Cradle to Cradle Certified®: New executive director ready to step on the accelerator

The circular design concept Cradle to Cradle Certified® needs to reach even more companies. That’s the view of the new Executive Director of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, Elwyn Grainger-Jones. He is ready to step up the necessary development with a series of initiatives. 

Elwyn Grainger-Jones doesn't seem impatient when you talk to him. But the Executive Director of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute cannot wait any longer. 

Throughout the interview he is calm and considered, which he also has every reason to be when you read his CV. An economist by training, the Brit has already had an impressive career that includes stints at the World Bank, the UK Government, the United Nations and most recently as director of CGIAR, the world’s largest network for agricultural innovation and research. 

“After working in the public sector for a number of years, I really wanted to work more directly with private companies, and when I heard about the position here, it sounded fascinating,” says Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who admits that before joining the company, he had only heard about the landmark book that is the foundation of the institute. 

The book 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things' was published in 2002. Written by German chemist Michael Braungart and American architect William McDonough, the two authors argued for a break with the single-use, throw-away approach to product development – and a break with the idea that 'less harmful' products are good enough. This is the design concept that Troldtekt has been working with since 2012.

“I took a closer look at the book and was really captivated by the concept,” he says, and in the summer of 2023 he took up the position as Executive Director of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

Things are moving too slowly

This is where Grainger-Jones' impatience starts to shine through. Because while he believes there has been significant progress in reducing our carbon and environmental footprint, the pace is still too slow to address the pressing environmental challenges. 

"We're moving alarmingly fast towards exceeding planetary limits – and in some places exceeding them even further. We risk entering into all kinds of dangerous vicious cycles, which could bring us into truly unknown territory," he warns. 

As an example, he mentions the footprint of the construction industry:

"There are currently 250 billion square metres of construction in the world, and a further 250 billion square metres are expected over the next 40 years. That's comparable to the industry building the equivalent of Paris – every week!" he says and hastens to add that there are definitely positive developments towards reducing its footprint:

"Something is clearly happening as regards the pace of innovation of new solutions. In my career alone, I've experienced an impressive change in people’s mindset around these questions. But the speed of actual actions is still too slow," he says. 

According to Elwyn Grainger-Jones, this is where the institute and Cradle to Cradle Certified® product certification plays a decisive role. They provide companies with a concrete framework and roadmap for translating ESG principles into action.

An antidote against stagnation and empty talk

According to Grainger-Jones, one of the reasons for the slow progress in curbing the climate crisis is that too many companies get away with empty talk. However, he adds that the EU’s Green Claims Directive will tackle misleading marketing. Elwyn Grainger-Jones believes that Cradle to Cradle is an antidote against both stagnation and greenwashing.  

"Cradle to Cradle Certified is a third-party verified recognition that the company’s work is not just pure rhetoric. Companies that want certification really need to dig deep." he explains. 

Cradle to Cradle Certified, in which version 4.1 has now been released, focuses on five critical areas: 

  • ·        material health
  • ·        product circularity
  • ·        clean air and climate protection
  • ·        water and soil stewardship
  • ·        social fairness.

 

The deep and holistic approach allows companies to review their products and processes at a very detailed level.

According to Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Cradle to Cradle is a good complement to the official ESG reporting requirements that more and more companies must meet:

"Receiving our certification is a win-win situation, in the sense that the requirements you have to live up to with us cover so many EU compliance requirements – the digital product passport, for example. But there are also many areas where our requirements generate innovation – such as on circularity, or are stricter – for example, our material health analysis is much more thorough" he says. 

But Elwyn Grainger-Jones wants many more companies to discover the Cradle to Cradle Certification program, which is why he has launched a number of important initiatives.

C2C for many more

In a previous interview with the Sustainable Brands portal, Elwyn Grainger-Jones said that Cradle to Cradle Certification is used by more than 500 companies across 70,000 products. According to Grainger-Jones, however, this figure needs to increase exponentially to realise the required potential and reduce companies’ environmental and carbon footprint. Therefore, the institute has begun extensive work to further strengthen the value-proposition of the certification program: keeping the Cradle to Cradle Certified as a high-level certification while increasing the program’s recognition and decreasing the cost to make the certification more accessible to companies:

"We are in the process of digitising the certification process. Of course, there will still be lots of human interaction with, for example, our assessment organisations, which will continue to play a very critical role, but we need to digitise the rest of the experience" he says. The institute just released an update to its main standard based on user experience and feedback, is about to release a new circularity-focused certification,m and is adding new external recognitions such as Germany’s DGNB to build on the program’s already strong recognition in platforms such as Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly, LEED and WELL.

"Certifications of this kind will always contain some friction. The standard isn't designed to be easy. You can find easy elsewhere. What we're looking for is to keep the hard-won reputation of Cradle to Cradle Certified as a high-level certification and remove unnecessary friction, so we can reach more people," he explains, adding that some of the barriers to the certification process have been removed in the latest version of the standard. 

Despite his impatience, however, Elwyn Grainger-Jones is optimistic:

"My long-standing experience with climate and environmental change management is that it feels really difficult at first. It feels like things are going slowly when you do it, but when you look back you think 'wow, we achieved a lot'," he says.

FACTS:

About the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

  • -        Founded as a non-profit organisation in 2010.
  • -        The institute currently consists of a key team of 20 employees and has offices in both the USA (San Francisco) and Europe (Amsterdam).
  • -        Over 500 companies worldwide work with the Cradle to Cradle Certified standard.
  • -        This has resulted in more than 1,000 certifications across approximately 70,000 products.
  • -        The companies are located in Europe, North America and Australia.