As it concludes its second ten-year voluntary commitment to sustainable development, the European PVC industry is taking stock and already looking ahead to 2030. Key achievements, summarised in the VinylPlus® Progress Report 2021 published today, include the continued development of PVC waste collection and recycling schemes across Europe, which have enabled the recycling of 6.5 million tonnes of PVC since 2000, the gradual replacement of the most problematic additives, the reduction of energy consumption in production and the development of the VinylPlus® Product Label. Looking to the future, VinylPlus® reaffirms its strong commitment and dedication to recycle 900,000 tonnes of PVC per year by 2025 and one million tonnes by 2030, in line with the Circular Plastics Alliance targets.
Over the past 20 years, the European PVC industry has made steady progress through VinylPlus in product stewardship, in researching innovative technologies and in improving the environmental footprint of PVC. Progress in recycling has been achieved mainly through the development of collection and recycling schemes that did not exist 20 years ago.
Since then, VinylPlus has proven to be a pioneer in the circular economy by ensuring a continuously growing and safe recycling of PVC, and by the time the Corona pandemic broke out, was well on its way to reaching its recycling target of 800,000 tonnes per year by 2020. Despite the challenges the industry faced in 2020, VinylPlus achieved a great result: more than 730,000 tonnes of PVC were recycled and reused in new products. The European PVC industry has recycled 6.5 million tonnes of recycled PVC into new products since 2000, resulting in almost 13 million tonnes of CO2-emissions and created 1,500 jobs in recycling companies.
VinylPlus goes beyond the circular economy and has addressed other sustainability issues such as energy efficiency, sustainable material sourcing and production, and the responsible use of additives. The energy required to produce one tonne of PVC decreased by an average of 9.5 per cent between 2007-2008 and 2015-2016. In the same period, CO2-emissions from average PVC production were reduced by 14.4 per cent. For converters, energy consumption for key applications such as window profiles, pipes, flooring and films decreased between 16 and 26.5 per cent in 2020 compared to 2010.
The Additive Sustainability Footprint (ASF) methodology was developed in collaboration with The Natural Step. This has been reviewed and validated by LCA experts. It helps additive manufacturers to assess the sustainability of their current and new additives used in PVC products.
The VinylPlus® Product Label, the sustainability label for PVC products in construction, "not only provides specific criteria for more sustainable PVC production and use" - says Stijn Brancart, Circular Construction Expert at VIBE, "but also starts a discussion and encourages manufacturers to apply these criteria through different approaches. The label focuses on the recycled content and the potential for reuse, but also includes criteria for degradability and even return conditions." To date, the VinylPlus® Product Label has been awarded to 128 PVC products, helping both consumers and public authorities to make more sustainable purchasing decisions.
Since 2019, VinylPlus has been one of the signatories of the Circular Plastics Alliance and leads the Construction working group. The EU Commission's multi-stakeholder platform aims to increase the market for recycled plastics to ten million tonnes by 2025.
"I am very pleased with VinylPlus' commitment and proactive role in the Circular Plastics Alliance," said Kirsi Ekroth-Manssila, Head of Unit, DG GROW at the EU Commission. "I am confident that, with the cooperation of all Circular Plastics Alliance members and with the positive example of VinylPlus as an effective and successful cross value chain platform, the overall result will be a success. VinylPlus is a perfect example of how the circular economy can become a reality, as it was the first value chain to take up this challenge in 2000 to turn a problem into an opportunity".
As a united value chain, VinylPlus has achieved great success. However, we cannot stand still. In recent months, the entire PVC value chain has been working hard with its stakeholders to produce its next 10-year Sustainable Development Commitment to 2030, which will be officially launched at the VinylPlus® Sustainability Forum 2021 #TOWARDS2030.
"Looking back, we have achieved a lot," says Brigitte Dero, Managing Director of VinylPlus. "However, there is still much more to do, especially if we want to proactively contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are now moving into the next phase of our commitment to sustainable development, using the experience and achievements of over 20 years to build a new and even more ambitious commitment for the coming decade and to further contribute to a more sustainable and circular future. We look forward to officially launching our next 2030 Commitment at our VinylPlus® Sustainability Forum on 17 June and to working with all stakeholders".