Bachelor Thesis:
Supply chain management in international operating organisations
Academic year:
2009-2010
Name:
Esther Timmermans
ANR:
493043
Supervisor:
C.M.H. Kuijpers
Preface This thesis is written to complete the bachelor study; International Business Administration at Tilburg University. Research is done in the field of organization and strategy and the sub area supply chain management in international operating organisations.
Searching for a subject to elaborate my thesis on, I became aware of the Cradle to Cradle ideology through the company my father works for; Desso. This concept attracted me in the sense that it considers the supply chain and economy but at the same time is taking care of not running out of resources or polluting our planet. It is a challenging implementation process and therefore interesting to research, especially because it is a reasonably new concept within the field of corporate social responsibility and of importance if we want our planet to continue to exist in the future.
Interviews with the sustainability director and plant manager of Desso gave me the opportunity to get some insight and information on the implementation of Cradle to Cradle which I used to give answer on my research questions.
I would like to thank my supervisor Mrs. C.M.H. Kuijpers for giving me helpful feedback and improvements and for guiding me in my journey towards writing a satisfying thesis. I also want to give a word of appreciation to my group members, who gave me proper feedback which I could use to improve my thesis. Next to them, I want to thank R. Daelmans for taking time to share his experiences about Cradle to Cradle within Desso with me.
A special word of appreciation should be addressed to T. Timmermans because he gave me the opportunity to ask questions about challenges Desso faced during their implementation process. I also want to thank him for reading and correcting my thesis.
Esther Timmermans, June 2010
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Management Summary This thesis investigates to what extend it is possible to implement the Cradle to Cradle ideology within the supply chain. The main focus is on researching barriers which may be faced when putting the implementation process into practise. The Cradle to Cradle ideology is focused on the elimination of waste and doing things right instead of doing things less bad. The movement from an eco-efficient towards and ecoeffective approach supports this focus. The main thoughts behind Cradle to Cradle are summarized in three basic concepts. Waste equals food refers to the idea that every output is input for another process; raw materials have to be up-cycled infinitely. Current solar income points out the use of sun energy to generate electricity within the company. Celebrate diversity refers to keeping the environment where the company is situated in mind and trying to recover the eco-system by means of ‘green’ roofs.
Guidelines will help organizations towards developing a Cradle to Cradle product; the triple top line is used to focus on planet, people and profits while the certification protocol is used to provide information on what kind of levels can be reached within Cradle to Cradle.
Research in the field of cleaner productions identified six main barriers which may be faced during the implementation process; supply chain partners could not be willing to cooperate. No alternative raw materials to replace hazardous raw materials could be found. Recycling markets for recycled products could be not available. Raw materials could be not infinite recyclable or there could be a lack of expertise and knowledge within the company. Next to this, barriers may be faced in the area of using solar energy and creating ‘green’ roofs upon a building. The problems have to been solved in order to provide a Cradle to Cradle product.
Although it is good to ambition the Cradle to Cradle ideology, appears the platinum certification level impracticable. At this moment, the highest reached certification level is the golden certificate.
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Table of contents: Preface
2
Management summary
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1. Introduction
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1.1 Problem indication
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1.2 Problem statement and research questions
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1.3 Research design
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1.4 Data collection
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1.5 Academic and managerial relevance
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1.6. Structure
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2. Cradle to Cradle ideology
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2.1 Introduction
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2.2 Founders
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2.3 From eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness
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2.4 Principles of Cradle to Cradle
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2.5 Triple top line
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2.6 Certification
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3. Practical obstructions
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3.1 Introduction
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3.2 Supply chain
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3.3 Barriers
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3.4 Current solar income
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3.5 Celebrate diversity
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3.6 Results of analysis
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4. Case study; Desso
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4.1 Introduction
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4.2 Desso
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4.3 Why Cradle to Cradle?
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4.4 Practical obstructions
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4.5 Green energy
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4.6 Environmental friendly operations
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4.7 Three P’s
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5. Conclusion and recommendations
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5.1 Introduction
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5.2 Conclusion
27
5.3 Recommendations
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References
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Appendices
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1. Introduction 1.1 Problem indication
´We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive’ – Albert Einstein.
In these days, the idea of making the world more environmental friendly is a hot topic in the news and the concept of ‘greening’ has become a wide known phenomenon. Greening refers to reducing the impact of production processes on the environment and improving the environmental performance of products (Vermeulen & Ras, 2006). Introducing greening in the production processes of an organization can make sure that resources are saved, waste is eliminated and productivity is improved (van Hoek, 1999). In this way the concept of thinking green has an impact on the supply chain of organizations; they have to redesign themselves in order to keep up with the trend of creating an optimal way of treating scarce sources (Piplani et all, 2008). This means that organizations have to switch to a green supply chain.
The so-called Cradle to Grave (C2G) strategy is the dominating one in today’s manufacturing (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). It stands for taking resources from the earth, making the product and at the end of the products life cycle dispose it in some kind of ‘grave’ or dump (Owens, 1997).
Another way of thinking is required to get rid of the dump places that are polluting the planet. Braungart and McDonough came up with a new phenomenon; the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) ideology. This ideology states that waste should not exist and a product has to be recycled over and over again instead of disposing it. To that extend, there are two cycles; the biological cycle, where the product is completely decomposable and the technical cycle, where the product could be infinite recyclable (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). Industries have to create a product which belongs to either the first or the second cycle in order to meet the goal of the cradle to cradle ideology; eliminate all waste.
During the implantation process of C2C, problems may arise. For example; no one inside the company has the expertise to implement the ideology. This research investigates the problems which may occur and looks to what extend it is possible to implement C2C.
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1.2 Problem statement and research questions The problem statement this thesis revolves around is the following; To what extent is the Cradle to Cradle ideology realizable within the supply chain?
In order to formulate an adequate answer on the problem statement, the following sub questions have to be answered;
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What is Cradle to Cradle?
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Which practical problems may occur when adopting Cradle to Cradle?
