Additive sustainability footprint: Rationale and pilot evaluation of a tool for assessing the sustainable use of PVC additives

Everard, Mark; Blume, Richard

doi:10.1002/vnl.21733

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, it is also important to note the need for a shift in approach from mitigation of negative impacts towards opportunity for positive impact. In common with management of pollution, and indeed the vast bulk of chemical regulations based on potential negative outcomes based narrowly on hazard rather than on life cycle risk (Everard & Blume, 2019), there is a tendency for business leaders to approach sustainability issues primarily in terms of mitigating their negative impact. The reality is more complex and for two principal reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Work on ecosystem services frameworks has delivered some degree of attaching tangible value to the benefits delivered to humanity by nature (Lähtinen et al, 2016), though many of these ecosystem services (e.g., highly culturally relative spiritual and aesthetic services, most of the supporting services and many regulating services) do not have objective monetary values as the economy is a subset of society, itself wholly dependent subsystem of the supporting ecosystem (Bartkowski et al, 2015;Everard, 2022).…”

Section: Connecting Business To Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the prioritisation of biodiversity amongst small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise leaders with strong bigger‐than‐self value orientation

2023

Self Cite

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This paper reports on a quantitative study of prioritisation of biodiversity amongst small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) leaders. Existing research indicates that value orientation impacts propensity for pro‐environmental behaviours. However, as biodiversity loss remains inadequately addressed, this study employs the value‐belief‐norm framework to explore how leaders with strong biospheric and altruistic (collectively termed ‘bigger‐than‐self’) value orientations perceive their responsibility for biodiversity loss in comparison with climate change and, using an adaptation of the Global Reporting Initiative standards, how biodiversity is prioritised against other areas of environmental sustainability in their businesses. Surveying 61 SME leaders, primarily in the South‐West UK, it was found that biodiversity is often considered of low priority compared with factors such as energy, waste, materials and emissions. Analysis also indicates that these leaders feel less responsibility for biodiversity than for climate change demonstrating that, even where bigger‐than‐self values dominate, there is a need for higher prioritisation of biodiversity amongst SMEs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Connecting Business To Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the prioritisation of biodiversity amongst small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise leaders with strong bigger‐than‐self value orientation

2023

Self Cite

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“…VinylPlus continues to work towards its long‐term sustainability goals, focusing on areas such as resource efficiency, waste management, sustainable additives, and innovation 39 . The initiative plays a vital role in driving the PVC industry toward a more sustainable and responsible future, fostering continuous improvement and ensuring the industry's contribution to a circular and low‐carbon economy 39,249 …”

Section: Pvc Recycling In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

“…39 The initiative plays a vital role in driving the PVC industry toward a more sustainable and responsible future, fostering continuous improvement and ensuring the industry's contribution to a circular and low-carbon economy. 39,249 9 | CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PVC RECYCLING Despite the advancements in PVC recycling methods and technologies, there are several challenges and limitations that need to be addressed to maximize the efficiency and sustainability of the process.…”

Section: Pvc Recycling In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling

Ait‐Touchente,

Khellaf,

Raffin

et al. 2023

Polymers for Advanced Techs

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Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling is crucial for mitigating the environmental impact of PVC wastes, which take decades to decompose in landfills. This review examines the current state of PVC recycling processes, focusing on challenges and future research opportunities. It explores the types and sources of PVC wastes, including post‐consumer, industrial, and construction wastes. Conventional recycling methods such as mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling are discussed, highlighting their advantages, limitations, and successful applications. Furthermore, recent advances in PVC recycling, including biological, plasma‐assisted, and solvent‐based recycling, are explored, considering their potential benefits and challenges. The review emphasizes the European context of PVC recycling, as the region has implemented regulatory initiatives and collaborations. It points out the Circular Economy Action Plan and directives targeting PVC waste management, which have promoted recycling and established a supportive framework. Challenges of current PVC recycling methods and technologies, such as low yield and high energy consumption, are identified. The review calls for the development of efficient and cost‐effective recycling technologies, along with improvements in recycling infrastructure and consumer awareness. Assessing the environmental and economic impacts, PVC recycling significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves resources compared to virgin PVC production. The economic benefits include job creation and reduced raw material costs.

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“…Generic assessments of molecule type overlooking this more nuanced assessment of sustainability performance in a whole life-cycle context can be misleading. Product-specific ASF analysis also highlights "hot spots" for innovation, whether by chemical manufacturers and their supply chains or others in the value chain from maintenance companies to recycling or disposal operations, to enhance the potential for sustainable use of substances within the products into which they are integrated (Everard & Blume, 2019).…”

Section: Application Of Asf To a Variety Of Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the sustainable use of chemicals on a level playing field

Everard

2023

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Misleading conclusions can result from applying tools beyond the purposes for which they were designed. A range of chemical assessment systems was compared against a set of principles germane to the sustainable use of chemicals relevant to the whole societal life cycles of finished products. These principles of sustainable use included: wider dimensions of sustainability, a foundation in science, consideration of life-cycle risk rather than simply intrinsic chemical properties, contributions to meeting human needs, open access, and peer review. A transparent basis in science is important for deriving objective, comparable, and replicable sustainability-based findings across materials and applications, and for guiding innovation. Few assessment systems currently identify how use of substances contributes to meeting human needs, a vital albeit often overlooked aspect of sustainable development, with most based largely on potential hazard without addressing wider life-cycle exposure and risk assessment. Qualitatively differing substances were illustratively assessed against the sustainability principles and life-cycle context of the Additive Sustainability Footprint (ASF), aspects of this analysis highlighting how differing material sourcing, manufacturing, and management in-use and at end-of-life can lead to widely divergent sustainability assessments. These illustrative ASF assessments also demonstrate that material use challenges, assessed on a systemic basis, are common across materials, with no defensible automatic assumption that there are inherently "good" or "bad" materials; differing stewardship across whole product life cycles substantially influences sustainability credentials for all materials. It is therefore important that the sustainability performance of all materials is assessed on an objective "level playing field," which also highlights "hot spots" for sustainable innovation from supply-chain management through manufacturing, substance selection by material compounders, maintenance inputs in product use, and beyond product end-of-life. Chemical regulation must evolve to include and embed wider sustainability principles into operational practice and become applicable and enforced across increasingly global value chains.

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Additive sustainability footprint: Rationale and pilot evaluation of a tool for assessing the sustainable use of PVC additives

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Exploring the prioritisation of biodiversity amongst small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise leaders with strong bigger‐than‐self value orientation

Exploring the prioritisation of biodiversity amongst small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise leaders with strong bigger‐than‐self value orientation

Recent advances in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling

Assessment of the sustainable use of chemicals on a level playing field

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