Living wall system Sempergreen receives Cradle to Cradle certificate

A Cradle to Cradle product represents the pinnacle of sustainability. Sempergreen is therefore proud to announce that its living wall system, named SemperGreenwall, has achieved the bronze Cradle to Cradle certification. This aligns with Sempergreen’s mission to contribute to the creation of a green and livable world, while minimizing the ecological footprint as much as possible. With this certification, the SemperGreenwall showcases its significant added value to circular and healthy buildings. Bilfinger Tebodin has assisted Sempergreen in the certification process.

The Principles of Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is a design philosophy, developed by Michael Braungart and William McDonough, based on the principle that waste equals food. All raw materials and materials used must be fully and indefinitely reusable or environmentally neutral without losing their value. To obtain a C2C certificate, strict requirements must be met in the field of material health and reutilization, the use of renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness.

The Cradle to Cradle Process Does Not Stop After Obtaining the Certificate

Obtaining the bronze Cradle to Cradle certificate for the SemperGreenwall is not the final goal. Recertification occurs every two years. During the recertification, it is crucial to demonstrate that the plan presented during the certification process is actually being implemented and that progress is being made.

Within the philosophy of Cradle to Cradle, Sempergreen therefore continuously works on developing and improving the product based on the aforementioned criteria, with the goal of retaining the bronze certificate or advancing to a silver certification.

Cradle to Cradle certification makes important contribution to LEED and BREEAM

Cradle to Cradle certified products can make a significant contribution to earning points under the LEED v4 green building rating system. By choosing Cradle to Cradle certified products, projects can earn up to two points in the Materials & Resources category Credit 4, Building Disclosure and Optimization – Material Ingredients. Cradle to Cradle certificates are currently directly used as proof for one criterion. For many other criteria, the positive properties and available data from the certification of the certified product help achieve this.

BREEAM – the world’s first green building label – rewards the application of Cradle to Cradle Certified products in two different credits. For the credit ‘Construction Materials’, points can be earned with the significant reduction of the environmental impact of used construction materials. The credit ‘Responsible Sourcing’ awards points for the use of responsibly sourced construction materials. The evaluation is based on the BREEAM International New Construction 2016 system. The BREEAM 2016 version does not explicitly mention the Cradle to Cradle standard. However, the product information can be used in several criteria because of the good documentation available for the certified products.