The path to a circular economy

PVC is one of the most widely used plastics. It is also very well suited for recycling. Through the VinylPlus initiative, the European PVC industry is creating a long-term sustainability framework for the entire PVC value chain. VinylPlus works towards an efficient use of PVC throughout its entire life cycle.

A vision for a stronger circular economy

The VinylPlus Voluntary Pledge

Since 2000, VinylPlus, the voluntary commitment to sustainable development of the European PVC industry, has been a pioneer in the Circular Economy. It has 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, a significant contribution to the overall 10 million tonnes objective set by the Commission for the plastic industry. Looking further ahead, VinylPlus has also committed to recycling a minimum of 1 million tonnes per year by 2030.

Thanks to VinylPlus’ unique role in engaging an entire value chain, the voluntary commitment has succeeded in recycling more than 4 million tonnes of PVC since 2000.

65 voluntary pledges were submitted by companies and industry associations, Read the full list of pledgers on the European Commission’s website.

The VinylPlus Product Label

The VinylPlus® Product Label is a labelling scheme which makes it easy for customers and markets to identify the most sustainable and high-performance PVC products. Currently, the scheme covers the PVC building products as defined in Article 2 and Annex I of the EU Construction Products Regulation 305/2011. The VinylPlus® Product Label has been developed by VinylPlus®, in collaboration with Building Research Establishment (BRE) and The Natural Step (TNS).

A New Roadmap to 2030

VinylPlus 2030 is the next 10-year Commitment of the European PVC industry towards Sustainable Development. It builds upon a track record of 20+ years of progress and achievements by the European PVC value chain. With its renewed Commitment, VinylPlus aims to contribute proactively to addressing the global sustainability challenges and priorities. The next Commitment aims to contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a particular focus on sustainable consumption and production, climate change and partnerships. It also seeks to align with the most relevant EU policies, such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability under the European Green Deal.

The VinylPlus 2030 Commitment has been developed bottom-up through industry workshops and with an open process of stakeholder consultation. Three ‘pathways’ and 12 ‘action areas’ have been identified embracing the PVC value chain’s circularity, its advancement towards carbon neutrality, minimisation of the environmental footprint of the PVC production and products, and its engagement with stakeholders and global coalitions.

PATHWAY ONE

Scaling up PVC Value Chain Circularity

The European PVC industry confirms the recycling commitments made with the European Commission, and where feasible, to further ‘stretch’ them to continue advancing towards full circularity of the European PVC value chain.

PATHWAY TWO

Advancing towards Carbon Neutrality and Minimising our Environmental Footprint

 By applying a science-based approach, we commit to ensuring that all PVC products, including their supply chains and manufacturing processes, continue to reduce their impact on human health and the environment.

PATHWAY THREE

Building Global Coalitions and Partnering for the SDGs

We will work with our stakeholders for sustainable development through certified and traceable products. We will continue partnering with civil society, European and global organisations, as well as with the global PVC communities, to share our best sustainability practices and contribute to the UN SDGs.

VinylPlus: a registered SMART partnership for the achievement of the UN SDGs

Through the VinylPlus initiative, the European PVC industry created a long-term sustainability framework for the entire PVC value chain and improving PVC products sustainability and their contribution to a sustainable society. This chart summarises the direct contribution of each of the five sustainability challenges of the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment, assessed on the basis of the SDG Compass approach.