The 5th VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2017 was recently held in Berlin, Germany. Organised by VinylPlus, the European PVC industry sustainability programme, this year’s forum held on May 10th and 11th took the theme of “Towards Circular Economy” and explored the many growing opportunities for the PVC sector to contribute to this key objective of EU policy.
The forum attracted more than 170 stakeholders from 30 countries representing academia, government bodies, the UN, the European Commission, specifiers, designers, architects and all sectors of the PVC industry.
Against a backdrop of important decisions being taken on the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package, presentations and panel discussions from high-level speakers focussed on how the vinyl industry is tackling key sustainability issues, such as legacy additives in recycled PVC, and contributing to a stronger circular flow of resources.
The entire product lifecycle to be considered
Welcoming delegates, VinylPlus Chairman Josef Ertl said: “The debate about how Europe can make the transition to a circular economy is placed high on the political agenda. I’m sure, most people will agree, that a sustainable society without a circular economy is difficult to imagine. And the unique characteristics of plastics allow them to make a strong contribution to a more environmentally sustainable and resource efficient Europe. PVC is clearly contributing to this. And certainly VinylPlus with its unique co-operation model, bringing together the whole PVC value chain, is the right platform for sustainability and circularity in the PVC industry.”
Acknowledging that a move from a predominantly linear to a largely circular economic system would “dramatically change” how companies and value chains co-operate and the way we produce and consume goods, Josef Ertl said: “In this context, we must ensure that the entire lifecycle of a product is considered, not just aspects at the end of the lifecycle.” He called on political leaders to work closely with the PVC industry to analyse the potential impacts of any decisions that might affect the PVC sector, adding: “They should ensure that the process is developing smoothly without too many frictions. We in the PVC and plastics industry will support such an approach.”