Wellness and Sustainability Lead Conversations at NGA Glass Conference: Miramar Beach
As the International Year of Glass 2022 wrapped up, industry technical leaders at NGA Glass Conference: Miramar Beach in Miramar Beach, Florida, focused on the years ahead with two themes: advocacy for architectural glass as a sustainable material and the many ways it enhances occupant experience in buildings.
The three-day conference, held Jan. 24-26, included sessions on building security, daylighting and how light affects the development of human eye health, current and future IGU technology to meet and exceed increasing model energy code stringency and how architectural glass recycling can contribute to sustainability goals.
Committee Updates
The NGA Advocacy, Forming and Fabricating Committees also met, and made progress on many of their current projects and resources under development.
The Advocacy Committee works to promote codes, standards and regulations that positively affect glass in the built environment; educate the industry, stakeholders and consumers about the benefits of glass; and increase communication and education about the importance of NGA advocacy initiatives. Attendees heard news on the NGA’s upcoming Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C., a new task group on recycling architectural glass and more.
The Forming Committee gave updates on several sustainability initiatives, including a presentation on the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on Environmental Product Declarations for primary and fabricated glass.
The Fabricating Committee included updates on the wide range of activities from its various segments: Decorative, Energy, Fire-rated Glazing, Insulating, Laminated Glazing, Mirror, Protective Glazing and Tempering. For example, attendees heard a presentation on a new active shooter test method and participated in a discussion of the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) as a tool for benchmarking sustainability data.
The Installing Committee will gather in March at the BEC Conference in Las Vegas.
Join your peers at the NGA Glass Conference: Tacoma, July 25 - 27, 2023 for the next meeting of NGA’s Forming, Fabricating and Advocacy committees.
