- Breaking with conventional sustainability concepts by defining chemicals positively

Transcription

1 Cradle to Cradle - Breaking with conventional sustainability concepts by defining chemicals positively Michael Braungart, Cedric Wintraecken Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is a path breaking, out of the box philosophy that virtually destroys the concept of waste, which may seem bohemian to proponents of the current industrial culture. According to this concept all practices from the end of the pipe treatment to minimizing waste to green chemistry are all flawed, as these end up making things only less bad. Which is not good enough for a world that has to care for current as well as future generations. With real innovation and intelligent product design, the C2C concept says there will be no waste only nutrients which can conveniently return to the start of the production process. Prof. Michael Braungart is a process technician and chemist; CEO of EPEA in Hamburg (Germany); co-founder of MBDC, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry in Charlottesville, Virginia (USA) and co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle design concept. He has worked with diverse organizations and companies across a range of industries, and has developed tools for designing eco-effective products, business systems and intelligent materials pooling. He holds the Academic Cradle to Cradle Chair for Innovation and Quality at RSM, Erasmus University in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and is Professor at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg (Germany). He has written several books about eco-effectiveness with co-authors, such as Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance and The Next Industrial Revolution.. Cedric Wintraecken (MSc.) studied Social and Political Sciences of the Environment at the Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands) and conducted socio-environmental field research in Asia concerning the impacts and implications of biofuel crops. Additionally, he gained commercial experience in the energy sector (i.e. the innovative field of energy awareness and monitoring) as market researcher and developer of communication and marketing strategies. Besides, he is also a food expert and encourages a positive food culture. For several years, he is supporting the personal team of Michael Braungart in Hamburg (Germany) concerning several multidisciplinary areas such as content development and project coordination. He is guest lecturer at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg (Germany). 46

2 A socio-economic system, which creates waste and harms people and its environment suffers from design errors and lacks real quality. Performance of each nation s economy has become the most important measurement for defining a country s development and prosperity. Sadly enough, this approach, which focuses on short-term returns on investment (ROI), has had its impact on every facet of our lives. By being able to make profits fast and see returns on investments fast have led us to believe that negative side effects of our linear economy are simply part of the system and a fact of life. Why do we find it so difficult to combine environmental concerns with economic strategies? Possibly, because all industrial revolutions are based on linear thinking: We are extracting resources and converting them into manifold mixed products. And only a short while later it is waste again. Technical developments have made our lives easier and have created wealth and prosperity. However, the way we have achieved this level of prosperity is dramatically flawed. In the past, we have used any material or chemical that got the job done without thinking about the aftereffects, nor knowing exactly what the consequences of our behavior was. Today, we do know how detrimental to our health so many of the products and items are that we produce. Both painfully toxic for ourselves, for all living beings and for the entire planet s health. >> Learn from Nature Linear thinking has shifted our focus away from how effectively we handled resources back in the old days. Especially in India and other neighboring countries in Asia, it was customary to view the ecosystem as a symbiosis of - everything. Nature was seen as a teacher. Nature was a source of inspiration offering us the most beautiful things we could ever imagine. We were much more aware of the fact that our livelihood depended on nature responding favorably to us and in which ways we could benefit from nature. After all, nature has always been the source of life. Times have changed and are still changing - and rightly so! People who are citizens of various urban spaces around the world thoroughly believe in the manufacturability of our world. Despite all our incredible and often awesome inventions, real innovation - which can transform our linear economy into a Cradle to Cradle economy; similar to how nature teaches us how materials should function - is very rare. Traditional eco-efficient approaches target reducing negative consequences. That s all they do. And it s not enough. It is obvious that people around the world inherently struggle with the idea to both change and remake the way things are made; simply because they have not been offered a concept that makes it real and workable. Whats wrong with current sustainability concepts As socio-environmental issues as well as costs for resources and energy rise, people become more and more aware of the necessity of change, both in society as a whole but also concerning economies of scale and political strategies. The world needs a positive agenda that defines our future positively. The change concept has to work on a mid and long-term basis. It will not do to make use of conventional sustainability concepts and the manifold efficacy rhetoric that is associated with it. As conventional thought and rhetoric have only led to a dead end. A deadlock, in which one frantically tries to fix unfixable problems which has created in order to put the old system right. Conventional thought on this matter cannot be fixed. Just as much as toxicity does not disappear, merely because you word conventional sustainability concepts well. Furthermore, the whole notion of sustainability is not particularly attractive because it is inexpedient - unfitting, unworkable or not appropriable. Making things less bad is simply not good enough. In order to safeguard our future, we have no other choice but to leave the linear economy behind. We need to focus on real innovation, on intelligent product design and on quality: Sustainability as a term and concept is not innovative in its nature, regardless of how it is defined in conventional sustainability thought. The term aligns itself with cradle to grave and eco-efficiency concepts. That is why one can hardly call it innovative. True innovations are disruptive in nature. They change the status quo instead of preserving it. Ineffective resource management and thoughtless design are the causes for the countless economic and The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design concept socio-environmental challenges we are facing in our day and time. If you want to change the many root causes you will have to focus on intelligent design. And that is the design of nature. It goes far beyond the concept of con- is inspired by nature and has a starting point that everything is designed to be a nutrient for something else. With this in view, we cannot allow toxic substances that escape into the environment, cause exposure to workers or consumers or persist in the material flow system. 47

3 Bio- and Technosphere ( EPEA 2016) ventional sustainability. It s a concept of abundance. It should never be our desire to do things less poorly but to do them right. The right design from the very beginning: So that whatever we produce will never be harmful but always useful. The Cradle to Cradle Credo The natural ecosystem consists of trillions of fascinating aspects. We can observe so many complex symbioses. We can learn from them. It is a system of excess. Of opulence. Of lavishness. There is no sign of frugality, austerity or reduction. On the contrary: Waste material turns into a resource. It becomes nourishment. The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design concept is inspired by nature and has a starting point that everything is designed to be a nutrient for something else. With this in view, we cannot allow toxic substances that escape into the environment, cause exposure to workers or consumers >> tion processes are developed that do not need to be concerned with wastefulness issues. There is no waste. There are only nutrients. Completely harmless. Completely non-hazardous. Completely nurturing. Humanity needs to add value to life - regardless of the material cycle in question. As a matter of fact, this unconventional, natural approach puts us in a wonderful place: We can now consume in abundance, and we can enrich our environ- The credo must be to use the right materials at the right time and in the right place. This will ensure that products and production processes are developed that do not need to be concerned with wastefulness issues. There is no waste. There are only nutrients. Completely harmless. Completely non-hazardous. Completely nurturing. Humanity needs to add value to life - regardless of the material cycle in question. As a matter of fact, this unconventional, natural approach puts us in a wonderful place: We can now consume in abundance, and we can enrich our environment by adding beneficial products without ever creating anything like waste. or persist in the material flow system. We have to take a totally different approach. The material flow system consists of two spheres. The one contains technical nutrients, the other biological nutrients. Products and their manifold production processes must be designed in a way that materials can be reused infinitely, which means that they remain a valuable resource at all times without contaminating the environment. The credo must be to use the right materials at the right time and in the right place. This will ensure that products and produc- 48

4 ment by adding beneficial products without ever creating anything like waste. C2C is based on the triangle of Ecology-Economy-Equity, which means that it has a far more holistic approach than the credo of Green Chemistry. By improving quality and usefulness of materials, products and services - positive impacts are optimized because eco-effective designs are used. Ecoeffective designs celebrate life. They are therefore energy positive. They clean air and water. They adapt to changing seasons. Much like trees. Trees need to be our role models for how we design things. The architecture needs to leave a positive footprint. The afterlife of a product needs to be of concern before the product enters the manufacturing stages in order to ensure that all materials can be reused afterwards or can go back into their pre-designed and pre-defined biospheres; which could be composting, burning or other processes that must have one thing in common: They must not create harmful residues. Initiatives in C2C: Example 1 A good example of the latest C2C development is the Healthy Printing Initiative, launched by EPEA with support of the DOEN Foundation (the Dutch Charity Lotteries). Today, quite a number of printing substances are classified as being healthy but they need to be made better known and their usage needs to be scaled up drastically. Other substances need careful investigation; and some need to be removed entirely from any printing process. The printing industry produces millions of tons of new paper products and most recycled paper. Printed paper is in our packaging, in our publications, photographs, homes and in our offices. However, printing substances that are immersed in paper can negatively impact food quality and recyclability. During the industrial revolution, printing was an educational tool. In our age of industry 4.0 and internet of things, digital printing is the main focus. Coatings and inks form a small fraction of printed paper by weight. However, they affect the product one hundred percent. Printing associations and regulators have standards for safer printing, but these could be improved. Improved to make printing healthy for people, for the economy and the environment. This much-needed postulation of change is supported by studies confirming that some hygienic paper designed for skin contact contains printing contaminants. Millions of tons of de-inking sludge contain substances that make disposal more expensive during recycling; while - at the same time - valuable resources are lost. Regulators as well as the ink industry have put safer printing standards in place. Sadly, packaging materials are still very often contaminated by mineral oil residues from printing; due to implementation barriers and lack of normative harmonization. For these reasons, the Healthy Printing Initiative scales up availability of those healthier substances in printed publications and packaging, and invite its customers and partners to join the alliance of change makers. Currently, more than 25 companies are cooperating with EPEA to optimize paper, printing and coatings in a semi-collaborative effort. Healthy printing is something to aim strongly for in a measurable roadmap. It has to be an objective to scale up healthy printing by developing a library of best practices (e.g. a positive list of chemicals) and to implement healthy printing with buyers and suppliers through a Healthy Printing Charter and measurable roadmaps. Everybody uses printing, but until now buyers and suppliers could not work together to develop an economy of scale for healthy printing. This initiative fills that gap and makes healthy printing more accessible for everyone. It aims at making printed paper a more economical resource for recycling and composting. Benefits of printing according to Cradle to Cradle: The product can be safely recycled, and is otherwise safe for biological degradation and returning to the soil; Sludge-generated during its recycling is a safe resource for other uses; Water quality standards are not jeopardized and waste water treatment during recycling is not hampered; Products go beyond regulatory compliance, are safe to use and re-use according to the highest standards, and don t contaminate people, food, air, water or soil. Healthy printing is beneficial business; Paper that contains safer printing residues is more economical to process. It is recyclable, compostable and economical as a resource for its next use; Safe printing substances promote economic nextuse scenarios both for fibers and their residues because they become valuable resources. Paper fibers can be re-used many times before they are returned to the environment as nutrients, fuel or resources; Recycling gets a new competitive edge; Safe printing products protect anyone who gets in touch with printed paper and packaging; For more information: healthyprinting. 49

5 Initiatives in C2C: Example 2 Another initiative that has been launched by Tarkett and EPEA, is the initiative on the Responsible Use of PVC, which was presented at Vinyl India 2017, the 7 th International PVC & Chlor-Alkali Summit in Mumbai, and at the PVC Conference 2017 in Brighton. PVC was originally industrially developed to manage chlorine; a by-product of the caustic soda and caustic potash production. By depositing chlorine in PVC resin - instead of using it for chemical weapon production like it was done in the past - a productive management of chlorine toxicity was only supposedly achieved. Today, about 43 million tons of PVC are produced annually worldwide 1, making PVC the third most important plastic resin after polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The magnitude of the issue can be illustrated by looking at the market: Caustic soda is one of the chemicals most in demand; with a production volume exceeding 60 million tons/year 2. It is used ubiquitously, especially in industries including the paper/ pulp, chemical (detergent) and the mining industry. There is currently no good alternative for caustic soda replacement in these industries; considering the high purity that many applications require. The same applies to caustic potash obtained from potassium chloride. Therefore, chlorine - the by-product of their production with chlorine alkali processes - will de facto be continued to be produced for a long time. Caustic soda is a consumable that cannot be technically secluded to remain technical cycles. Above 98% of caustic soda and 100% of chlorine are produced in this manner 3/4. Should this demand for caustics prevail, while no alternative offers emerge - or none surface with the desired and appropriate sustainability in mind - a transitional chlorine management solution has to be sought after, as an intermediate approach. The PVC industry, one of the largest users of chlorine, has been severely criticized by NGOs for PVC s many negative production, use and post-use impacts on health and environment. Among the potential issues is the use of phthalate plasticizers and heavy metal stabilizers as well as the possibility of dioxin and furan formation during combustion and production issues (e.g. mercury cell process). In the last decade, a lot of work has gone into addressing these issues. Some companies in the PVC industry - especially those being 1-2% 98-99% 97% 3% 35% 50% 15% 30% 44-54% 14-24% 31-33% 18-30% 70% 50

