QUOTES ON THE START OF VINYLPLUS, THE SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PVC INDUSTRY
On 22 June 2011, the European PVC industry announced an ambitious new set of goals for sustainable development by 2020 and requested support from political decision-makers to promote recycling in Europe. The VinylPlus initiative is built around five commitments with the following objectives: to achieve a quantum leap in the recycling rates of PVC and the development of innovative recycling technologies, to address concerns about organochlorine emissions, to ensure the sustainable use of additives, to enhance energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy and raw materials in PVC production, and to promote sustainability throughout the entire PVC supply chain.
Dr. Josef Ertl
Chair of VinylPlus, Managing Director of Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG
“VinylPlus is even more ambitious in its goals and scope than Vinyl 2010. The aim of the industry is to continue to contribute to Europe 2020 goals on sustainable growth through results-driven self-regulation. However, this will not be possible without the support of policy makers at the national and EU levels in stimulating recycling and the use of recycled materials through effective waste management and green procurement policies. Promoting a move towards zero landfill in Europe would help boost private investment in waste management and unlock the economic potential of the recycling sector.”
Stefan Eingärtner
General Manager VinylPlus
“VinylPlus is a sustainable 10-year initiative by the European PVC industry based on the success of the first voluntary commitment “Vinyl 2010”. The new initiative is built around five commitments with whose compliance we want to support the sustainable development of PVC. In the process, we are working closely with partner organisations such as Recovinyl (the recycling network throughout Europe) and the Vinyl Foundation. Transparency and open dialogue with internal and external stakeholders will be of key importance to achieve the goals of our self-commitment.”
Prof. Dr. Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl
Member of the European Parliament, Member of the Federal Committee of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union)
“The efforts of the PVC industry in the past ten years have become a reference point for self-regulation in Europe. We welcome the ambition of the industry with VinylPlus to demonstrate European leadership for sustainable development on a global scale.”
David Cook
The Natural Step - Executive Ambassador
“People making procurement decisions generally welcome the chance to make better choices and to see suppliers responding actively to their needs and the sustainability standards they are working towards. In this respect, Vinyl 2010 is a rare example of an industry managing to turn itself around through voluntary action. With VinylPlus, the industry is now setting itself even more challenging targets to meet the needs of society and further improve the credentials and appeal of PVC as a material of choice for sustainable purchasing.”
Werner Preusker
Managing Director of the Working Group PVC und Umwelt e.V. (AGPU)
“Ever since it was founded in 1988, the AGPU has made great progress on the sustainable development of PVC products through honest and open dialogue with all the important target groups from science, politics, industry, NGOs, and the media. Therefore, I welcome the fact that the new sustainability initiative VinylPlus will extend the stakeholder dialogues for PVC recycling throughout Europe. In my view, focus on this new self-commitment is an outstanding goal whose realisation I actively support.”
Norbert Helminiak
Chairman of Management at PVCH Working Group of the Swiss PVC Industry
“The self-commitment VinylPlus aims at promoting the sustainable development of PVC through research and development, among other things. The Swiss PVC industry very much welcomes this. The importance of progress can be seen in Switzerland with its special topography witnessed by sealing membranes made of soft PVC. These products have been increasingly successful because of their continuously-improving properties. Some examples for long-time solutions are in road construction, the building of bridges, and the sealing of tunnels such as the Gotthard Base Tunnel. This weather-resistant material remains permanently sealed and can often be recycled: an important contribution to sustainable development.”
Dr. Norbert Scholz
Board Member of VinylPlus, Head of Product Stewardship – Evonik Oxeno GmbH
“European companies throughout the supply chain once again have set very ambitious goals with the second sustainability initiative VinylPlus. One of the five commitments of VinylPlus is to ensure the use of additives based on the sustainability criteria which we will develop in its initial phase by the end of 2012. At the same time, we are continuing our research on safety, sustainability, and the environmentally-responsible use of additives.”
Heinz G. Schratt
General Secretary of PlasticsEurope Austria (Austrian Association of Plastics Manufacturers)
“Austria is a small country, yet is considered one of the leading countries for plastics engineering, processing plastics, and recycling old plastics. The importance of sustainable management is accepted by the entire supply chain and – what’s more – has been implemented step by step in recent years. VinylPlus offers the European context a chance to establish this as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to document it as sustainable public procurement.”
Michael Vetter
Managing Director of Rewindo GmbH
“Companies in the German PVC window-profile sector have joined together in the Rewindo recycling initiative to increase the amount of recycled plastic windows which can be almost entirely recovered. The profile industry and Rewindo have made an important contribution along with Vinyl 2010 and other partners in implementing the goal of recycling old PVC windows in Europe. We will also do everything in the future to fulfil recycling quotas for old windows to be achieved together with the sustainability initiative VinylPlus.”
Vinylplus
Here you will find additional information on Vinylplus, the sustainability initiative of the European PVC industry. www.vinylplus.eu
