Fortunately there are people that have already taken on the challenge to change this and have thought of actual solutions to turn around our destructive waste producing way of life. One of which is called Cradle to Cradle. The concept is based on re-thinking the way we do things, and this starts with the design of all the stuff we make. Products produced through the Cradle to Cradle concept are made from environmentally friendly pure materials that are good for human health and are designed in such a way that at the end of their useful lives, they can be biologically or technically recycled. This means no waste!
You might think now that that cannot be a profitable way of doing business? Let me assure you it can be! And I am very happy and proud that a reputable Dutch company has been able to do that. Desso is a manufacturer of carpet flooring in the Netherlands and Belgium already for many years (I know because my grandmother never wanted any other carpet …). The company has designed a Cradle to Cradle strategy for their whole business. Already they have successfully implemented this strategy for their biggest business unit, carpet tiles, and they plan to have the Cradle to Cradle strategy fully implemented by 2020.
In case you are interested to learn more about the Cradle to Cradle strategy of Desso: the CEO of the Desso Group, Mr. Stef Kranendijk, is speaking at the next annual Bbest conference titled Taking Responsibility for a Sustainable Future later this week. The title of Bbest’s conference this year is also the title of one of the eight Fundamental Concepts of Excellence. It is specifically for this Concept that I have high hopes to find many more excellent examples for the EFQM community to look at and learn from in the near future. I hope you find this contribution to my aim to promote this helpful. CU next time!
Hi Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and especially the "stuff" clip is a good summation of what we really do know but knowledge we don't quite apply in our lives...
Building houses here in Canada is one example of a field where so much is wasted and we find little pressure to improve.
You must have heard of our tar-sands (or "oil sands")...
I try to apply that we use our wasted wood to make packaging materials. I have given schoolkids a presentation of how they can take a cardboard box (ie: from their X-box, corn flakes or doorknob...) turn it inside out and use it to store their toys, collectables, etc...
A big argument I had with someone was about a hard-wood sun-deck I had built in 1997 and they now took it down and trashed it. My attitude is to have that deck last at least as long as it takes that tree to grow to the same size (could be 100 years).
It is nice to preach that, but I have to confess that in many aspects I need to practice what I preach...but I won't get into that right now!
Hope all is well and that your input makes a number of people think more about the resources we live off.
Groetjes,
Marc Reinarz