Ciner Group’s Sustainability Commitment

Sustainability is at the forefront of everything that the Ciner Group do, both in the UK and internationally, and forms a central part of our business model.

As we continue with our plans to develop a Ciner Glass plant in Blaenau Gwent, we are working to ensure this site is a world-leading hub for the Ciner Group. We have already been working on plans to further reduce the footprint of the plant while maintaining the same level of output. This will make the site more environmentally and operationally efficient.

In Turkey, we are heavily investing in new technologies for the future. This includes work to implement green hydrogen investment into the glass production facility process, generating three megawatts of hydrogen energy this year. As our sites in Wales and Belgium come online, this is a technology that we shall continue to roll out across the group.

Within our sites, we have been market leaders in helping to produce the most environmentally friendly container glass with the lowest carbon footprint. Our furnaces are unique, innovative end-fired melting furnaces that are significantly less energy intensive and therefore emit less CO2. Furthermore, in Wales, we are exploring options to transition our furnaces to be powered by electricity and hydrogen as soon as possible.

In terms of our production techniques, we use a large proportion of recycled glass cullet, which not only uses fewer resources owing to its lower melting point but also contributes to Wales’ circular economy. As part of this production technique, we have played a central role in Turkey’s Deposit Return Scheme pilots, helping to provide us with raw materials and reduce waste. This experience is something we have readily shared with other governments across Europe.

As we continue to invest in the innovations of the future, our main ambition is to make our bottles 10 per cent lighter while maintaining their strength and other properties. A bottle with such a low weight is unprecedented and its development is very complex but would significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the bottles both in production and transport.

While we are proud of our global footprint, we also recognise the importance of being a good neighbour within our local communities. This involves not only looking after the local environment but also being a sustainable local business. The project in South Wales will bring almost 600 new highly skilled jobs to Blaenau Gwent, along with significant supply chain opportunities right across Wales.

However, in order to do this sustainably, it is important that we hire local people and foster skills and expertise in Blaenau Gwent as part of the plant’s long-term future. We have already started to work with local colleges, universities and training providers so that we will be able to provide education and training opportunities in the area. We also continue to engage with local suppliers for both the build phase of the project as well as for the site going forward. We have committed to sourcing locally wherever possible, not only for the environmental benefit but also to ensure that our project is a valuable contributor to the local economy.

As we continue to develop our plans in South Wales and Belgium we are determined that our commitments to the environment and sustainability form the basis of our work.