A GOLDEN MILESTONE
DESSO is the first carpet tile manufacturer in
the world to achieve a Cradle to Cradle® GOLD level
certification
A GOLDEN MILESTONE
In a world challenged by resource scarcity, climate
change and an increasing population, we believe
it is essential to make a paradigm shift in thinking
about how our products are designed, what goes
into them and where they go after use.
We see Cradle to Cradle® product certification as a set of milestones along the road we are travelling. It is also a tangible way of measuring our
achievements, as it is both comprehensive and rigorous.
On our C2C journey, we have reached a major milestone in becoming
the first carpet tile manufacturer in the world to achieve a Cradle to
Cradle® Gold level certification for an entire collection of products.
Desso’s Gold Collection comes with EcoBase™ backing as standard,
contains ECONYL® 100% regenerated nylon and upcycled re-engineered
calcium carbonate (chalk), a residual material stream from local drinking water companies.
Our Gold certification is the culmination of seven years of hard work and
effort along the path to the circular economy, based on C2C principles. Achieving a gold level certification represents a major milestone in
achieving our goals as set out in our C2C Roadmap to 2020. Our journey
and achievements so far are described in this brochure.
Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM is a certification mark licensed
by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
A GOLDEN MILESTONE
TM
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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
As one of the pioneers of Cradle to Cradle® design
principles, it was a natural decision for Desso to take
the road less travelled.
When we began our Cradle to Cradle® journey in 2008, we decided that
this would be a central part of our corporate vision – of what we wanted
to be as a business.
It would ensure that our footprint was positive to the environment and
society, as well as helping us to create products that added value
and supported our vision of ‘making the floor work for our health and
wellbeing’.
As in Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken we stood at a
fork in the road and faced two paths: one pointed towards Cradle to
Cradle®; the other to business as usual. And, to borrow Frost’s words, we
took the road less travelled by and that has made all the difference.
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INSPIRED BY NATURE
When you look to nature for inspiration, rewards
tend to come naturally. With our innovative agenda we aim to improve people’s quality of life, and
create a positive environmental footprint.
The Cradle to Cradle® philosophy teaches us in a very practical manner
how to design products in a new way, so that we can be smarter about
our use of finite resources and make sure we use positively defined1) materials that can be safely used in new products.
In nature, everything that becomes waste helps to create something
new. C2C encourages industry to mimic nature, where materials are treated as nutrients to make new goods. Some of the materials go through
the manufacturing process (a technical cycle) and some go back into
the earth to biodegrade (the biological cycle).
The cherry tree provides a perfect example of what industry can learn
from nature. Everything that falls from the tree has a purpose, helping to
rejuvenate new life. Nothing is wasted. Waste equals food, whether that
is for the tree itself, insects, animals or humans.
Products created in this way are ‘eco-effective’ as they are made not
just to benefit consumers but also the ecosystem and human health.
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TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The earth has a fragile eco-system which can nourish
and supply our needs but its resources are finite.
The reality is we need to develop an eco-effective
system, in which we can shape healthy economic
growth for current and future generations in a sustainable way.
For the past seven years we have been on a clear course towards the
circular economy, rooted in the principles of Cradle to Cradle®. At the
heart of the C2C concept is the notion of ‘doing the right things right’.
The 150 year old linear model often referred to as the ‘take, make and
waste’ model once seemed to make sense. Now, this is no longer the
case. One answer would be to curb economic growth and encourage everyone to spend less. However, we believe there is a better alternative, in which more people can benefit from economic growth and
prosperity. Therefore, our commitment to C2C and the circular economy
remains a key focus for us.
We made C2C one of the three pillars of our innovation programme in
2008, alongside creativity and functionality. These pillars are helping us to
achieve our corporate responsibility goals, as well as driving innovation
and further business success. Furthermore, it enables us to reshape our
business for the circular economy, guided by our 2020 C2C Roadmap
(for more details see page 23).
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“If all citizens of the world would live by US standards,
we would need more than 4 planet Earths.”
DELIVERING ON OUR VISION
At Desso, we believe it is our responsibility to develop a more sustainable business model which
in turn helps to generate innovations and enables
our company to deliver added value products that
contribute to people’s health and wellbeing.
To reach this golden milestone, we have had to fulfil a broad range of
criteria, as defined within the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard. This is a framework for innovation, which shows that ‘designing with
purpose’ makes perfect business sense and positively impacts the bottom line as well as the environment and human health.
