Sustainable Tridonic

Project insight: how does certification occur?

Hermann Marte, Sustainability Manager, gives us an insight into the route to Tridonics first Cradle to Cradle Certified® LED modules.
 

How does a project for Cradle to Cradle certification unfold?

Hermann Marte:
We began with a feasibility study and were pleasantly surprised at how many of the required documents and certificates we already had. The professional setup of our quality management was particularly helpful in this regard. After a successful partner search and conclusion of a pilot project, the certification project for the LED modules got started. The support from our top management was extremely important and useful throughout the entire process; they were 100% behind certification.
 

What were the biggest challenges posed by certification?

Hermann Marte:
Although we are always extremely diligent in doing our "homework" within quality management, we did find that a lot of information was missing in terms of certification. Cradle to Cradle certification requires information to be supplied even for components that make up just a ten-thousandth of the overall product weight. By comparison: for legal inquiries, "only" details down to the thousandth range are required. In total we required evidence for 25 components.
 

What is the added value of certification for Tridonic customers?

Hermann Marte:
The certification makes it easier for customers to certify the luminaires that they develop and produce themselves. We also enable circularity for our components. What is particularly important to stress though is this: sustainability does not stop at certification. The entire life cycle of luminaires and their components must be designed with sustainability in mind. This requires a rethink across the entire industry: reuse, repair and remanufacture are possibilities that are still not given anywhere near enough consideration. Finally: only when raw materials are properly recycled at the end of their life cycle to be fed back into the raw-material cycle can these materials be reintroduced into this circular progression and find a new use.
 

Cradle to Cradle Certified® is a registered trademark of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.