Material
ConneXion, MBDC
and EPEA Announce
Strategic Collaboration
Partnership
Establishes
Global Platform
for Cradle
to CradleSM
Materials and
Design
(9/19/07)
NEW
YORK, NY - Material
ConneXion, Inc., McDonough
Braungart Design Chemistry,
LLC (MBDC) and the Environmental
Protection Encouragement
Agency (EPEA) announced
today a groundbreaking
strategic collaboration
to create a global platform
for developing innovative
sustainable materials
and products. Together,
they will provide services
that will help companies
expand their ability
to innovate and create
higher quality, more
sustainable products
and processes, while
increasing
their profitability.
“Material
ConneXion’s
unparalleled material
expertise, commitment
to sustainability, and
global reach make them
the perfect partner for
this collaboration,” said
MBDC co-founder William
McDonough.
The
relationship will help
to promote and disseminate
Cradle to CradleSM design
principles by providing
greater global access
to Cradle to Cradle material
information, certification
and product development.
As of January 2008, Material
ConneXion’s
libraries in New York,
Milan, Cologne and Bangkok
will feature Cradle to
Cradle Assessed and Certified
materials, and, in collaboration
with MBDC and EPEA, Material
ConneXion will offer
Cradle to Cradle Certification,
and Cradle to Cradle
product development.
“We
are thrilled to partner
with such visionaries
as William McDonough
and Michael Braungart,” said
Material ConneXion Founder
and President George
Beylerian, ”This
truly will be an industry-changing
collaboration and signals
an important step forward
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. Material
ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA,
each leading experts
in their respective fields,
offer specific knowledge
in sustainable material
solutions and practices,
objective design recommendations,
and a breadth of worldwide
experience across multiple
industries that can be
instrumental in helping
companies achieve their
product goals.
“Cradle
to Cradle’s
promise of ‘total
beauty’ begins
with the right material
solutions and there is
no better place to find
them than Material ConneXion,” said
EPEA and MBDC co-founder
Michael Braungart.
By
pushing for better product
design, smart production
processes, and a greater
use, re-use, and recycling
of defined, ecologically
intelligent materials,
companies can incorporate
environmentally conscious
planning into their own
frameworks.
To
facilitate this, Material
ConneXion, MBDC and EPEA
will jointly offer the
following services:
Workshops Workshops will provide
an understanding of Material
Intelligence, Sustainability
and Cradle to Cradle
design principles. Workshops
can be tailored to assist
design teams—from
large corporations to
smaller forward thinking
companies—in
defining these concepts
as they pertain to their
own industry and work.
Materials
Assessment, Process
Evaluation and Certification Material
assessment will provide
material manufacturers
within the Material ConneXion
library with material
assessments and the tools
to achieve Cradle to
Cradle Certification.
Certification benchmarks
the size of the environmental
footprint of a product
against an internationally
recognized standard that
will provide companies
with a new marketing
and selling tool as well
as help them chart and
realize continuous improvement
over time.
Material/Product
Development Project This
service assists companies
in developing ecologically
intelligent, sustainable
products or materials.
By leveraging the combined
expertise in the field
of sustainable materials
and Cradle to Cradle
process of the three
partners, innovative
sustainable products
can be developed that
could be a source of
new and increased revenue
for clients.
About
Material ConneXion™
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™.
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,
including exhibitions,
an annual conference
on materials and design,
and MATTER magazine,
published quaterly. This
December, Material ConneXIon
will publish its second
book, Ultra Materials:
How Materials Innovation
is Changing the World.
About
MBDC (McDonough Braungart
Design Chemistry, LLC.)
MBDC
was founded in 1995 by
internationally recognized
architect/designer William
McDonough together with
Prof. Michael Braungart,
as a strategic environmental
consulting and design
firm, dedicated to revolutionizing
the design of products
and services worldwide
using Cradle to CradleSM
design. 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 called
Cradle to Cradle design
and the implementation
of eco-effective design
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 CradleSM
Product Certification
System that verifies
manufactures’ achievements
using a series of environmental
and social criteria.
These criteria are based
on the principles of
Cradle to Cradle design,
developed by McDonough
and Braungart. Cradle
to CradleSM is a service
mark of MBDC.
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 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 of service,
where technical nutrients
are recovered and processed,
based on EPEA’s
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 CradleSM
Product Certification
System developed by MBDC.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE
CONTACT:
Material
ConneXion (U.S.)
Sarah
Natkins
Dir.
Marketing + Communications
T
212 842 1509
E
snatkins@materialconnexion.com
MBDC
(U.S.)
Steve
Bolton
Manager
of Business Development
T
434 295 1111
E
steve@mbdc.com
EPEA
(Germany)
Albin
Kaelin
T
+ 49 40 43 13 49 0
E
albin.kaelin@ria.com
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