Cradle to Cradle Certified Enters New Era, $250,000 Product Innovation Challenge Announced

Cradle to Cradle Certified Enters New Era, $250,000 Product Innovation Challenge Announced PR Newswire SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2012 -- Challenge created to inspire safe and healthy materials for affordable homes SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a new era for the Cradle to Cradle Certified(CM) program. Today at the United States Greenbuilding Council's Greenbuild conference, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute announced details on version 3.0 of the certification, as well as a new Product Innovation Challenge with $250,000 to be awarded to three winners. The Institute's goal is to drive innovation in safe and healthy building materials based on Cradle to Cradle principles. The new Product Innovation Challenge delivers on a key part of the Institute's mission—to inspire the creation of safe and healthy products. The idea is to follow the example of projects like Park 20|20 in The Netherlands—an office park built based on Cradle to Cradle design principles. Coert Zachariasse, of Delta Development Group, is the developer of Park 20|20 and one of the judges. The challenge is possible because of the generous support of the 'Dutch:Nationale Postcode Loterij' (Dutch Postcode Lottery) and the Schmidt Family Foundation, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt.