While the increasing number of companies embracing the Cradle to Cradle concept and the fast-growing number of certified products are important measures of success, until now the actual impact of optimizing and certifying products has not been independently tested on a large and uniform scale.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute commissioned Trucost, a leading global environmental data and insight company, to develop an assessment framework with clearly defined indicators to determine the effect of optimization on the business, environmental and social impact of products.
The framework looks at the five categories of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard and how these categories drive change in companies to improve performance, and to enhance and protect all forms of capital.
A team of independent scientists from leading international institutions, such as Oxford, Yale and Delft University, along with stakeholders, reviewed the framework to ensure the methodology was robust and reliable.
The framework can be a comprehensive method for companies to improve their internal processes and business operations by reducing costs and enhancing product quality. In addition, it can improve reporting practices on the performance of their complete product portfolio. This will let companies strengthen and support sustainability claims, which can be used in decision-making and communication. The certification program helps validate sustainability claims and makes them explicit on a product level.
