If buildings are built according to the Cradle to Cradle® principle, they become long-lasting raw material depots that return resources in a targeted manner. Just like in nature, where waste is not left behind, but becomes nutrients for something new.
A world without waste – wouldn’t that be a dream? If you act according to the Cradle to Cradle® design principle (C2C), it will come true. Then there will only be houses and entire cities made of chemically harmless materials that can potentially circulate indefinitely and no longer become waste in today’s sense. Cradle to Cradle is the solution to create a waste-free “true” circular economy.
What almost sounds like a fairy tale is basically old hat. The C2C design principle was developed back in the 1990s by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, William McDonough and EPEA Hamburg. It has only become really popular in the construction industry since it became known that it is not only the energy consumption of buildings that determines sustainability. Factors such as the origin and nature of the materials as well as the general impact of a construction project on the environment and people also play a major role. So you have to build differently. Better. More future-oriented.
Buildings according to the Cradle to Cradle® design principle (C2C):
- are designed to be variable and repurposeable
- Easy to disassemble
- Energy positive
- Can be separated by type
- recyclable
- Positive for people and the environment
- become long-lasting and valuable raw material depots
- free up resources after the end of use as planned
- contribute to the preservation of the value of the property
The C2C principles are applied at all stages of the life cycle of a product or a building. Starting with material and design, which influences service life, reprocessing, repairability and biodegradability, to the dismantling and sorting of various recyclable materials after use and their preparation for reuse. Whether it is a component or a system component, the same higher-level process applies to every material.
The Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) design principle is even more: As a holistic concept, it encompasses everything that is involved in the production of a product or building:
- Origin / supply chain: seamlessly traceable from the extraction of raw materials to the manufacture of products and transport
- Transport routes: short
- Production and transport: fair
- Material and design: durable, healthy, repairable, recyclable
- Energy source: renewable
- Raw materials: preferably from biogenic, renewable or recycled material
- Materials: from positively defined ingredients
- Planning from the outset with regard to easy interchangeability or adaptability of individual functional units
- Separability of the components into their components, layers or recycling units
- Water as a resource: responsible use
- Biodiversity and biodiversity: active increase
A lot of data has to be recorded. They are recorded in the Circularity Passport® Buildings, an important planning and documentation tool, among other things. This material passport reveals everything about the recyclability of a building, proves, for example, which components used can be easily separated and how the installed products are composed.
An important companion of the Circularity Passport is Madaster, a platform that can be used to show the material value of a building, store material information over long periods of time, reliably determine raw material residual values and continuously document the use cycle of a building. Circularity Passport and Madaster together form the basis for the building material cadastre, which serves to plan and optimize raw material management.
In short: Circularity Passport + Madaster = Material Cadastre.
About EPEA
EPEA is part of the consulting firm Drees & Sommer and optimizes products, processes, buildings and neighborhoods. The international team of scientists, engineers and industrial consultants supports companies and builders around the globe worldwide on their way to a true circular economy. Company goal: to create added value for users, the environment and the economy with the Cradle to Cradle principle and to leave a positive footprint.
