Re-making the way we make things is the order of the
day. A short history of manufacturing
will teach you that if you don’t evolve your manufacturing and design processes
you will get left behind. In its day, the
Model T Ford was a revolution in automotive manufacturing, but the process would obviously be viewed as horribly inefficient by today's standards. Consequently, it’s never a bad time to rethink how we design and manufacture mass goods – especially
given the extent to which these goods pollute our atmosphere and then pack our
landfills.
Authors Michael Braungart and William McDonough take this
relatively obvious truism and deliver a relatively short, but potentially
revolutionary book about taking the next step in evolving beyond cradle to
grave manufacturing and design. Braungart
and McDonaugh are architects by trade and with this in mind it is not
surprising that they have chosen to view the issue of environmental
sustainability in a holistic nature: from start to finish, via the products and
services of the world.
The title, Cradle to Cradle, encapsulates the central tenet
of this book: that we must stop thinking of products, processes, buildings and
resources as having expiration dates.
Rather, the authors work backwards from the logical assertion that the
world has finite resources and that we cannot afford to treat resources as
expendable and space as incalculably vast. Instead, they advocate viewing the purchase or
use of any and every resource as essentially a lease. This is the first point to commend in this
book; realising that it is impossible to truly own a resource, will inevitably
lead to a greater duty of care and increased utility when in possession of that
resource.
Braungart and McDonough are down-to earth architects with
impressive careers. With clientèle ranging from commercial giants,
Nike and Ford, to niche organisations, such as the Environmental Defence Fund. Cradle to Cradle’s authors propel the book with their credibility and expertise. The book doesn’t brim over with personality,
but what they lack in style they make up for in substance.
The book briskly covers the evolution of manufacturing
trends and the history of commercial resource use, leading into a sound
critique of modern methods. Chief among
the culprits of unsustainable modern practice are the ideas that:
- Efficiency is King: less of something bad does not necessarily make it good if the process or material you are using in the first place is not appropriate.
- Activity equals prosperity: this is exemplified in the book by the saying, “if brute force doesn't work, you’re not using enough,” which the authors argue is an all too common approach in manufacturing at present. Heat, beat and treat are words that are far too common on the engineer’s tongue in the 21st century.
- And “one-size-fits all” design solutions: the most memorable, though perhaps not the most easily transposed example, being that detergent is usually manufactured in the same way and in the same concentrations for all markets across the world despite the hardness of a community’s water being a decisive factor in the effectiveness of a detergent.
The most interesting and ecologically sound part of the Cradle
to Cradle (C2C) philosophy is the idea that “waste equals food.” That is, when we are finished with a commercial
product, whether its components are biological (able to biodegrade) or technological
(metallic or synthetic), it should have been designed with its end-use in
mind. Mindlessly, many products are
inadvertently designed to be what they refer to as “monstrous hybrids,”
combining biological and technological components so that neither component can
be extracted and reused at the end of its life-cycle. Instead, C2C provides a multitude of good
design rules that can ensure products do not become obsolescent after their
original incarnation.
But what propels C2C philosophy is the concept of
eco-effectiveness, which is the idea that once a system is designed with an
effective “closed loop system” we find that, not only do we have almost zero
waste, but also net outputs that are advantageous to the surrounding
environment. To achieve this design, the
three principles must be considered and carefully balanced:
- Ecology,
- Equity, and
- Economy.
And the proof is in the pudding, with the authors providing evidence of car and textile factories they have worked on that have been transformed from wasteful, polluting and harmful places into factories who work harmoniously with their surroundings. In order to do so, the entire system is redesigned to ensure that products and by-products nourish the surrounding ecosystem as they are made with biodegradable material. Alternatively, if biodegradable material cannot be used then the technical materials must re-enter the work flow instead
of being dumped, burned or buried. This has the consequence of creating car factories that are net producers of
energy and textile factories that use dirty water in their processes and then amazingly output
clean water. Such design requires expertise, investment, long-term planning and commitment, but when the result is such a prosperous, fertile and profitable
system, the decision should become inevitable.
I really enjoyed this book because of it accessibility and
common-sense approach. Before reading
Cradle to Cradle, I viewed recycling as an important, but not particularly
interesting, part of the environmental agenda.
However, Braungart and McDonaugh have shown that when we think
holistically and begin to consider the entire life cycle of services and goods
(particularly buildings), not only can we design more aesthetically and
environmentally friendly things, but we generally create unanticipated
economic advantages and eco-system services as well.
I hope by now that readers are noting this recurring theme
in my reviews: that becoming environmentally sustainable leads to long-term
economic profitability (please see Natural
Capitalism as a prime example).
Businesses and regulators alike should stand up and take notice.
Score: 70/100
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