Designing cradle-to-cradle products: a reality check

Abstract

The cradle-to-cradle (C2C) concept of McDonough and Braungart, which has a strong emphasis on materials strategy, gives a vision of a sustainable future, inspired by nature. Their guilt-free approach has enthused many new people, drawing them into the field of sustainability. However, the question of when and how the C2C concept can be applied successfully in business is still being debated. This paper takes a look at the applicability of the C2C concept in day-to-day product development in a business setting. Based on student design projects for several multinationals, the strengths and weaknesses of the concept are evaluated. In particular, the compatibility of C2C and life cycle assessment (LCA) is addressed. The authors conclude that LCA and C2C can and should be used as complementary tools. C2C's main value is that it triggers many questions about current business practice. Designers may play an interesting role in 'paving the way' for the restructuring of business operations according to C2C: through design pilots they can show how C2C could make business sense. LCA should be used to assess whether such pilots still make environmental sense if implemented in today's 'real world'.

Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework

“…CE can therefore appear dogmatic (Bakker et al, 2010) in the belief that having devised a solution implicitly means having solved the problem. Such strong faith in the effectiveness of a technical fix (Amelung and Martens, 2008) resembles the truth claims of the positivistic philosophy of science which neglects the interdependence between knowledge production and social origins of belief (Dolby, 1971).…”

“…This is somewhat contrasted by Bakker et al (2010 p.2) who, in conducting "a reality check" on C2C products, conclude that LCA and C2C can and should be used as complementary tools. For instance, the authors argue that C2C risks identifying all solar technologies as CO2 neutral/positive whereas this might not always be the case, and find in LCA the appropriate tool to assess whether a specific solar technology yields a net carbon reduction over its life cycle (Bakker et al, 2010). Franklin-Johnson et al (2016) acknowledge the importance of LCA assessment methods but also highlight some limitation and therefore develop a new metric that takes into account the longevity as a key element to measure circularity.…”

The Development of a Circular Evaluation (Cev) Tool – Case Study for the 2024 Budapest Olympics

“…Linear economy advertises production based on new resources, and throwing products away after their effective life cycle is over (End-of-Life) [35]. In the circulation of natural ecosystems, the waste of one life form is always the nutrient for yet another [36,37]. It is impossible to imagine that any life form in nature would produce an 'output' which will not become an 'input' for another [38,39,40].…”

Criteria for Sustainable Interior Design Solutions

“…Many interior designers around the world have developed a greater awareness of the need to integrate sustainable strategies into their design solutions; they consider sustainability as inherent to their work and no longer an added value [15]. This attitude has been supported by increased demand for sustainability in recent years that encourages and accelerates the shift of materials and producers toward sustainable principles and practices during the manufacturing process [16]. International and local sustainability associations have also helped to adopt and standardize sustainable practices worldwide; they offer rating and certification systems that help the industry and designers evaluate product and system sustainability [5], [17].…”

“…An LCA is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of all phases of a product's life, including raw material harvesting/extraction, manufacturing, installation/assembly, transportation, usage, and post-use or end of life [30]. Manufacturers must assess a product's impacts and components to understand its full cradleto-grave impacts [16]. Companies must adopt LCA's holistic approach and share the results with the rest of the industry through transparent reporting [29].…”