Innovation & Technology
Latest C2C Certified Product Standard Open for Public Comment

Recognized as the world’s leading science-based standard for responsible production and consumption, the Standard encourages innovation to maximize the positive impacts of products and materials.

Published 5 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Today, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is inviting all stakeholders to help shape the fourth version of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard during a 60-day public comment period from 5 August to 4 October 2019.

The draft standard and public comment form can be found on the Institute’s website; input received during the public comment period will be considered for inclusion in the final standard, slated for release in 2020.

Recognized as the world’s leading multi-attribute, science-based standard for responsible production and consumption, the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard provides a continuous improvement pathway for optimizing and verifying products for the circular economy. The Standard helps designers and manufacturers put the Cradle to Cradle design principles into practice and encourages innovation to maximize the positive impacts of their products and materials.

The Cradle to Cradle Certified Version 4 draft standard was developed via a multi-stakeholder process led by the Institute’s Certification Standards Board, an independent standard-setting body comprised of leading manufacturers, independent assessors, and technical subject matter experts. The Institute’s Stakeholder Advisory Council and five Technical Advisory Groups also participated in the development.

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According to Dr. Susan Klosterhaus, the Institute’s VP of science and certification, Version 4 of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard was developed to keep the certification on the leading edge of science-based standards for safe and circular design.

“The draft standard reflects a continued evolution in our understanding of how product design and manufacturing affect environmental and human health issues of critical global concern,” Klosterhaus said. “As a result, the draft standard reflects rigorous yet feasible requirements across all five certification categories — material health, product circularity, renewable energy and climate, water stewardship, and social fairness.”

“Input from our stakeholders on these new requirements is vital to ensuring the standard is both practical to implement and remains the world’s most advanced framework for designing, making and verifying materials and products with the circular economy in mind.”

Key changes reflected in the Cradle to Cradle Certified Version 4 draft standard include:

New general requirements for compliance assurance, environmental policy and management, and measurable improvement.
New frameworks for product circularity, water stewardship and social fairness, defining global best practices and aligned with leading environmental and social compliance standards.
A new Restricted Substances List (RSL), designed to help ensure Cradle to Cradle Certified requirements for Material Health align with leading international regulations and with widely accepted best practices for chemicals of concern.

“The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard is already recognized as a powerful, practical change-making tool for making products that exert a positive impact on humans and the environment,” said Peter Templeton, Institute president and CEO. “Through the development of Cradle to Cradle Certified Version 4, we aim to further elevate the value of Cradle to Cradle Certified as a driver of materials innovation and as an optimization pathway for safe and circular products.”

To prepare for participation in the public comment period, the Institute invites stakeholders to attend webinars highlighting key features of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard on 6 August; and 10, 11 and 12 September. Details available here.

More information about the Cradle to Cradle Certified Version 4 draft standard, including the standard development process and the public comment period are available on the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute website.