CRADLE TO CRADLE

RETHINK

THE C2C SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

In order to solve the problems of our time in the long term, we need to rethink. Today, we humans are wasting finite resources and destroying the basis of our existence. By doing without, we may act less badly – but we are far from doing well. We can only solve climate and resource problems in the long term by setting positive goals. By consistently integrating our actions into biological cycles and creating technological cycles, we can achieve real added value: ecologically, economically and socially.

young white woman holding two brown balls in front of her eyes image on website Cradle to Cradle C2C
junger weißer Mann jongliert mit braunen Kugeln Bild auf Webseite Cradle to Cradle C2C

REDESIGN

THE C2C DESIGN CONCEPT

Rethinking is followed by redesigning: The Cradle to Cradle design concept is the guide for innovative and sustainable C2C products and business models. Materials that are healthy for people and the environment circulate in biological and technical cycles. In production, we use only renewable energy, maintain or improve the quality of water and soil and have fair and humane working conditions.

REDIRECT

Creating a C2C framework

The necessary transformation, which begins with rethinking and redesigning, must be supported and accelerated by reliable and target-oriented framework conditions. This political and economic framework must provide incentives that promote climate- and resource-positive action and make linear thinking and action unprofitable.

Person mit Reifen.

Explanatory video: What is Cradle to Cradle?

Are you wondering what Cradle to Cradle actually means and why it is a solution to our current climate, resource and environmental problems? Nora and Tim from Cradle to Cradle NGO explain this to you in this video (in German).

LEXIKON

What are consumer goods? And what do we mean when we talk about a positive footprint?

A cradle-to-cradle economy works very differently from our current linear system. Big challenges need big solutions. However, these are often complex and sometimes complicated. That’s why we have created our lexicon with the most important terms from the C2C world.

C2C explained using examples

What does Cradle to Cradle look like in practice? Where are there still challenges? We demonstrate this using numerous examples from various sectors such as agriculture, energy and textiles.

ABCX-Method

The classification into ABCX materials helps to transparently define the quality of product components – always related to the respective usage scenario of the product. A is a material that is best suited for a specifically defined use. B means optimizable, C stands for tolerable and X for non-tolerable. X materials must be replaced by harmless materials. The more A materials a product contains, the higher the product quality.

Waste is a nutrient (nutrient remains nutrient)

According to Cradle to Cradle, every waste is a nutrient for something new. This is the case for all products that are designed and manufactured based on the C2C design concept for biological or technical cycles. All their components and materials are available as raw materials for a new product after being used.. The concept of waste created by us humans then no longer exists, but only continuously circulating nutrients.

Biologisch abbaubar

A substance, material or product is biodegradable if it can be completely broken down into its elemental components in a natural system without producing harmful by-products. This can happen in garden compost, or in an industrial plant. The raw material base of the material is not important, only its chemical structure. Accordingly, synthetically produced materials can also be biodegradable, while there are products made from renewable raw materials to which this does not apply.

Biological Cycle (Biosphere)

This term is used to describe the totality of all habitats of organisms on earth. We humans have also created technical cycles within the biosphere – the technosphere. Products and materials that enter the biosphere must be biodegradable (tire wear, banana peel). All products and materials that are not biodegradable must circulate exclusively in the technosphere (bicycle frame, laptop). Products composed of biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials must be designed and manufactured in such a way that the different materials can be separated without residue and circulate within their respective spheres (bicycle, wood bolted to metal). Products of the biosphere are also ideally designed in such a way that they are used several times in the technical cycle before they are degraded (wood cascade: multiple uses of wood, then used as paper, only then does biodegradation take place).

Design concept (C2C Design concept)

Humans need to rethink and redesign to solve our climate and resource problem in the long run. The C2C design concept is the guide for this. It is modeled after natural cycles in which any waste is a nutrient for something new. Cradle to Cradle takes into account all ecological, economic and social aspects of products as early as the design phase. Only recyclable materials that are suitable for the specific purpose of a product are used.