In order to see if the problems found in literature are working against the realization of the implementation process, a case study is done with cooperation of a firm called Desso. Desso is an international operating carpet manufacturer who decided to implement the C2C ideology in the year 2007 and sets its goals on actualizing a C2C supply chain by the end of 2020. The research question regarding Desso is the following;
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Which practical problems is Desso facing when implementing C2C?
1.3 Research design Figure 1 shows the conceptual model of the problem statement. The independent variable in the framework is Cradle to Cradle, this because it is the variable that causes changes and could influence the dependent variable (Sekeran, 2003). This thesis will elaborate on the question to what extend C2C realizable is within the supply chain. The dependent variable in this case, is the supply chain itself, which reacts on changes created by the independent variable (Sekeran, 2003).
Supply chain
Cradle to Cradle Figure 1: Conceptual model
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The research is a descriptive research; it describes the characteristics of the subject of interest, (Sekeran, 2003). A literature study is used to carry out the research. Next to a literature study, a case study will be used, in this case Desso. Desso is implementing the C2C ideology in their processes. Therefore it is interesting to research what kind of problems Desso is facing and how Desso deals with it. Is there a match between the assumptions found in literature and the actual situation in Desso? 1.4 Data collection For the theoretical framework, secondary literature is used. Secondary literature refers to data gathered through some existing sources (Sekeran, 2003). The portal of Tilburg University, which contains ABI/Inform global, ScienceDirect and LexisNexis Academic, is used in order to search for high quality journals and articles for the foundation of the conceptual model of this thesis. It is assumed that those articles are checked upon their academic sufficiency and therefore suitable as a literary background.
When reading articles the snowball effect has been used; articles of interest are found in the references of the first article.
Beside secondary literature, interviews are used done to get a good understanding in C2C and the practical problems within Desso. The interviewed persons are; sustainability director R. Daelmans and plant manager T. Timmermans. To create a questionnaire, the theoretical framework is used. Paragraph 4.3 and 4.4 are based on information derived from the interview with T. Timmermans, which can be found in Appendix B. Paragraph 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 are based on information derived from the interview with R. Daelmans, which can be found in Appendix C.
1.5 Academic and managerial relevance There has been a lot written about the supply chain and environmental strategies from an academic point of view over the last few years. The introduction of the C2C ideology gave a whole other dimension to the concept of greening. Instead of reducing waste it eliminates waste. But is it possible to realize the ideology in the supply chain? Specific answers on this question are currently missing in the academic literature; what are the problems when implementing C2C?
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The outcome of this thesis helps managers to get a better view on C2C when they decide to adapt the ideology in their organization. What could they aspect when introducing the ideology; which barriers do they have to face? 1.6 Structure To give more insight in the C2C ideology, C2C is explained in Chapter 2. Practical problems faced when implementing C2C are highlighted in Chapter 3. The case study on Desso is described in Chapter 4 and conclusions are drawn and recommendations are given in Chapter 5.
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2. Cradle to Cradle Ideology 2.1 Introduction In order to get a good view on the problem statement, an introduction to the concept of C2C is provided. The founders of C2C are introduced in the first part, after which the movement from an eco-efficiency to an eco-effectiveness approach is described. The principles of C2C are clarified in the fourth part followed by an explanation of an instrument used within C2C; the triple top line. To provide guidance for organizations when implementing C2C, a certification protocol has been invented which is provided in the last paragraph. 2.2 Founders C2C is introduced by Michael Braungart and William McDonough, who bundled their power to provide a strategy created to be implemented within organizations to build up a green supply chain (Braungart & McDonough, 2002).
Braungart joined Greenpeace in the early eighties and soon realised that protesting against environmental harm was not enough. A process to create changes had to be developed in order to really mean something for a greener world (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). Braungart founded the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) in 1987. EPEA is helping organizations to apply the C2C ideology within their production processes (www.cradletocradle.nl).
At the same time, McDonough thought about inventing products and production processes which would not harm the environment in any way. Instead of being less bad to the planet, do not pollute the environment at al. McDonough introduced C2C and together with Braungart he started the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) n 1995. MBDC revolutionizes products and their processes (www.cradletocradle.nl)
Braungart and McDonough published the book ‘Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the way we make things’, in 2002. The main thought about C2C deduced from this book is that the ideology guides organizations creating new production technologies which are not only efficient but are also free of waste.
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2.3 From eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness
Another way of thinking is required in order to create a production process which will not pollute the planet at al. Eco-efficiency is being used when trying to reduce waste in the production process. When trying to eliminate waste, the eco-effective approach has to be implemented (Abukhader, 2008). These two approaches are explained below.
2.3.1 Eco-efficiency
The concept of eco-efficiency has been developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 1992; the approach tries to increase the economic output and at the same time decrease the impact of the production processes on the environment (Bollinger et al, 2007).
The introduction of eco-efficiency has been responsible for making the flow of materials within the production process more efficient towards nature; it is integrating the economic, environmental and ethical concerns (Braungart & McDonough, 1998). The concept focuses on reducing the use of resources and efficient producing of products and therefore being less hurtful to nature. The products that are being recycled in this strategy can be referred to as down cycling; the quality of the product is decreasing over time and after several times it cannot be used anymore, it becomes waste (Bollinger et al, 2007). Eco-efficiency is slowing down the rate of environmental pollution and reduction of recourses, but it is not putting a hold on the pollution (Barbiroli, 2006).
2.3.2. Eco-effectiveness
The shift to eco-effectiveness has been made in order to create a production process which will be a hundred percent good to the environment instead of being less bad. This approach is used in the C2C ideology. The main difference between eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness is the following; if eco-efficiency is doing things the right way, then eco-effectiveness is doing things right (Abukhader, 2008). The eco-effective view on the flow of materials is based upon the biological cycle; waste does not exist. Every organism is contributing to the eco-system in an environmental friendly way (Anastas et al, 2003). Outputs of a process in nature become an input for another process. The technical cycle has to be constructed the same as the biological cycle; if the materials that enter the technical cycle keep their status as resources, they can be recycled over and over 10
again and waste does not exists (Bollinger et al (2007). Instead of down cycling, cycl this concept refers to up-cycling;; it enables materials to keep their quality or even raise their quality (Bollinger et al, 2007). 2.4 Principles of Cradle to Cradle
The C2C ideology is based upon three guidelines; ‘waste equals food’, ‘use use current solar income’ and ‘celebrate celebrate diversity’, diversity which are discussed below (Anastas Anastas et al, 2003, Braungart & McDonough, 2002). These guidelines resemble nature in which only natural resources are used in processes.
