Cradle to Cradle®

Tool Category	Website	Owner/Sponsor	Entity Type	Product Categories
Standards, Certifications & Labels	www.c2ccertified.org	Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute	nonprofit	All Sectors

Cradle to Cradle® is a multi-attribute third party certification program that evaluates a product through five quality categories — material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness. A product receives an achievement level in each category with the lowest achievement level representing the product’s overall grade.  The program is designed to encourage continuous improvement in product design.

What Is Evaluated?

Focus	Impacts
Chemicals Materials Products Companies	Ecological health Human health Social responsibility Materials efficiency Energy use

Description

The Cradle to Cradle® certification program includes requirements for:

• Material health — the toxicity of every material that goes into a product is examined and a path to improve product design and safety to humans and the environment is provided to manufacturers.
• Material reutilization — promotes design that encourages the recyclability of the product for future uses.
• Renewable energy and carbon management — manufacturers are encouraged to go beyond energy efficiency and commit themselves to renewable sources of energy during the manufacturing process.
• Water stewardship — manufacturers are encouraged to operate in a way that has the water leaving the factory as clean as or cleaner than when it came in.
• Social fairness— manufacturers are encouraged to practice business in a way that respects the health, safety, and rights of people and the planet.

There are five levels of product certification: Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The minimum level of achievement in any of the categories determines the product’s overall certification level.

 Products or materials from any industry that are sold to consumers or other businesses are eligible for certification. Certification criteria are the same for all product types.

 Every manufacturer receiving the certification mark for their product is required to make a good faith effort toward continuous improvement and optimization.

 Manufacturers can also apply to receive a product Material Health Certificate. The requirements that must be met in order to achieve a Material Health Certificate are identical to the requirements at each level of the Material Health section of the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard, in addition to the Continuous Improvement/Optimization requirement.  There are four levels of Material Health Certification – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Requirements

Companies seeking certification must list product ingredients above 0.01% concentration, along with related MSDS's, test results, etc.. Products cannot contain any chemicals on the C2C Banned List. All products must be able to be disassembled and recycled. Data about the manufacturing process (including energy use, water use, and social responsibility practices) is also required. There are additional requirements with each level of certification.

 The C2C certification requires annual surveillance to confirm that products continue to meet the standard’s requirements, including continual improvement. The product must be re-certified every two years.

Cost

 Fees for product certification can be found on the Cradle2 Cradle web site: www.c2ccertified.org/resources/collection-page/cradle-to-cradle-certified-resources

For More Information

info@c2ccertified.org or 415-816-7087