Major Changes Underway With Cradle to Cradle Certification

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) is in the process of transferring the Cradle to Cradle Certification system to the Green Products Innovation Institute (GPII), a recently formed, California-based nonprofit organization. In a high-profile news conference at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, on May 20, 2010, William McDonough was joined by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Global Green executive director Matt Peterson, and leaders of Herman Miller, Shaw, and YouTube in announcing the formation of GPII, which is focused on “transforming the making and consumption of things into a regenerative force for the planet.”

GPII will take over the review of Cradle to Cradle applications and issue certifications. Over the next few years, GPII will gradually assume management and further development of the Cradle to Cradle Certification protocols. To date, 100 companies have engaged in the Cradle to Cradle process, and 300 products currently carry the certification.

According the James Ewell, the director of consulting for MBDC, the transfer of the certification program to GPII was driven partly by confusion about the program and criticism that the party responsible for administration and maintenance of the program was not separate from the party that helps companies comply with the program requirements (see the feature article “Cradle to Cradle Certification: A Peek Inside the Black Box” in