Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart speak together on June 9; San Francisco mayor declares “Cradle to Cradle Day”

On June 9, Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, the co-creators of the Cradle to Cradle design framework, appeared together in California for the first time in several years. They engaged in an on-stage dialogue as part of an event designed to celebrate the achievements of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which the pair co-founded in May 2010.

You can see a short video from the event here.

Recognizing the Institute and the speaking event, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee declared June 9 to be “Cradle to Cradle Day” in the City of San Francisco.

Here is the text of the proclamation–

Whereas today marks the first day in several years that William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart, co-authors of the seminal book, Cradle to Cradle, are speaking alongside one another in the state of California; and

Whereas Cradle to Cradle represents a paradigm shift in sustainability and has been identified as one of the concepts and designs with the potential to unlock the next Industrial Revolution, and in so doing prove that we do not need to choose between a strong economy and a clean environment: we can have both; and
Whereas Mr. McDonough and Dr. Braungart have gifted the Cradle to Cradle product certification protocol to the San Francisco-based Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which is dedicated to a world where all products are designed and manufactured using only healthy materials and processes, and which has the potential to unleash the full potential of human ingenuity, transcend traditional limits to growth, and enable the prosperous world we all know is possible; and

Whereas it is recognized that asking companies to “do less bad” and minimize toxics, pollution, and waste simply postpones inevitable problems. A smaller footprint still leaves a mark. Instead, Cradle to Cradle helps make a company’s footprint positive, so the bigger, the better; and

Whereas Cradle to Cradle product certification helps ensure that companies strive to eliminate all waste, pay fair wages, steward clean water, and use only safe ingredients and renewable energy, all of which is crucial if the companies of the future are to make products that are good for the earth, and for people; and

Whereas Cradle to Cradle product certification is an open and transparent evaluation system that represents the broadest, most comprehensive product certification available. The underlying methodology has been soundly tested and applied to nearly 400 products, resulting in carbon reductions of over 13 million metric tons and toxic reductions of at least one million pounds to date.