Cradle to Cradle

Most ambitious and practical standard for designing and manufacturing products that enable a healthy, fair, and sustainable future.
Founded: 2005
Sector: General

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Objective

The way we design and manufacture products today has a direct impact on the world we will inhabit tomorrow.

The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Version 4.0 is the most ambitious and practical standard for designing and manufacturing products that enable a healthy, fair, and sustainable future.

Cradle to Cradle Certified® Version 4.0 provides companies of all sizes with a comprehensive, single-standard solution to move from commitment to action, addressing interconnected sustainability topics and developing safe and circular products.

For over a decade, Cradle to Cradle Certified has helped companies innovate and optimize materials and products according to the world’s most advanced scientific measures.

The standard enables brands, manufacturers, and product designers to:

Prioritize actions in five sustainability focus areas: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air & Climate Protection, Water & Soil Management, and Social Fairness;
Develop roadmaps for change, covering everything from product innovation to operations;
Transform business models, systems, and collaboration across their value chain;
Verify sustainability performance and measure progress;
Lead industry transformation toward a safe, circular, and equitable future.

What’s new in Version 4.0?

Cradle to Cradle Certified Version 4.0 introduces new and enhanced requirements across all performance categories, including:

New frameworks for product circularity and social fairness that define global best practices.
Stricter requirements for Clean Air & Climate Protection, promoting urgent actions to address climate change.
Expanded requirements for Water & Soil Management to ensure clean water and healthy soils are available for people and all other organisms.
Improved alignment of Material Health requirements with major chemical regulations and other standards, including a new Restricted Substances List.