What do life cycle studies show about vinyl?
Since the late 1980s, at least 26 life cycle evaluations have been published on vinyl building products, many of them comparing vinyl products to similar products made of other materials. In some cases vinyl has a lighter impact on the environment, in others, it doesn’t. However, vinyl products generally have been found to perform favorably in terms of energy efficiency, thermal-insulating value, low contribution to greenhouse gases and product durability, which means using fewer resources. The Natural Step (TNS), a highly regarded international organization that uses a science-based, systems framework to help organizations and communities understand and move towards sustainability, evaluated vinyl from its salt and natural gas beginnings through to finished products in the waste stream. In a cover letter accompanying the report, Jonathon Porritt, TNS Chairman, wrote, “It serves little purpose arguing for the elimination of PVC without first assessing the degree to which any substitute
