As the first global certification system contributing to the circular economy, the cradle to cradle quality standard has received much attention in the past decade. While many success stories are known and a rich ecosystem of consultancies and other support organisations exist for facilitating change in companies, what has been missing is in-depth scientific knowledge about the actual innovation processes within companies leading to successful implementation and commercialization of cradle to cradle certified products.

Given that the innovation process necessary for introducing products and services meeting the ambitious cradle to cradle criteria are characterised by knowledge intensity, multi party processes, high complexity and long time frames, unearthing the details of the innovation process in cradle to cradle certified companies seems to be the key for a further diffusion of the standard.

• gugler* GmbH
• Werner & Mertz
• Wolford AG