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Cradle to Cradle Lexicon

A Buchstabe
Lexikon_Website von C2C NGO_abcx_türkis
ABCX-Method
B Buchsstabe
Quadrat dunkelgruen

Biodegradable

Lexikon_Website von C2C NGO_biologischer Kreislauf_türkis_2

Beneficials

Lexikon_Website von C2C NGO_biologischer Kreislauf_türkis
Biological Cycle (Biosphere)
C Buchstabe
Quadrat dunkelgruen

Cradle to Cradle (from the cradle to the cradle)

Quadrat dunkelgruen

Cradle to Grave (from cradle to grave)

Quadrat dunkelgruen
Celebrating diversity
Quadrat dunkelgruen

Comprehensive quality

Quadrat dunkelgruen

Certification

D
Lexikon_Website von C2C NGO_Gebrauchsgüter_türkis

Durable consumer goods

Quadrat dunkelgruen

Design concept (C2C Design concept)

E
Quadrat dunkelgruen
Eco-efficiency
G
Quadrat dunkelgruen
Garbage
I
pink cherry blossoms

Intelligent waste

Quadrat dunkelgruen

Intelligent Material Pooling (IMP)

M
Quadrat dunkelgruen
Material banks
N
Hanger with different colored t-shirts

Non-durable consumer goods

Footprints in the sand

Positive Footprint

Quadrat dunkelgruen
Positively definde materials
R
Solar cells and sky

Regenerative energy

Quadrat dunkelgruen
Reversibility
Quadrat dunkelgruen

Raw material storage

S
Quadrat dunkelgruen

School of thought (C2C School of thought)

Lexikon Buchstaben_Website C2C NGO
Quadrat dunkelgruen
Usage scenario
Quadrat dunkelgruen
Using instead of owning
T
Lexikon_Website von C2C NGO_technischer Kreislauf_türkis

Technical Cycle (Technosphere)

V
W
Quadrat dunkelgruen

Waste is a nutrient (nutrient remains nutrient)

Z
Lexikon Buchstabe_O_Website C2C NGO
Logo türkis rot, C2C Cradle to Cradle NGO

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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.

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.

Beneficials

We humans have caused a lot of damage on earth. So, it is natural to think of ourselves as pests. In the C2C school of thought, however, we are convinced that by setting ourselves positive goals and striving for a positive impact through our actions, we humans can be beneficial for the earth system. However, this requires a shift from our current strategy of being just a little less bad. Leaving a large positive footprint as beneficials instead of just minimizing our negative footprint is the core of the C2C idea.

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).

Cradle to Cradle (from the cradle to the cradle)

(Engl. “from cradle to cradle”, analogously “from origin to origin”; abbreviated also C2C). The concept was developed in the 1990s by the German chemist Michael Braungart and the US-american architect William McDonough. It is an approach to a consistently closed-loop circular economy, through which climate and resource problems can be solved holistically and in the long term. The C2C school of thought sees humans as potential beneficiaries whose actions can make a positive contribution to ecology, economy and social welfare, rather than merely minimizing their damage. The C2C design concept describes how products and processes must be designed to achieve this goal. The decisive factor here is the specific usage scenario for which a product is intended. On this basis, healthy and suitable materials can be selected to circulate continuously in biological and technical cycles.

Cradle to Grave (from cradle to grave)

(engl. “cradle to grave”, also known as “take, make, waste”.) Today, we operate in a linear system: almost all the resources we extract from the earth sooner or later become worthless and partly toxic waste. As a result, finite resources run out, mountains of rubbish grow, water, soil and air are polluted, and health damage is caused. In this way, we humans are gradually depriving ourselves of our own livelihood. This process is the exact opposite of Cradle to Cradle.

Celebrating diversity

Contrary to the monotony from cradle to grave, lively and diverse systems of our planet inspire us. One-size-fits-all approaches and simplifications of complex interrelationships do not always provide the appropriate solutions to pressing problems. Biological and cultural diversity can be supported and used wisely through human creativity.

Comprehensive quality

The C2C school of thought formulates comprehensive quality as one of the goals of an overall societal change. Products are of comprehensive quality if they are produced using regenerative energies for biological and technical cycles. Materials are used that are healthy for humans and the environment during production and in the respective usage scenario. Overall, the four dimensions of culture, social, economy and ecology are taken into account.

Certification

The Cradle to Cradle Certifiedâ„¢ certification, conducted by the non-profit Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII), evaluates various factors and levels of manufacturing, usage and recycling. There are five gradations in certification from Basic to Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, which denotes the highest product standard. The five factors considered are material health, reusability, use of renewable energy and carbon management, water quality, and social standards. There are currently almost 300 C2C companies worldwide with over 8,000 C2C-products.

Durable consumer goods

Durable consumer goods such as washing machines, glass bottles or screwdrivers circulate in the circuits of the technosphere. Their components or materials are not or only minimally worn out during use. They therefore do not end up in the environment and can be recycled or directly reused in the same quality after sorting – in contrast to non-durable consumer goods. We want to achieve this recycling through new service models, among other things: using instead of owning.

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.