2.4.1 Waste equals food
As stated in section 2.3,, C2C believes in the biological and technical cycle; the idea that every output is a biological or technical nutrient for another process. Nutrients are factors that are feeding ecological or technical processes; the building material (Barbiroli, 2006). 2006
Biological nutrients are referred to as products of consumption (Bollinger et al, 2007). These products are produced to be consumed by the world population. At the end of their lifespan, they become food for organisms in nature. nature
Technical nutrients are referred to as products p of service and are produced to serve the customer in a particular way; a dishwasher or a car for example (Bollinger et al, 2007). When the customer disposes the product it will return back to the manufacturer manufacturer where it will be recovered covered and used to produce new products. products The re-use use of these technical nutrients in the technical cycle allows materials to keep their quality instead of losing their value because they are developed to be recycled over and over again, again without loss of quality lity (Braungart & McDonough, 1998). The technical and biological cycles are presented in Figure 2.
Figure 2: biological and technical cycle, (Braungart, 2008)
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2.4.2 Current solar income
Energy can be generated from different environmental friendly sources like wind power or through sunlight. C2C encouraged the concept of only using ‘green’ energy during the production processes. Current solar income replaces the fossil fuels in the process which could be destroying nature. Solar cells can be used to generate electricity through sunlight. The use of wind power to generate energy refers to thermal flows which arise through sunlight and are used to generate electricity through wind turbines (Anastas et al, 2003).
2.4.3 Celebrate diversity
Organizations have to design their buildings in a way that will respect the environmental surrounding in which they are situated (Braungart & McDonough, 1998). For example, companies could use grasses and flowers, which were destroyed when building their plants, to create a blanket upon the roof of their building (Anastas et al, 2003). The vegetation can decrease negative effects of buildings on the environment and can reduce the energy used within the company (Bass et al, 2007). It prevents warmth to flow out of the building when it is cold outside or absorbs water when it is raining. The green roofs also have a cooling down effect inside the company when it is hot outside and this may reduce the energy used for airconditioning in the summer (Getter & Rowe, 2006 and Bass et al, 2007).
2.5 Triple top line
To realize the C2C ideology, it is helpful to create a balance between social/ethical, economic and environmental goals when developing products (Braungart & McDonough, 1998). Not polluting the earth or harming people is of importance, but at the same time economic concerns have to be taken into account in order to stay profitable. These concepts are gathered together in the so called triple top line which guides production processes towards producing products ‘that enhance the well being of nature and culture while generating economic value’ (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). Within the triple top line, social goals are referred to as equity; is the process and product safe for employees and consumers? Economic goals are stated as economy; is the company making profit? Environmental goals are referred to as ecology; does the process pollute the planet?
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There already exists a strategy based upon these three values named the triple bottom line or the better known as the three P’s; People, Profits and Planet (Wexler, 2009). This instrument has been created by John Elingkton in 1997 and it suggests not only having a positive effect on the environment and society but also provides long-term economic growth and advantages (Carter & Rogers, 2008).
The triple bottom line is visualized in a triangle, presented in Figure 3. In reality it appears that out of the three values, attention sticks on the economic value and ecology and equity are only a matter of minor importance (Braungart & McDonough, 2002 and Steger, 2007).
Figure 3: Triple bottom line (adapted from Braungart & McDonough, 2002)
A shift is made to point out the importance of the social and environmental aspects. The triple top line, displayed in Figure 4, tries to find equilibrium amongst all three values and not focuses on one value alone. The concept is also based upon a triangle which includes the three values and the relationship with each other.
Figure 4: Triple top line (Braungart & McDonough, 2002)
When looking at the top triangle, the company has to ask itself if the products produced are fully environmental friendly. The triangle of ecology-equity looks at safety towards the ecosystem, for example; ‘does the product pollute the drinking water of society?’ When speaking of the equity-ecology triangle, society becomes the main point of focus and questions like; ‘could an environmental friendly product contribute to the wellbeing of customers?’ become of importance (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). The other triangles are constructed in the 13
same way. If the answers to all boxes are yes, then the production processes are creating a positive opportunity for creating value (Braungart & McDonough, 2002). If the answer is no to one of the boxes, this will mean that the company did not pay enough attention to one of the values and has to reconsider their production processes.
2.6 Certification
In order to provide guidance for organizations to hold on to when implementing the C2C strategy, MBDC in cooperation with EPEA invented a certification protocol to meet the necessary requirements. It pays attention on the sustainable aspects of materials and processes. Because of this focus, emphasis is on up cycling and safely composting products as well as their healthy influence on civilization and environment.
The criteria are divided in five different dimensions; materials, material reutilization/design for environment, energy, water and social responsibility. The certification can be seen as a route in which four levels of C2C can be reached; basic, silver, gold and at supreme platinum.
2.6.1 Basic
The basic level implies that a complete bill of materials is required in order knowing exactly what materials consist of. This means that a product has to be broken down into individual ingredients (Harrison & van Hoek, 2005). In this way the product and materials can be identified by EPEA to see if it belongs to the category biological or technical. Next to this, the company has to chart the energy use of the organization; are they using the green energy which is required?
An example of a company that reached the basic level is Desso, the subject of this thesis case study. Desso has already produced nine carpet tiles that are meeting the requirements of a basic C2C product (www.mbdc.com). This means that of every component and materials used to produce the carpet tile, it can be stated if it belongs to the biological or technical cycle and the energy Desso uses is mapped completely.
