The Vinyl Institute Establishes the Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council to Advance the Industry's Sustainability Efforts

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Vinyl Institute announced the formation of the Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council (VBSC), a self-funded business council that advances the vinyl industry's efforts in addressing sustainability and related advocacy, communications and technical issues in North America. VBSC members will work together to develop and implement best practices in sustainable development and innovation leading to continuous improvement throughout the vinyl industry.

"With 10 billion people expected to inhabit our planet by 2050, and the underlying need to do more with less in light of depleting natural resources, vinyl has the opportunity to be the material of choice for many market segments served by our industry," said Cristian Barcan, Vinyl Institute's VP of Sustainability and Executive Director of the VBSC. "The VBSC is a collaborative platform for companies, organizations and other industry stakeholders to come together to create a sustainable development path for the industry that includes balanced, science-based, continuous improvement practices that meet the needs of current and future generations."

The Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council will support its members' sustainability efforts through educational programs and company and/or product-specific sustainability assessments, key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals, continuous improvement path, reporting and strategy development.

At an organizational meeting of the VBSC recently held in Washington DC, the membership agreed to focus on a materiality analysis, with a goal of identifying continuous improvement opportunities the vinyl industry will address under its sustainability initiative. Once funding is established, a materiality analysis will take approximately six months to ensure a wide range of stakeholders are included in the study. The VBSC agreed to inform stakeholders about the opportunities the industry will be addressing. In addition, outstanding industry achievements in sustainable development will be recognized.

"The Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council is a great step forward in bringing the vinyl industry together to address the advocacy, communications and technical issues we encounter everyday relating to sustainability," said Gary Hartman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Chelsea Building Products. "As an industry we recognized that we can accomplish a lot more by working together and the VBSC provides a collaborative platform."

Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council membership is open to all interested companies associated with the vinyl industry who are committed to working toward a more sustainable future for the industry, including: distributors, recyclers, end-product and equipment manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, resellers, end-users, collaboration driven non-profit organizations, vinyl product associations and Vinyl Institute members.

More information about the VBSC and membership eligibility can be found at: http://vinylinfo.org/VBSC

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 household appliances to flooring, roofing and wallcovering. 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 $54.4 billion. For more information, visit: vinylinfo.org

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SOURCE The Vinyl Institute

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http://www.vinylinfo.org