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William McDonough

Chief Executive at McDonough Innovation

William McDonough is a world-renowned architect and designer, recently recognized as one of the 50 World's Greatest Leaders of 2019. Throughout his career, he has been considered a global thought leader in the articulation of design for Sustainable Development. He is recognized as a pioneer of the concepts of Cradle to Cradle Design™ and the Circular Economy notably co-authoring Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (2002), widely recognized as a seminal text of the circular economy design movement, and its follow up, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance (2013).

He advises world leaders through McDonough Innovation and leads the architectural firm William McDonough + Partners as well as MBDC, developers and assessors of products for Cradle to Cradle Certification™. He co-founded the Sustainable Packaging Coalition in 2009 and currently works with companies on reusable, recyclable, compostable and recoverable packaging. He also co-founded Fashion for Good, a joint-industry initiative aiming to transform the global apparel chain into a force for good.

McDonough received the inaugural U.S. Presidential Award for Sustainable Development in 1996 and the U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2003. For the World Economic Forum, he chaired the inaugural Global Meta-Council on the Circular Economy (2014-2016) and in Davos received the Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership in 2017. From 1999-2009 he was the U.S. Chairman for the China-U.S Center for Sustainable Development.

He has been teaching at Stanford University since 2004 and previously was the A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University (1999-2004) and Dean of the School of Architecture and the Edward E. Elson Endowed Chair at the University of Virginia (1994-1999).

Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet,” noting: “His utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.”

William McDonough is tagged in 5 stories.
Brand Leaders, Visionaries Gather to Help Sustainability Practitioners ‘Recenter & Accelerate’
Brand Leaders, Visionaries Gather to Help Sustainability Practitioners ‘Recenter & Accelerate’

Leadership / This week at SB’22 San Diego, over 1K sustainability practitioners have converged to share insights, tools, inspiration and opportunities for collaboration with the goal of building a regenerative future for all. On opening night, luminaries from a variety of disciplines reminded attendees the importance of taking a breath and opening your mind. - 1 year ago

AI, Biomaterials, Circularity: The A-B-Cs of a Flourishing Future
AI, Biomaterials, Circularity: The A-B-Cs of a Flourishing Future

The Next Economy / On Monday and Tuesday at SB’19 Detroit, dozens of encouraging stories and divergent strategies emerged from the growing roster of organizations on a mission to improve some of our most common products and services. - 4 years ago

MBDC, Toxnot Collaborate to Optimize Supply Chain, Material Transparency
MBDC, Toxnot Collaborate to Optimize Supply Chain, Material Transparency

Supply Chain / An end-to-end solution — from supplier to sustainable product certification, designed to clean up products and global supply chains — goes live. - 4 years ago

Good Scents: An Inside Look at Cradle to Cradle’s New Certified Fragrances
Good Scents: An Inside Look at Cradle to Cradle’s New Certified Fragrances

Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / What do actress Michelle Pfeiffer; William McDonough, creator of the Cradle to Cradle® design framework and a pioneer of the circular economy movement; and perfume have in common? Likely nothing, until recently — when two newly launched products brought the certification into new territory. - 4 years ago

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New McDonough-Waste Management Collaborative Focuses on Product and Packaging Innovation [Video]
New McDonough-Waste Management Collaborative Focuses on Product and Packaging Innovation [Video]

Waste Not / During his plenary presentation last night at the SB '13 conference, designer, author and sustainability thought leader William McDonough announced a new partnership between McDonough Innovation and Waste Management, Inc — North America's largest environmental solutions provider and residential recycler. - 10 years ago