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2.6.2 Silver
The silver level includes a fifty percent recycling value; half of all materials have to be absorbed in either the biological or the technical cycle. The company is obliged to set up plans for solar energy and efficient water use. These basic and silver levels are providing the strategy for an optimal C2C supply chain.
The Mirra chair created by Herman miller has the status of a silver C2C product. It consists of forty-two percent recycled material and the chair itself can be up-cycled for ninety-six percent after disposal (www.mbdc.com). The most important thing is that the chair does not include any PVC, which is absolutely required for the certification.
2.6.3 Gold
When reaching the gold status, a company has to phase out and replace every material within the process which is labeled as a ‘red’ material. When components are stated as bad for the human being and environment it will be labeled as ‘red’, if it does not harm nor has a high risk on society it is labeled as ‘green’. ‘Orange’ labeled materials can be used when there is no ‘green’ product available. The gold status means that the product consists of only ‘green’ and ‘orange’ materials.
An example of a gold C2C product is the rain tube created by Rain Technologies Inc. The rain tube could be fully absorbed in the technical or biological cycle after disposal and will be recycled without losing its quality into new rain tube products (www.mbdc.com). In contrast to its competitors, Rain Technologies uses less energy and the energy that is used is ‘green’.
2.6.4 Platinum
Meeting all requirements for the platinum level means that all products have to be taken up into the biological cycle or the technical cycle. Until this moment, not a single product has reached the highest level.
All dimensions of the certification protocol are described in Appendix A and a specific list summarizes all requirements for the different levels.
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3. Practical obstructions 3.1 Introduction
Before re looking at the problems which may occur during the C2C implementation process; process Chapter three first of all describes the concept of a supply chain. Knowing this concept is of importance because the implementation of C2C has a major influence on the supply suppl chain of an organization. The supply chain has to be redesigned in order to produce a product without the use of any hazardous raw materials and to provide a process that is not polluting the environment. The second part will explain what kind of barrierss supply chain partners can face when implementing the ideology.
3.2 Supply chain
The supply chain refers to a group of partners partners who collectively produce an end product. The supply chain consists of a chain of processes linked to each other including suppliers su (upstream partners) on one side and customers (downstream partners) on the other side; see Figure 5 (Harrison & van Hoek, 2005).
Figure 5: Overview supply chain, (Harrison & van Hoek, 2005)
The organization is the centre of the supply chain and on both sides are the first tier suppliers and buyers yers situated. The second tier suppliers are supplying the first tier suppliers, who are in turn supplying the organization. organization. The same happens at the customer side. Material and information flows are running through the supply chain and represent the supply supply and demand of the product (Harrison & van Hoek, 2005).
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3.3 Barriers
When trying to adopt the C2C ideology within a company’s supply chain, certain barriers may arise and affect the implementation processes, which are described below.
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Non-cooperating partners:
When introducing a C2C strategy, all partners in the supply chain have to be involved. Cooperation need to take place in order to provide a C2C product at the end. But what if one of the suppliers does not want to assist in creating a C2C supply chain? Searching for a new supplier for raw materials takes time and in some cases it can lead to not even finding an alternative supplier at all (Vermeulen & Ras, 2005).
Greening the supply chain involves not only suppliers and buyers who are in immediate contact with the company; their first tier suppliers/buyers, but it also involves collaboration along the whole supply chain, including the suppliers in developing countries (Vermeulen & Ras, 2005). When having a global supply chain, sources are spread all over the world. The focal company might not know where its supplier buys his material and so on upstream the supply chain. Not knowing all the suppliers makes it hard to track down all original material and providing a correct bill of materials.
An example of a non-cooperating company is an Indian supplier of the Dutch shoemanufacturer Van Bommel. The company wanted to know if every supplier was producing ‘clean’ products and send a questionnaire to all of their suppliers. Cleaner production refers to the prevention of risks within production processes that have a negative impact on the environment (Baas, 1995). The Indian supplier saw this as violation of their private family recipe and did not want to cooperate and instead just stated a declaration on paper that their production processes were ‘clean’ without proving this (Vermeulen & Ras, 2005). Due to this non-cooperation, Van Bommel had to look for an alternative supplier who was willing to collaborate with the company (Vermeulen & Ras, 2005).
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No alternative raw materials:
As stated in section 2.6, MBDC and EPEA together invented the ‘red’, ‘green’ and ‘orange’ labels for all materials needed for the production processes of all kind of products. In order to achieve the highest standard within the certification protocol, the company needs to phase out or replace all chemical and raw materials which are labelled as ‘red’. For some materials it could turn out that there is no alternative or environmental friendly substitute to replace the raw materials (Luken et al. 2008). In this case, the organization has to work with the 17
hazardous material and is not fulfilling the requirements of C2C. Are organizations going to phase out the product or are the giving up the C2C ideology when no alternative could be found?
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Recycling markets:
C2C supply chains intend to up-cycle materials in the technical cycle without loss of quality, unless they can be absorbed in the biological cycle. This implies that there has to be a market for the recycled products in order to make the main thought of C2C attractive for organizations. This market has to be demand driven instead of supply driven; customers have to demand for the ‘green’ product instead of companies just pushing the products through (Gunningham & Sinclair, 1997).
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Infinite recyclable:
Recycling material without quality loss is one of the requirements of C2C. This requirement is created to provide certainty that all materials can be absorbed in the technical or biological cycle and that waste does not has a chance to exist. To improve this waste management, companies are putting their attention on their recycling processes. But are those products really infinite recyclable?
An example of a repeatedly recyclable product is a PET bottle; the recycling industry started due to pressure on improving waste management and due to slow decomposition in the environment (Awaja & Pavel, 2005). Unfortunately this recycling process is limited to a number of times possible. This due to the PVC bottles which are not separated from the PET bottles and end up in the same recycling process (Anderson, 2005). A little bit of PVC in the process is enough to downgrade the recycling process, which means that it cannot be infinite recyclable (Anderson, 2005).
