The world was changing more rapidly than ever and globalisation was continuing, resulting in narrower gaps of power between the developing and emerging countries, which were driven by politics and economics, said vinyl industry expert Dr Jason Leadbitter, who was speaking at the Southern African Vinyl Association’s (Sava’s) annual general meeting last month.
“With so many changes, there are still societal developments – known as megatrends – that are likely to affect the future. There are several major categories that will change the way people live and the way in which we conduct science and technology. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) will play an important role in these megatrend markets,” explained Leadbitter.
PVC will play a role in responding to mega- trends such as population growth, greater disposable income worldwide and rising energy costs.

“It is expected that there will be nine-billion people by 2050 and with this increase, issues of popu- lation growth will need to be resolved through using efficient materials to accommodate this growth.

As the global population increases, so will the pressure on natural resources. Instead of seven-billion people bidding for resources to maintain their daily living, there will then be nine-billion people. Meeting society’s needs will, therefore, be better met if people start using resource-efficient materials, which is precisely what PVC can offer,” he explains.
With extensive research and development in the vinyl industry and manufacturers’ extensive experience of the product, vinyl products currently on the market are completely different from what was produced ten years ago, says Sava CEO Delani Bezuidenhout.
“In addition, sustainable development in the vinyl sector has progressed in leaps and bounds through low-energy consumption in manufacturing, new processing methods, the economical use of variable resources, the use of improved formulas, with safe additives, and years of successfully recycling used products made of vinyl.”
The recycling of materials is of great importance. The continual rise in energy costs will result in a greater need for the use of energy efficient and low-cost energy materials, stressed Leadbitter. “There are some key factors that are driving this change, including the race towards alternative energy sources to offset climate change. In response to these changes, PVC has shown that it is a commodity that displays the lowest carbon dioxide emissions. This is important because it uses less energy than some mate- rials, such as steel,” said Leadbitter.
In addition to the rising energy costs, there needed to be an awareness that, in future, there would possibly be greater disposal income world- wide and PVC had an important role to play in this regard, he added. “Despite the current global recession, there is likely to be greater disposal income, yielding higher living standards and fuelling increases in consumer products, mobility and communications. “PVC plays a pivotal role in communications and electrical applications and there is likely to be significant growth in countries, such as in Africa, where the current growth in PVC per capita is relatively low.”
The effects that megatrends would have on society would change the way in which people used materials for day-to-day living. It would become more obvious that resource-efficient materials who are likely to become a priority in a growing society, compared with those that are not, and PVC was a material where resource efficiency was yet to be fully appreciated, concluded Leadbitter.