Cradle to Cradle is a unique approach to commerce that expands the notion of quality to jointly maximize environmental, social and economic performance. The Cradle to Cradle^SM framework perceives the safe and productive processes of nature's "biological metabolism" (the natural ecosystem) as a model for developing an equally effective "technical metabolism" for recycling materials. As a result, designers can select product ingredients that are safe and beneficial-either to biodegrade naturally, returning safely to the ecosystem, or to be fully recycled for subsequent product generations.

Cradle to Cradle also incorporates strategies to enhance renewable energy use, efficiency of water use, quality of water effluent, and socially responsible operations of manufacturers. By reorienting design to continuously recover and reutilize materials within these metabolisms, as well as produce ecologically-intelligent impacts, we can move towards, in the words of MBDC co-founders William McDonough and Michael Braungart, "eliminating the concept of waste."

Cradle to Cradle establishes a trajectory of positive improvement by maximizing quality across multiple measures, instead of simply reducing or limiting negative impacts -- "being less bad is not being good." It helps harness creativity, spur innovation, pursue wholly positive goals and build value for an organization and its stakeholders.

More information:

Cradle to Cradle Certification
USPS and Cradle to Cradle

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