A new initiative to advance sustainability efforts throughout the vinyl industry launched June 3 at the Sustainable Brands conference in Detroit.
The effort, called +Vantage Vinyl, is being spearheaded by the Vinyl Sustainability Council, which was created in 2016 by the Washington-based Vinyl Institute to promote best practices and innovation.
“Vantage Vinyl is the industry’s path to advance sustainable development throughout the supply chain,” Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute, said in a news release.
“After three years of work by the Vinyl Sustainability Council, we are proud to announce this game-changing commitment,” he said.
The program’s goals are to meet customer demand for responsibly sourced products and materials as well as to reduce companies’ environmental footprints. Participants will focus on landfill diversion, health and safety and emissions. Targets were selected from the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals as arenas where the U.S. vinyl industry can make the most impact.
Some specific goals include pushing recycling efforts beyond the 1.1 billion pounds of vinyl recycled annually in the U.S. and Canada; increasing emphasis on workplace health and safety initiatives and product stewardship policies designed to minimize user exposures; and identifying ways to continue reducing direct emissions from production plants.
Participating companies will select one goal annually from each of the three impact categories. Vantage Vinyl is partnering with GreenCircle Certified LLC to verify and report on what they achieve.
The effort comes at a time when concerns are mounting about natural resource depletion, land management, clean water and climate change.
The voluntary collaboration shows a commitment to make sure the industry’s future is a sustainable one, according to Cristian Barcan, the Vinyl Sustainability Council’s executive director.
“We’re predicted to need three planets worth of natural resources to meet the needs of the 10.5 billion global population in 30 years. That’s just not sustainable,” Barcan said in the release. “Vinyl can help meet the needs of this exploding population and our declining resources. Our solution begins with advancing an industry-wide approach to sustainability.”
Vantage Vinyl costs $10,000 a year for membership and $5,000 a year for the green certification audit. VI said the economic benefits of actively working to increase sustainability can lead to improved customer relations, employee morale, company reputation, and possibly financial results.
Membership is open to U.S. companies that are resin and additive suppliers, compounders, product manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, recyclers and distributors. Founding members include Occidental Chemical Corp., Shintech Inc., Westlake Chemical Corp., Formosa Plastics Corp., Sika Corp., Chemours Co., Mexichem, and PolyOne Corp.
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