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Expertise and knowledge:
An important obstruction when adopting the C2C ideology has been described by Luken et al. (2008); there could be a lack of information and expertise within the organizations. All though MBDC provided a guideline in which they state how to reach an optimal C2C supply chain, many companies, and in particular the small and medium ones, do not have the resources and expertise to fully implement the cleaner production processes. Gunningham & Sinclair (1997), Vermeulen & Ras (2008) and Moors et al. (2005) are describing the same barrier; the lack of correct skills and information could prevent organizations from implementing the C2C strategy.
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No alternative technology:
Companies may not have the required technology because of the lack of financial support or because they are missing the technical resources. This holds especially for small and medium firms which have fewer finances than larger companies (Hamed & Mahgary, 2004). Another concern about using new technologies is the possibility that the firm may just invested an amount in retraining the technological staff and updating their technologies, therefore the organization may not be willing to make great expenditures for the new strategy (Gunningham &Sinclair, 1997).
3.4 Current solar income
The use of current solar income may have some barriers along the way. In the case of highrise buildings, there is not much space to place solar cells or windmills to generate energy for the whole company (Hrayshat & Al-Soud, 2004). Organizations have to find new ways to create space for the use of solar energy.
Next to this, it could turn out that a company’s building is not receiving enough sunlight to generate electricity for its whole plant (Marshall, 2009). If an organization’s building is build within an industrial park, other buildings could cause shadow. In this way, the use of solar cells is not useful.
The use of wind turbines can cause some trouble when lack of social acceptance among the neighbourhood appears. Wind turbines may damage the appearance of the environment (Wolsink, 2000). Wind turbines could also cause harm to birds in the environment (Exo et al, 2003). Birds could fly into the airscrew and the breeding environment of birds could be affected. This is in contrast with the other guideline within C2C; celebrate diversity. Instead of re-covering the natural habitat, the environment could be harmed when placing a wind farm. 3.5 Celebrate diversity
Creating green roofs upon buildings to live up to the celebrate diversity guideline does not come without barriers. Green roofs are more expensive than normal roofs and may even double in price (Bass et al, 2007 and Getter & Rowe, 2006).
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Next to this, there is little accessible knowledge on green roof implementation (Skinner, 2006 and Getter & Riwe, 2006). Most articles written about green roofs are in German and there is lack of specific details about the installation of the vegetation on roofs in literature.
Organizations also need to take into account that a green roof weighs more than a normal roof, especially when threes are planted. This could only take place when buildings are developed to bear this weight (Skinner, 2006).
3.6 Results of analysis
The C2C ideology is a perfect way to come closer to global greening. Still there are a lot of obstacles when implementing the ideology in the supply chain. Most companies that are implementing C2C reached the silver certification level, which means that they accomplished creating a strategy to live up to the C2C guidelines (www.mbdc.com). When achieved the silver certificate, companies are on the right path but still have a long way to walk.
The problems explained in Paragraph 3.3 appear to be difficult to overcome. Since no product is certified with the platinum level yet, it is questionable whether this level will be reached in future. Until this moment, the highest level reached within the certification route is the golden certificate.
This means that the extent to which it is possible to realize the C2C ideology is to the extent of the golden certificate.
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4. Case study, Desso 4.1 Introduction
Knowing from literature what problems a company may face when implementing the C2C strategy, this section provides specific problems faced by Desso when putting the implementation process in practice. What kind of company Desso is, will be defined in the first section. The second section explains why the company adopted the C2C ideology after which the implementation problems are highlighted. Paragraph 4.3 and 4.4 of the Chapter are based on information derived from the interview with T. Timmermans, which can be found in Appendix B. Paragraph 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 are based on information derived from the interview with R. Daelmans, which can be found in Appendix C.
4.2 Desso
Desso is an international operating carpet manufacturer with its headquarters situated in Waalwijk, the Netherlands. Desso is a leading company in the carpet industry of Europe (Desso 2010, April 12). The company produces carpets, carpet tiles and artificial grass for sport grounds. The vision of Desso includes the following subjects; producing superior products through continuous innovation, providing flexible service, committing to the C2C principle, open communication within the company and sustaining the high quality of its products (www.desso.com).
4.3 Why Cradle to Cradle?
After seeing the VPRO documentary ‘Tegenlicht’ about the C2C ideology in 2007, Chief executive Officer (CEO) Kranendijk decided to implement this ideology within Desso (Jessayan, 2010). This was the first decision made as the new CEO of Desso. He approached Braungart to inform him about the decision to reform Desso into a C2C company and to form cooperation with EPEA to help him during the implementation process. The deadline for completing this development towards a 100% C2C company lies at the end of 2020. Kranendijk is convinced that the C2C approach is good for the world but also for the company and the brand itself.
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4.4 Practical obstructions
When implementing the C2C ideology Desso faced some problems that where matching to the ones found in literature. While coming across these practical obstructions, Desso already came up with solutions to solve a number of these problems which will be explained in the upcoming paragraphs.
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Non-cooperating partners:
To provide a bill of materials, all ingredients have to be given to EPEA in order to classify the ingredients ‘red’, ‘orange’ or ‘green’. Desso faced the problem that suppliers were not willing to give the information about their ingredients. Desso came with the following solution; suppliers only have to provide the information about their materials to EPEA. EPEA has a non-disclosure agreement and is obliged to keep all information as a secret. In this way Desso cannot copy the formulation of materials and at the same time Desso’s bill of materials can be checked and classified by EPEA.
Another problem that arose considering this subject is that suppliers are willing to cooperate but are not acting up to the promises made to Desso. For example, a supplier lacks giving the formula of its ingredients to EPEA for approval. In this case, redefining the production process will be delayed because the material has not been approved yet.
Not knowing which suppliers are connected to the supply chain of the company can be an obstacle when trying to provide the bill of materials of a product for the basic C2C certificate. All of Desso’s first tier suppliers are recorded on paper and it is the job of those suppliers to have all the second tier suppliers on paper. The first tier suppliers have to make sure that the second tier suppliers are providing all information about their raw materials to EPEA to make sure that they are included in the bill of materials of Desso.