Eco-efficiency

Car tires have become increasingly efficient in recent decades. As a result, they now adhere much better to the road – and their abrasion is now so small that it ends up not only as microplastics in the ocean but also in our lungs. Wouldn’t it be smarter to first focus on eco-effectiveness and develop a product whose abrasion doesn’t cause any damage at all, but has a positive added value, also for the environment and our health? Eco-effectiveness aims to first create a materially healthy and recyclable product with added value. This product can then always be made more efficient.

Garbage

Garbage is a concept that exists exclusively among humans. Through linear design, most products and their materials become worthless garbage at the end of their use – a tremendous waste of finite raw materials and a burden for the earth and all its creatures. C2C design ensures that the resources used in products retain their value, can be used again and again, and thus never become waste. Cradle to Cradle instead of Cradle to Grave.

Intelligent waste

Intelligent waste (from English: abundance) can be observed as a basic principle of life in nature: A cherry tree produces masses of blossoms, which after pollination, fall down (waste) and return their nutrients to the tree as compost. We can also manufacture our products according to this principle; they must be recyclable and healthy for people and the environment in defined usage scenarios. This maxim clearly sets us apart from the status quo of senseless waste (see garbage): It is about effectiveness, about the benefit!

Intelligent Material Pooling (IMP)

For a comprehensive transformation towards a circular economy based on C2C, it is important that all actors involved join their forces. Material pooling enables companies to share material resources and at the same time exchange their expertise in the area of acquisition and transformation of materials. It’s a win-win cooperation system and brings together actors along the entire value chain.

Material banks

Companies have the opportunity to offer their products as services. At the end of a defined usage period or scenario, the products or materials can be returned to the companies or directly to recycling companies. In this way, material costs become investments and manufacturers become material banks.

Non-durable consumer goods

Non-durable consumer goods (e.g. soap, shoe soles) circulate in the biological cycle (biosphere) because they are subject to wear and tear and enter the environment. Therefore, they must be designed for the biosphere, so their materials are healthy for humans and the environment and biodegradable.

Positive Footprint

The concept of a “negative footprint” is widely used, especially as a marketing tool. Historically, it has been aimed at placing responsibility for climate and resource protection with the individual. But on the one hand, politics and business can and must also act as much greater levers through framework conditions and sustainable innovations. For another, reducing a negative impact toward neutrality is the wrong goal – every living being on the planet emits emissions. And we have already done too much irreversible damage for this goal to be sufficient to create a livable future. Instead, all sectors of society must contribute to having the greatest possible positive economic, environmental and social impact. This will only work if we prioritize eco-effectiveness over eco-efficiency.

Positively definde materials

Materials are defined positive in the C2C design concept: In contrast to the common “free from” approach, materials are selected that can be used without hesitation in the respective cycles and usage scenarios (consumption or usage scenario). It is important to define what is included in a product. Knowing what is not included is not enough. This is how we prevent pollutants from simply being replaced by others.

Regenerative energy

Regenerative energy is the basis for the production of C2C products. Every day, an almost infinite amount of solar energy reaches our earth, which we can use indefinitely to create continuous cycles.

Reversibility

When using materials, it must be ensured that their effect on the environment is reversible. Irreversibility of environmental effects is not tolerated.

Raw material storage

Raw materials are in limited supply, so all products produced from or with them are valuable. We therefore view products as raw material depots (or: material banks). Through circular C2C design, raw materials used in a product retain their value during the use phase. This is supported by business models based on using instead of owning. In this way, companies remain the owners of the valuable raw materials and have an economic advantage through their recycling.

School of thought (C2C School of thought)

The C2C school of thought describes the human image from which Cradle to Cradle starts: we humans are part of nature, can become beneficial organisms with the right design concept and have a positive ecological, economic and social impact on the Earth system. As beneficials, we do not have to be ashamed of our existence and do less and less of the wrong thing, but more and more of the right thing – because it’s good that we humans exist!

Usage scenario

Products for a real circular economy must be designed for their specific usage scenario. What function(s) will the product perform in what context, and will its components circulate in the biosphere, in the technosphere, or in both? If components of the product enter the environment, they must be suitable for the biosphere. If not, the product must be circulable in the technosphere. Copper can have harmful effects in the biological cycle, but is safe to use in the technosphere. A reasonable period of use should also be assessed on a product-specific basis. In that way, a company can count on the return of its high-quality materials and then use them for its further production.

Using instead of owning

When products, wherever it makes sense, no longer become the property of customers but are only used, added value is created for all sides. Manufacturing companies have the incentive to make these products recyclable, modular and easy to repair – because, after use, they get the product back, for example via a product service system. In this way, they cover their own raw material requirements for the future. Clean laundry instead of washing machines, mobility instead of cars, green electricity instead of solar power systems: users, whether private or commercial, receive a service tailored to their needs and completely new revenue models arise for the economy.

Technical Cycle (Technosphere)

Materials such as metals or plastics circulate in the technosphere. They are available in limited quantities on earth and must therefore be maintained at a consistently high quality. Renewable raw materials can also circulate in the technosphere before returning to the biosphere. Office chairs, for example, can be manufactured in such a way that all the materials used can be separated from one another by type and with little effort so that they can be reused afterward.

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.

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