Kleintettau/Düsseldorf. HEINZ-GLAS is delighted to have won another prestigious award: the expert jury has voted the innovative manufacturer of glass bottles to the top of the sustainable pioneers in its industry. The company has thus won the German Sustainability Award in the glass and ceramics industry for the first time, beating two other finalists.
The expert jury evaluates companies from every industry on the basis of transparent jury rules, well-founded documentation, publicly available information, its own expertise and the scores of its research partner score4more. The focus is on a company's transformation performance. In addition, the jury considers aspects such as innovative strength, scalability, signal effect, development potential and long-term responsibility – each linked to the question of whether the company plays a pioneering role in its industry. In a two-stage process, it identifies those companies that make particularly effective, exemplary contributions to sustainable transformation.
"HEINZ-GLAS impressed the jury with its impressive combination of tradition and forward-looking sustainability transformation in the glass and ceramics industry. As a family-owned company with over 400 years of experience, HEINZ-GLAS has established a holistic sustainability concept that consistently combines circular economy and resource efficiency. The circular business model is underlined by innovative circular design solutions such as refill and reuse products and the 100% recyclability of glass – a permanent material that can be remelted again and again without any loss of quality," according to the official statement by the jury of the German Sustainability Award.
Particularly noteworthy is the close interlinking of product innovation and ecological responsibility: with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in glass production – made possible by technically advanced protective coatings that combine recyclability and product protection – HEINZ-GLAS contributes to a sustainable value chain.
The use of waste heat, the company's own photovoltaic systems and advances in electric melting, as well as the use of hydrogen, demonstrate the comprehensive and future-oriented nature of its climate protection measures. In addition, the company is consistently focusing on energy efficiency, with a 56% reduction in CO₂ emissions per gram of glass since 2015, the use of pure electric melting technology to significantly reduce energy consumption, and the complete conversion of its German sites to renewable electricity since 2016. At the same time, HEINZ-GLAS is involved in industry-wide initiatives such as ‘Close the Glass Loop’ to work with partners to improve the environmental performance of the entire packaging value chain.
‘With this integrative approach combining technological innovation, circular thinking and holistic sustainability, HEINZ-GLAS is playing a pioneering role that sets an example for the entire glass industry,’ said the jury. The jury honours HEINZ-GLAS GmbH & Co. KGaA as a beacon of sustainable corporate management and circular innovation and awards the company the German Sustainability Prize 2026 in the glass and ceramics industry category.
The award ceremony will take place in Düsseldorf in December.
Further information: https://unternehmen.nachhaltigkeitspreis.de/glas-keramikindustrie/jurybegruendung