A world without waste — wouldn't that be a dream? If you act according to the Cradle to Cradle® design principle (C2C), it comes true. In fact, there will only be houses and entire cities made of chemically safe materials that can circulate potentially indefinitely and no longer become waste in the current sense of the word. Cradle to Cradle, “from cradle to cradle,” is the solution for creating 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 really become popular in the construction industry since it is known that it is not just the energy consumption of buildings that determines sustainability. Factors such as the origin and nature of the materials as well as the general effects 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 using the Cradle to Cradle® design principle (C2C):

• are designed to be variable and reusable
• easy to disassemble
• energy positive
• Can be separated by type
• recyclable
• positive for people and the environment
• become long-lasting and valuable raw material deposits
• Release resources as planned after the end of use
• contribute to maintaining the value of the property

The C2C principles are applied at all stages of the life cycle of a product or building. Starting with material and design, which influences durability, reprocessing, repairability and biodegradability, to dismantling and sorting various recyclable materials after use and preparing them for reuse. Whether it's a component or a plant component, the same higher-level process applies to every material. The Cradle to Cradle® design principle (C2C) is even more: As a holistic concept, it includes everything that is involved in the production of a product or building:

• Origin/Supply chain: completely comprehensible from mining raw materials to manufacturing products and transportation
• Transport routes: short
• Production and transport: fair
• Material and design: durable, healthy, repairable, recyclable
• Energy source: regenerative
• Raw materials: preferably from biogenic, renewable or recycled material
• Materials: made from positively defined ingredients
• Planning from the outset with regard to easy interchangeability or adaptability of individual functional units
• Separability of components into their components, layers or recycling units
• Water resource: responsible use
• Biodiversity and biodiversity: active increase

A lot of data must be collected in the process. They are recorded in, among other things, Circularity Passport® Buildings, an important planning and documentation tool. This material passport reveals everything about the recyclability of a building, e.g. 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 allows you to identify the material value of a building, store material information over long periods of time, reliably determine residual raw material values and continuously document the use cycle of a building. Together, Circularity Passport and Madaster form the basis for the building materials register, which serves to plan and optimize raw materials management. In short: Circularity Passport + Madaster = material cadastre.

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Also published on ASSETPHYSICS.

Author: Matthias Heinrich

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