develop a Net Zero strategy . Siemens makes the assessment tool available
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