When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental Ambitions

1www.pvc.dk | +45 3330 8630 | pvc@pvc.dk
When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental
Ambitions
Copenhagen Chemicals Summit 2016

We all have different
roles to play”
— Henrik Søren Larsen, Danish EPA

• We represent the European PVC industry in Denmark
• Founded in 1995
• Shares office with Danish Plastics Federation
• Financed by Danish member companies and the
European PVC industry
• We are the headquarters of the PVCMed Alliance,
which represents the PVC medical value chain
• General Manager has a seat in the Communications
Working Group of VinylPlus, the European PVC
industry’s sustainability programme
Who we are
PVC Information Council Denmark

From self-sufficiency to partnerships
In the “good” old days
• Industry self-sufficient
• Desired as little interference with the outside world as
possible
• Closeness and monologue
• Completely and solely profit driven

A new path.

Higher environmental standards
Consumer demands
Demands for transparency & communication
Triple bottom line
Industry pushed away from isolation
Outside pressure forces industry to change

PVC – a case in point
On one hand, PVC is
omnipresent and fulfills
many requirements in
modern life
PVC is the most used
plastic in building &
construction and healthcare
On the other hand, PVC is
controversial material that
has been attacked by NGOs
for many years
Especially the use of
phthalates and heavy
metals have been criticised

Examples of partnerships
Sustainability summit at Carlsberg
Discussion Performance Music
The PVC industry hosts sustainability summit with NGOs, musicians, politicians, philosophers,
academics, artists etc.

Danish EPA visits PVC manufacturer
Discussion Process Products
The PVC industry and environmental authorities visit small size PVC converter in Jutland to
discuss substitution of dangerous chemicals

Roadtrip and competition for design students
Material knowledge Plant visit Exhibition
The PVC industry arranges roadtrip to 3 PVC manufacturers for Danish design students
with subsequent conference and design competition

The meaning of plastics
Discussion Carsten Thau Claus Carstensen
PVC Information Council Denmark initiates discussion on the meaning
of plastics with prominent Danish intellectuals

Urban agriculture with PVC building waste
Architect Waste Smart reuse
PVC Information Council Denmark initiates project with Danish architects to reuse
PVC building waste in urban agriculture

Preservation of art objects in plastics
Art Partners Book
PVC Information Council Denmark partners with National Gallery, National Museum of Denmark, DTU,
conservators, artists, designers and others

Collection and recycling of PVC medical waste
Waste Separation Outreach
PVC Information Council Denmark partners with Danish hospital to
collect and test PVC medical waste for recycling project

Today’s case story
Replacement of DEHP in medical devices

The DEHP issue
• 40% of all disposable medical devices are made from
PVC
• Most PVC medical devices are soft (tubing, oxygen
masks, blood bags, urine bags etc.)
• For PVC to be soft, a plasticiser is needed
• For more than 50 years, DEHP has been the most
used plasticiser
• DEHP has been under scrutiny by authorities for many
years
• Though alternatives have been developed, DEHP
replacement has been slow

A partnership
takes form

The PVC industry always
claims that alternatives to DEHP
exist. But why is DEHP replacement
so slow then?
It’s very expensive to
substitute chemicals and the
industry wants to be 100% sure that
the EPA doesn’t ban the alternatives
once substitution has taken place
Let’s evaluate the
alternatives and see if we
can speed up the
replacement process

A project group is formed
The partners
Henrik G. Jensen
Danish Health &
Medicines Authority
Shima Dobel
Danish EPA
Ole Grøndahl Hansen
PVC Information Council DK &
PVCMed Alliance
Brian Svend Nielsen
DHI

Chemical giants provides data

“Overall, the report identified 10 potential
Alternatives to DEHP in medical devices.
The alternatives have been studied for their inherent
environmental and health properties.
Most of the considered alternatives show a better
toxicological profile than DEHP, and are thus preferable
to DEHP.
However, data are lacking for a few of the alternatives
before a toxicological assessment can be carried out”
EPA – press release 27 March 2014
A report is published

International conference arranged
Co-arranged by PVC Information Council DK (PVCMed
Alliance), Danish EPA, Danish Health and Medicines
Authority
80 participants from industry, NGOs, regions, authorities,
members of European Parliament etc.

Results are communicated
Videos LinkedIn
PVC Information Council Denmark initiates project with Danish architects to reuse
PVC building waste in urban agriculture
Twitter

Videos Press releases Op-eds in trade
journals
Social Media
Dissemination of the results

How is it going with DEHP replacement?

When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental Ambitions

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Destaque

Destaque (19)

Semelhante a When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental Ambitions

Semelhante a When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental Ambitions (20)

Último

Último (20)

When Chemical Giants Meet Danish Environmental Ambitions

Notas do Editor