The Red Brick Times

I don't recall if I ever posted about this company so bear with me if I have.

A few years ago my daughter-in-law, Ryan, gave me book titled Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. They are principals in the firm McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry which advises companies on strategies to improve their evironmental effectiveness. In 1999 they oversaw the renovation of Ford's Rouge Rive complex and are consultants for Herman Miller, etc. Their approach is based on the concept that waste is food and that our currently accepted idea of recycling is actually downcycling, wherein each recycling creates an increasingly degraded product that eventually ends up in landfill. They advocate and attempt to practice engineering products from the chemical level up to be actually recyclable, i.e. each reuse producing an item of equal quality to the original.

For instance, the book, Cradle to Cradle, made of a material that can can be endlessly reshaped without loss of useful properties. The ink can be scoured off the pages and reused or transformed into another product. Obviously there is a touch of the gimmick here to help them illustrate their point, but the idea and focus are valid.

They have started an online community to let people track their progress and discuss issues surrounding implementation of the idea at MBDC . Keep in mind that they are a business which is one the selling points in my mind, such as it is. They have a track record of helping to transform business practice for the common good and the good of the bottomline. Check them out.

Posted 10:29 AM by A. O. (0) comments

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