As Lucy Smith, our Head of Commercial, and Caroline Hobday, our Member Key Account Manager, prepare to visit Glass Futures members, glass manufacturers and present at the 11th International Congress on Ceramics in Japan (funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation), we’ve been reflecting on the similarities and differences in how the UK and Japan are approaching industrial transformation. Last month our friends at Glass International focused on Japan’s glass sector with a series of articles and interviews with manufacturers and the Japanese Glass Bottle Association. Reading this, and from our conversations with our Japanese members, here are Lucy and Caroline’s thoughts on five key recurring themes.
(1) Decarbonisation
With manufacturing sites the length and breadth of Japan, it’s no surprise that decarbonisation is top of the agenda in the same way it is around the world. Like the UK and Europe, Japanese companies are responding to environmental policies and regulations while keeping an eye on global legislative changes ensuring future export success. They are also busy using and exploring electric melting, hybrid furnaces, oxy fuel combustion systems and ammonia combustion testing. This alongside energy efficiency and cullet utilisation.
While there is interest in new technologies, Japan appears to be taking a wider, longer-term approach to sustainability with the circularity of glass and the creation of nationwide recycling and sustainability initiatives at its heart. In the UK, we often tend to present innovative manufacturing equipment or processes as a standalone green solution rather than considering their role within the decarbonisation of the UK as a whole. In Japan, discussions about decarbonisation don’t just focus on carbon emissions but on how green manufacturing can support a circular economy while retaining manufacturing competitiveness and famed attributes such as quality, precision and durability.
(2) Workforce challenges
With a population shrinking and ageing faster than almost every developed nation, Japan is facing increased pressure across its workforce. Coupled with typically strict immigration rules and younger people being drawn to the country’s major cities, Japan’s glass industry is struggling with regional labour shortages. Like the UK, fewer younger workers are seeing manufacturing as a place to start or grow their careers. Similarly, perception challenges and cultural shifts play a role, leaving the country with significant skills shortages. Artificial Intelligence (AI) looks destined to play a big role in solving this shortage, helping manufacturers work more efficiently and autonomously without necessarily replacing employees.
(3) Collaboration
As a member-led organisation this theme struck a chord, with a recognition in Japan that decarbonisation and operational excellence can only be met if we collaborate as a sector. Japanese manufacturers recognise the value of collaboration, putting it before competition and discussing collective challenges and shared technical solutions. With that wider lens, the Japanese glass industry is moving beyond simply sharing knowledge on new fuels,
electrification and cullet utilisation to collaboration on nationwide recycling and sustainability infrastructure. Their aim is to put glass, an infinitely durable and recyclable material at the heart of Japanese society.
(4) Artificial Intelligence (AI)
As in the UK and around the world, AI is attracting significant interest within the glass industry. It is already being used and tested for furnace optimisation, predictive maintenance, inspections and process efficiencies. Like the UK, the challenge is how much of a role AI will play in the future. The country’s manufacturers have ‘smart’ ambitions with automation at the heart of future glass production but there is recognition of the value of human experience and expertise that helps shape Japanese glass craftsmanship.
(5) Circular economy
Circularity is becoming a major focus globally and Japan’s glass industry has ambitious goals to consume vast quantities of glass cullet. But Japan’s approach appears to be increasingly systems-orientated. The glass industry recognises that furnaces are already capable of incorporating recycled glass, so the bigger challenge lies elsewhere in the system. The Japanese are asking about materials recovery, collection systems, demolition practices and policy frameworks. Capturing clean glass is the challenge. It’s estimated that 500k tonnes of flat glass from demolished buildings is lost to landfill and downcycled to road surfacing every year. Like the UK, materials with commercial value like steel and aluminium are recovered while glass is often left behind.
It’s good to see Japanese manufacturers are pioneering clean glass recycling within the construction industry and putting pressure on government to legislate for change. Many manufacturers look to be thinking about regional hubs for the circular economy helping connect fragmented supply chains. The sector’s focus on public relations to promote the appeal of glass is also an interesting public facing piece of work. Like the UK, Japan’s glass bottle era of return, wash and reuse has been lost due to societal changes so the once strong collection network of the circular economy is significantly weakened. Japan seems to view industrial challenges as interconnected systems rather than isolated technical problems.
Lessons beyond Japan
Japan’s glass industry is not facing fundamentally different challenges from those seen in the UK and elsewhere in the world. The same pressures around net zero, resource efficiency, digitalisation and competitiveness are present at every stage of the supply chain. What feels different is the mindset. Rather than framing transformation as a race for the newest technology or fastest change, the approach seems to focus on technical excellence, collaboration and a shared purpose.
For those of us working with the UK glass sector and/or industrial innovation this focus may be one of the most valuable lessons of all. And while the future will undoubtedly require new technologies, Japan’s experiences suggest lasting transformation may depend on taking a wider view of collaboration, national infrastructure and workplace culture than just innovation.