Welcoming participants, Charlotte Röber, Managing Director of VinylPlus, highlighted the VSF2025’s focus on strengthening the PVC sector’s foundations for a future that demands resilience, responsibility, and renewal. She outlined the environmental, economic, and societal external drivers underpinning the new VinylPlus strategy, aiming at reassessing direction and structure, reaffirming a strong science-based approach, and recognising the importance of deeper stakeholder engagement and the role of stronger national networks.
“We must ensure that our transition is not only green but also just – she affirmed. To build a future-proof value chain, we must bring everyone on board: workers, communities, governments, and businesses. Only by acting inclusively can we avoid polarisation and create a truly resilient society. We are now at the halfway point of our VinylPlus 2030 Commitment, and this is the moment to pause, reflect, and evaluate. Our mid-term review, underway this year, is doing that, refining our targets to better reflect industry performance, regulatory developments, and our updated strategic direction. External input is vital. That’s why we are involving stakeholders from across the value chain, including industry, policymakers, NGOs, and partners across Europe and beyond, to help shape the next phase of VinylPlus”.
“In the past, sustainability was something we aspired to – said Dr. Karl-Martin Schellerer, Chairman of VinylPlus, reflecting on the VSF2025’s theme. While that still holds true, the conversation has evolved. That’s why we have deliberately chosen the term ‘future-proof’, rather than simply ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’. The world is changing rapidly, shaped by shifting regulations, economic pressures, and growing societal expectations. In such a dynamic environment, adaptability is essential. To succeed, our industry must be resilient, credible, and agile. This is why our three guiding pillars come into play: circularity, competitiveness, and societal purpose. Circularity is key to achieving carbon neutrality, promotes resource efficiency and producer responsibility through smart design, effective collection systems, and both mechanical recycling and advanced recycling technologies. Competitiveness drives innovation and value creation, enabling our industry to thrive in a fast-moving global market. Societal purpose ensures we align with real-world needs. These aren’t just buzzwords; they define our direction and our role in building a sustainable, resilient Europe”.
Enhancing Circularity
Circularity was the focus of the first session of the VSF2025, which highlighted the importance of building concrete and sustainable systems for PVC recycling. The French experience showed how effective public agencies and eco-organisations can be in promoting eco-design and in setting up Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, helping create structured systems for collecting and recycling waste from the building sector. Nevertheless, it is essential that new EPR initiatives, such as the one in France, take into account and strengthen established voluntary circularity business models, such as VinylPlus, without undermining the progress already made.
Efforts and future strategies to boost PVC recycling were presented by Ingrid Verschueren, General Manager of Recovinyl, the organisation which tracks recycled PVC and its use in the framework of VinylPlus. As reported in the VinylPlus 2025 Progress Report, 724,638 tonnes of PVC waste were recycled within the VinylPlus framework, which represents approximately 35% of the PVC waste generated in the EU-27, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK in 2024. A result made possible thanks to continuous efforts to enhance existing collection and recycling schemes, while supporting innovative sorting and recycling technologies.
Boosting Competitiveness
According to the market analysts, which contributed to the second session of the event, competitiveness is of strategic significance for the entire European PVC sector. Nevertheless, the market has been facing considerable challenges due to a decline in competitiveness compared to other global regions. This is largely attributed to high energy, ethylene, and labour costs, alongside the burden of carbon pricing and administrative requirements. Demand has remained weak, particularly in the building and construction sector, which accounts for the majority of PVC use. Enhancing competitiveness through EU and national initiatives, such as the Clean Industry Deal, could offer some relief. It is also crucial to stimulate demand to attract investment in innovation, research and development, and sustainability certification across Europe, while encouraging the shift towards recycled materials. Discussions also addressed critical questions, including the perceived tension between economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability. Speakers and participants emphasised that aligning circularity, competitiveness, and societal purpose is not only possible, but is essential to securing a resilient and sustainable future in Europe.
“Europe leads the way in circular innovation, but high production costs and dumping practices are eroding our competitiveness. If we want our industry to remain viable, we need both a regulatory framework and an investment framework that reward innovation and growth”, urged Johan Van Overtveldt, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of Committee on Budgets and Member of Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
Addressing Societal Needs
In a stimulating panel discussion during the third session, experts in the fields of climate policy, construction science, and sustainable engineering presented real-world examples showing how the PVC industry can contribute to practical, sustainable solutions addressing key societal challenges, including climate adaptation, affordable housing and healthcare. The session underscored the importance of cross-sector collaboration in supporting Europe’s sustainable transition while ensuring social and economic resilience.
The Forum ended with inspiring insights from the Deputy Mayor of the City of Paris, Antoine Guillou, in an engaging conversation on sustainable social housing, innovation, and recycling technologies in France and Europe.
“The VSF is a cornerstone event for everyone involved in advancing sustainable innovation across the PVC value chain – said Carsten Heuer, Vice-Chairman of VinylPlus, closing the Forum. VSF2025 represented an impressive day of insight, exchange, and momentum and highlighted our strong and ongoing commitment to building resilience through circularity. As a responsible industry organisation, we have a duty to help enhance the competitiveness of our value chain and support the creation of a level playing field for competitive actors in line with EU ambitions and EU support. 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. We are ready to reinforce our commitment to transparent and effective cooperation with all our stakeholders, to empower a future-proof PVC value chain and contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable society.”