6 visible on the market - have taken the many raised issues seriously and have addressed them: They now substitute PVC or they have made a tremendous effort to improve PVC recipes. For instance, by substituting phthalate plasticizers and heavy metal-based stabilizers and by establishing take-back systems for safe and productive post-use management. Changes were also made in the PVC production background. For example, chlorine generation with the mercury cell chloralkali process will have been finally phased-out in the Western world by These developments pave the way to think about PVC in a different practical way today. In The Upcycle, Michael Braungart and William McDonough stated, In fact, ironically, PVC was initially put into mass production to close loops in the manufacture of paper and hydrocarbons. Those processes created huge amounts of chlorine residue of sodium hydroxide and acetylene. Industry chose to put those byproducts into PVC, a choice that demonstrates how modeling manufacturing on a simplified version of a closed loop is often not sufficient. 5 Responsible use of PVC Therefore, in cooperation with front runner Tarkett and other companies involved in the PVC discussion, we developed the Charter for Responsible Use of PVC and chlorine management to structure and frame conditions for distinction of Tolerable PVC applications that provide a transitional solution for PVC that is a problematic material in itself. The charter is a tool that redirects the use of PVC and chorine and its management back to the dawn of industrial PVC development. We believe that it is preferable to park chlorine in PVC applications with a positively defined composition, which can be managed after-use. Only products can be considered for sequestration for which a take-back and recycling system can be established and properly managed. This is possible for durable immobile applications, as prevalent in the construction sector. However, it is not possible for packaging or other easily scattered applications like bags or toys, wallpapers, and the like. Major players on the PVC market have investigated into many of the presented issues. They sense an urgency and definite need to refocus PVC and chlorine management on original intentions. >> Novel Philosophy We developed the Charter for Responsible Use of PVC and chlorine management to structure and frame conditions for distinction of Tolerable PVC applications. PVC is considered as responsibly used, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled: l Safe PVC production: Vinyl chloride isn t produced with chlorine originating from mercury- or asbestos diaphragm-based chloralkali processes. The residual Vinyl Chlorine Monomer (VCM) content is very low. l Safe additives: Used heat stabilizing systems are optimized for safety and don t rely on toxic heavy metals. When plasticizers are needed, they don t belong to phthalates but to modern products with much better safety profiles. l Applications: PVC is used exclusively for applications in the construction sector like pipes, tubes, doors, window frames, flooring. These products are indeed best predisposed for manageability after use because they are immobile during the use phase and used in large quantities per functional unit. This makes them traceable and retrievable during building renovation and demolition. l Take-back system and recycling: Effective commercial take-back systems are offered after use and recycling concepts maintain the integrity of the PVC molecule. l Commitment and innovation: The organization is reviewing its processes and commercial relationships for possibilities to substitute chlorinated organic chemistry and the demand for caustic products relying on the chloralkali process. Conclusion These two Cradle to Cradle initiatives exemplify the potential of an innovative and market proven standard without a negative reduction - eco-efficient - approach, in which ecological and economic growth are interlinked and supported by positively defined and managed material flows. Through platforms and cooperation between companies, partnerships are formed along the horizontal and vertical supply chains; making it possible to become less dependent on scarce resources and increasing prices of raw materials, while improving profitability and cost effectiveness. Besides, it allows chemists and product designers alike to take a fresh look at how they can do things differently. Also, the need for take-back systems and service concepts creates totally new and diverse opportunities. Chemical companies can easily adopt C2C by initiating future-oriented projects that will be beneficial to the system through their products, processes and wider social effects. Furthermore, consumers feel inspired by the positive stories associated with the product or service and want to contribute to its success through 51

7 their purchase. In conclusion, we should not aim for the reduction of our footprint, but for how our collective footprints can be designed and implemented in such a way that they are a truly never-ending, supportive source for natural systems. Real innovation can only occur when existing approaches are reconsidered; which implies a lot more than raising the efficiency bar. Even if business and political leaders still may have difficulties with this concept, it may well be the time to ask that predominant question: Is it required to make this much-needed transition? References 1. PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)/Consultic Marketing & Industrieberatung GmbH (2015). 2. Cetin Kurt, Jürgen Bittner (2005), Sodium Hydroxide, Ullmann s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, doi: / a24_345.pub2 3. Dow Chemicals. Caustic soda. Process overview. 4. European IPPC Bureau. Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Production of Chloralkali. Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) William McDonough, Michael Braungart: The Upcycle. Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance. April 2013, North Point Press, p. 43/44. Chatting with Prof. Michael Braungart Prof. Michael Braungart was in India a few months back where he addressed the Vinyl India conference in Mumbai on the responsible use of PVC. Chemical Industry Digest had the opportunity to interact with him on the sidelines of the conference. Speaking to Chemical Industry Digest, Prof. Braungart said that India has one of the lowest per capita consumptions of PVC, a material with many harmful effects and there is no proper management of PVC in terms of its uses. This is creating and will create severe environmental problems and damage to people s health. He said that additives for the processing of PVC such as phthalates, cadmium and lead, which are harmful, continue to be used. On PVC When PVC use is not done responsibly and it doesn t get back into recycling, it ends up in landfills, as garbage etc. and people without awareness burn it, the emissions of which are dangerous. Phathalate platicisers leach out into ground water and into our eco system, which Prof. Braungart said are endocrine disrupters that create hormonal problems in both men and women, damaging fertility. Like Responsible Care which came up in the aftermath of the Bhopal tragedy, Prof. Braungart said that his organization, EPEA along with Tarkett (a PVC company) have launched the initiative Responsible use of PVC so as to provide for tolerable PVC applications for a transitional solution. According to Prof. Braungart, PVC applications should be only for those products which can be brought back into the technical recycle. He bemoaned the irresponsible use of PVC, for products like packaging, wallpaper etc. and other end uses from where it does not easily return to the recycling system. He was also critical of the continued use of plasticisers like phthalates and heavy metals for PVC processing in India and other countries, banned elsewhere. On Bhopal Prof. Braungart was also critical of India s tardy response to post Bhopal problems of health issues of people as well as the inaction on cleaning up the contaminated Bhopal site. He told Chemical Industry Digest, I don t understand this. There is this huge contaminated site which can be cleaned up at a really low cost. The value of this real estate is in fact much higher than the cost of cleaning up. So the powers that be should act now as every day they don t act the pollutants 52

8 migrate further and would make more expensive to do so apart from other consequences. What s wrong with current practices? Prof. Barungart was not in agreement with the current sustainability practices. Sustainability doesn t make sense; it only optimizes the existing stuff, he quipped. Sustainability, he stated, is the opposite of innovation. The steam engine was not sustainable for those that had horses; the mobile phone was not sustainable for those that had landlines; the washing machine was not sustainable for those who washed their clothes in a river. They lost jobs immediately. According to him, practices like green chemistry end up optimizing the wrong things. For example, he pointed out, When you reduce the weight of a PET bottle by 30%, it is 30% less valuable to collect. It is not worth anything more and then you find it thrown about everywhere. So your optimizing hasn t helped. By optimizing existing products and processes you are making these only less bad. Environmental protection should not mean you destroy a little less. Being just less bad is simply not good enough for a planet with burgeoning population. We need to be good, he affirmed. Prof. Braungart continued, If a product becomes a waste it is a quality problem. It is not at all smart to make a product that is going to end up as a waste. When you make a product with PVC which ends up in the environment, you are not very smart. There is no green chemistry; either there is good chemistry or bad chemistry he quipped. If a product creates a problem of waste it s a chemistry problem from the beginning. Pointing out to a frightening picture of the ill effects of our development, Prof. Braungart informed, We have been analysing mothers milk in the world, including from India for more than 28 years and we have identified upto 2500 chemicals in human milk. One of the fastest growing substances we found is flame retardants and other additives from textiles and plastics. The chemistry which has caused this cannot be called good chemistry; it is just primitive chemistry. By optimizing existing products and processes you are making these only less bad. Environmental protection should not mean you destroy a little less. Being just less bad is simply not good enough for a planet with burgeoning population. We need to be good. There is no green chemistry; either there is good chemistry or bad chemistry. If a product creates a problem of waste it s a chemistry problem from the beginning. Prof. Braungart was also not very happy about regulations like REACH which he said was stabilizing the use of existing substances. I feel more than half the chemicals in the market should not be made. But now you can t ban them because they are registered, evaluated and authorized. He was also against the advent of renewables, as we would be stealing agricultural land to produce the biomass. This is again a case of optimizing the wrong thing. On C2C I find that Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is finding takers in the younger generation because the current generation is very socially conscious who want to be proud in what they are doing. To a Chemical Industry Digest query whether a product concept should start with its end use, Prof. Braungart replied, There is no end in C2C. We define the composition of the material first and the purpose, whether it is defined for the biosphere or technosphere. In each sphere the material used should get back into the recycling system. A problematic material like copper is immensely dangerous for the biological system but in the technical system it can be used endlessly. The composition and purpose have to be defined, whether it is a service product or a consumption material. When it is a consumption material like a brake pad or shoe sole or tyre it has to be designed for the biosphere which