At the start of 2023, Achilles USA joined the Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC). This trade organization connects companies across the vinyl value chain, including other compounders, PVC resin manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, additive suppliers, and vinyl product retailers. The VSC’s goal is to advance sustainable performance across the industry in three key areas – Resource Efficiency, Emissions, and People & Community. Some of the tasks Achilles has worked on with the VSC so far include the following:
Pilot programs to improve the collection of post-consumer vinyl materials for recycling (left picture)
Developing tools to evaluate vinyl products based on sustainability criteria (hazardous ingredients, carbon footprint, recyclability, etc.)
Creating strategies for ethical sourcing of raw materials that are both safe to produce and safe to use in finished vinyl products
Achilles is now a +Vantage Vinyl verified company. In June, Achilles USA accomplished another significant step forward in its sustainability journey by achieving silver status in the +Vantage Vinyl™ program. This program measures a company’s commitment to sustainability through a third-party verification process. Achilles met the program’s environmental, social, and governance criteria and joined the ranks of 25 other Vantage Vinyl™ Verified Sustainability Leaders.
Moving forward, we want to continue to improve the sustainability of our operations here in Everett, and everyone has a role to play. Meeting production efficiency goals, reducing claims and rejections, processing more buyback/used compounds, maintaining and upgrading equipment, optimizing logistics, etc., all contribute to reducing our carbon footprint. Thank you all for your help getting us this far on the long journey of advancing sustainability!
Credit: Wes Wangerin, Engineer at Achilles USA.