cradle to cradle design william mcdonough

Biological Nutrients: These are organic materials that can be readily and safely disposed of in a particular natural environment without negative environmental impact, thus providing nutrients to life forms.The use of renewable energy sources to include wind power and solar power, including concentrated solar power and photovoltaic technologies, promote the use of perpetual inputs for energy production.įurthermore, in their model, Braungart and McDonough also explained that materials produced and used for industrial and commercial purposes fall into either one of the two categories: biological nutrients and technical nutrients. Second is the need to maximize renewable energy. Societies should also deploy systems aimed at collecting and recovering the value of these materials following their use. Industries should produce materials that could be reused perpetually. First is the elimination of the concept of waste. Nevertheless, it is fundamentally a criticism of the popular corporate phrase “cradle to grave,” which describes traditional production and consumption models within a linear economy characterized by the life cycle of a product beginning as a raw material extracted from nature and ending as waste materials in landfills.īraungart and McDonough laid down key tenets for integrating the C2C approach within the economy. It also sees wastes as everlasting resources that could be reintroduced back into the economy.

Understanding the Principles of Cradle to CradleĬradle to Cradle or C2C is a design approach to production and consumption based on biomimicry or processes found in nature that considers resources and materials as “nutrients” circulating indefinitely within the economy in a feedback-rich closed-loop.

Cradle to cradle design william mcdonough