Vinyl Industry Convenes to Determine the Next 5-Year Sustainability Strategy

Washington, D.C. – June 24, 2022  — This week the Vinyl Institute (VI) and the Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC) kick-offed their industry sustainability planning session with members of the downstream vinyl product association executive directors and their respective chairs. The group discussed the next steps in a five-year sustainability strategy for the industry with a continued focus on recycling efforts as a key priority. VI hosted a similar historic meeting in 2016 which led to the formation of the Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council, the predecessor of the VSC.

“Individually members of the vinyl industry are making great strides in reducing their emissions and increasing recycling rates of post-consumer PVC materials,” said Ned Monroe, president & CEO of the Vinyl Institute. “And our industry recognizes that we can achieve even more when our individual contributions are focused around industry-wide sustainability goals.”

Over the past 5+ years since the first strategic session, the U.S. vinyl industry has focused efforts on three impact categories including resource efficiency, emissions, and health and safety.

+Vantage Vinyl, a sustainability verification initiative, is framed around five pillars aligned with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. Within each pillar are a series of guiding principles that set the direction and parameters for what a company will achieve over time on its journey of continuous improvement. The guiding principles support improved industry performance across the three material impact categories.

Each impact category is supported by a member task force that sets the category goals and direction.

For example, through its resource efficiency task group, the VSC members set a goal of increasing post-consumer recycling to 160 million pounds by 2025. The VSC is partnering with a number of downstream product trade associations, including the Vinyl Siding Institute and the Roofing Division of the Chemical Fabrics and Film association on pilot recycling programs to increase recycling rates to meet this goal.

More information on impact category successes can be found in the 2020 and 2021 +Vantage Vinyl™ Sustainability Progress Reports.

Value chain members included representatives from the Vinyl Siding Institute, Chemical Fabric & Films Association, Flexible Vinyl Alliance, Printing United Alliance, PVC Pipe Association, Wallcovering Association, Resilient Floor Covering Institute, Communications Cable and Connectivity Association, and the Vinyl Institute and the Vinyl Institute of Canada.

About the Vinyl Institute:

The Vinyl Institute (VI), founded in 1982, is a U.S. trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl additives, and modifiers. The VI works on behalf of its members to promote the benefits of the world’s most versatile plastic, used to make everything from PVC piping to flooring, roofing and vinyl siding. The vinyl industry in the United States employs over 350,000 highly skilled employees at nearly 3,000 facilities and generates an economic value of $54 billion. For more information, visit vinylinfo.org.

About the Vinyl Sustainability Council

The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC), founded in 2016 in partnership with the Vinyl Institute, is a collaborative platform for companies, organizations, and other industry stakeholders to come together to advance the U.S. vinyl industry’s contribution to sustainable development. Through its +Vantage Vinyl™ verification program, the VSC aims to drive continuous improvement across all three aspects of sustainability – environmental, social, and economic performance. For more information visit https://vantagevinyl.com/.