Wow Of The Week

Waste is essentially material in the wrong place. Re-using the materials contained in a product instead of disposing of them after the product is no longer in use is a smart approach that addresses both the global waste problem and the increasing resource scarcity.

GROHE’s goal of a circular economy is deeply rooted within the brand’s 20-year-long commitment to sustainability. But now, the global brand is taking the next big step by launching four best-selling products as Cradle to Cradle Certified® variants. Unlike the linear take-make-waste model, in the C2C model a product is manufactured with the intention of re-using its components at its end-of-life phase for the creation of new products, thereby drastically reducing the amount of new resources needed.

To achieve a certification, a product is evaluated in terms of five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness. Each product is then designated a level of achievement. As of now, three faucets (GROHE BauEdge S-Size, GROHE Eurosmart S-Size, GROHE Eurosmart Kitchen) and the GROHE Tempesta Shower 100 rail set are Cradle to Cradle Certified®. A particular success was that GROHE directly achieved the Gold level with all of its four products submitted for certification. Apart from the high certification level, the sustainable impact of GROHE BauEdge and GROHE Eurosmart is enhanced with SilkMove ES technology, where ES stands for energy-saving. The technology prevents the unnecessary use of hot water by supplying only cold water with the faucet lever in the middle position. In this way, GROHE’s SilkeMove ES technology can help reduce a building’s carbon footprint – particularly important in light of the fact that carbon emissions from buildings and construction constitute almost 40% of global carbon emissions. GROHE has taken a decisive step on its path towards a circular future by achieving its first Cradle to Cradle Certified® products, but the journey continues. Since bath products typically have a long life cycle, GROHE, next to achieving certifications for further products, is already tackling the next challenge by working on take-back processes for discarded C2C faucets in the future.