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Welcome to this special Members’ Week edition of GLASSi.
In this special Members’ Week issue you will find interviews with many of the speakers and hosts of the GGF’s virtual events taking place from 29th September through 1st October.
We have decided to move the Members’ Day event which was scheduled to take place in Manchester on 30th September, to this new online only format because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimize the risk of any spreading of the virus.
To that end, we have created this special edition of GLASSi to focus on Members’ Week, with feature articles on the key topics and guest speakers. The shift to video-meetings is a necessary but interesting change as the video platforms are proving popular not just with GGF Members and staff but also the wider industry. In our article “Embracing Video Technology” we highlight the advantages and how easy the technology is to use.
It almost goes without saying, but it’s been a very difficult year for our industry and we are facing many challenges ahead as the virus continues to impact every day life and the political situation with the Brexit transition period ending on 31st December and the uncertainty of the UK leaving the EU with or without a deal.
For Members’ Week we have two webinars that will focus specifically on the implications of Brexit.
The UK economy may be affected in 2021 due to Brexit and I am pleased that Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director of Construction Products Association has agreed to present his view of the economic landscape and take questions from Members during his webinar on the afternoon of the 29th September.
Following the webinar on the economy, also on the 29th September, GK Strategy will host a panel debate and address the issues of movement of labour and goods in an out of the UK. The guest speaker at this debate is former Cabinet Minister, David Laws.
The following morning (30th September), the GGF Technical Forum will present the potential changes for legislation and in particular the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and CE Marking and the UKCA mark as the legislation looks likely to change in 2021.
In February, the GGF Chairpersons’ Forum met for the first time in London to air views and opinions about the operations, strategy and direction of the GGF. 34 GGF Chairs attended the Forum, from which a special task force the GGF Strategic Working Group was formed to review the issues raised at the Forum and present their thoughts on these matters to the GGF Board for consideration. I am looking forward to presenting the outcomes from the Strategic Working Group and the GGF Board review of same, at the opening session of Members’ Week.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Green Homes Grant Scheme is being launched this month and it will benefit some of our Members despite the scheme’s limitations on product inclusion and the criteria for participating companies.
The GGF naturally welcomes Government initiatives that boost the industry, the overall economy and improve the existing housing stock and the environment. On this occasion, we felt Government could have made more of the opportunity and we hope that this scheme is just the start of many to come to achieve the Government’s zero-carbon targets by 2050.
On your behalf, the GGF will continue to lobby for Government support for energy efficient glazing products to help our Members grow in an increasingly tough trading environment.
I look forward to welcoming you to Members Week and I have no doubt you’ll find the webinars we have scheduled useful and informative.
Enjoy GLASSi
John Agnew
Managing Director
GGF Members’ Week opens on 29th September at 10.30am with the AGM, then an overview of the GGF’s operations and strategies followed by an open forum for Members to ask the GGF any questions.
