Energy, climate change focus of second day at GANA conference

“Climate Change” and “Cap and Trade” were the buzz words on the second day at the GANA Fall Conference, Sept. 9, at the Wyndham Dallas.

“Energy and climate are the two issues that are going to change the glass and glazing industry,” said Kim Mann,general counsel of GANA, Topeka, Kan. “NFRC, EnergyStar, greenhouse emissions, carbon footprint are words being used a lot these days. There are many questions associated with carbon footprint that need to be addressed. What kinds of gases are we talking about when we say carbon footprint? Should glass be credited for its contribution in making a product green? How do you quantify these effects?” Climate change will have a huge effect on the glazing industry, he said.The feds are taking it up, and California, not surprisingly, is in the forefront.'What happens in California, won’t stay in California, it will move east.'”

Steve Farrar, Guardian Industries, Auburn Hills, Mich., expressed the same concern. “California has implemented the AB 32, or Assembly Bill 32, the state level cap and trade greenhouse gas emissions regulation.” Numbers wise, what’s been proposed could jeopardize the profits of the flat glass manufacturers, said Bill Yanek, president, GANA. The Educational Committee will do a study on how much greenhouse gas the glass makers emit, how much can be saved on energy if, for instance, low-E glass is used in a project, and find the ratio. Europe has such a study, but the United States does not, Yanek said.

GANA also will work with the National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, D.C., as part of its Flat Glass Manufacturing Division’s new business, Yanek said. “GANA doesn’t have an advocacy platform, doesn’t have a lobby in D.C., no way to go in front of the decision-makers,” he said. NAM has offered its roster of members on manufacturing expertise. “We can have meetings at their facility in D.C.,” he said. “We can even have a greenhouse gas expert/emissions expert from NAM come talk to us.”

An Energy Committee formed at yesterday’s session might become a division, Yanek said. It will handle LEED certification, solar issues and anything else that might come up in that arena.

Russ Huffer, chairman and CEO, Apogee Enterprises Inc., Minneapolis, also touched on Cap and Trade in his keynote speech. “I went to Santa Barbara [Calif.] for a CEO conference that had a green building part,” he said. “But found out later that there was no green building at the conference, they just used that to get us there! Two-thirds of the audience were CEOs and the rest were NGOs and big Wall Street investment bankers. I had an ‘a-ha’ moment there. They had formed an unholy alliance. This is the same group that brought us sub-prime mortgage! They are driven by the ability to make money instead of trying to do the right thing.”