If a company refuses to cooperate when asked, the collaboration with Desso will end and the search for an alternative supplier will start. This is very rigorous, but necessary when striving for a C2C supply chain.
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No alternative raw materials:
To meet the ultimate C2C level, no ‘red’ labelled materials are allowed within the production process. One of the most important raw materials Desso uses to produce a carpet tile is bitumen; a substance extracted from raw oil and used an ingredient for heavy coating. Heavy coating refers to the backing of a carpet tile. Unfortunately bitumen is labelled as ‘red’ because the chemical composition is not consistent all the time. For this reason EPEA is not able to classify bitumen and therefore bitumen is labelled as ‘red’. Next to bitumen, also rubber latex, used to anchor the yarn, is a ‘red’ labelled raw material.
Together with Dow, a chemical multinational, Desso developed alternatives for rubber latex and bitumen. Before making the step from the drawing table to the laboratory each ingredient of suggested compositions were checked and classified by EPEA. Laboratory tests are done. Good performing compositions are skilled up to a pilot and industrial level. Both, pilot and industrial trials influence the performance the standard operations in a negative way. The first production with EcoBase is realized in May 2010. EcoBase refers to the substitute for rubber latex and bitumen.
The cost price of EcoBase is higher than rubber latex and bitumen. Are customers willing to pay a higher price for the C2C product? Desso accepts the challenge. Desso will not instantly switch form rubber latex and bitumen to EcoBase. Desso will phase out rubber latex and bitumen in the coming years and convince the customers that the only way forward is doing good things.
Ingredients which are also providing problems are pigments used to colour the yarns (Ronde, 2010). Desso is talking about possibilities to overcome this problem with its first and second tier suppliers (Jessayan, 2010).
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Recycling markets:
A suitable waste collection market for carpet tiles has to be available for Desso in order to live up to the up-cycling demand of C2C. When decided to implement the C2C ideology in 2007, there was no specific market to transfer the old material back to Desso. Desso made the first steps towards cooperation with Van Gansewinkel Group, a Dutch company with specialization in waste collection. Van Gansewinkel Group is placing dump boxes nearby the customers of Desso to collect old carpet tiles (Desso 2009, March 3). They are not only collecting carpet tiles from customers of Desso but also from their own customers.
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The collecting process is limited to the Benelux at this moment, but there are future plans for the United Kingdom (UK) and eventually for partnerships on an international level. It is not yet certain whether the cooperation with van Gansewinkel Group will include every country. If not, then Desso will search for possible partners in the countries of interest.
The United Arab Emirates are very enthusiastic about the concept and the government there is looking for possibilities to set up collecting processes to contribute to the recycling process of Desso.
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Infinite recyclable:
Because the C2C ideology requests a product which can be absorbed in the technical or biological cycle, Desso has to be able to recycle all material without downgrading it. Desso is developing a separation method to separate the upper layer of the carpet tile from the back of the tile. The upper layer consists of treads named polyamide yarns and the back consists of bitumen (in future EcoBase). After this separation process, the polyamide will be returned to a yarn producer, who collaborates with Desso towards an infinite recycling process.
In the clasic method the returned polyamide is purified to a high degree and brought back to the yarn production process. During this process the recycled polyamide downgrades to certain extend.
The yarn producer has done pilot trials with a new technology. Instead of re-using the polyamide the technology is based on depolymerisation of the polyamide. The polyamide is brought back to its original state. In this way the quality does not decrease and the recycling process can continue infinitely.
Today the back of the carpet tile, rubber latex and bitumen, are used in the road and roof industry. In future, EcoBase will be re-used in Desso’s heavy coating process.
It has to be researched whether it economically useful to transport all products to the Netherlands or if it is wise to place a separation plant in other countries.
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Expertise and knowledge:
No expertise of C2C was available within Desso at the moment Kranendijk decided to implement the C2C ideology in 2007. In order to implement knowledge, Desso started collaboration with EPEA. Advisors from EPEA were hired to provide workshops to the research and development department and communication workshops to the marketing 24
department. Michael Braungart gave a presentation to all employees to make them aware of the concept. Next to this, the C2C implementation process is a daily job of the sustainability director, R. Dealmans, and he has contact with EPEA every day.
Fifteen employees of Desso went to EPEA in Hamburg to get workshops in the field of C2C and to spread the knowledge within the company
To provide knowledge on C2C towards companies who are going to implement the strategy in the future, Desso is creating a C2C research centre together with Braungart (Ronde, 2010). This can prevent the problem of not having the right knowledge for other companies. -
No alternative technology:
Some techniques were not yet available within Desso at the beginning of the implementation process in 2007. For example; the separation method to separate the upper layer of the carpet tile from the back. Three technologies were researched for this separation process and one of them is brought into practise.
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Other challenges:
A big challenge within the C2C implementation process of Desso is to make all employees enthusiast about the concept and make them think out of the box. Some departments do not dare to change a process because the sales department is not agreeing with this or because it may be too expensive. They have to keep in mind that the upper management decided to implement the C2C ideology and therefore they have to adjust to that.
4.5 Green energy
At the moment, Desso Waalwijk and Desso Dendermonde are using electric energy derived from hydro power. The goal is to generate all electric energy used within Desso by the company itself. This is why Desso is looking for solar panels which are necessary when using solar energy. Next to using the sun, Desso is planning to make use of windmills and biofermentation.
Bio-fermentation refers to gaining biogas from compost in combination with grass and other agriculture materials. The biogas is rotating a motor through which electricity is being generated. Next to the electricity, the heath provided through this process is being used to heat or cool down processes within Desso.
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4.6 Environmental friendly operations
The economy is depending on the wellbeing of the bees within the environment because some vegetation is dependent on pollination through bees. When it is not going well with the bees, the economy will indirectly suffer from this. Desso is researching possibilities to place beehives in the environment of the company. The plants which belong to the natural habitat of the bees are also being placed to live up to an optimal environment for bees. Together with the municipality, Desso is looking how to involve the nature in the company’s environment.
