Updated REACH Restrictions Roadmap Brings Regulatory Clarity for PVC in Europe

The European Commission’s 2026 Roadmap replaces the broad "PVC and its additives” entry with targeted follow-up on specific substance groups.

On 31 August 2026, the European Commission published an updated Restrictions Roadmap. The former entry “PVC and its additives” has been replaced by “Follow up from the investigation report on PVC and its additives.”

The revised entry no longer appears to identify PVC as a polymer or PVC additives as a category for a broad planned restriction. Instead, EU follow-up currently seems to focus on two specific substance groups:

• C4–C6 ortho-phthalates, for which France has submitted a proposal for harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) under the CLP Regulation.
• Organotin substances, which are subject to an ECHA scoping study, with the Roadmap foreseeing work on occupational exposure limits.

VinylPlus had previously called for the broad PVC entry to be removed, arguing that regulatory action should be evidence-based, proportionate and focused on substances for which a specific regulatory need has been demonstrated.

“The revised Roadmap is an important step towards greater regulatory clarity for PVC in Europe. It marks a significant shift from the broad approach taken in 2022 towards targeted follow-up on specific substances where a regulatory need has been identified. This is an important milestone on the journey towards more evidence-based, proportionate and predictable regulatory planning. VinylPlus will continue to engage with the European Commission as the process evolves and support the Commission’s objectives on chemicals safety, circularity and industrial resilience,” says Charlotte Röber, Managing Director of VinylPlus.

New Resources Available

To help companies across the PVC value chain, downstream users, trade associations, and other stakeholders understand what the updated Roadmap means in practice, VinylPlus has developed a set of supporting materials:

• A comprehensive Q&A on PVC and the REACH Restrictions Roadmap
• A slide deck explaining the regulatory developments and current EU follow-up
• A one-pager

The materials, including references, are available at vinylplus.eu/restrictions-roadmap.