Hydro Polymers Limited

Hydro Polymers Limited, is the fourth largest polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturer in Europe. The company made sustainability a priority in 1996 after Greenpeace UK, launched a national campaign to “Buy PVC-Free”. The bad press resulted in lower consumer and retailer confidence for products made with PVC and Hydro Polymers asked The Natural Step for help.

With the backing of the English Environment Agency, TNS International initiated a full gap analysis asking the question “Does PVC have a place in a sustainable society?” The study engaged stakeholders in the manufacturing chain, end-users, regulators and NGO’s. We also tested PVC for violations against The Natural Step system conditions.

Using the whole systems, science based TNS Framework, we identified five major systemic challenges in order for PVC to become a sustainable material; energy emissions reductions towards carbon neutrality, manufacturing and end-of-life recycling, eliminating toxic by-products, substituting toxic additives, and securing an industry-wide commitment to a long term transformation process.

These challenges – none of which was technically inconveivable - set the bar for sustainability in the PVC industry. Hydro Polymers seized the opportunity to act on these challenges ahead of competitors and future regulations.

Through staff empowerment and education on sustainability; employees identified and implemented a number of internal initiatives, generating cost savings while making tangible progress on each of the first four challenges. Investing in green energy alone reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 12.5 per cent , reaching Kyoto Protocol targets for 2012 in the first 4 years. By 2005, the company had proven that the sustainability challenges could be met and there was company-wide commitment to transformation.

This summary was written Dermot Hikisch, a 2008 graduate of the Master’s in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability Program in April of 2008.