Cradle to Cradle Gains Independence: A First Look at the 3.0 Launch

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the C2C material screening process was proprietary. It is, however, available on the group's website.The long-anticipated third version of the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) green product standard will add a new certification level and make energy and water requirements more stringent—at the same time loosening ingredient disclosure requirements—for entry-level certification. Control of the standard has also been transferred to the nonprofit Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII), which announced the changes at a November 14 press conference at Greenbuild 2012 in San Francisco.

Under new management

The most radical change to C2C is its ownership. Former owner McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) was founded by architect William McDonough, FAIA, and chemist Michael Braungart, Ph.D., in 1995—and they have been gradually transferring control to C2CPII since 2010 (see “What’s New in Multi-Attribute Environmental Certifications”). With the release of 3.0, that transfer is complete and C2C officially becomes a third-party standard, meaning that manufacturers seeking C2C certification will no longer work with MBDC, which wrote the certification, and instead consult with companies implementing the C2C requirements. MBDC and its European partner, Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA), are now independent third-party assessors, and they’re joined by the first newcomer to the team, Toxicology consulting company ToxServices.