The European PVC value chain programme to improve PVC products’ sustainability and their contribution to a sustainable society. Contributing to SDGs 12-13-8-9-1-3-4-5-6-7-17

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Description

Intro

VinylPlus, the ten-year Voluntary Commitment to Sustainable Development by the European PVC industry, is creating a long-term sustainability framework for the entire PVC value chain and moving the European PVC industry towards a low-carbon circular economy. It is promoting research, stimulating partnership and cooperation, and accelerating innovation for sustainability. 
VinylPlus aims to recycle 800,000 tonnes of PVC per year by 2020; promote a sustainable use of additives; improve PVC products sustainability; reduce GHG emissions as well as energy and resource consumption along the production chain; build sustainability awareness along the value chain and among stakeholders.

Objective of the practice

PVC can help providing goods and services underpinning basic human needs, making them available for all at affordable costs, and in many cases these products have longer life and lower maintenance costs. 
Objective of the VinylPlus initiative is to improve the European PVC industry’s and products’ sustainability and their contribution to a sustainable society. 
Developed through open dialogue with stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, regulators, civil society representatives and PVC users, the VinylPlus programme is addressing five key sustainability challenges for PVC: 
- Controlled Loop Management (waste management, recycling, use of recycled PVC) 
- Organochlorines (emissions, transportation) 
- Sustainable use of additives (responsible ‘recipes’) 
- Reducing energy & raw material use (reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions) 
- Sustainability Awareness (social responsibility; stakeholder awareness). 
Following the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, VinylPlus assessed its challenges, targets and achievements on the basis of the SDG Compass – The guide for business action on the SDGs, identifying its performance indicators in relation to them and its programme contribution. 
Achieving sustainable production and consumption is intrinsically part of the VinylPlus programme, which has been developed to establish a long-term framework for the on-going sustainable development of the European PVC value chain. Goal 12 is therefore addressed by all the five VinylPlus sustainability Challenges, which directly contribute to several targets associated with this Goal. At the same time, each of the five VinylPlus Challenges and 35 targets can contribute to one or more of the SDGs targets. 
The peculiarities of VinylPlus are being an example of industry self-regulation working in practice, and the umbrella under which 200 companies from the PVC value chain (resins and additives producers, and plastics converters) work together to improve PVC products’ sustainability and their contribution to a sustainable society. 
VinylPlus is fostering innovative collaborations along the value chain, and with other businesses (including recycling industry, building & construction, automotive, packaging, medical devices, furniture), academia and PVC users, to increase recycling and the use of recyclates.

Partners

Beneficiaries: Civil society; European PVC industry’s workers and employees; European PVC value chain. Implementers: the European PVC industry value chain represented by the following four Associations, founding Partners of VinylPlus: ECVM (The European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers); EuPC (The European Plastics Converters); ESPA (The European Stabiliser Producer Association); European Plasticisers. Institutions and other stakeholders are involved through an independent Monitoring Committee which currently includes: representatives of the European Commission and Parliament, academia, trade unions and consumer organisations, as well as representatives of the European PVC industry.

