PVC pipes' contribution to sustainable development

PVC pipes can contribute directly to several of the Sustainable Development Goals and have an enabling effect on many others.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Global food production must become more efficient to feed a growing population and meet the Sustainable Development 2 of Zero Hunger. Clean water transported through PVC pipes contribute to better crop yields. In many parts of the world, PVC irrigation pipes already help turn arid areas into lush farmland. PVC pipes are also a chosen material for urban farming, which enables local, sustainable food production in the rapidly growing cities around the world.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. To achieve this aim, clean water, safe sanitation and sewer systems are needed. Safe, durable and cost-effective PVC pipes enable access to drinking water, basic sanitation and construction of sewer systems.

SDG 4: Quality Education

In developing countries, greater efficiencies in the handling of water can massively reduce the drudgery of girls and women. These might spend 6-7 hours a day fetching water of dubious quality, often gathered at great personal risk. Piped water solutions liberate girls and women to contribute to productive enterprises, such as engagement in community governance, traditional medicine and education (SDG 4).

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Girls and women are often responsible for collecting water in developing countries. Piped water solutions not only create a more readily available and safe source of drinking water. They are also a major contributor to achieve SDG 5: Gender Equality by freeing girls and women from the daily drudgery of water collection.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Billions of people around the world lack access to clean water and basic sanitation. PVC pipes can help achieve Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation by providing safe, durable and cost-effective piping systems for drinking water and sewer systems. PVC water and sewer pipes and fittings are leak-free, which increases water-use efficiency and greatly reduces contamination of soil and groundwater.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

PVC pipes not play a vital role in managing wastewater efficiently, preventing leaks to groundwater and the environment. Wastewater is an untapped potential of energy in form of biogas, heat and electricity. In fact, wastewater can produce five times more energy than is needed for its treatment.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Chosing materials with the lowest possible carbon footprint is integral to the Sustainable Development Goals. PVC pipes are primarily made from salt, a virtually inexhaustible resource. The high salt content means PVC pipes have a much lower environmental footprint than non-plastic materials. This can been confirmed by independent comparative LCA studies.

SDG 13: Climate Action

PVC pipes not only have a lower environmental footprint than non-plastic materials. PVC is an easily recyclable plastic that can be mechanically recycled several times without losing its technical properties. More than 8.1 million tonnes of PVC have been recycled in Europe through VinylPlus® since 2000. As 1 kg of recycled PVC saves 2 kg of CO2, the climate has been spared for more than 16.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Meeting Human Needs: The Case of PVC Pipes

Discover how PVC pipes and the European PVC industry contribute to sustainable development in this VinylPlus® booklet.

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Repurposing Business Around the Meeting of Human Needs

Dr. Mark Everard debates how consideration of the SDGs in the product life cycle of PVC can ultimately positively impact on global wellbeing. Published in the journal Environmental Scientist.

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PVC pipes in a circular economy

The PVC pipe industry is an integral part of the VinylPlus® programme and is working to increase the recycling of PVC pipes across the EU. Collection schemes have been introduced and recycling undertaken through the European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) with the support of Recovinyl.

Pipes a major uptake for recycled PVC

Around 30,000 tonnes of PVC pipes are recycled each year through the VinylPlus® programme. Since 2000, 820,000 tonnes of PVC pipes have been recycled. In addition, 45,000 tonnes of recycled PVC are used in new pipes each year, in compliance with REACH.

pvc pipes and fittings recycled through vinylplus since 2000

Circular economy of PVC pipes in Europe

Discover how the European PVC and PVC pipe industry is contributing in the animation from TEPPFA and VinylPlus.

VinylPlus

– a Commitment to sustainable development

VinylPlus is the Commitment to sustainable development by the European PVC industry. The programme establishes a long-term framework for the sustainable development of the industry by tackling a number of critical challenges, in the EU-27, the UK, Norway and Switzerland. The progress is monitored by an independent Monitoring Committee and documented by yearly Progress Reports that are independently audited and verified by third parties.

Discover the VinylPlus 2030 Commitment for PVC pipes

Since 2013 VinylPlus® has been a member of the UN's Green Industry Platform. VinylPlus® is registered as a SMART partnership on the UN Partnerships for SDGs platform and listed as a Good Practice on the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. VinylPlus has committed to recycled at least 900.000 tonnes of PVC/year into new products by 2025 as part of the European Commission's Circular Plastics Alliance.

Praise for VinylPlus® comes from a wide range of stakeholders, including the European-Commission and the UN.

"We see the VinylPlus initiative as the forerunner and role model for a global standard of the industry"

Christophe Yvetot, UNIDO Representative to the European Union

Sustainable development