A Successful Year for the Vinyl Industry – 2019 by the Numbers

Last year, the Vinyl Institute (VI) successfully collaborated with members of the vinyl value chain to address challenges, capitalize on opportunities and advance the industry. We focused our time and resources where we could return the most value for our industry.

Some highlights include: blocking more than 100 harmful pieces of legislation and regulations, advancing nearly 20 favorable ones, engaging with nearly 2,000 key individuals ranging from legislators to architects, and successfully completing our sustainability initiative’s pilot program.

It was a year filled with exciting strategic engagement with stakeholders to engage them with vinyl’s contribution to our nation’s economy, clean water delivery, sustainable buildings, and community safety. Stay tuned for even more industry advances in 2020!

• 110 meetings with coalition partners to advance our industry’s key legislative priorities – PVC MACT, Water Infrastructure, U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and Open Competition.
• 228 engagements with federal legislators, including 68 meetings with legislators during our annual congressional fly-in to discuss VI’s key issues: water infrastructure, trade, and common-sense regulatory reform.
• 30 engagements with state, county, and local officials.
• 1,663 engaged architects, specifiers and designers through lunch and learns, online education courses, surveys and 38 in-depth conversations.
• 3 university women presented grants to attend Vinyltec.
• More than 25 presentations given by VI staff at 43 industry meetings attended.
• 1 new four-year strategic plan created to help drive the industry forward.
• An increase in attendance at both Vinyl360 and the Vinyl Congressional fly-in.
• 135% increase in followers on VI’s LinkedIn and 198% increase in engagement on VI’s Twitter.
• 2 newly designed industry websites, including a refreshed VI site and the launch of +Vantage Vinyl’s website.
• 14 letters of support to Congress signed on behalf of VI, including urging passage of USMCA and the Phase One deal, which resulted in the USMCA’s passage by the House in 2019 and water infrastructure legislation passing it’s key House committee in 2019.

Besides just our proactive outreach, VI worked hard to ensure vinyl and PVC were represented accurately in legislative affairs and in the media.

• 129 harmful pieces of legislation and regulations blocked, including the Udall plastic waste bill at the federal level.
• 18 favorable pieces of legislation advanced or passed, two at the federal level, which were the USMCA and H.R. 1497.
• 7 in-depth discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and 15 detailed communications with other federal agencies.
• 7 official comments submitted to government agencies related to protecting vinyl in regulatory rule setting.
• 20 instances where Vinyl Verified set the record straight on PVC in public discourse.
• 198% increase in followers on Vinyl Verified’s Twitter account and
• 889% increase in the amount of users who saw Vinyl Verified tweets.

VI and the Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC) advanced sustainability efforts within our industry. This year we were excited to launch the first-ever industry-wide sustainability initiative open to all members of the U.S. vinyl value chain, +Vantage Vinyl™.

• 52 companies actively participating in the VSC to establish guidelines and set goals.
• 8 companies verified through +Vantage Vinyl’s pilot program.
• 3 impact categories determined (resource efficiency and recycling, emissions, and health and safety) that encompass the six priority areas identified in the materiality assessment, and align with three United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, where the vinyl industry can make significant contributions.
• 58 key industry respondents participated in the VSC’s benchmarking survey.
• 1st ever Vinyl Recycler of the Year award presented to Return Polymers.

Thanks for making 2019 the most successful year to date for the vinyl industry. Want to stay up to date with vinyl news in the new decade? Click here to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter.