Optimizing Products in Line with Cradle-to-Cradle Principles: New Case Studies and Near-Future Prospects

1. The benefits of the Cradle to
Cradle Certified Products Program
SB London 2014
Roy Vercoulen
Vice President
© 2014 Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

2. Towards Circular Systems

3. Linear systems and their design-problems

4. Envision a World …
Where
waste is
food
Where all
materials
are healthy
and safe
That is
100%
cleanly,
renewably
powered
… Where consumption is a GOOD thing
... Where products and production-systems replenish natural systems

5. Cradle to Cradle
Cradle to Cradle
Cradle to Cradle is …
... a practice
… a design philosophy
… a quality standard

6. Cradle to Cradle® Principles
Waste equals food
Everything is a nutrient for
something else
Use current
solar income
Use only renewable energy sources
Celebrate diversity
Biodiversity
Cultural diversity
Conceptual diversity

7. Evolution of Cradle to Cradle
CertifiedTM
2002 2014 2016
Version 4.0
launch
Public
standard
revision
process
launched
Publication of
Cradle to
Cradle:
Remaking the
Way We Make
Things
2005 2010
2013
Institute
founded
2012
Version 3.0
launched
• Certification
Standards Board
created
• Additional
assessment body
trained
MBDC created
certification
program -
Version 1.0
2009
Version 2.1
launched

8. About the Institute
• A nonprofit organization
• Exclusive license to maintain and improve upon
the rigorous Cradle to Cradle standard
• Exclusive authority to certify materials and
products that meet these standards
• Generate demand among manufacturers, retailers,
government agencies and the public for Cradle to
Cradle Certified products

9. Certifications to Date
Total
• 2.500 estimated product count
• 325 active certifications
• 152 companies
In 2014
• 57 new certifications
• 21 new companies
Certification by Level
Basic
Bronze
Silver
Gold
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Total # Certifications Issued
2011 2012 2013
New Certification Re-Cert

10. The Cradle to Cradle Certified
Products Program

11. Categories based on principles
Select safe and healthy materials&
chemicals
Eliminate the concept of waste and
design for endless re-use
Power operations with abundant clean
& renewable energy
Protect and steward water as a
precious resource
Support & celebrate human and natural
systems

12. Multi Attribute Standard
Rewarding both INTENT and ACHIEVEMENT.
Evaluates a combination of product metrics and company metrics.

13. Materials and chemicals subject to rigorous
review to determine safety for intended and
likely unintended use

14. Trained and accredited to conduct
Material Health Assessments
and/or General Assessments
based on expertise
All are qualified to lead and
manage the certification
assessment, and submit final
assessment summary reports to
C2CPII
Accredited Assessment Bodies

15. 17 Accredited Assessment Bodies
Worldwide
ACCREDITED MATERIAL HEALTH
ASSESSORS for the Cradle to Cradle
Certified Products Program: Focused
on helping companies to optimize
materials, ingredients, products and
production processes
ACCREDITED GENERAL ASSESSORS
for the Cradle to Cradle Certified
Products Program, that help
companies to optimize their
materials, ingredients, products and
production processes

16. Designed for continuous
improvement

17. Continuous improvement
MATERIAL HEALTH Basic Bronze Silver Gold Platinum
No Banned List chemicals
Materials defined as biological or technical nutrient
100% "characterized" (all generic materials)
At least 75% of materials assessed by weight
Strategy developed to optimize X-assessed materials
At least 95% of materials assessed by weight
No CMR chemicals in a form that may result in
exposure
100% of materials assessed by weight
Formulation optimized (100% positive chemistry)
Meets Cradle to Cradle VOC emission standards
All process chemicals assessed and optimized

18. Continuous improvement
MATERIAL REUTILIZATION Basic Bronze Silver Gold Platinum
Defined the appropriate cycle (TN or BN)
Material (re)utilization score ≥ 35
Material (re)utilization score ≥ 50
Material (re)utilization score ≥ 65
Nutrient management strategy complete
Material (re)utilization score of 100
Product is actively being recovered and cycled

