Dan Probst, head of sustainability at the global commercial real estate firm, Jones Lang LaSalle, speaking at Greenbuild 2012 shared his company's sustainability priorities.

“We manage nearly 3 billion square feet of property around the globe. The buildings that we manage house millions of workers, each of whom has the right to a healthy and productive work environment. So in addition to focusing on energy, we are making sure that our clients understand the value of green workplace. And that natural light, and fresh air, and thermal comfort, and a chemical-free environment reduce absenteeism, and make employees happier and more productive.

Our firm is also responsible for billions of dollars of spending for the properties we manage and operate on behalf of our clients. And this is where we are working with our clients to prefer suppliers who certify through Cradle to Cradle and embrace these concepts, and push that accountability down to their suppliers and so on through the supply chain. So overall, we are in a great position to have a tremendous opportunity to improve the performance of buildings while creating a better and healthier work environment. We push LEED and Energy Star and Cradle to Cradle because we're in this for the long term, and we want to ensure a healthy planet for our future generations.” Citation: Closing Plenary, Greenbuild 2012.

“In the two years since we have been actively managing the certification program we've seen a nearly 20 percent increase in the number of products certified,” says Institute president Luther. “I believe that companies are recognizing the overall value of how our certification communicates their intentions and that it has great value for their clients.”

Once the ingredients and other criteria are assessed, optimization can begin. First, reducing negative impacts such as eliminating chemicals of high concern, or cleaning up water issues in a manufacturing facility can be tackled, leading to a path of continuous improvement.

Though sometimes it can be a multi-year undertaking, the admittedly rigorous process holds the opportunities to make incremental changes with better ingredients or methods and can ultimately be well worth the investment it in terms of a more environmentally sound product that is well received in the marketplace. Companies in the Certified Cradle to Cradle universe are in it for the long term, taking steps to work themselves up the certification path over a period of years.

Ice Stone, a manufacturer of sustainable durable surfaces made from 100 percent recycled glass and concrete, for example, was initially certified at the Silver level. Going for the gold meant making efforts in all five Cradle to Cradle categories. These included reformulating a few colors that did not comply with the standards for material health, building a water recycling system to ensure all water used during manufacturing is filtered and reused in a closed loop, and required a new process to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions that ultimately reduced their energy output by 50 percent. CEO Dal LaMagna explains that the company “needs a tremendous amount of water during the cutting and polishing process so we installed a very large capacity water recycling system that takes the slurry that comes off our machines, and then we recycle that water within the factory itself. We are saving several million gallons a year of new, fresh water.” Regarding the continuous improvement process, LaMagna explains, “Any company can design products with recycled content and off-set their energy use with carbon credits, but one big difference is how those companies treat their employees and the impact those companies have on the local and global community. Identifying a third-party certification that considered all aspects of our operations was imperative. Certification has helped our team create the safest and most sustainable surfaces possible.”

Often, success in a particular aspect of product optimization leads to a natural expansion of Cradle to Cradle achievement. One manufacturer of specialty architectural building products, Construction Specialties, saw its first step as the goal of eliminating PVC, a material commonly used in the building products industry. After its wall protection product line was completely PVC-free, the company realized there was more that could be done.

“Getting rid of PVC alone wasn't enough, because you can have a PVC-free product that is still filled with other persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals, also called PBTs. Committing to healthy chemistry has become the guiding principle for our material selection and product design,” said Howard Williams, Construction Specialties vice president and general manager. Rewarded for eliminating all chemicals of high exposure hazard to human and environmental health from the wall protection line with Certified Cradle to Cradle Gold, the company extended Cradle to Cradle principles to other product lines, implementing a company chemical policy throughout its supply chain. “The benefits are that it sets a direction for material selection, specifies areas of focus, and measures progress,” Williams said in an interview. “It's not just about chemicals in our products; it's about the chemicals and materials we use, or knowingly choose not to use, in all of our processes.”