Desso's ground-breaking Cradle to Cradle® business
strategy will be the subject of discussion at a two day conference
for members of IMD's Corporate Learning Network.
Stef Kranendijk, CEO of the European carpet and sports
systems manufacturer Desso, and the architect of its commitment to
becoming a Cradle to Cradle® company, will give a talk on how Desso
has been building a brand new Cradle to Cradle® business
model.
The talk is part of the IMD's Discovery Events programme.
Organised by Professor Michael Yaziji, the theme is, 'Creating
Shared Value: Learning from the Cherry Tree - Turning Trash into
Cash'.
Professor Yaziji is a professor of strategy and organisation at
IMD and spearheaded the partnership between the WWF and IMD to
create the school's One Planet Leaders Programme.
The audience is made up of a wide range of senior managers from
marketing to engineering, all united in their desire to explore
business model innovations.
IMD, based in Lausanne, Switzerland has been ranked number one
outside the US for executive education and its MBA programme by the
Financial Times and the Economist respectively.
Stef Kranendijk will talk about how Desso is reinventing its
business model according to the principles of Cradle to
Cradle® design. The approach means that all materials
and products are seen as healthy nutrients to be recycled either
back into the technical or bio-sphere over and over again. In this
way, Desso is developing a business model for the circular economy
which will draw less from the planet's resources than the current
linear model.
"This is not only the right thing to do," says Stef Kranendijk,
"It also unlocks great new commercial opportunities for generating
revenue. A recent report1 showed that European industry
could unleash as much as $630 billion in savings by adopting
circular models, equivalent to just below 4% of EU GDP." So instead
of a linear economic model where products are made and then
disposed of, the Cradle to Cradle® model is circular.
Desso rigorously analyses the chemical makeup of all its raw
materials to ensure they meet Cradle to Cradle®
standards.
"Cradle to Cradle® is a broad philosophy which encompasses product
design, materials analysis, energy and water policy through to
sales and marketing," says Stef Kranendijk. "The aim is to be able
to create products that have a positive impact on the environment
and on people's health and well-being."
Through its Take Back™ programme, Desso is also able to
take used carpets back and safely recycle or reuse the
materials.
"Going Cradle to Cradle® makes our business model more robust and opens up new cash streams such as through our Take Back™ programme and product innovations inspired by the desire to create products that improve people's health and well-being."
Stef Kranendijk, Chairman Desso
By 2020, Desso aims to be able to collect 50,000 tonnes of post-consumer carpet via its Take Back™ programme, from which at least 50% will be processed through the DESSO Refinity® separation technique2 .
1) Towards the Circular Economy:
Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition,
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Co (2012).
2) Desso's Refinity®
plant separates the yarn and other fibres from the backing, thereby
producing two main material streams which can be
recycled.