Guiding Principles

+Vantage Vinyl™’s Guiding Principles set the direction and parameters for what companies strive to achieve over time and are organized within five pillars that serve as the guideposts for companies on their journey of continuous improvement. The Guiding Principles support improved industry performance across the three material impact categories of resource efficiency, emissions, and people & community.

Companies applying for +Vantage Vinyl verification are measured for compliance to the principles and informed of their relative performance versus their peers. The aggregate compliance of all +Vantage Vinyl verified companies is reported on an annual basis. In this way, the vinyl industry can measure and report on its progress in improving on the most important areas of sustainability performance.

7.2.1
Use of Environmental and Safety Management Systems and Operational Advanced Practices that Minimize Risk to Employees.
  • Intent:

    Documented evidence of implementing best manufacturing practices.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.2.2
Lead, Hexavalent Chromium, and Cadmium as Added Ingredients in Vinyl Components are Not Used.
  • Intent:

    Improve production of PVC products.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.2.3
Safely employ additives based on current data and scientific assessment methodologies.
  • Intent:

    Safe manufacture and use of PVC products.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.2.4
Provide open disclosure of additives in PVC products.
  • Intent:

    Disclose information on additives used in PVC products to stakeholders.

    Non Mandatory
7.2.5
Manufacture safe and user-friendly products and consider potential effects throughout the product life cycle.
  • Intent:

    Manufacturing of safe products.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.2.6
Manufacture or Use VCM that Relies on the Use of Advanced Technologies.
  • Intent:

    Improve production process of PVC products.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.2.7
Sustainability Portfolio Analysis.
  • Intent:

    Sustainably manufacture PVC products.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.3.1
Provide company operational performance metrics in annual survey for use in industry reporting.
  • Intent:

    Collect data to measure progress against baseline.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.3.2
Demonstrate a commitment to improving the energy and greenhouse gas emission profile of PVC products
  • Intent:

    Reduce end-product embodied carbon.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.4.1
Reduce releases to the environment
  • Intent:

    Reduce emissions to water, air, and soil.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.4.2
Use land and other natural resources prudently to protect biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Intent:

    To prevent unintended product releases to the environment and to foster biodiversity within the ecosystem.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.4.3
Implement water reuse and conservation practices to reduce the depletion of water resources and thereby support the availability of clean water
  • Intent:

    Water conservation.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.4.4
Establish resource conservation and material efficiency when setting business strategy objectives and goals
  • Intent:

    Integrate resource conservation and efficiency in business planning.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.4.5
Support Watershed Management Practices
  • Intent:

    Protect watershed health.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

4.5.6
Employ responsible sourcing practices that encourage supplier reductions in environmental impacts and minimal use of natural resources with positive lifecycle implications
  • Intent:

    Responsible sourcing practices

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Emissions

7.5.1
Provide ready and easy-to-understand access to relevant information about the company’s compensation, benefits, recognition and incentive opportunities that meet the changing needs of employees.
  • Intent:

    Transparent communications with employees regarding employment and benefits.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.2
Create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and has equal opportunity to contribute.
  • Intent:

    Create a welcoming and inclusive work environment.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.3
Subscribe to corporate governance policies that are opposed to discrimination, child labor, bribery and corruption, human trafficking, forced labor, or use of conflict minerals.
  • Intent:

    No discrimination or exploitation of any population segment.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.4
Treat suppliers, customers, and business partners fairly and ethically through honest and mutually beneficial dealings.
  • Intent:

    Transparent and ethical business practices.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.5
Promote open and fair competition throughout industry and in dealing with other business entities, regulators, and government officials. This includes compliance with competition and antitrust laws.
  • Intent:

    Promote open and fair competition.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.6
Establish sustainability as a criterion in identifying research and development and innovation projects
  • Intent:

    Include sustainability as a criterion when evaluating R&D projects or capital projects.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.7
Work within the industry to find solutions, create pilot programs, identify opportunities, and implement them for sustainability-driven advances and innovation.
7.5.8
Communicate company sustainability initiatives
  • Intent:

    Transparency within sustainability initiatives.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.9
Contribute to Community Outreach Where Companies Operate.
  • Intent:

    Benefiting your community through outreach, education, and engagement.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.10
Engage external stakeholders in development of company sustainability programs
  • Intent:

    Develop a feedback loop that considers external stakeholder input in company sustainability programs.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.5.11
Promote industry and company's vinyl sustainability work
  • Intent:

    Promote the advancement of the vinyl sustainability programming.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    People & Community

7.6.1
Minimize waste.
  • Intent:

    Reduce managed volumes that are landfilled. Reduce carbon footprint through recycled products.

    Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Resource Efficiency

7.6.2
Reuse, recycling and recovery in accordance with sustainable materials management principles.
  • Intent:

    Resource efficiency through reuse and recovery practices during production and incorporation of recycled content and recycling programs.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Resource Efficiency

7.6.3
Responsibly Recycle Products that Contain Regulated Additives.
  • Intent:

    Safe use and conversion of recycled materials into the company’s own products.

    Non Mandatory
  • Impact Category:

    Resource Efficiency

Vantage Vinyl
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