Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to Cradle is an innovative concept developed by world-renowned architect William McDonough and innovative chemist Michael Braungart to redefine the design of products, processes and systems to provide financial, environmental and social benefits.
 

By using natures cycle of life as a model, Cradle to Cradle applies the principal of “waste equals food” of the biological world to the technical world by designing products that can be used again and again without harming the environment.
 

Just as a tree that’s lost leaves become food for organisms that feed the food chain, products manufactured under Cradle to Cradle guidelines eliminate the concept of waste by being completely recyclable and harmless to the environment.

 

US Tile, a Boral Roofing Company, is the first roof tile manufacturer in the nation to earn the prestigious Cradle to CradleTM (C2C) Certification at the Gold level for healthy and sustainable product design from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry.
 

All US Tile roofing products manufactured in the US are certified by MBDC under Cradle to Cradle guidelines, and have passed the most rigid material requirements for environmental and human health in the industry. Additional criteria for certification include: 
  
   • Product and material reutilization
   • Energy and water usage
   • Social fairness and corporate ethical standards

The USGBC recognizes the value of Cradle to Cradle products by awarding a special LEED point in the “Innovation and Design” category.
 

For more information about the sustainable benefits of US Tiles authentic clay roofing products, please visit our web site at www.ustile.com.

USGBC - Cradle to Cradle – LEED Innovation Point Criteria

In April 2007, as part of their effort to help stimulate the development of environmentally focused product evaluation and certification tools for use by building professionals, the U.S. Green Building Council sought to establish an innovation point for specification of products certified under the Cradle to CradleSM (C2C) Certification program.

This program provides manufacturers with a means to measure achievement in environmentally intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality. Within the terms of the C2C program, this means:

   • Using environmentally safe and healthy materials
   • Design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting
   • Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy
   • Efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and
   • Instituting strategies for social responsibility

If a candidate product achieves the necessary criteria, it is certified as a Silver, Gold or Platinum product and can be labeled as Cradle to Cradle.

The USGBC has suggested the following Intent, Requirements and Submittals for this Innovation in Design application:

Intent:
Help stimulate the development of environmentally focused product evaluation and certification tools for use by building professionals.

Requirements:
Use Cradle to Cradle Certified building materials and products for 2.5% of the total value of all building materials and products used in the project, based on cost. The "cost value" of products for the purposes of this calculation will be discounted by 50% for Silver level products and doubled for products certified at the platinum level:
   • Cost value of products = (Silver x 0.5) + Gold + (Platinum x 2)

Submittals:
Spreadsheet matrix using "Default Materials Value," calculating
   • Total construction costs
     (hard costs for CSI Master Format 1995 Divisions 2-10 only)
   • Default materials cost
     (total Divisions 2-10 construction cost x 0.45)

OR using "Actual Materials Value," calculating

   • Actual materials cost (excluding labor and equipment)
      (hard costs for CSI Master Format 1995 Divisions 2-10 only)
          o Material Name/Description
          o Manufacturer
          o Total Material Cost ($)
          o Percent Of Product C2C Certified (% by Weight)
          o Compliant Product Value
          o Adjusted value (Silver and nutrients x 0.5, Platinum x2)
    • Total "cost value" ($) of C2C certified materials
          C2C certified material value as a percentage of total materials cost

To qualify for this Innovation in Design credit, the percentage of C2C certified materials must be at least 2.5% of the total materials cost.