It is administered by the Cradle to Cradle® Products Innovation Institute
based in the US, and it helps guide designers and manufacturers through
a continual improvement process that assesses a product against five
quality categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
material health
material reutilization
renewable energy and carbon management
water stewardship
social fairness
A product receives an achievement level in each category - Basic,
Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum - with the lowest achievement level representing the product’s overall mark.
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Product assessments are performed by a qualified independent organisation. For Desso, this is carried out by the Environmental Protection
Encouragement Agency (EPEA), based in Hamburg and led by Prof.
Dr. Michael Braungart, one of the founders of the Cradle to Cradle®
concept. The assessment reports are reviewed by the Institute, and then
certified if the products meet the Standard requirements.
FIVE QUALITY CRITERIA
1.
MATERIAL HEALTH
Material health is a vital part of our sustainability journey and also plays an
increasingly large role in the built environment. It involves ensuring that the
materials we use are made of positively defined chemical ingredients selected
in accordance with C2C material assessment principles. It underpins our goal
to move towards the circular economy and strive to have a positive impact on
human health and wellbeing as well as the planet.
100% positively defined materials
• In line with Desso’s C2C commitment to material health, the Gold Collection is produced with 100% positively
defined materials and process chemicals. All the materials in our products are assessed according to the
Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Material Health Methodology2) which enables us to design eco-effective
products.
Very low VOC’s
• The Gold Collection meets the very strict VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) criteria as defined in the Cradle
to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard3).
Contributes to LEED v4 points
• Cradle to Cradle® certified products can earn up to two points for Materials & Resources Credit 44) , Building
Disclosure and Optimization — Material Ingredients. This can be done via the following options:
Option 1. Material ingredient reporting (1 point)
Use at least 20 different permanently installed products from at least five different manufacturers to demonstrate the chemical inventory of the product to at least 0.1% (1000 ppm). For Cradle to Cradle® certified
products these must meet at least v3 Bronze level.
Option 2. Material ingredient optimisation (1 point)
Use products that can document a material ingredient optimisation covering at least 25% of the total value
of permanently installed products in the project. Cradle to Cradle® v3 Gold or Platinum products will be
valued at 150% of cost.
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2. MATERIAL RE-UTILIZATION
Material re-utilisation is about designing products in
such a way they can easily be disassembled and
safely returned to nature or industry. Our customers
value the fact the we take responsibility for our products beyond their first use and this is also central to
our commitment to C2C and the circular economy.
100% regenerated yarn
• The yarn used to produce the Gold Collection is ECONYL®, a 100%
regenerated nylon.
On average 52% recycled content5)
• This measures the portion of the product that is currently made of positively defined recycled material. This includes upcycled ECONYL®,
a 100% regenerated nylon from our supplier, Aquafil S.P.A., and upcycled calcium carbonate (chalk) from our revolutionary new C2C
material stream organised with local water companies, who produce this as a residue from their water softening process.
On average 80% recyclable materials5)
• A recyclable material6) is one that can be recycled at least once
after its initial use phase, according to Cradle to Cradle Certified™
Product Standard.
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Closing the loop
• Via Desso’s ReStart® programme7), we offer to take back post-consumer carpet tiles. Carpets are then recycled using our innovative
separation technique called Refinity®, which separates the yarn and
other fibres from the backing. After an additional purification stage,
the yarn (with the required purity) is returned to the yarn manufacturer for the production of new yarn. The EcoBase™ backing is fully
recyclable in Desso’s own production process.
Desso switched to 100% green electricity in 2012.
3. RENEWABLE ENERGY & CARBON MANAGEMENT
One of the basic principles of Cradle to Cradle® is to
‘use solar income’. It is about envisioning a future in
which all manufacturing is powered by 100% clean
renewable energy.
• In 2012, Desso switched to 100% green electricity (hydropower generated in the Alps) for our production facilities. Next to that, we have
reduced our carbon emissions (indirect and direct) by 55% between
2007 and 2014.
• In addition, we also joined the UN’s REDD+ initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation8)) in 2013. As a result
of this project, 1.100 small farmers will be able to improve their livelihoods and the project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 450.000 tonnes per year. This project contributes to meeting
the C2C requirements for renewable energy and carbon management.
