Dedicated to circularity

VinylPlus Managing Director Dr Brigitte Dero introduces the Autumn edition of EPPM Magazine.

For more than 20 years, the European PVC industry has been working hard to progressively advance towards a circular economy value chain. VinylPlus is a 10-year, industry-wide voluntary commitment to develop more ecologically responsible and sustainable ways to produce, use and recycle PVC, and includes all European PVC industry sectors – from resin and additives producers to converters and recyclers. It covers the EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland and UK.

At the VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2021, held in June, the entire PVC value chain reaffirmed its dedication to creating a sustainable and circular future with the official launch of VinylPlus 2030 — the next 10-year commitment of the European PVC industry to sustainable development.

The new sustainability programme is based on numerous inputs from key stakeholders. In early 2020, VinylPlus commenced the development of a new sustainability programme for the entire PVC industry with a view to strengthening performance over the next decade. A key part of this process was a three-month long external consultation, led by Ireland-based consultancy Accenture, to collect and analyse views from a wide range of industry stakeholders on what they see as major sustainability priorities for the European PVC industry to 2030. The project team conducted interviews with a diverse range of stakeholders in order to gather input on sustainability drivers, challenges and opportunities for the industry to respond to over the next decade. With these insights, VinylPlus developed its next 10-year commitment that identifies three pathways, further broken down into 12 action areas in alignment with EU policy objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through Pathway 1, the European PVC industry commits to advancing toward full circularity of the PVC value chain and confirms its recycling commitments: 900,000 tonnes of PVC recycled per year into new products by 2025; and one million tons by 2030, made with the European Commission as a signatory to the Circular Plastics Alliance. Pathway 2 aims at the decarbonisation and minimisation of the environmental footprint of production processes and products. The use of sustainable feedstocks and renewable energy are at the heart of the strategies combatting climate change. Pathway 3 was developed in recognition of the key role the UN SDGs play to advance global development and promote human well-being and environmental protection. Stakeholder engagement, coalition building, and forging partnerships have always been key to VinylPlus’ success.

We will continue to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders at regional and global levels and encourage our partner companies to adopt the most sustainable practices while integrating maximum transparency and accountability in our own governance and reporting.

The European Sustainable Products Initiative is of particular relevance to VinylPlus’ commitments, and a prime example of where VinylPlus can support the European Commission to attain their goals.

The VinylPlus Product Label for instance, developed by VinylPlus alongside The Natural Step and the Building Research Establishment, actively contributes to improving the sustainability and sustainable use of products by ensuring product traceability and by requiring producers to meet a number of strict sustainability requirements, all verified by a third-party. It is the first scheme dedicated to plastic building and construction products to be recognised as a Responsible Sourcing Certification Scheme within BREEAM, the world’s most-used green building standard.

With its next 10-year commitment towards 2030, VinylPlus again confirms the united European PVC value chain’s dedication towards creating a sustainable future while ensuring that PVC remains a safe and circular material, fit for the circular economy.