Implementation of the Project/Activity

VinylPlus is the organisation responsible for the implementation of the European PVC value chain’s 10-year sustainability programme. It is driven by a Management Board representing all European PVC industry sectors: resin and additives producers, and plastics converters.
VinylPlus is supervised by a Monitoring Committee. Open to all external stakeholders, the Monitoring Committee ensures an independent evaluation of the initiatives undertaken in the framework of the Voluntary Commitment, guaranteeing VinylPlus’ transparency, participation and accountability, as well as providing guidance and advice.
VinylPlus operates through projects covering technology, research, organisation (e.g. Recovinyl and recycling schemes) and communications (e.g. sustainability awareness and best practices). Ad hoc Committees, including technical experts from members and partners companies and external experts support the programme implementation for each of the five key sustainability challenges identified for PVC on the basis of The Natural Step System Conditions for a Sustainable Society.
A yearly Progress Report, verified by third parties, summarises VinylPlus’ progress and achievements. The Progress Report 2018 has been independently verified by SGS, while tonnages of recycled PVC waste and expenditures have been audited and certified by KPMG.
Since its origin, VinylPlus operates on the basis of the following working principles:
- Voluntary action – tackling the sustainability challenges of PVC in a proactive way.
- Measurable targets and deadlines – shared publicly and reported on annually.
- Continuous improvement – to always accept that the journey to sustainability requires constant evaluation and learning along the way.
- Collaboration – ways of working together within the industry to find solutions that no single player can implement, and reaching out to a much broader stakeholder group.
- Transparency – opening-up, sharing and recognizing the gap between where we are now and where we aim to be.
- Scientific rigour and research – make sure that technologies, processes and materials are assessed according to strong credible and scientific sustainability principles.
- Dialogue – create more debate with external stakeholders and those who have something to say about PVC, and be open to listening and learning from others in a positive and receptive manner.
- Seeking business prosperity – successful businesses are needed along the value chain of PVC – that means making an acceptable return on investment, and being competitive at the same time as seeking the route to sustainable development.
- Priority to sustainability innovation – research, design and innovation should have no goal other than improving the sustainability potential of PVC including its market competitiveness, as well as openly challenging components, materials and practices that do not make sense in terms of sustainable development.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

Being the VinylPlus Challenges and associated targets interlinked and integrated in nature (as are the SDGs and 169 targets), only a few results/outputs can be report in 500 words.
Achievement in Controlled-Loop Management (Ch. 1) is certainly one of those. PVC waste recycling reached 640,000 tonnes in 2017, from nearly zero in 2000 (SDG 12.5), generating more than 1,200 direct jobs in recycling plants. It has been calculated that CO2 savings of up to 92% are achieved when PVC is recycled. Furthermore, according to a conservative estimation, for each kg of PVC recycled, 2 kg of CO2 are saved. Thus, CO2 savings from PVC recycling in Europe is now at around 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 saved per year (SDG 13.1). In addition, to date, more than 20 recycling technologies and projects have been explored and sometimes financially supported by VinylPlus (SDG 9.5). Using recycled PVC helps meet resource-efficiency targets and allows the preservation of natural resources, thus indirectly contributing to SDG 7.3. Estimates show that recycled PVC’s primary energy demand is typically between 45% to 90% lower than virgin PVC.
The theme of energy and resource efficiency and GHG emission reduction along the PVC value chain is directly addressed by VinylPlus Ch.4. Several initiatives are in place, including the target of a 20% reduction by 2020 of energy consumption for PVC resin production and the assessment study on the feasibility of PVC resin production from biomasses, thus decoupling plastic production from oil consumption (SDGs 7.3, 8.4, 13.1).
Under VinylPlus Ch.3, a new methodology named ASF (Additives Sustainability Footprint) has been worked out to develop a systematic framework to evaluate the use of additives in PVC products from the perspective of sustainable development (SDG 12.4). The ASF, which is compatible with schemes such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), was included in the VinylPlus® Product Label scheme. The Label (VinylPlus Ch. 5) was developed with third parties as contribution to public procurement practices (SDG 12.7) and to help companies promote their contribution to sustainability and to a circular economy (SDG 12.8).
Still under VinylPlus Ch.5, the engagement of VinylPlus in the Cooperation Agreement renewed in 2017 with the Social Parties resulted in concrete initiatives and action plans for workers’ safety in production and recycling plants, training and education, and for the digitalisation of SMEs (SDGs 3.9, 4.4, 5.1, 8.8).
Health and safety of workers, and of populations living near-by production plants, is also addressed by VinylPlus Ch.2 (Organochlorine emissions). Through its Industry Charter, aimed at reducing environmental impact in the production phase, the PVC industry has adopted best available techniques, practices and procedures, to guarantee high-level standards of health and safety (SDGs 1.5, 3.9, 8.8, 9.4, 12.4).
VinylPlus strongly believes in partnership and cooperation as the way to foster transformational changes and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. VinylPlus experience served as a source of inspiration for the sustainability programmes developed by the PVC industry in other regions such as Australia, Southern African and China (SDGs 17.7, 17.16, 17.17) .

