January 21, 2021 /CSRwire/ - The Vinyl Council of Australia (VCA) and the United States Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC), today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore a pathway to reciprocity between the two sustainability programs by sharing best practices and collaborating on sustainability program development.

Collaboration between the VCA’s PVC Stewardship Program and VSC’s +Vantage Vinyl™ program seeks to promote global harmonization, broaden recognition of industry leaders, and increase industry participation in these sustainability programs.

“While circumstances vary regionally, sustainability is a global issue and vinyl products participate in a global market,” said Sophi MacMillan, VCA Chief Executive. “It is in the best interest of the industry and society to work across borders to help the vinyl industry to continue to make progress.”

Trade association-led sustainability programs serve an important function to advance voluntary improvements in the industry. Working together, member companies can share best practices leading to continuous improvement throughout the industry.

“Many of our members do business throughout the world,” said Jay Thomas, VSC Executive Director. “Developing a pathway to reciprocity between the various sustainability programs will foster progress by easing the administration burden on companies and encouraging more participation. Increased program participation is a key factor in advancing the sustainability of the industry.”

Companies participating in the PVC Stewardship Program and +Vantage Vinyl programs agree to transparent voluntary commitments and guiding principles of sustainability that are measured and reported on an annual basis. The programs are designed to be inclusive for companies at any stage of the sustainability journey but encourage continuous improvement. The overall performance of member companies is reflected in annual sustainability reporting.

To learn more about the PVC Stewardship Program visit https://www.vinyl.org.au/sustainability/stewardship and https://vantagevinyl.com for more information about +Vantage Vinyl.

Vinyl Sustainability Council

Vinyl Sustainability Council

The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC) is a voluntary membership organization that is taking a leadership role in uniting the industry to advance sustainable performance throughout the vinyl value chain.

The VSC created +Vantage Viny® as a voluntary initiative to advance the U.S. vinyl industry’s contribution to sustainable development. It aims to drive continuous improvement across all three sectors of sustainability – environmental, social and economic performance.

Individual company commitments are aligned with voluntary industry sustainability targets that were developed as a result of a materiality assessment. This analysis identified three impact categories, resource efficiency, health & safety and emissions that were aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

An independent verification process provides assurance of achievement of company commitments. Verified companies are awarded the right to use the +Vantage Vinyl trademark as evidence of their commitment to advancing sustainability in the vinyl industry.

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