Next to this, almost all industries are covered with black roofs. This means that solar energy is being absorbed and the air above the organizations is heated. Desso has covered a part of its roofs with flora. This flora has a cooling effect on the environment. This cooling down effect is better for the flora and fauna in the neighbourhood.
4.7 Three P’s
The triple top line refers to the three P’s; planet people and profits, which are explained in Chapter 2.5. Although Desso is not using the triple top line consciously, they are always taking the three P’s into consideration. The profit side is an important part of the process; revenue keeps Desso turning. Being aware of the needs of people and striving for a positive influence on them is another goal of Desso. Next to this, the planet is also playing a huge role in their strategy; this concerns water treatment and not extracting to many raw materials from the planet. In this way, Desso is using the triple top line unconsciously.
Although problems found in literature also occurred when putting the implementation process in practice, Desso already managed to handle a number the problems and is developing ways to make sure that they reach the goal of being a C2C company at the end of 2020.
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5. Conclusion and Discussion 5.1 Introduction
This chapter provides an answer on the problem statement in the first section. The last section provides recommendations for further research.
5.2 Conclusion
The problem statement this thesis elaborates on is; to what extent is the Cradle to Cradle ideology realizable within the supply chain? The focus of this thesis lies on the practical problems companies may face when starting the implementation process of the C2C ideology within their supply chain.
To understand were C2C stands for, the ideology has been explained with help of the main thoughts behind the concept. The shift form eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness showed the importance of changing the main focus from doing things less bad to doing things right. The guidelines of C2C were highlighted; ‘waste equals food’, ‘use current solar income’ and ‘celebrate diversity’. Next to this, the triple top line guides organizations towards a completely C2C developed product has been explained. The certification protocol developed by MBDC and EPEA has been elaborated on in order to get a clear view on what organizations have to reach to develop a C2Ccertified product
Research showed that there are six main problems organizations may face when implementing the C2C ideology; non-cooperating partners, no alternative raw materials, no available recycling markets, not infinite recyclable, missing expertise and knowledge and no alternative technology. Next to this, some barriers may be faced in the area of using solar energy and creating ‘green’ roofs upon a building.
Although companies are trying to implement the ideology and are working on solutions for the problems they might face, not a single company has reached the platinum level of the certification protocol yet. At this moment, the extent to which it is possible to implement the C2C ideology sticks to the golden certification level.
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The study case on Desso showed that all problems found in literature occurred when putting the implementation process in practise. The most difficult challenge is to look for alternative raw materials to phase out the ‘red’ labelled ones. This is the ultimate goal that has to be reached. 5.3 Recommendations
This thesis provides insight on the obstructions companies might face during the C2C implementation process. Next to this some solutions developed by Desso are provided which can be used for other companies to get some ideas on how to overcome these problems. It is recommended to investigate further on solutions on the obstructions of C2C to provide a more general guide for companies.
During research the question; ‘are consumers willing to pay more for an environmental friendly product, free of waste?’ arose. Future researchers are recommended to investigate whether there is a market for C2C products and if consumers are willing to pay more for a C2C product. When there is a lack of these markets, further research can investigate if it is possible to create such a market.
Further research is recommended to look if the government can play a role in the implementation process of C2C. Could they forbid certain ‘red’ labelled raw materials? This may make organizations speed up their development plans towards phasing out all ‘red’ raw materials.
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References Books and articles: Anastas, P.T. Braungart, M. McDonough, W. & Zimmerman, J.B. (2003), Applying the principles of green engineering to Cradle to Cradle design, Environmental science & technology, vol. 37, no. 23, 432a- 441a
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Bass, B. Coffman, R.R. Doshi, H. Dunnett, N. Gaffin, S. Köhler, M. Liu, K.K.Y. Lundholm, J. Oberndorfer, E. & Rowe, B. (2007) Green roofs as urban ecosystems: ecological structures, functions and services, Bioscience, vol.57, no. 10, 823-833
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Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (1998), The next industrial revolution, The Atlantic Monthly, vol.282, no. 4, 82-92
Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (2002), ‘Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the way we make things’, New York: North Point Press
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Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (2002), Design for the Triple Top Line: new tool for sustainable commerce, Corporate environmental strategy, vol. 9, no. 3, 251-258 Carter, C.R. & Rogers, D.S. (2008), A framework of sustainable supply chain management: moving toward new theory, International journal of physical distribution and logistics management, vol. 38, no. 5, 360-187
Exo, K.M. Hüppop, O. & Garthe, S. (2003) Birds and offshore wind farms: a hot topic in marine ecology. Wader Study Groups Bull, vol. 100, 50-53
Getter, K.L. & Rowe, D.B. (2006) The role of extensive green roofs in sustainable development, HortScience, vol. 41, no. 5, 1276-1285
Gunningham, N. & Sinclair, D. (1997), Acel final report: barriers and motivators to the adoption of cleaner production practices, Australian centre for environmental law, The Australian University, Canberra
Hamed, M.M. & El Mahary, Y. (2004), Outline of a national strategy for cleaner production: the case of Egypt, Journal of cleaner productions, vol. 12, no. 4, 327-336
Harrsion, A. & Hoek, van R. (2005), ‘Logistic management and strategy’, Harlow; Pearson education limited.
