The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute today announced it has received a $500,000 grant from The Schmidt Family Foundation. The Institute administers the Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM Product Program to guide the design and manufacture of safe and healthy products for our world.

“We applaud the work that the Institute is doing, providing practical guidance and inspiring product innovations that demonstrate how human activity can work in harmony with our natural world,” said Joe Sciortino, executive director of The Schmidt Family Foundation.

The grant supports the Institute to develop its operations towards self-sufficiency and supports the general operations of Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM Products Program. The Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM Products Standard is a multi-attribute, continuous improvement methodology that evaluates products across five categories of human and environmental health. The ultimate goal is to encourage innovation and the design of products that effectively and positively impact people and the environment.

In addition, The Schmidt Family Foundation grant will support the 2013 Product Innovation Challenge. The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and Make It Right have partnered to issue a challenge for manufacturers to design a product for the affordable housing market that is safe for human and environmental health and designed for re-use.

The goal of this contest is to identify and reward highly creative and innovative product concepts for healthy, sustainable, and affordable housing. It is aimed at manufacturers who seek to design and manufacture with superior standards as outlined in the Cradle to Cradle Product Certification program. Winning products must meet the criteria of the Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM program and align with Make It Right's mission "to build safe and healthy Cradle to Cradle inspired homes, buildings, and communities for people in need." Up to twenty finalists will receive two months of media exposure and promotion for their products through Dwell and other media partners leading up to the announcement of three winners who will share the cash prize of $250,000.

Bridgett Luther, The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute President said, “The Schmidt Family Foundation has been an early and vital supporter of the Institute. Their support of our operations and of the Product Innovation Prize is important to the positive changes we are making in the realm of product design and manufacturing.”

The Schmidt Family Foundation supports efforts, using best expert information, to help transform the world’s environmental and energy practices in the 21th century. Their mission is to advance the creation of an increasingly intelligent relationship between human activity and the use of the world’s natural resources. They work strategically, and often in collaboration, to create successful models of their vision. This includes the restoration and protection of vulnerable historic places while improving their environmental profile, using new technologies and the growing knowledge about the impact of the built environment on the Earth’s climate system. They also support efforts around the world to improve health, education, transportation and communications through investing in a pattern of economic development that includes green, sustainable environmental practices and design. In addition, they support public education around issues of energy and the environment and promote public understanding of the science of climate change.

Notes to editors: Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

About Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
The Institute is a nonprofit organization created to administer the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program, a continuous quality improvement system for transforming the making of things into a positive force for people and planet. To learn more go to C2Ccertified.org.

About The Schmidt Family Foundation
The Schmidt Family Foundation, established in 2006 by Wendy and Eric Schmidt, brings philanthropic resources to some of this century’s greatest challenges across the globe. Applying new knowledge and innovation is our model for problem solving and for advancing original research in science, energy and the sustainability of the world’s biosphere. To learn more go to theschmidt.org.

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a non-profit organization, co-founded by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, to bring about a large-scale transformation in the way we make things. The Institute's mission is to provide a continuous improvement quality standard to guide product manufacturers and designers in making safe and healthy things for our world. The Institute, using the Cradle to Cradle® framework, works with leaders from academia, the NGO environmental community, government, and industry to implement a standard for assessing and constantly improving products based on five criteria: 1. Safe and appropriately sourced materials 2. Material reutilization 3. Renewable energy 4. Release of clean water 5. Social fairness Products that meet the transparent criteria of this rating system will receive the Cradle to CradleCM certification mark.

More from Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute