Cradle to Cradle Certified®: a standard for assessing the circularity and sustainability performance of materials and products
Cradle to Cradle Certified® is a globally recognised standard used across industries by designers, brands and manufacturers to verify leadership in circular design and material health. For more than a decade, it has been helping companies to innovate and optimise materials and products according to the world’s most advanced science-based criteria. It empowers manufacturers and brands to design products for continuous cycles of use, supporting ecosystems and communities while eliminating waste and pollution.
This standard provides the framework for assessing the circularity and sustainability performance of materials and products across five categories, including product circularity. This category assesses whether products are designed for reuse and are kept in the loop.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute fosters transparency and accountability by making product intentions and impacts visible, ensuring traceability across supply chains and upholding rigorous standards that confirm real-world performance and commitment to continuous improvement.
Cradle to Cradle Certified® helps stakeholders identify products that are genuinely circular. It is a Type I environmental label aligned with the principles and procedures laid down in ISO 14020 and 14024. It is a voluntary, third-party certification that identifies products designed for a safe, circular and responsible economy, recognising achievements across multiple sustainability categories based on life cycle thinking.
- Over 50 000 certified product variations across diverse sectors including fashion, building materials and consumer goods.
- Increased traceability and transparency in global supply chains.
- Accelerated adoption of circular design principles by leading brands.
- Alignment with EU policy goals on sustainable product design and material health.
- Recognition of certified products as benchmarks for circularity and environmental stewardship.
- Bang & Olufsen was the first in the consumer electronics industry to certify a product (Beosound Level) under Version 4.0 of this standard, showcasing modular design for longevity and reduced e-waste.
- Novo Nordisk: first healthcare company to certify packaging under this standard, using insights to inform circular initiatives like medical device take-back programmes.