VYNOVA

The chemical industry is a key sector for sustainable development. As an innovation driver for business and society, our industry plays its part in helping a growing world population achieve a better quality of life.

Vynova has embraced sustainability, understanding it as an obligation towards people and society and as a strategy in which economic success is coupled with social equity and environmental responsibility. This principle of balancing ‘people, planet and profit’ forms the basis of our sustainability understanding.

Our products contribute towards a sustainable future, both directly and as the basis for innovations by our customers. Our conduct is rooted in the fundamental principles of protecting people and the environment. We strive for good and fair working conditions for our employees and for the service providers on our sites. This commitment is further demonstrated by our participation in the Responsible Care^® initiative and in social partnership activities.

Responsible Care^® is a voluntary commitment by the global chemical industry to drive continuous improvement and achieve excellence in Security and Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) performance.

Vynova actively supports and participates in a number of key Responsible Care^® initiatives and follows the respective guidelines:

• We respect the general public’s need for transparency in connection with products, processes and activities, on the basis of a constructive approach.

• In accordance with our product responsibility, we provide information about the safe transport, storage, use, recycling and disposal of our products. This applies in particular to buyers, processing enterprises and users.

• We work continuously on extending our knowledge of products and production processes, in particular with respect to potential impacts on human health and the environment during all phases of the products’ life cycle.

• We operate safe production plants. Should any risks endangering human health or the environment become recognisable, we will take immediate action as required. In doing so, we cooperate closely with competent authorities and inform the public.

• We make available our knowledge and experience in the development of workable and effective laws, regulations and standards, with the aim of constantly ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

• We maintain and encourage the dialogue with our stakeholders.

• We support the national Responsible Care^® programs and provide sufficient resources to enable implementation in all parts of our company.

We actively support the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. We therefore focus on and regularly evaluate the areas in which we can achieve the greatest impact.

We are committed to continuously improving our activities in this respect and embrace suggestions from external stakeholders. To that end, we continuously update both our financial and non-financial goals, as well as our operational activities and strategic programs.

In particular those SDGs that focus on climate protection, industry and infrastructure, sustainable cities and responsible production play a vital role for us. Our products help save resources, for example through durable water pipe systems, and reduce CO₂ emissions, for example by insulating buildings more efficiently.

We are an active member of VinylPlus^®, the voluntary sustainable development programme of the European PVC industry and a strong promoter of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Vynova is a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact initiative - a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices.

The UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 15,000 companies and 3,800 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 69 Local Networks.

For more information about the UN Global Compact initiative, visit unglobalcompact.org.

VinylPlus^® is the European PVC industry’s commitment to sustainable development, working to improve the sustainability performance of PVC. 

Vynova is a member of VinylPlus^® and actively supports the organisation and its goals as summarized in the VinylPlus 2030 Commitment.

This Commitment identifies three ‘pathways’:

• scaling up PVC value chain circularity;
• advancing towards carbon neutrality and minimising our environmental footprint;
• and building global coalitions and partnering for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The three pathways are further broken down into twelve action areas that outline concrete steps to be taken by the European PVC industry for the sustainable development of PVC.

Find out more on the VinylPlus^® website.

Vynova’s plants require a large amount of energy. We therefore do everything we can to optimize our operational efficiency and to minimize the environmental impact of our production processes. For this purpose, we have implemented Energy Management Systems according to the ISO 50001 standards on most of our sites. Expert teams ascertain the energy efficiency of the plants, determine the consumption status and improvement potentials, and create action plans.

With the investment in a new state-of-the-art potassium hydroxide (KOH) membrane electrolysis facility in Tessenderlo (Belgium), we have taken a big step forward in improving our energy efficiency. The new plant replaced the former mercury electrolysis technology, resulting in a significantly lower energy demand.

Further projects to improve our energy efficiency are ongoing.

Vynova aims to ensure environmental protection during all phases of its manufacturing processes by:

• Limiting as much as possible emissions and consequences of accidents that may impact the environment.

• Giving high attention to developing and implementing energy-saving technologies.

We continuously work to ensure that our products pose no risk to people and the environment when used responsibly and in the manner intended. With our commitment to Product Stewardship as part of the Responsible Care^® initiative, we are dedicated to continuously minimizing the negative influences of our products on safety, health and environment along the value chain – from development to disposal.

Our products comply with the key regulations applicable to the countries and markets in which we operate.

REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) is a European regulation that came into force on 1 June 2007. It aims to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment through a better understanding of product properties and by sharing that information down the supply chain. Vynova supports this goal without reservations.

Under REACH, Vynova assumes the roles of a manufacturer and a downstream user. As a manufacturer of chemicals, we have registered the substances of our product portfolio as stipulated by REACH and have submitted the dossiers required for this to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). We cooperate closely with our customers and authorities in REACH matters and support them as far as possible.

In addition, we have introduced a management system for dangerous goods, ensuring these are handled, stored and transported safely.

Another important regulation is the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), which aims to improve the functioning of the biocidal products market in the EU while ensuring a high level of protection for humans and the environment. Vynova supports these goals without reservations.

All biocidal products require an authorisation before they can be placed on the market, and the active substances contained in that biocidal product must be previously approved. Vynova has registered sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) as a biocidal active substance.

As an active member of Euro Chlor and its sodium hypochlorite biocide registration group, we provide input to support our customers with their biocidal product authorisations. For more information on the options for biocidal product authorisations for customers, please consult this information leaflet.

For more information on our products’ regulatory status or safety data sheets (SDSs), please reach out to your customer service representative.

Like any other product, plastic pellets and powder do not belong as litter in the environment. Pellet and powder loss is a major concern for the plastics industry and losses must be prevented in a joint effort across the entire plastics value chain.

Although a major reduction of pellet and powder losses has been achieved over the last decades, more needs to be done.

Operation Clean Sweep^® (OCS) was initiated to improve awareness, accelerate prevention and facilitate experience sharing on the topic. Each OCS signatory implements solutions that fit best their sites and processes and encourages value chain partners. Pellet and powder loss prevention as part of quality and environmental management programmes is a continuous journey ensuring that all potential leakage points are covered.

Vynova has signed the OCS pledge to aim at zero pellet and powder loss and has implemented a variety of measures addressing pellet and powder loss at its sites, including regular audits and communication campaigns.

In 2023, a harmonised European certification scheme was launched as a new tool in the OCS toolbox. The OCS Europe Certification Scheme proves compliance with a set of measures to prevent the loss of plastic powder and pellets to the environment, implemented in the framework of the OCS programme.

In October 2023, Vynova Mazingarbe successfully passed certification under the OCS Europe Certification Scheme, as first PVC manufacturing site worldwide. You can download the certificate here.

More information about Operation Clean Sweep^® is available on the programme’s website and in the programme's 2019 Report.

Vynova was awarded a Platinum rating for 2024 in the most recent assessment of its sustainability performance by EcoVadis. This result places Vynova in the top 1% of over 130,000 companies assessed across 220 industries and 180 countries.

EcoVadis is recognised as the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. The agency assesses the sustainability efforts of more than 130,000 companies and ranks their sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

The EcoVadis sustainability assessment methodology evaluates how well a company has integrated the principles of sustainability & CSR into its business and management system. It illustrates performance across 21 indicators in four themes: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

The EcoVadis methodology is built on international sustainability standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000, covering 220+ spend categories and 180+ countries.

The Platinum rating is important for Vynova as well as for its global customers who value doing business with a supplier with verified, high CSR standards.

For more information on Vynova's EcoVadis rating, please reach out to your Area Sales Manager or customer service representative.