VinylPlus – the voluntary commitment to sustainable development of the European PVC industry – recycled 639,648 tonnes of PVC last year, almost 80 per cent of the 2020 target, it was announced at the 6th VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2018.
This year’s forum, held in Madrid, Spain, between 16-17 May, centred on the theme of ‘Meeting Societal Needs’. Discussions were held on how the vinyl sector and its products can help meet the wide-ranging challenges of providing essential services for a growing global population in matters including healthcare, housing and related infrastructure.
The forum was attended by more than 140 stakeholders from 30 countries, representing the European Commission, European Parliament, the United Nations, consumer organisations, academia, specifiers, designers, architects, recyclers and the PVC value chain.
Panel discussions focused on policy frameworks and drivers to encourage sustainable practices and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The varied presentations delivered insights into matters such as aligning industry with circular economy principles, how the sports industry is seeking to address its environmental impacts and PVC’s architectural applications in sports facilities and stadia.
‘Working together towards a sustainable society’
As guiding businesses towards sustainable practices was one of the forum’s key focuses this year, a significant achievement discussed was the implementation of the VinylPlus Product Label, a sustainability labelling scheme for PVC products, launched in March 2018. The Product Label focuses on PVC applications for the building and construction sector and aims to help specifiers, consumers and procurement decision makers identify PVC products that better contribute to sustainable development.
VinylPlus Chairman Josef Ertl said: “VinylPlus is special because it is the successful voluntary commitment of the entire PVC value chain, including resin manufacturers, additive producers and PVC converters, co-operating with the recyclers. All are working together towards a sustainable society with PVC. With VinylPlus, the European PVC industry has set clear and ambitious goals and we are well on our way to achieving them.”
Nilgün Tas, Chief and Deputy Director of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Industrial Resource Efficiency Division, added: “The whole UN system, including UNIDO, encourages all sectors of industry to see the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs as the new business operating environment, and to actively seize the opportunities offered for meeting essential human and ecosystem needs, including through increased material and energy efficiency. We stand ready to help the business in this endeavour and commend initiatives such as VinylPlus for its leadership in the areas of recycling and addressing sector challenges, in particular by working with partners along the value chain.”
VinylPlus General Manager Brigitte Dero also announced that, having joined the Climate Neutral Now initiative, the forum is now a carbon-neutral event.
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