Ingeo biopolymer receives Cradle to Cradle certification
The NatureWorks biopolymer became silver Cradle to Cradle Certified
NatureWorks’ Ingeo biopolymer has become Cradle to Cradle Certified, receiving a silver certification from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Cradle to Cradle Certified is a multi-attribute programme that assesses products for their safety to human and environmental health, design for future use cycles and sustainable manufacturing processes. Each product is evaluated in five categories: material health, material reutilisation, renewable energy use, water stewardship and social responsibility.
Products can be Cradle to Cradle Certified at one of four levels (basic, silver, gold or platinum), based on achievement against criteria in all five categories.
The programme also provides guidelines to help businesses implement the Cradle to Cradle framework which focuses on using safe material that can be disassembled and reused as technical nutrients or composted as biological nutrients.
“NatureWorks participated in the Cradle to Cradle Certified programme process because we believe its holistic view of products is essential to understanding the true totality of sustainability,” said NatureWorks president and ceo Marc Verbruggen.
The company worked closely with consulting firm McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry to collect supply chain data, assess materials for their impact on human and environmental health and evaluate manufacturing processes for renewable energy use, water stewardship and social responsibility.
“We are proud that Ingeo is among the first products in the world to achieve this distinction,” Verbruggen added.
