Social impacts assessment of PVC resin production process via joint social life cycle analysis and theory of change

This study assesses the social impacts of a suspension polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production plant using a hybrid methodology combining social life cycle analysis and the theory of change, two locations were considered (Colombia and Belgium). The methodology was based on UNEP/SETAC guidelines, using data from corporate and sectoral reports supplemented with data from national and international governmental and non-governmental databases. The theory of change serves as the base for indicator selection. Additionally, a sensibility analysis was conducted to observe how the process performance is affected when performance reference points (PRPs) and the functional unit are varied. The analysis revealed a higher social performance score for the plant located in Belgium; however, both locations showed positive performance. The studied indicators showed that the plants perform above compliance (above 0.5) regarding workers, partly due to current regulations in both countries. However, aspects associated with communities and society showed regular performance due to negative impacts associated with the use of natural resources. Furthermore, a sensibility analysis was conducted by varying performance reference points and the functional unit from 418,000 to 500,000 tons per year. The first analysis showed that when comparing process performance to development goal-based targets, process performance (for the Colombian plant) decreases by 24% but remains close to compliance (0.44). The indicators for local communities are the most affected with a decrease of up to 60%. Additionally, limitations over data availability and consistency were detected. Lastly, an increase in process flow (functional unit) benefits the process’s social impact due to an increase in the plant’s workforce.