Bathroom manufacturer Kaldewei has taken another big step towards the circular economy and can now offer Cradle to Cradle Certified® [C2C] bathtubs, shower trays and washbasins. The company is continuing to pave the way for the global trend towards a circular economy with the aim behind this being a healthy, fair and sustainable future.

Kaldewei is convinced that the construction industry will rely even more on C2C-certified products and materials in the future. The rationale is the increasing need for sustainable solutions, including stricter regulatory requirements, economic advantages, and the need to conserve our planet’s natural resources.

Our linear system of ‘take-make-waste – i.e. ‘buy – use -throw away’ has no future. The scarcity of resources, damage to the environment and people, continued emission of greenhouse gases and the associated global warming are no longer sustainable. The transformation to a circular economy means that raw materials used are then reused at the end of their utilisation phase as source materials for new, pollutant-free products, without any
loss of quality or significant loss of quantity. The prerequisites for this must be created at the very start of product development, so pollutant-free materials can be dismantled and separated according to type at the end. Kaldewei bathroom products have always been made of steel and glass and are 100 per cent recyclable, so they can be returned to the material cycle at the end of their life. This has now been independently confirmed, and they now hold a Cradle to Cradle Certified® certification.

Certified sustainability

Kaldewei is the first supplier of bathtubs, shower trays, and washbasins to demonstrate its consistently sustainable orientation with a C2C Certified certificate. Around 600 different Kaldwei items in the colour Alpine White can now be considered Cradle to Cradle silver, including the most sought-after classics.

This initial direct entry at the silver level underlines the ambitious goals of the bathroom manufacturer: Kaldewei has always been a pioneer in sustainability, and examples include signing the Science Based Targets SBTi and using CO2-reduced steel. Kaldewei is now on the way to aligning its processes and product developments strictly according to C2C Certified standards. To obtain this certification, which took more than a year and a half to achieve, is both an important strategic step and another positive contribution to the environment.

Alongside this, the construction industry benefits from the C2C Certified certification because it helps it become more sustainable, economical and innovative. It offers environmental, health and economic benefits and helps construction companies adapt more quickly to necessary market and regulatory requirements.

C2C Certified: Consistent circular economy without waste

The C2C Certified certification is a globally relevant and cross-industry multi-attribute standard; the goal a healthy, fair and sustainable future. It provides brands, producers and designers with guidance in the development and manufacture of products. At the centre of the Cradle to Cradle concept is an integrated and consistent circular economy in which waste is completely avoided and all materials are returned to either biological or technical cycles. Developed in the 1990s by Michael Braungart and William McDonough, the certification process looks at performance in five areas: Material health, product recycling, air pollution control and climate protection, water and soil management and social fairness. The scientifically based Cradle to Cradle Certified® certification endows the sometimes-overused “ y” new, serious relevance.

Architects and specialist planners can find all the necessary information about C2C Certified
Kaldewei products here: https://www.kaldewei.com/company/sustainability/

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