Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute Celebrates the Legacy of Visionary Cofounder William McDonough

Pioneering ‘green’ architect and visionary William McDonough was honored last night at a private gala in San Francisco, CA.  McDonough is widely known for his seminal bookCradle to Cradle (co-written with Michael Braungart), which launched a revolution in the way we think about a products life cycle.  The book has inspired an entire generation to abandon the old ‘cradle to grave’ mentality in which products are thrown away at the end of their useful life. Instead, McDonough and Braungart propose that we design products not to be discarded, but as technical nutrients that can be reused indefinitely, thereby avoiding the landfill and all the problems caused by their use

McDonough is also known for his visionary work as a green architect, which integrates environmentally conscious design features such as passive solar heating and other energy and water saving features.  He has designed forward thinking, green buildings for NASA, the Environmental Defense Fund, Ford Motors and Gap, among others.  Many of McDonough’s projects have been awarded LEED certifications, which recognize outstanding sustainable design elements within new or retrofitted buildings.

On hand to celebrate the event was Be Green Packaging CEO Ron Blitzer.  Blitzer’s company, which manufactures and distributes compostable and recyclable plant fiber packaging, has held a Cradle to Cradle Silver certification since 2010.  Be Green’s product line is firmly rooted in the Cradle to Cradle philosophy as it can be reused as a nutrient at the end of its life cycle in multiple different ways depending on how the product is disposed of. Blitzer is known to be a champion of the Cradle to Cradle philosophy, and the book is required reading for all employees at Be Green Packaging.