Voluntary commitments

It is briefly reported that the European Commission will issue a White Paper on PVC within the next couple of months. The Paper will probably be a mix of both legislation and voluntary commitments. A Green Paper on PVC was adopted by the EC in July 2000. This raised six issues to be addressed substitution, production process, cadmium stabilisers, lead stabilisers, phthalates and waste management. 

The fundamental question is should mercury cellrooms for the production of chlorine and caustic soda be phased out in the near future, or should the industry be allowed - on the basis of its existing voluntary commitment - to move away from this obsolescent technology as it reaches the end of its economic life over the next 20-25 years ... 

Euro Chlor Member Companies (1999) Voluntary Commitments by each Western European Chlor-Alkali Producer (Mercury Cells). Presented to OSPAR as OSPAR Document WOCAI 99/5/18 (Madrid, 1999). 

Federal Institute for Occupational Health and safety/Saxony-Anhalt Voluntary commitments by the associations of the chemical industry, status 15.07.01... 

The political requirement within Europe, that the industry should be responsible for the assessment of the 30,000 substances currently on the market and their applications is in line with the voluntary commitment of responsible care by the chemicals industry. Implementation of this -commitment has so far failed because many users of chemical products have not complied with it. The REACH system proposed by the EU Commission would create a regulative framework for structuring responsibility and information flow along the supply chain, in a binding marmer for the first time. The commercial institutions should respond to this state initiative. 

Because of this inaction, as of 2002 the fuel economy of the average vehicle on American roads was at its lowest level in two decades and likely to get worse.43 The fuel economy laws have a loophole allowing suvs and light trucks to average 20.7 mpg, 25 percent lower than the standard for new cars. This has allowed overall vehicle efficiency to drop as the suv share of new vehicle sales has grown. Ford, for instance, has backed off a voluntary commitment to increase suv fuel efficiency, and, in fact, its 2003 model year suvs will be less fuel efficient than those of the previous year.44 Moreover, companies known for fuel efficiency, such as Honda and Toyota, both of which have introduced hybrid vehicles into the U.S. market, have also introduced gas-guzzling suvs. 

PVC recycling and sustainability issues, i.e., the Voluntary Commitment (275) are covered in Section 7. 

Under the Voluntary Commitment (Section 7) there is an agreement to phase out lead stabilisers (159) and suitable alternatives are being introduced. 

This report sets out the future objectives of the Vinyl 2010 - Voluntary Commitment of the PVC Industry. Principles and actions covering the period 2000-2010 apply to the following PVC manufacture, Additives-plasticisers and stabilisers waste management social progress and dialogue management, monitoring and financial scheme. 

The reasons why incineration is viewed as an attractive recovery option are outlined and environmental challenges facing the incineration industry are considered. The overall European situation with regard to residue generation and processing costs is discussed and the progress being made towards the voluntary commitment of the PVC industry in relation to municipal solid waste incineration and other recovery processes. 15 refs. 

I HI VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT -STABILISER CHANGES Rosenthal M ESPA... 

This presentation covers various aspects relating to stabilisers. These include the structure and mission of the ESPA, the EC Green Paper on stabilisers published on 27th July 2000 and the resolution of the EU Parliament relating to lead and cadmium stabilisers adopted on 3rd April 2001, current EU legislative status of cadmium and lead, key milestones of the PVC Industry Voluntary Commitment relating to stabilisers, scenario of lead replacement in Western Europe, alternatives to lead, plastics additives with approval for direct food contact, tin stabilisers for PVC and issues concerning zinc. EUROPEAN COMMISSION... 

In the frame of Vinyl 2010 [26] the PVC Industry in the European Union made a number of voluntary commitments, regarding the control of emissions from VCM-producing plant, the phasing out of cadmium (both already realized) and lead-based stabilizers (to be completed by 2015) and the voluntary recycling of 200 000 tonnes per year by 2010. Some projects allow for mechanical recycling (Solvay s Vinyloop, at Ferrara), but feedstock recycling is also being considered [26]. 

Improved Company Image and Community Relations The USEPA publishes details of companies waste and pollution prevention efforts through the Toxic Release Inventory. With a society aware of the environmental hazards associated with the all types of waste, it becomes increasingly difficult for big polluters to maintain an ongoing relationship with the community. The USEPA also publicly recognizes companies that make voluntary commitments to P2, so as to enhance their image in the community. 

Some industry associations have already pro-actively taken measures to phase out NPE, e.g., the European detergent industry (AISE [100]) by a voluntary commitment. 

From the beginning, the history of fabric softeners has been driven by innovation, by the producers voluntary commitment to propose more efficient or convenient products delivering additional benefits, by technical changes in the production processes and appliance technologies, and also by legal constraints. 

Finally, to the extent that corporate targets or baselines are measured from specific years, companies become invested in allocation methodologies or future targets that include these years. For example, in describing its voluntary commitment of a 5% reduction below 2000 levels, the electric power company Cinergy notes ... 

As a final note on PVC, it is worth mentioning Vinyl 2010, which is an EU voluntary commitment study on the PVC industry initiated in 2001 for the following 10 years, including mid-term revisions of targets in 2005 and definition of new objectives in 2010. The plan includes for full replacement of lead stabilisers by 2015, in addition to the replacement of cadmium stabilisers by March 2001 [27, 30]. Also in Vinyl 2010, the following values are put forward for maximum permissible VCM concentrations in the final PVC products ... 

The net result of these various considerations is that neurobehaviour and reproductive ability are the major factors in the health debate at present, with 40 pg/dl looking increasingly likely as the blood lead limit towards which legislation will gravitate. In practice fhis figure has already been anticipated by industry. In North America, the Lead Industries Association and Battery Council International laimched a voluntary commitment in 1997 under which the medical removal level will be reduced to 40 pg/dl (with a return to work below 35 Jig/dl) by 2001. In Europe, several major lead producers have pursued internal programmes to reduce the blood lead levels of all their employees to less than 40 pg/dl by 2000 or thereabouts. These initiatives are not unique, so it is to be hoped that the likely downward trend in legal limits will not cause the industry too many problems. 

In facL PVC recycling is much healthier in Europe than in North America. In Europe, Vinyl 2020 is a ten-year plan to put into action the Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry to achieve sustainability throughout the life cycle of PVC. Its two main foci are reduction in use of lead stabilizers and increase in recycling. The organization s 2005 progress report summarizes accomplishments during 2004. The European PVC Window... 

Members of the European Stabiliser Producers Association (ESPA) have made a voluntary commitment to phase out all lead stabilisers in Europe by 2015. Since lead is the commonest type in use today, this is a considerable commitment. There is expected to be a 50% reduction in lead stabiliser usage between 2001 and 2010. It is possible that individual national regulatory authorities will press for a more rapid elimination of lead from specific end products. Cadmium was phased out some time ago. 

ECVM, EVPC, ESPA, Voluntary Commitment of the PVC Industry, Progress Report 2001, March 23, 2001... 

Public and voluntary commitment. The "Safe Behavior Promise Card" described in Chapter 10 derives its power to influence from the commitment and consistency principle. When people sign their name to a promise card they commit to behaving in a certain way Then, ey act in a way that is consistent with their commitment. 

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