May 30, 2025 14:32

The VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2025 (VSF2025) was held in Paris in recent days, marking the halfway point in the European PVC industry's 10-year journey toward the ambitious sustainability targets set for 2030 under the VinylPlus program.

More than 200 delegates from 23 countries attended the event, including representatives from the City of Paris, public authorities and French environmental organizations, policymakers, academics, designers, architects, recyclers, and stakeholders from across the PVC value chain.

The theme of VSF2025 was “For a Future-Proof Value Chain” Opening the forum, VinylPlus CEO Charlotte Röber highlighted the environmental, economic, and social drivers behind the program’s updated strategy, which aims to recalibrate direction and structure, reinforce its scientific foundations, and recognize the need for greater stakeholder engagement and stronger national networks.

“Our midterm review, underway this year, is doing that—refining our targets to better reflect industry performance, regulatory developments, and our updated strategic direction,” she added.

According to the VinylPlus Progress Report 2025, 724,638 tonnes of PVC waste were recycled under the program last year—roughly 35% of the PVC waste generated in the EU-27, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK. However, this marked a decrease from the 737,645 tonnes recycled in 2024 (down 1.8%) and an even sharper drop from the 813,266 tonnes reported in 2023.

These figures underscore the challenges in meeting VinylPlus’s ambitious targets of 900,000 tonnes per year by 2025 and 1 million tonnes by 2030.

Breaking down the data further, 61.4% of the recycled PVC came from pre-consumer sources (production scrap), while 38.6% came from post-consumer waste.

The majority of recycling volumes came from window profiles (396,000 tonnes, 55%), followed by flooring (117,000 tonnes, 16%), cables (92,400 tonnes, 13%), and flexible PVC (54,400 tonnes, 7.5%). Pipes and other rigid materials followed with 33,460 tonnes (4.6%) and 30,300 tonnes (4.2%), respectively.

As for end uses of recycled PVC, window profiles again topped the list at 40%, followed by flooring (25%), traffic management products (15%), and pipes (11%).

Market analysts in the second session of VSF2025 stressed the strategic importance of competitiveness for the European PVC sector. As in many other industries, the PVC market has faced growing challenges due to Europe’s declining global competitiveness. High energy and ethylene costs, labor expenses, carbon pricing, and regulatory burdens have all played a role.

To make matters worse, demand for PVC remained weak throughout 2024—particularly in the construction sector, which accounts for the bulk of PVC applications.

The forum also addressed the critical tension between economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability. Speakers and participants alike stressed that aligning circularity, competitiveness, and social purpose is not only possible but essential for ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for Europe.

“The PVC industry can play a relevant role in Europe’s economic recovery and be an essential actor in Europe's Clean Industry Deal transition,” concluded Carsten Heuer, vice president of VinylPlus. “We are ready to reinforce our commitment to transparent and effective cooperation with all our stakeholders in order to empower a future-proof PVC value chain and contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable society.”

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