The European PVC industry’s sustainable development programme VinylPlus (Brussels / Belgium; www.vinylplus.eu) is holding its annual “VinylPlus Sustainability Forum” from 9 to 10 May 2019 in Prague / Czech Republic. This year’s theme is “Accelerating Innovation”.

Technological innovations supported by digitalisation are changing both the PVC industry and its approach to sustainable development, and at the seventh VinylPlus forum, representatives from the entire PVC value chain will explore the role of these innovations in the industry’s ability to deliver economic, social and environmental sustainability. Topics will also include product competitiveness, product design and the use of recyclate as well as the construction sector’s adaptation to digital times.

VinylPlus general manager Brigitte Dero says substantial progress has already been made due to new technologies that are transforming the sustainability of the PVC industry, and that voluntary commitments such as VinylPlus are instrumental in furthering this move towards innovation and sustainability.

In 2017, the initiative recycled 639,648 t of PVC waste in Europe, an increase of about 71,000 t compared to 2016 and reportedly 80% of the 2020 target. VinylPlus aims to recycle 900,000 t/y by 2025 and 1m t/y by 2030 – see Plasteurope.com of 01.10.2018.

Information on registration as well as a preliminary programme for the forum can be found here.