To understand better what the Net Zero Plastic To Nature certification means, let’s talk about South Pole, plastic footprint, concrete step taken and all what Vinventions followed to be awarded a South pole plastic action label.

Vinventions’ background

Vinventions has been in a journey towards sustainability since the creation of Nomacorc and has always placed sustainability at the heart of his vision and product development to help preserve our planet. One of the major challenges linked to plastic is about recycling and managing end-of-life. In 2021, Vinventions launched the Nomacorc Blue Line range of closures as a first step into circular economy. This range of closures was designed to use recycled material and to be fully recyclable. In the meantime, the end-of-life management of the closures was also a point Vinventions wanted to address, and this is how started a collaboration with South Pole

What are the South Pole’s plastic actions labels?

South Pole is a leading project developer, recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Social Enterprise, who help companies, government, and organization to develop and implement comprehensive climate actions to reduce their impact on climate change. The South Pole Plastic action labels, such as the Net Zero Plastic to Nature label, help companies and organization demonstrate their commitment to limiting plastic pollutions and increasing plastic’s circularity. To achieve the Net Zero Plastic to Nature for the Blue line in 2022, Vinventions has followed South Pole requirements which include the assessment of the Nomacorc Blue Line Plastic Footprint and the financing of regional compensation projects identified by South Pole.

What are the concrete actions taken by Vinventions?

In order to obtain the Net Zero Plastic to Nature for the Nomacorc Blue Line ranges of closures, Vinventions has taken 3 steps:

What is a Plastic Footprint?

The Plastic Footprint is an assessment performed by South Pole in a transparent way which closely follow the guidelines for Corporate Plastic Stewardship from the 3R Initiative and the Plastic Leak Project Methodological Guidelines. A plastic footprint allows to understand which type and amount of plastic is used at a company or a product level, and their end-of-life scenarios in the countries where these plastics become waste. This means that a plastic footprint give an insight about how the plastic wastes are managed which includes an assessment of the amount of well-managed plastic wastes and the amount of mismanaged plastic wastes (at risk to enter into the environment).

What are the 2022 Nomacorc Blue Line Plastic Footprint Results?

The total Plastic Footprint estimate of the Nomacorc Blue Line in 2022 is 323 tons of plastic which includes the Nomacorc Blue Line closures themselves, secondary packaging (eg. Bags used to enclose the closures) and tertiary packaging (e.g. pallets stretch films). Plastic leakage was calculated using waste management scientific data from PLASTEAX to assess the end-of-life scenarios. The results shown that 91 % of the plastic wastes are well-managed, and 9% are considered at risk to enter into the environment.

What are the mitigations activities

To address the 9% of mismanaged waste footprint, South Pole has identified in France Mr & Mme Recyclage (Mr. and Mrs. Recycling), located in France, with whom Vinventions partnered to finance a network of associations acting on the Mediterranean coast by collecting and recycling plastics waste. M. & Mme Recyclage is a French independent engineering office providing comprehensive recycling schemes and formations about waste management. The funds from Vinventions will help 4 associations – Milvi, Clean My Calanques, 1 déchet par jour, Sauvage Méditerranée – to enhance their actions and leverage their impact regarding they activity of collecting and recycling plastic waste on the Mediterranean coast.

The Nomacorc Blue Line Zero Plastic to Nature label

To achieve the Net Zero Plastic to Nature Label for our Nomacorc Blue Line Range of Closures in 2022, Vinventions has followed several requirements :

• Measure the Nomacorc Blue Line’s plastic footprint, including regional recycling and waste management rates
• Reduce the Nomacorc Blue Line’s plastic footprint by committing on collecting and recycling initiatives such as for example the Vinventions Private Collection and Recycling Programs
• Compensate the regional mismanaged plastic waste by financing mitigation activities locally to bring an additional impact.

The Net Zero Plastic To Nature label obtained for the Nomacorc Blue Line in 2022 demonstrates that the total volume of plastic used for this product line is collected, resulting in net zero plastic leakage into the natural environment. This is demonstrated by proof of waste collection being equivalent to the total weight of the company’s plastic waste generation for this closure line. Of the total 323 tons of plastic used, 294 tons are managed by the local waste management systems and ends in appropriate end-of-life scenarios. By financing mitigation activities to covers the remaining 29 tons mismanaged, Vinventions obtained in 2022 the Net Zero Plastic To Nature label.

Want to get more information? Read the Vinventions’ label explenatory statement delivered by South Pole for the Net Zero Plastic To Nature label 2022.