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4. WATER STEWARDSHIP
Water is a precious resource and therefore improving the ability to recycle this resource is a critical
goal. Secondly, C2C principles are about ensuring
that the water we send back into the original source
is at least as clean if not cleaner than the water it
goes into. This is also about our commitment to the
local community and the environment.
• For this collection, we have paid specific attention to the chemicals used in our production processes at our Waalwijk plant, in the
Netherlands. Here, a non-approved chemical was replaced in order
to meet the strict C2C Gold level requirements.
• Desso has also increased the amount of recycled water from 11% in
2008 to 19% in 2014. In 2014, the special ozone treatment resulted in
a 54 million litre saving on fresh water.
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5. SOCIAL FAIRNESS
Social responsibility is a key part of the Cradle to
Cradle® philosophy. We have always been committed to engaging our workforce and maintaining
responsible goals towards employees and communities directly linked to the business and through the
supply chain.
• Social fairness is underpinned by our signed commitment to the UN’s
Global Compact principles relating to human rights, labour relations,
and human rights, as well as in regard to our ethical supply chain
auditing. We report on our progress in this via the annual Communication on Progress (COP) at the ‘advanced level’.9)
• As a company we are also involved in numerous innovative social
projects. In the past year, we have been carrying out an assessment
to map and understand the potential risks related to our own operations and those of our suppliers. Assessments are enabling us to develop effective strategies, policies and procedures that finally will drive
continuous improvement of social fairness.
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DESSO’S CRADLE TO CRADLE® ROADMAP 2008-2020
Our long-term goals with respect to Cradle to Cradle® implementation are described in a roadmap. We use this as a key tool to ensure we deliver on our promises.
Desso’s long-term targets include:
• By 2020, reach a level where more than 80% of all materials used in our products are positively defined according to Cradle to Cradle® criteria.
• By 2020, use 75% positively defined recycled material to produce carpet tiles.
• Reach the target of 100% renewable energy for processing and manufacturing.
• Ensure that factory effluent water is cleaner than the water it is discharged into.
• Further development of our ReStart® and recycling programmes.
• Further implementation of Cradle to Cradle® supply-chain management.
• Support the UN’s Global Compact, an initiative that promotes responsible corporate practices in the areas
of the environment, labour, human rights and anti-corruption.
• Desso products to be designed according to Cradle to Cradle® design principles by 2020.
• Continue to advocate in public and private circles for the case for Cradle to Cradle® and the circular economy with an emphasis on what businesses can do to move things forward, as well as governments in terms
of public policy measures.
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“Two roads diverged in
a wood, and I,
I took the one less
travelled by,
And that has made all
the difference.”
Robert Frost,
1874 – 1963
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REFERENCES
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Positively defined = all ingredients have been assessed as either Green (optimal) or Yellow (tolerable) according to the
Cradle to Cradle® assessment criteria. As described in Cradle to Cradle® Certified™ Product Standard Version 3.1.
http://www.c2ccertified.org/resources/collection-page/cradle-to-cradle-certified-resources
This standard prescribes that: TVOC must be < 0.5 mg/m3. Individual VOCs < (0.01) x [the lower of the TLV or MAK value].
The time point used is 7 days.
http://www.usgbc.org/node/2616399?view=language, http://www.c2ccertified.org/resources/collection-page/cradle-to-cradle-certified-resources
% of the total weight of the carpet tile
Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard, Version 3.0
The programme was formerly called Take Back™, but has now been re-branded as ReStart™, which refers to the Recycling and Reclamation Programme carried out by Desso’s parent company, Tarkett.
http://www.un-redd.org/aboutredd/tabid/102614/default.aspx
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/advanced/175791
A GOLDEN MILESTONE
Descriptions, colours and specifications are subject to change without notice. Desso is not responsible for typographical/photographical errors. Actual
product may differ from illustration. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
The information presented in this document does not form part of any quotation or contract, is believed to be accurate and reliable and may be changed
without notice. No liability will be accepted by the publisher for any consequence of its use. Publication thereof does not convey nor imply any license
under patent- or other industrial or intellectual property rights. In case of doubt or differences of interpretation, the English version shall prevail over all other
language versions. © 2015 DESSO ®.
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Information
Desso B.V.
P.O. Box 169
5140 AD Waalwijk
The Netherlands
TEL. +31(0)416 684100
FAX +31(0)416 335955
[email protected]
www.desso.com
© October 2015, DESSO®
www.desso.com
A Tarkett Company