Cradle to Cradle

Mr BILLINGTON

Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is a Biomimetics approach to designing products which uses nature to solve complex problems. The term is a play on the popular phrase 'Cradle to Grave' but is a sustainable approach that considers the future. In this model all nutrients used to produce a product fall into two main areas; Biological & Technical

Technical Nutrients - strictly limited to non-toxic, non-harmful synthetic materials that have no negative effects on the environment that can be reprocessed/recycled
Biological Nutrients - organic materials that can be disposed of in any natural environment & decompose into the soil, providing food for small life forms without affecting the natural environment.

The model considers 5 key areas that relate to the production of a product; 1) Material Health, 2) Material Reuse, 3) Energy Requirement,

4) water usage, 5) Social responsibility

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Material health concerns the toxicity of materials used that come in contact with humans. C2C aims for no materials used in the manufacture of products to contain dangerous technical nutrients (gases, chemicals, metals) which could cause long term health effects. Materials used are assessed from Green (safe) to red (toxic) based on a set criteria

Material reuse considers how recyclable the materials used are in the production of a product and how recoverable the energy is. Designers must ensure they maximize the percentage of rapidly renewable materials or recycled content used in a product & use materials that can be safely reused, recycled, or composted. Products are designated as; Biological - return to nature & Technical - safely return to industry

Energy requirement concerns the energy required for production of the product and must use at least 50%renewable for all parts and assemblies in order to meet the C2C criteria. The aim of which is to offset the carbon footprint of a product at the manufacturing stage with a future goal of 100% use of renewables

Water stewardship addresses the local geographic and industry water impacts at each manufacturing facility through considering its use and waste in the process. Importantly, the chemical content in waste water is monitored and assessed to minimize environmental impact

Social responsibility, also known as fairness is designed to honor all people and natural systems affected by the creation, use, disposal or reuse of a product. This includes making a positive difference in the lives of employees, and the local community as well as fair labour practices

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Overall a product that meets these criteria points is classified on a scorecard based on the level at which C2C is met as;

Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum

In order to further understand this a theoretical example can be given of a mass produced shoe that meets the C2C criteria (ref. Wiki);

The sole might be made of "biological nutrients" while the upper parts might be made of "technical nutrients". The shoe is mass-produced at a manufacturing plant that utilises its waste material by putting it back into the cycle; eg. off-cuts from the rubber soles to make more soles instead of merely disposing of them.

Once the shoes have been manufactured, they are distributed to retail outlets where the customer buys the shoe at a fraction of the price they would normally pay for a shoe & is only paying for the use of the materials in the shoe for the period of time that they will be it

When they outgrow the shoe or it is damaged, they return it to the manufacturer. When the manufacturer separates the sole from the upper parts (separating the technical and biological nutrients), the biological nutrients are returned to the natural environment while the technical nutrients are used to create the sole of another shoe

Sustainability - Cradle to Cradle