Cradle to Cradle^SM

A GLOBAL PLATFORM FOR CRADLE TO CRADLE DESIGN

Given today’s demands for more socially and environmentally conscious products and materials, it is important for companies to positively define their global impact and be leaders in environmental performance. Recognizing the value of each other’s expertise, Material ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA have joined forces to create the leading global platform for developing innovative, sustainable and Cradle to Cradle^SM materials and products.

Our combined resources offer an invaluable sustainable design toolkit: Cradle to Cradle material information, assessment and certification, access to Cradle to Cradle materials, and the tools to develop Cradle to Cradle materials and products. Together, we offer specific knowledge in sustainable material solutions and practices, objective design recommendations, and a breadth of worldwide experience across multiple industries.

Unified in the belief that good design is good business, Material ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA are committed to providing greater global access to industry-changing Cradle to Cradle material solutions.

Cradle to Cradle^SM is a service mark of MBDC.

THREE COLLABORATORS: A PERFECT FIT

Material ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA are leading global experts, respectively, in material solutions, sustainable design, and environmental chemistry. As collaborators with synergistic services, we provide you with a competitive edge, expanding your ability to innovate and optimize your sustainable product and material solutions. In helping you make better products, we help you increase your long-term profitability. Through higher quality product design, closer control of the production processes, and greater material use, reuse and recycling, we help you incorporate ecologically-intelligent design and enhanced business value into your overall framework.


About Material ConneXion^TM

Material ConneXion is the leading global platform for material innovation and solutions. The company was founded in 1997 by George M. Beylerian on the belief that every idea has a material solution^TM. Since then, Material ConneXion has become the trusted material advisor to Fortune 500 corporations, smaller forward-thinking companies and government agencies seeking a competitive edge through strategic material selections. With offices in New York, Milan, Cologne and Bangkok, Material ConneXion’s international network of material specialists provide a global, cross-industry perspective on materials and their potential uses.

Material ConneXion offers four indispensable assets to architects, designers, and manufacturers. The Advanced Materials Solution Team advises in the development of materials and products by providing crucial material intelligence gained through extensive research. Subscription-based Material Libraries on three continents maintain over 4,000 materials reviewed by an independent jury on a monthly basis. Material ConneXion LABS—temporary library exhibition installations—and Innovation Alerts—keep companies, universities and non-profits on the cutting-edge.
New materials create innovative design solutions, provide more sustainable options, and accelerate the design development process. Dynamic material dialogue is essential to this process, and so Material ConneXion is committed to its creation through active Public Programming. This past May, Material ConneXion presented “Matter X”, the third in its ongoing annual “Matter” conference series.This December marks the publication of “Ultra Materials: How Materials Innovation is Changing the World”, and in May 2008, ICFF will debut Material ConneXion’s “Materials Matter”, an exhibition of cutting edge materials, technologies and production processes. Material ConneXion publishes “Matter”, a quarterly magazine exploring materials and design through a variety of lenses.


About MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC)

MBDC was founded in 1995 by internationally recognized architect/designer William McDonough together with Professor Michael Braungart, as a strategic environmental consulting and design firm, dedicated to revolutionizing the design of products and services worldwide using the Cradle to CradleSM framework. The pair teamed up to promote and shape what they refer to as “The Next Industrial Revolution” through the introduction of a new design paradigm and the implementation of eco-effective principles. McDonough and Braungart are co-authors of the book Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the Way We Make Things, published in 2002 by NorthPoint Press.

MBDC developed and offers the Cradle to Cradle ^SM Product Certification System that verifies manufacturers’ achievements using a series of environmental and social criteria. These criteria are based on the principles of Cradle to Cradle, developed by McDonough, Braungart and MBDC.

Cradle to Cradle^SM is a service mark of MBDC.

www.mbdc.com

About EPEA (Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency)
EPEA was founded in 1987 by world renowned chemist Prof. Michael Braungart as an independent scientific research institute based in Hamburg, that develops Cradle to Cradle product solutions.

EPEA’s interdisciplinary team aligns products to Cradle to Cradle design goals with tools that have been developed ad hoc for this purpose. Cradle to Cradle design makes products possible that are economically successful, healthy for users and supportive for the environment and future generations. Their innovative design not only addresses appearance and functionality, but it also addresses the definition of their composition and enables a new dimension of quality and security of these products along with their material flow cycle. By integrating economic, social and environmental aspects, they are superior to currently produced and available products.

EPEA’s driving goal is to not only reach positive effects for end users by aiding in the development of healthy products, but also for the environment in general by way of safe products for consumption and products for service, where technical nutrients are recovered and processed, based on Intelligent Product System (IPS). This also applies to a next generation because the resources that are mobilized for Cradle to Cradle products are maintained as such and effectively used. EPEA is a licensee of the Cradle to Cradle^SM Product Certification System developed by MBDC.

www.epea.com

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ABOUT CRADLE TO CRADLE

Overview: Cradle to Cradle^SM is fundamentally different from other approaches to sustainability. It is a new design paradigm with a positive agenda; what Time calls "a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world."

Cradle to Cradle principles make products possible that are economically successful, healthy for users and supportive for the environment and next generations. Their innovative design addresses not only appearance and functionality. It also addresses the definition of their composition and enables a new dimension of quality and security of these products along with their material lifecycles. By integrating economic, social and environmental aspects, they can be superior to currently produced and available products.