19. Continuous improvement
RENEWABLE ENERGY & CARBON MANAGEMENT Basic Bronze Silver Gold Platinum
Quantify purchased electricity and on-site emissions
Renewable energy and carbon management strategy
5% of purchased electricity is renewable or offset
5% of direct on-site emissions are offset
50% of purchased electricity is renewable or offset
50% of direct on-site emissions are offset
>100% of purchased electricity is renewable or offset
>100% of direct on-site emissions are offset
≥ 5% of embodied energy from Cradle to Gate is covered by
offsets or addressed + optimization strategy

20. Continuous improvement
WATER STEWARDSHIP Basic Bronze Silver Gold Platinum
No discharge violations within the last two years
Local- and business water issues characterized
Stated intent to mitigate identified problems
A facility-wide water audit is completed
Process chemicals in effluent are characterized and
assessed
or
Strategy for >20% of supply chain water issues
Process chemicals in effluent are optimized
or
Progress against Silver level strategy
Water leaving the facility = drinking water quality

21. Continuous improvement
SOCIAL FAIRNESS Basic Bronze Silver Gold Platinum
Conduct streamlined self-audit
Management plan to address identified issues
Social responsibility self-audit + positive impact strategy
Material specific audit/certification >25% of product
or
Supply chain issues investigated and strategy developed
or
Conduct an innovative social project
Two of the Silver-Level requirements are complete
All three Silver-Level requirements are complete
Third-party facility-level audit is complete

22. Our Scorecard

23. If we want system change we need
more GOOD (and ways to scale it)
Eco Effective
Eco Efficient
© 2010-2012 McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

24. C2C CertifiedTM products are
enablers for system change
Adapted from the Cradle to Cradle Design Protocol

25. Why? Because they were
designed for Eco-Effectiveness
• DEAL directly with the issue of maintaining resource
quality and productivity through many cycles of use, rather
than seeking to eliminate waste
• TRANSFORM products and material flows, so they form a
supportive relationship with ecological systems and future
economic growth
• ENABLE materials to maintain their status as resources
and accumulate intelligence over time

26. We wanted to better understand and
showcase the benefits of optimizing and
certifying products

27. We developed a framework to assess
the impact of product certification

29. Overview of key-findings
*Analysis based on 8 products where complete data-set was available
20% of Materials optimized
10% increase in ‘preferred’ product materials
0.09 tons of harmful toxins removed per ton of product
96% products designed for composting or recycling
10% increase in rapidly renewable or recyclable materials
Over 0.5 tons of waste was avoided per ton of product*
20% of Materials optimized
10% increase in ‘preferred product materials
0.09 tons of harmful toxins removed per ton of product*
4% increase in product water efficiency in company operations
Over 2,000 liters of water saved per ton of product
Over 30,000 liters of water saved per ton of product during entire use cycle
100% companies addressed appropriate social risk factors for their business
Almost 50% companies were audited for health and safety
6% increase in company revenues in the year following certification
Over 21% increase in sales performance in the year following certification vs. industry benchmarks
€ 4.17 Million cost savings from improved energy and water efficiency*

30. Measurable Benefits on multiple
levels

32. Measurable benefits on multiple
levels

34. Measurable benefits on multiple
levels

36. Measurable benefits on multiple
levels

38. Measurable benefits on multiple
levels

40. Questions?
roy@c2ccertified.org
http://www.c2ccertified.org/impact
Cradle to CradleSM is a service mark of MBDC.

41. Overview of key-findings
*Analysis based on 8 products where complete data-set was available
20% of Materials optimized
10% increase in ‘preferred’ product materials
0.09 tons of harmful toxins removed per ton of product
96% products designed for composting or recycling
10% increase in rapidly renewable or recyclable materials
Over 0.5 tons of waste was avoided per ton of product*
20% of Materials optimized
10% increase in ‘preferred product materials
0.09 tons of harmful toxins removed per ton of product*
4% increase in product water efficiency in company operations
Over 2,000 liters of water saved per ton of product
Over 30,000 liters of water saved per ton of product during entire use cycle
100% companies addressed appropriate social risk factors for their business
Almost 50% companies were audited for health and safety
6% increase in company revenues in the year following certification
Over 21% increase in sales performance in the year following certification vs. industry benchmarks
€ 4.17 Million cost savings from improved energy and water efficiency*