McDonough Braungart Launches Cradle-to-Cradle Certification Program

Having helped manufacturers large and small redesign their products for the “next industrial revolution,” McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) has now created a product certification program. The new program recognizes products that conform to MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle? (C2C) protocol. MBDC aims to release the first certified products on September 1, 2005.

The C2C certification program seeks to be recognized by government agencies and others as an identifier of environmentally preferable products (EPP). Prior to launching this program, MBDC worked with the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) on its Sustainable Textile Standard, but that collaboration fell apart in 2003. C2C certification now appears poised to compete with MTS and with EPP programs from Scientific Certification Systems, in the growing field of EPP certification.

The C2C protocol is based on the principle that all products should be made using materials that can be recycled indefinitely with minimal environmental impact. Inspired by natural systems, in which nutrients are recycled indefinitely (waste = food), MBDC promotes the use of “technical nutrients,” which are recyclable in industrial systems, and biological nutrients, which are reused in nature. This recyclability requires that biological nutrients and technical nutrients not be intermingled in a product and that all ingredients be screened for potential effects on human or ecological health.

C2C certification criteria are divided into five categories:

1. Materials- all ingredients are identified down to 100 parts per million, and those with adverse effects on human or environmental health are avoided.

2. Material reutilization and design for the environment – the product is identified as a technical or biological nutrient and can be recycled or remanufactured into new products of equal or higher value.

3. Energy – energy use in manufacturing is characterized, and renewable, low-impact energy sources are used to manufacture the product.

4. Water – water flows in manufacturing are characterized, and water is not polluted in its use.

5. Social responsibility – corporate ethics and fair labor practices are published, and a third-party system for social responsibility is being implemented.

Depending on how a product performs in these categories, it can be certified at a Silver, Gold, or Platinum level. A parallel program for certifying materials in addition to products has been scaled back, but C2C includes a level of certification below Silver for “technical/biological nutrients.” Two materials – Solutia’s Ultron nylon fiber and Victor Innovatex’s Eco Intelligent fabric had already been certified under an early version of that program and are now being merged into the new system, according to Jay Bolus, director of science and operations at MBDC.

The fee charged to manufacturers for C2C certification varies with the complexity of the product, based on the number of ingredients that must be reviewed. Bolus expects that fees will range from about $10,000 for a simple product to as much as $60,000 for a product with many parts, such as an office chair. C2C is quite sophisticated in terms of technical criteria, in part because MBDC has consulted for most (if not all) of the companies that are likely to seek certification. Given the potential for conflict of interest between a consulting and a certification role, C2C lacks the integrity of a true third-party certification program. Bolus notes that the intent was not so much to create a formal certification program: “It’s more about putting something out there that is a tangible illustration of our philosophy,” he says.

Contact: Jay Bolus, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC

www.mbdc.com/certified.html


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