Instead of designing cradle-to-grave products, dumped in landfills or incinerators at the end of their 'lives,' Cradle to Cradle transforms industry by creating products for cradle-to-cradle cycles, whose materials are perpetually circulated in safe, closed loops. Maintaining materials in closed loops ideally maximizes material value without damaging human health or ecosystems. Cradle to Cradle and its eco-effective strategies have positive effects extending beyond companies to suppliers, customers, communities, and the natural world.

An Eco-Effective Methodology:

Cradle to Cradle is based upon an eco-effective strategy for human industry that is safe, profitable, and regenerative, producing economic, ecological, and social value.

Cradle to Cradle models human industry on nature's processes, in which materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in healthy, safe metabolisms. Industry must protect and enrich ecosystems—nature's biological metabolism—while also maintaining a safe, productive technical metabolism for the high-quality use and circulation of mineral, synthetic, and other materials.

Using these principles, you can create two types of Cradle to Cradle Products: Those that can be conducted safely either as products for consumption into biological systems or as products for service into technical systems for subsequent product generations.

“Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things”

In 2002, Cradle to Cradle founders, Chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough published the book, "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.” The book, itself the result of an innovative design process, has been highly lauded for communicating the Cradle to Cradle paradigm to the public. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality—in cradle-to-cradle cycles.

To purchase “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things” from the Material ConneXion bookstore, click here.
Cradle to Cradle^SM is a service mark of MBDC.

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SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL SOLUTIONS

Whether you are looking for Cradle to Cradle^SM materials, seeking an introduction to sustainable design, wondering how sustainable design is being implemented in your industry, curious how your material measures up, or are seeking to get ahead of the curve by developing Cradle to Cradle materials or products, we have the right tool for you.

Cradle to Cradle Materials Library

Looking for Cradle to Cradle materials?

Material ConneXion’s libraries are renowned for providing cutting-edge material solutions. Over 4,000 materials can be found on-site in our libraries in New York City, Milan, Cologne and Bangkok, as well as in our online database. Material ConneXion is proud to be the first materials library in the world to include Cradle to Cradle material options.

Cradle to Cradle materials will be available in Material ConneXion libraries in January 2008.

To find out more about the Cradle to Cradle Materials we offer or to subscribe to a Material ConneXion Library, please contact:

access@materialconnexion.com

Workshops

Interested in developing sustainable products but not sure where to start?

One-day workshops lead by specialists from Material ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA introduce you to the world of sustainable design. Basic workshops provide you with an understanding of Material Intelligence, Sustainability and Cradle to Cradle principles. Customized workshops take you to the next step. Whether you’re a large corporation or a smaller forward-thinking company, we will work with you to define these concepts as they pertain to your own industry and work. We will then guide you through a collaborative design session to develop project and product ideas.

Workshop I: The Fundamentals: Understanding Sustainability

• Elements to consider while adopting an eco-strategy
• The differences between various sustainable approaches
• Global certifications
• Cradle to Cradle in focus
• Sustainable material selections

Workshop II: A Customized Approach: Applying Cradle to Cradle Elements to your Design Strategy

• Elements to consider while adopting an eco-strategy
• The differences between various sustainable approaches to your industry
• Global Certifications that apply to your industry
• Cradle to Cradle in focus
• Industry-specific case studies
• Cradle to Cradle material selections for your industry
• Interactive Design Session

To find our more about our Workshops, please contact:
sustainability@materialconnexion.com

Cradle to Cradle Material Assessment & Certification:

How does your material measure up?

Cradle to Cradle Material Assessment provides material manufacturers within the Material ConneXion library direct, actionable feedback on how to maximize the quality and value of their materials. Through an information gathering and scientific research process, materials are assessed with the goal of developing and utilizing the most environmentally intelligent materials possible. The assessment results describe a material’s present characteristics and areas for improvement in relation to Cradle to Cradle design principles.

Certify your material or product!

Cradle to Cradle Certification benchmarks the size of the environmental footprint of a product that charts and realizes continuous improvement over time and provides companies with a new marketing and selling tool. If a candidate product achieves the necessary criteria, it is certified as Basic, Silver, Gold or Platinum. All certified materials can bear the Cradle to Cradle certification mark. Materials achieving above the Silver tier will be presented within Material ConneXion’s libraries.

To find out more about Material Assessment & Certification, please contact: sustainability@materialconnexion.com

Cradle to Cradle Material & Product Development:

Do you want to develop ecologically-intelligent, sustainable products?

Cradle to Cradle Design raises the bar for intelligent design of products and services. Designing high quality products that are safe, healthy, and ecologically sound leads to product differentiation, increased competitive advantage, cost reduction, and risk management.

A customized team of specialists from Material ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA offer you the expertise of three companies in one. Using our combined knowledge in sustainable materials and Cradle to Cradle processes, we will advise you in the development of a particular innovative, sustainable, Cradle to Cradle product. Working one on one with you, we will guide you through the entirety of the design process—from brainstorming sessions to specific cutting-edge material selections, through product creation and to a final Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM design.
Our incomparable team has the knowledge, experience and unique cross-industry perspective on materials and sustainable design solutions to add value to your product. Not only will this product have positive effects on the environment, it can be a source of new, increased innovation and revenue for you.

To find our more about our Advisory Team, please contact:
sustainability@materialconnexion.com

Cradle to Cradle^SM is a service mark of MBDC.
Cradle to Cradle^CM is a certification mark of MBDC.

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