- A sustainable model of production in which its goal is to ensure no waste in nature.
- Encourages reducing, reusing and recycling of products.
- Cradle to grave: one time use products (most common).
FAQs: Cradle to Cradle Design & Manufacturing
Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is a design philosophy and framework for products and systems that goes beyond traditional sustainability. Instead of minimizing negative impacts ("cradle to grave"), it aims to create entirely positive impacts by designing products and processes that can be safely and perpetually cycled, viewing materials as valuable nutrients in either biological or technical cycles.
Applying C2C to manufacturing means integrating its principles throughout the production process. This includes:
- Using safe and healthy materials that can be recycled or composted.
- Designing products for disassembly and material recovery.
- Powering manufacturing facilities with renewable energy.
- Managing water sustainably in operations.
- Ensuring social fairness within the company and its supply chain.
The goal is to manufacture products in a way that creates no waste and uses only circular, safe resources.
The fundamental idea is to mimic nature's circular metabolism. In nature, there is no "waste" in the human sense; everything is a nutrient for something else. C2C design and manufacturing aim to replicate this by planning for materials to circulate in either the biosphere (biodegradable materials) or technosphere (technical materials that are recycled), eliminating the concept of disposal and harmful byproducts. It's a framework for innovation that creates products that are not only effective but also environmentally and socially beneficial throughout their entire lifecycle and beyond.
