FTTH COUNCIL EUROPE CONFERENCE 2009
FTTH and Cradle to Cradle
Michael Braungart
Feburary 12th, 2009

FTTH COUNCIL EUROPE CONFERENCE 2009 IN COPENHAGEN

FIBER-TO-THE-HOME (FTTH) MISSION
A way to enhance the quality of life and to contribute to the
environment with better methods and competitiveness

COMPARISON BETWEEN COPPER WIRE AND OPTIC FIBRE IN
TELECOMMUNICATION
Copper Optical Fiber
Speed 10 – 20 gbps 30 – 60 gbps
Bandwidths Low High
Data loss High Low
Cost High Low
Weight
Heavy (20 tonnes) Light (7 kg)
(to cover 700km of telecommunication)
Source: Cnet News

THE PRODUCTION OF 1t OF COPPER CAUSES 600t OF WASTE

COPPER: FAR MORE RARE THAN OIL
RESERVES LEFT
• for about 50 years
• 28% of copper extracted by
humanity until now considered
definitively lost
RE-CYCLING/ RE-USE
• Only 25% of copper recycled
20 years after production
• Decreasing tendency

URBAN MINING: HIGH COPPER CONTENT IN URBAN GROUNDS

PRECIOUS SLAG FROM WASTE INCINERATION
• Incineration slag contains 13,000 tonnes/a of copper (average Germany)
• It is worth of $ 45 million per year (Price rate 2009)

CHROMATOGRAM FOR CHILDREN‘S TOY
SOURCE: Hamburger Umweltinstitut e.V.

HEAVY METALS IN TOYS
Hamburger Umwelt Institute

CHROMATOGRAM OCEAN BABY

CRADLE TO GRAVE DESIGN PARADIGM

PVC – CRADLE TO GRAVE LIFE SPAN
Dioxin Off-gas

ALBATROSSES ON THE ISLAND
OF MIDWAY, CENTRAL
PACIFIC

The world will not evolve pass its
current state of crisis by using the same
thinking that created the situation.
- Albert Einstein

Eco-Efficiency
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic

ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS

ARE WE TOO MANY?
“We came up with the idea that... all
these dangers are caused by human
intervention... The real enemy, then, is
humanity itself.“
-The First Global Revolution
(1991). Club of Rome

UNWELCOME TO THE PLANET?

ARE THEY TOO MANY ?

THE BIOMASS OF ANTS IS FOUR TIMES GREATER THAN THAT OF HUMANS

CRADLE TO GRAVE: TARGET IS ZERO
REDUCTION,
AVOIDANCE,
MINIMIZATION,
PREVENTION.
ECO-EFFICIENCY

CRADLE TO CRADLE : THE GOAL IS QUALITY
ECO-EFFECTIVENESS
DEFINE,
INCREASE,
SUPPORT,
OPTIMIZE
ECO-EFFICIENCY

PROGRESS OF QUALITY FROM CRADLE TO CRADLE WITH TIME
ECO-EFFECTIVENESS
WHERE
CLIENTS AND
SUPPLIERS
REGARD
THEMSELVES AS
PARTNERS,
AIMING FOR THE
HIGHEST
QUALITIES

CRADLE TO CRADLE DESIGN PARADIGM
• WASTE EQUALS FOOD
(NUTRIENTS ARE NUTRIENTS)
• USE CURRENT SOLAR INCOME
• CELEBRATE DIVERSITY

TOWARDS INTELLIGENT DESIGN: TRIPLE TOP LINE THINKING

Biological Technical
Metabolism Metabolism

Biological
Nutrient

CLIMATEX® LIFECYCLE™ : BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT
FABRIC PRODUCTION DISPOSAL AND TRIMMINGS
FABRIC SALE AND USE
MULCH AND COMPOST
RESOURCE GROWTH

TRIGEMA BIODEGRADABLE T-SHIRT
ABWASSERAUFBEREITUNG IN ENTWICKLUNGSLÄNDERN
MANUFACTURE BIODEGRADE
NEW DIMENSIONS OF
QUALITY FOR APPAREL
GOODS
RECOLLECTION COMPOST
- User’s Health
COTTON - Safe for the Environment

Technical
Nutrient

SHAW CARPETS: TECHNICAL NUTRIENT
CARPET MANUFACTURE CARPET SALE AND USE RECOVERY AND GRINDING
FIBER PRODUCTION REPOLYMERIZATION NYLON 6

MIRRA CHAIR- HERMAN MILLER: TECHNICAL NUTRIENT
PRODUCTION PURCHASE AND USE TAKE-BACK
TAKEBACK
REPOLYMERIZATION DISASSEMBLY

RETURNITY: THE FABRIC OF MANY LIVES

DESSO: CREATING MATERIAL FLOWS FOR CARPETS

FROM A WASTE SERVICES PROVIDER TO RAW MATERIALS SUPPLIER
“For us Cradle to Cradle is not a new invention, it is more a
recognition of existing activities and re-discovering what
our business is really about!”
Ruud Sondag – CEO Van Gansewinkel Groep

DSM AT NUTEC 2009 - FROM ECO-EFFICIENCY TO ECO-EFFECTIVENESS
CRADLE TO CRADLESM
&
DSM ENIGINEERING
PLASTICS MATERILAS
PLATFORM
Safe, beneficail materials
adding value in the
biological or technical
cycle, bringing quality to
life.

INTELLIGENT TAKEBACK SYSTEMES – A NEED FOR COMMUNICATION
STRUCTURES
• Materialnetworking (eg. Steelcase)
• Marking Substances (eg. DSD)
• Return-Guarantee Booklets
• Materials - Leasing
• RFID Chips
Return-Guarantee Booklet for Backhausen fibres

HOUSES LIKE TREES,
CITIES LIKE FORESTS

WILLIAM MCDONOUGH: HOUSES LIKE TREES, CITIES LIKE FORESTS
BUILDINGS LIKE TREES
FORD ROUGE CENTER
ADAM JOSEPH SMITH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES OBERLIN, OH

HEALTHY PACKAGING FOR HUMAN BEINGS
BUILDING: BIONORICA NEUMARKT

THE C2C CONCEPT APPLIED TO ISLANDS IN THE NORTHSEA REGIONS
•An international project for
innovation and C2C-solutions for
water, energy and materials
•In cooperation between
governments, island communities,
research centers, knowledge
institutions and companies

THE NETHERLANDS: A CRADLE TO CRADLE HOTSPOT

CRADLE TO CRADLE IN TAIWAN AND CHINA

CRADLE TO CRADLE – AN INNOVATION PLATTFORM

BIG BENEFICIAL FOOTPRINT
CRADLE TO CRADLE: BENEFICIAL ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
A

EPEA INTERNATIONALE
UMWELTFORSCHUNG GMBH
TROSTBRÜCKE 4
D-20457 HAMBURG
GERMANY
T. +49 40 43 13 49 0
F. +49 40 43 13 49 49
www.epea.com