Global PVC Industry Convenes to Review Successes in Sustainability
BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 23, 2011 — Representatives from the PVC industry throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa, gathered at the ECVM General Assembly 2011 for two full days of presentations and discussions on perspectives from their respective markets, the issues they face, and the efforts they have made in sustainability of PVC and vinyl products. The meeting also explored opportunities for nations to work together in matters of recycling and sustainability.
At the meeting, the European PVC industry announced an ambitious new set of targets for sustainable development to 2020 with its VinylPlus program, aimed at increasing recycling rates of PVC and the development of innovative recycling technologies; ensuring the sustainable use of additives; enhancing energy efficiency and the use or renewable energy and raw materials in PVC production; and promoting sustainability throughout the whole PVC value chain.
VinylPlus brings together the large majority of the leading companies in the industry across 27 European Union members as well Norway and Switzerland. It builds on the success of Europe’s Vinyl 2010 10-year voluntary commitment to enhance the sustainable production and use of PVC. Among Vinyl 2010’s most significant achievements was the establishment of an infrastructure for the annual collection and recycling of more than 250,000 tons of PVC - which prior to 2000 had been dismissed by many as an “unrecyclable” material destined for landfill.
Josef Ertl, Chairman of VinylPlus said, “VinylPlus is even more ambitious in its targets and scope than Vinyl 2010. The aim of the industry is to continue to contribute to Europe 2020 goals on sustainable growth through results-driven self-regulation. However, this will not be possible without the support of policy makers at EU and national level in stimulating recycling... Promoting a move towards zero landfill in Europe would help boost private investment in waste management and unlock the economic potential of the recycling sector.”
Concrete targets in the VinylPlus commitment include the recycling of 800,000 tons of PVC per year by 2020 of which 100,000 tons should be treated by innovative technologies to tackle applications that have posed a challenge for recycling up to now.
VinylPlus has been developed with the input and guidance of The Natural Step (TNS), an international NGO at the forefront of research and dialogue on sustainable development.
According to David Cook, TNS Executive Ambassador, “People making procurement decisions generally welcome the chance to make better choices and to see suppliers responding actively to their needs and the sustainability standards they are working towards.”
VinylPlus will be monitored by representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission, trade unions, retailers and consumer organizations. As with Vinyl 2010, the industry will publish an independently verified and audited report outlining the progress made against each of the VinylPlus targets, sharing best practice and encouraging similar voluntary initiatives elsewhere in the world.
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Related links:
www.vinylplus.eu
www.thenaturalstep.org
www.vinylinfo.org