includes all biological systems including human beings. Prof. Braungart gave the example of brake pads which were later made free of asbestos (a harmful material), but replaced with antimony sulphate which was far more problematic. So making a product free of a bad substance doesn t solve the problem, he pointed out. Another example was tyres which are again used in the biosphere. Now the tyres are being made to last twice as long and they are made of finer particulate materials. As more vehicles are on the road, these tyres let off finer particles into the air, which remain in the atmosphere longer. They are not washed out by rains either and we inhale them. According to him there are eleven times more people dying in India due to the slow effects of these fine particles in the atmosphere than to road accidents. Shifting to C2C So how does one shift from current models to employing C2C, we asked him. Prof. Braungart explained that we have to first de- 54

9 fine where we want to be by and then work out a transition. Until we develop alternate materials and design products positively, we need to manage the use of existing products responsibly during the transition. I am quite pragmatic; I am not fundamentalistic. I don t claim to take the moral high ground either. I just want to be a good chemist, quipped Prof. Braungart. I am quite optimistic on C2C. We have now about 10,000 products already in the market based on this principle and more than half of these are for the building/construction sector. I expect that before 2040, most of the industry would have adopted C2C. And I compliment the younger generation for this as they don t want to have a guilt complex on having created problems through chemistry. Most of the leading global chemical companies have C2C research centres today. I feel C2C companies will have far more motivated people working and would make products with higher margins. When India competes with other countries like Bangladesh or Cambodia in many material industries like say textiles, instead of competing on price which would be difficult, if Indian textile companies adopt C2C and develop textiles in a way that the textile waste or the textile products itself find reuse as let s say an agriculture material as peat to cover the soil for instance then you are not creating waste and adding more value to your product. In our institute we developed the idea that carpets are not merely floor coverings but can actively clean air, absorbing fine dust. Those companies which took this up idea saw their profits soar by 30%. C2C leads to cost savings as well as the potential to price products higher. Prof. Braungart said that some governments have also started patronizing C2C. Like Taiwan, he said, which pays for C2C certification of a product. Luxembourg in Europe is doing the same. He feels that C2C would be more easily adopted in Asian countries. C2C is a cultural thing, he stated. It is about celebrating the human footprint and not merely on minimizing damage. I think India would be much faster in adopting C2C than in the west because India s culture is about celebrating life. The west sees everything in a religious sense that humankind cannot be good and only god can redeem you. It starts with a guilt redden attitude and therefore looks at mitigating everything. I find that people in India in this sense are culturally different. We have been analysing mothers milk in the world, including from India for more than 28 years and we have identified upto 2500 chemicals in human milk. The chemistry which has caused this cannot be called good chemistry; it is just primitive chemistry. It is obvious that Prof. Braungart s philosophy is quite revolutionary going beyond making products for ensuring the happiness of people. Editor s Note EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH - Cradle to Cradle is being implemented by EPEA (Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency), an internationally active scientific research and consultancy institute. EPEA was founded in 1987 by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart and works with companies as well as stakeholders from industry, science and government to implement Cradle to Cradle materials management throughout the supply chain. The scientific basis at the heart of the Cradle to Cradle design concept is chemistry, biology and environmental science, which are combined with product optimization and product development. Through this interdisciplinary approach, the institute goes beyond conventional boundaries to improve the whole system of materials use and reuse. The goals are innovation, quality and good design in order to optimize the quality and usefulness of materials, products and services through eco-effective design - and thereby, to have a positive impact. EPEA is a leader in realizing a circular economy by using Cradle to Cradle as an inspiration and implementation tool. For the practical realization of C2C In order to become part of the Cradle to Cradle transition, EPEA supports partners from the fields of business, science, and government to improve the quality of materials, products, and systems. Examples that could offer the necessary assistance to start a positive defined change are the following: l Consultancy in product, technology and process development as well as C2C product and process strategies; l Analysis of products, processes, energy and material flows as well as detailed ecotoxicological assessment of products and materials in accordance with Cradle to Cradle; l Cradle to Cradle Certified Certification, C2C Quality Statement and Circularity Passports; l Development of closing the loop and material pooling concepts; l Cradle to Cradle for politics and economics; l Material specific supply chain management (takeback and service concepts); l Cradle to Cradle seminars, trainings and innovation workshops as well as B2B matchmaking and Cradle to Cradle communication for partners. 55