Enabling factors and constraints

Enabling conditions and key elements for success are:
- the involvement of the entire value chain;
- concrete and measurable targets and deadlines;
- research and innovation;
- strong governance and accountability;
- motivation and dedication from all the partners involved;
- stakeholder engagement, transparency and dialogue.
VinylPlus involves 200 partners companies across Europe (EU-28 plus Norway and Switzerland), covering the whole value chain – from resins and additives producers, to plastics converters, and a network of more than 150 recyclers.
The VinylPlus programme is privately funded by the European PVC industry and requires significant financial commitment. In 2017, the European PVC industry invested 5.64 million Euro (6.5 million USD) in the VinylPlus programme, of which 3.77 million Euro (4.3 million USD) in waste management and technical projects, with even greater allocation in terms of time and efforts.
Over the past 18 years, the European PVC industry invested more than 100 million Euro (around 115 million USD) in its Voluntary Commitments.
Predictable and reliable policy frameworks are critical for industry’s long-term investments in research, innovation and technological development that can foster transition towards a low-carbon circular economy and sustainable development.
Recently, uncertainties in the implementation of relevant EU regulations had negative consequences for investment in the research and development of new products and markets for recycled PVC. Legacy additives (substances that are no longer used in new PVC products but that can be present in recycled PVC), in particular, remain an open issue, which has had a negative impact on demand for recycled PVC. VinylPlus remain confident that the ever-increasing number of studies in support of PVC recycling and of recycled product safety can lead to balanced solutions that combine maximum safety with increased potential for recycling.

Sustainability and replicability

“VinylPlus shows that there’s a way industry can change, there’s a way industry can contribute, and it is a good role model.” Christophe Yvetot, UNIDO.

VinylPlus has created a new, more sustainable business model involving the whole PVC value chain. Main achievements in relation to the close-loop management of PVC products include the setting-up of collection and recycling schemes resulting in more than 4.2 million tonnes of PVC waste recycled since 2000, and 8.4 million tonnes of CO2 saved.
As part of the commitment to promote its approach across the PVC industry worldwide, VinylPlus actively shares experience, knowledge and best practices with the other regional PVC associations at the global level in the meetings of the Global Vinyl Council, and in other relevant international events.
VinylPlus experience served as a source of inspiration for other industries and sectors. This happened for example for the sustainability programmes developed by the PVC industry in other regions, such as Australia, Southern Africa or China.
More recently, six European organisations (including VinylPlus) from the plastics value chain have committed – in cooperation with the European Commission – to launch Circularity Platforms aiming to reach 50% plastics waste recycling by 2040, inspired by the good example set by VinylPlus.
In September 2018, VinylPlus backed the European Commission’s pledging call to increase recycling of plastics by committing to recycle at least 900,000 tonnes of PVC per year into new products by 2025, and to recycling a minimum of one million tonnes per year by 2030.

Conclusions

Voluntary Commitments such as VinylPlus, which put together the entire European PVC value chain, can represent an effective model to progress industry sectors/value chains towards a low-carbon circular economy and sustainable development, enhancing their contribution to the SDGs. 
Through the VinylPlus initiative, the European PVC industry is boosting PVC waste collection and recycling; reducing progressively GHG emissions along the entire production chain; identifying and measuring the GHG footprint of components and production processes; assessing possibilities to increase use of renewable energy and of technologies to enhance the efficiency of materials used; improving workers’ wellbeing and implementing these engagements with business partners and stakeholders. 
VinylPlus is a perfect example of industry self-regulation working in practice. It has been a learning-by-doing process, and in a certain way it has helped to revolutionise the PVC value chain in Europe. 
 
“The European Union has embraced the circular economy and its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Effective voluntary commitments, in combination with ambitious policy, should drive this project. There can be no better way of creating a fully-functioning, sustainable and circular economy than by bringing together everyone who will make this happen. VinylPlus rightfully positions the circular economy as a unique opportunity for dialogue and collaboration between private and public entities to achieve the shared goal of long-term value creation, which will unlock the full potential of the circular economy.” Martina Dlabajová, Member of the European Parliament

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