Verescence, the world leader in glass bottles for the perfume and cosmetics industries, is clarifying its decarbonization roadmap submitted in October 2021 to SBTi*, by announcing the electrification of its furnaces. Furnace 1 at the Mers-les-Bains plant will be the Group's first furnace to use this technology in 2025.
In line with its long-standing commitment to the climate, Verescence had already committed itself in 2020 to the VERCANE (VERre CArbone NEutre) R&D project, supported by ADEME, aimed at identifying the various energy sources capable of powering glass production sustainably, including electricity.
The gradual electrification of its seven melting furnaces in France, Spain, the United States and South Korea is a key step towards Verescence's goal of reducing its CO2 emissions by 40% by 2034. Between 2016 and 2019, Verescence has already reduced its emissions by 10%.
The project will see the light of day when furnace 1 at the Mers-les-Bains plant is rebuilt in three years' time.
Hélène Marchand, General Manager France, explains: "I'm delighted to announce this major development, which will enable us to halve our CO2 emissions in France in less than 10 years, and bring us even closer to our zero-carbon ambition for 2050. Our new electric Furnace 1, on which we have been working for over a year, will be the Group's pilot furnace.
Verescence, a pioneer in eco-designed lenses (launched in 2008), has been one of the top-performing companies in the EcoVadis assessment for three years now, and announced last December that it had been awarded an A rating by the CDP for its water management and an A- rating for its climate action.
* In January 2020, Verescence was among the first companies in the packaging sector to commit to setting a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target by 2022 aligned with the trajectory of the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative's well-below 2° Celsius scenario.
