Cradle to Cradle

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Cradle to Cradle Design (sometimes abbreviated to C2C or in some circles referred to as regenerative) is a biomimetic approach to the design of systems. It models human industry on nature's processes in which materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in healthy, safe metabolisms. It suggests that industry must protect and enrich ecosystems and nature's biological metabolism while also maintaining safe, productive technical metabolism for the high-quality use and circulation of organic and synthetic materials. Put simply, it is a holistic economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are not just efficient but essentially waste free.[1] The model in its broadest sense is not limited to industrial design and manufacturing; it can be applied to many different aspects of human civilization such as urban environments, buildings, economics and social systems.

The phrase "Cradle to Cradle" itself was coined by Walter R. Stahel in the 1970's, and the current model is based on a system of "lifecycle development" initiated by Michael Braungart and colleagues at the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) in the 1990s and explored through the publication A Technical Framework for Life-Cycle Assessment. In partnership with Braungart, William McDonough released the publication Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things in 2002, which is an effective manifesto for Cradle to Cradle Design that gives specific details of how to achieve the model. The model has been implemented by several companies, organisations and governments around the world, particularly in China and the US. Cradle to Cradle has also been the subject matter of many documentary films, including the critically acclaimed Waste=Food.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

In the Cradle to Cradle model, all materials used in industrial or commercial processes--such as metals, fibers, dyes--are seen to fall into one of two categories: "technical" or "biological" nutrients. Technical nutrients are strictly limited to non-toxic, non-harmful synthetic materials that have no negative effects on the natural environment; they can be used in continuous cycles as the same product without losing their integrity or quality. In this manner these materials can be used over and over again instead of being "downcycled" into lesser products, ultimately becoming waste. Biological Nutrients are organic materials that, once used, can be disposed of in any natural environment and decompose into the soil, providing food for small life forms without affecting the natural environment. This is dependent on the ecology of the region; for example, organic material from one country or landmass may be harmful to the ecology of another country or landmass. [2]

[edit] Structure

TBA

[edit] Health

Currently, many human beings come into contact or consume, directly or indirectly, many harmful materials and chemicals on a daily basis. In addition, countless other forms of plant and animal life are also exposed. C2C seeks to remove dangerous technical nutrients (synthetic materials such as mutagenic materials, heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals) from current life cycles. If the materials we come into contact with and are exposed to on a daily basis are not toxic and do not have long term health effects, then the health of the overall system can be better maintained. For example, a fabric factory can eliminate all harmful technical nutrients by carefully reconsidering what chemicals they use in their dyes to achieve the colours they need and attempt to do so with fewer base chemicals. [3]

[edit] Economics

The use of a C2C model often lowers the financial cost of systems. For example, in the redesign of the Ford River Rouge Complex, the planting of native grasses on assembly plant roofs retains and cleanses rain water. It also moderates the internal temperature of the building in order to save energy. The roof is part of an $18 million rainwater treatment system designed to clean 20 billion gallons (76,000,000 m³) of rainwater annually. This saved Ford $50 million that would otherwise have been spent on mechanical treatment facilities.[4] If products are designed according to C2C design principles, they can be manufactured and sold for less than alternative designs. They eliminate the need for waste disposal such as landfills.

[edit] Definitions

  • Cradle to Cradle phrase; essentially a play on the "Cradle to Grave" phrase, implying that the C2C model is sustainable and considerate of life in general.
  • Technical nutrients are basically inorganic or synthetic materials manufactured by humans--such as plastics and metals--that can be used many times over without any loss in quality, staying in a continuous cycle.
  • Biological nutrients and materials are organic materials that can decompose into the natural environment, soil, water, etc. without affecting it in a negative way, providing food for bacteria and microbiological life.
  • Materials are usually referred to as the building blocks of other materials, such as the dyes used in colouring fibers or rubbers used in the sole of a shoe.
  • Downcycling is a term used to describe what is conventionally known as recycling, which is seen as "downcycling" materials into lesser products, a plastic computer housing becomes a plastic cup, which then becomes a park bench, eventually becoming waste.
  • Waste = Food is a basic concept of organic waste materials becoming food for bugs, insects and other small forms of life who can feed on it, decompose it and return it to the natural environment which we then indirectly use for food ourselves.

