EPEA And Berenschot Announce Independent Cradle to Cradle® Audit
Utrecht/Hamburg, September 28, 2009
An independent procedure for auditing Cradle to Cradle® certification is announced today by Prof. Michael Braungart, co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle® concept and head of EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung, and Theo Camps, Chairman of Berenschot.
Cradle to Cradle® is the award-winning, internationally applied innovation platform that improves product quality for the economy, ecology and people by remaking the way things are made. It is used by hundreds of companies and is under consideration by government agencies as a standard for purchasing and construction in the Netherlands.
“The Key Performance Indicator audit is fast, inexpensive, and transparent for products that go through certification, and puts products on a level playing field regardless if they are produced bij EPEA partners or not,” explained Prof. Braungart. “It provides added credibility in the marketplace and is independent from EPEA.”
“EPEA selected Berenschot because our experience shows that companies which best implement Cradle to Cradle® innovation in the marketplace are those that also innovate in their management. This requires transition management.”
Theo Camps remarked, “Key Performance Indicators will let companies measure their annual progress toward C2C goals, which is a basic aim of the Cradle to Cradle® method; continuous, measurable improvement.”
“Berenschot has concluded that Cradle to Cradle® is a valuable transition management and innovation tool for improving product quality, therefore this audit constitutes a valuable addition to our management services portfolio.”
Berenschot is the first company that offers the service in the Netherlands, but it is also expected that other companies and government standards agencies will be participate in the program throughout Europe.
EPEA (www.epea.nl) originated the Intelligent Product System that preceded Cradle to Cradle®and is the leading scientific expert organization on C2C methods with the right to develop Cradle to Cradle® Framework Methods under an agreement with Michael Braungart and William McDonough as well as the right to perform Cradle to Cradle®certification under an agreement with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry based in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A (www.mbdc.com).
Berenschot (www.berenschot.com) is one of the leading independent management consultancies in The Netherlands and employs around 500 staff in the Benelux. The company has an extensive history of Research and Benchmarking that qualifies it for C2C auditing. Berenschot has a wider European focus through its offices in Brussels and its membership of E-I Consulting Group, the European network of leading independent consulting firms.
The audit procedure will be available late October 2009.
Contact:
- EPEA Dr. Christoph Semisch, (+49) 40 43 13 49 40, semisch@epea.com
- Berenschot Prof. Dr. Theo Camps, (+31) 30 29 16 807, tgh@berenschot.com
