Cradle to Cradle Certified®
Sustainability is one of Mosa's core values and takes top priority in the development of new products, responsible production processes and optimal working conditions. Cradle to Cradle Certified® is the leading multi-attribute standard used globally by designers, brands, and manufacturers for designing and making products that enable a healthy, equitable, and sustainable future. Cradle to Cradle Certified® helps companies innovate and optimize materials and products according to the world’s most advanced science-based measures for products made today for a circular tomorrow. Mosa is the world’s first ceramic tile company to gain full Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certification for nearly its entire tile collection.
Sustainability > Cradle to Cradle Certified®
But there is still more work to be done
Mosa has been a Cradle to Cradle Charter Organisation since early 2011; the charter establishes our commitment to further implementing Cradle to Cradle in all our company’s products and processes. You can find the registration of Mosa's certified tiles as well as detailed information about the testing criteria on the C2CPII website. You can also take a look at our Cradle to Cradle brochure.
By certifying our products at the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold level, we ensure the signature surfaces you create are sustainable and beautiful.
What is Cradle to Cradle?
Just as in nature, with Cradle to Cradle there is no waste, no shortages and no limitations. It is a design concept predicated on the unlimited reuse of raw materials (‘waste is food’), the use of renewable energy and the stimulation of diversity. The goal is to launch a new industrial revolution which ensures that production and manufacturing have a positive impact on society, the economy and our planet. Cradle to Cradle was developed by Prof. Michael Braungart (EPEA) and architect William McDonough (MBDC) and has since become a well-known sustainability concept. The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) was founded in 2011 and manages the Cradle to Cradle product standard. Headquartered in San Francisco, the institute is led by an independent board of directors. Cradle to Cradle certification is awarded based upon ascending levels of performance from Bronze to Platinum. To achieve certification, product sustainability is assessed according to the world’s most advanced science-based measures across five key performance categories.
Gold standard performance
Mosa has Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certifications for nearly all its wall and floor tiles. These have been certified to the 3.1 standards, in which the requirements for all five criteria have been expanded and heightened even further. The certificates also lists the (few) exceptions which are not certified. These concern mainly a few specific wall tile colour shades as well as Mosa Colors 10 by 10 centimeters and the Kho Liang Ie collection. Mosa’s Cradle to Cradle Certified® products can help contribute to many leading global green building standards under a variety of credit categories, for example DGNB, LEED, and WELL.
Cradle to Cradle at Mosa
In the Cradle to Cradle program, products are assessed based on five criteria:
Material health
Select safe and healthy materials and chemicals
Product circularity
Eliminate the concept of waste and design for endless re-use
Clean air and climate protection
Power operations with abudant clean and renewable energy
Water and soil stewardship
Protect and steward water as a precious resource
Social fairness
Support and celebrate human and natural systems
Material health
The basis of Cradle to Cradle is the use of pure raw materials that do not harm the environment nor human health. The main components of tiles are clay and sand – natural ingredients that are abundantly present in nature. The composition of our tiles is analysed down to the ppm level (parts per million). 100% of the chemicals and materials used in Mosa’s Cradle to Cradle Certified® products have been assessed and verified as safe and healthy for humans and the environment. Mosa tiles do therefor not release toxic substances, such as lead, mercury or cadmium during or after their long service life. Moreover, they are VOC free.
Product circularity
Certified products are intentionally designed for their next use and are actively being cycled via their intended pathways. By using pure raw materials our product are perfectly suitable for (unlimited) reuse. Mosa actually cycles by reusing production waste, processing secondary materials and collecting cutting waste from tiles at the larger projects in the Netherlands. The wall tiles contain 34 percent pre-consumer recycled content and the floor tiles contain 21 or 45 percent, making Mosa tiles suitable for reuse in a circular production cycle. At Mosa we have a strive for ongoing improvements to make our offering more sustainable. In a continues effort to create complete circular solutions Mosa works closely with innovative partners making tiles easier to remove and repurpose after use.
Clean air and climate protection
Cradle to Cradle is not just about the amount of energy used, it is also about the source of that energy – because renewable energy sources are limitless. 100% of electricity used in by Mosa’s facilities in Maastricht is from renewable energy (wind) and more than 50% of our GHG emissions are offset. We are continuesly searching for an alternative source for the natural gas used to heat the kilns. Until this source becomes available, we will focus on energy-saving projects and the reuse of residual heat.
Water and soil stewardship
Water is treated as precious and shared resource, and all our certified products are manufactured using a closed loop water system containing no potentially hazardous chemicals or substances. Water used in Mosa’s production cycles are kept in a closed-loop and all the water for both our factories is purified on site, which also means we require less water than before.
Social fairness
As a company, we are committed to upholding human rights, and applying fair, equitable business practices. This includes a full annual self-audits focused on social responsibility, and supplier adherence with Mosa’s social responsibility principles and practices.
Mosa Cradle to Cradle Certified® products used in projects
Respect for people and the environment is paramount in the development of sustainable buildings. Sustainable buildings are more energy efficient to use. And often they are healthier for residents and users. Below are some examples of sustainable construction projects in which Mosa tiles have been used.
Bluewater Park 20|20 exterior
William McDonough + Partners is Design Architect with N3O as Executive Architec
Haarlemmermeer
We are proud to be the first ceramic tile manufacturer to achieve a Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certification for more than 99% of our product collection.
Externally verified
Cradle to Cradle Certified® is an independent global standard. To achieve certification, Mosa worked with an external third-party assessment body to verify that our products have achieved or exceeded the minimum performance requirements for Gold level Cradle to Cradle certification.
> More about the external Cradle to Cradle Certified® verification