[edit] Existing Synthetic Materials

The question of how to deal with the countless existing technical nutrients (synthetic materials) that cannot be recycled or reintroduced to the natural environment is dealt with in C2C design. The materials that can be reused and retain their quality can be used within the technical nutrient cycles while other materials are far more difficult to deal with, such as plastics in the Pacific Ocean.

[edit] Hypothetical Examples

One effective example is a shoe that is designed and mass produced using the C2C model. The sole might be made of "technical nutrients" while the upper parts might be made of "biological nutrients." The shoe is mass produced at a manufacturing plant that utilises its waste material by putting it back into the cycle; an example of this is using off-cuts from the rubber soles to make more soles instead of merely disposing of them (this is dependent on the technical materials not losing their quality as they are reused). Once the shoes have been manufactured, they are distributed to retail outlets where the customer buys the shoe at a fraction of the price they would normally pay for a shoe of comparable aspects; the customer is only paying for the use of the materials in the shoe for the period of time that they will be using the shoe. When they outgrow the shoe or it is damaged, they return it to the manufacturer. When the manufacturer separates the sole from the upper parts (separating the technical and biological nutrients), the biological nutrients are returned to the natural environment while the technical nutrients are used to create the sole of another shoe.

Another example of C2C design is a disposable cup, bottle, or wrapper made entirely out of biological materials. When the user is finished with the item, it can be disposed of and returned to the natural environment; the cost of disposal of waste such as landfill and recycling is eliminated. The user could also potentially return the item for a refund so it can be used again.

[edit] Implementation

The C2C model can be applied to almost any system in modern society: urban environments, buildings, manufacturing, social systems. 5 steps are outlined in Cradle to Cradle - Remaking the way we make things: [5]

  • Get "free of" known culprits
  • Follow informed personal preferences
  • Create "passive positive" lists - lists of materials used categorised according to their safety level
The X List - substances that must be phased out, such as teratogenic, mutagenic, carcinogenic.
The Gray List - problematic substances that are not so urgently in need of phasing out
The P List - the "positive" list, substances actively defined as safe for use
  • Activate the positive list
  • Reinvent - the redesign of the former system

C2C principles were first applied to systems in the early 1990s by Hamburger Umweltinstitut and The Environmental Institute in Brazil for biomass nutrient recycling of effluent to produce agricultural products and clean water as a byproduct.

While the C2C model has influenced the construction or redevelopment of many smaller buildings, several large companies, organisations and governments have also implemented the C2C model and it's ideas and concepts:

[edit] Major Implementations


[edit] Co-ordination with other models

The Cradle to Cradle model can be viewed as a framework that considers systems as a whole or holistically. It can be applied to many aspects of human society, and is related to Life cycle assessment. The model in some implementations is closely linked with the Car-free movement, such as in the case of large scale building projects or the construction or redevelopment of urban environments. It is closely linked with passive solar design in the building industry and with permaculture in agriculture within or near urban environments.

[edit] Criticism

Recently, criticism has been advanced [8][9] on the fact that McDonough and Braungart keep C2C consultancy and certification in their inner circle. The authors argue that this lack of competition prevents the model fulfilling its potential. They plea for a Public Private Partnership overseeing the C2C concept, thus enabling competition and growth of practical applications and services.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lovins, L. Hunter (2008). Rethinking production in State of the World 2008, pp. 38-40.
  2. ^ Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things, 2002.
  3. ^ Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things, 2002.
  4. ^ http://archrecord.construction.com/features/bwarAwards/archives/04b_fordRouge.asp
  5. ^ Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things, 2002.
  6. ^ Article from The Age, August 2006
  7. ^ http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0801/mcd/
  8. ^ "Cradle to Cradle urgently needs a Dutch private partnership"
  9. ^ "Green Guru William McDonough Must Change, Demand His Biggest Fans", FastCompany.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle"
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