Hoek, I. van, (1999), From reversed logistics to green supply chains, Supply chain management, vol. 4, no. 3, 129
Hrayshat, E.S & Al-Soud, M.S. (2004) Solar enery in Jordan: current state and prospects, Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, vol. 8, no. 2, 193-200
Jessayan, H. (2010, May 1), Stef Kranendijk, alias Mister Desso, Financieel Dagblad, p.15
Luken, R. & Rompaey, van F. (2008), Drivers for and barriers to environmentally sound technology adoption by manufacturing plants in nine developing countries, Journal of cleaner production, vol.16, no. 1, 67, 77
Marshall, R. (2009), A framework for energy independence via solar hosting farms, Ecology law currents, vol. 36, no. 10, 212-219 30
Moors, E.H.M. Mulders, K.F. & Vergragt, P.J. (2005) Towards cleaner production: barriers and strategies in the base metals producing industry, Journal of cleaner production, vol. 13, no. 7, 657-668
Owens, J.W. (1997), Life-cycle assessment; constraints on moving from inventory to impact assessment, Journal of industrial ecology, vol. 1, no. 1, 37-49
Piplani, R., Pujawan, N. & Ray, S. (2008), Sustainable supply chain management, International journal of production economics, vol. 111, no. 2, 193-194
Ronde, K. de, (2010), Desso’s droom, Buitenlandse markten, vol. 17, no. 1, 38-39
Sekeran, U. (2003), ‘Research methods for business; a skill building approach’, New York; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Skinner, C.J. (2006), Urban density, meteorology and rooftops, Urban policy and research, vol. 24, no. 3, 355-367
Steger, U. Ionescu-Somers, A. & Salzmann, O. (2007), The economic foundations of corporate sustainability, Corporate governance, vol. 7, no. 2, 162-177
Vermeulen. W.J.V. & Ras, P.J. (2006), The challenge of greening global product chains: meeting both ends, Sustainable development, vol. 14, no. 4, 245-265 Wald, M.L. (2006, May 17), What’s kind to nature can be kind to profits, New York times
Wexler, M.N.(2009), Strategic ambiguity in emergent coalitions: the triple bottom line, Corporate communications: an international journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 62-77
Wolsink, M. (2000), Renewable energy, Wind powr and the NIMBY-myth: institutional capacity and the limited significance of public support, vol. 21, no, 1, 49-64
World commission on environment and development (1987), Our common future, New York: Oxford University press
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Websites: McDonough Baungart Design Company; http://www.mbdc.com, 26-04-2010
Company certification list MBDC; http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/list.php, 13-05-2010
Desso company site; http://www.desso.com, 10-05-2010
Cradle to Cradle; http://www.cradletocradle.nl/home/335_epea.htm, 05-06-2010
MBDC; http://www.cradletocradle.nl/home/334_mbdc.htm, 09-06-2010
Other: Braungart, M. lecture on Cradle to Cradle, Desso Waalwijk, May 21, 2008
Desso, (2009, March 3). Desso begint exclusief programma voor terugname tapijt met Van Gansewinkel Groep in Nederland. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.desso.com/CO_ News_and_Press_2009_NL.html
Desso, (2010, April 12). New DESSO show room in Milan. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.desso.com/BC_New_Desso_Show_Room_in_Milan_EN.html
Interviewed:
Daelmans, Rudi. June 6, 2010. Desso. Sustainability director. Timmermans, Toon. May 15, 2010. Desso. Plant manager.
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Appendix A Cradle to Cradle certification criteria CRADLE TO CRADLE CERTIFICATIONCM CRITERIA
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Appendix B Interview Toon Timmermans, plant manager DESSO Waalwijk, 15-05-2010 Algemeen -
Hoe bent u met de C2C ideologie in aanraking gekomen?
De CEO van DESSO, Stef Kranendijk, heeft na het zien van de VPRO documentaire ‘Tegenlicht’ over de C2C ideologie besloten om dit concept ook door te voeren in zijn bedrijf. Hierdoor moeten alle productie processen veranderd worden naar een C2C aanpak wat invloed heeft op mijn werkzaamheden als plant manager. Kranendijk is ervan overtuigd dat het invoeren van dit concept goed voor de wereld en inwoners is maar tevens voor de producten van het bedrijf en het merk DESSO zelf. Braungart is door Kranendijk benaderd om over C2C te praten en deze heeft een presentatie gegeven voor werknemers waar de volgende belangrijke quote naar voren kwam; ‘Je moet niet minder slecht proberen te zijn, maar juist alleen goed doen’. Kranendijk zelf grijpt alle mogelijkheden aan om bij de consumenten bekend te maken dat DESSO het C2C concept aan het invoeren is zodat iedereen er bewust van is dat DESSO ecologisch verantwoordt produceert.
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Wat is uw rol als plant manager binnen het implementatie proces van C2C?
Binnen DESSO Waalwijk zijn een aantal grondstoffen, welke voor het produceren van tapijttegels worden gebruikt, niet goedgekeurd door EPEA. Dit betekent dat de grondstoffen een ‘rood’ label krijgen en dus vervangen moeten worden door een alternatief met een ‘groen’ of ‘oranje’ label. Hier moet ik als plant manager een phase-out plan voor schrijven, wat inhoud dat er binnen een jaar een alternatief voor deze grondstoffen moet zijn gevonden en hier een stapsgewijs plan voor op tafel moet komen. Een van de belangrijkste grondstoffen voor het produceren van tapijttegels is bitumen wat gebruikt wordt als heavy coating voor de rug van een tegel. Bitumen is één van de zwaarste fracties die tijdens de olieraffinage ontstaat. De chemische samenstelling van bitumen is niet constant. Bitumen kan niet volledig gedefinieerd worden door EPEA omdat de samenstelling per keer varieert en krijgt hierdoor het ‘rode’ label. Een mogelijk alternatief gedoopt tot EcoBase, is gevonden door proeven binnen DESSO te houden. De eerste proeven vonden plaats in het bedrijfslaboratorium. Met een pilotmachine en gebruikmaking van de bitumen productielijn zijn de eerste producties met EcoBase inmiddels gemaakt. Natuurlijk is de zoektocht naar een alternatief een aanslag de reguliere productie processen. De tijd die in proeven gestoken wordt, kan immers niet gebruikt worden voor de reguliere productie. Begin 2010 zijn machines ontworpen om de EcoBase te produceren. Bij de machinebouwers zijn de diverse onderdelen getest. In april en mei zijn de machines bij DESSO geïnstallerd. De eerste industriële runs zullen nog in mei plaats hebben. 34
De kostprijs van het product zal naar alle waarschijnlijkheid omhoog gaan aangezien EcoBase een stuk duurder is dan Bitumen. Er zijn geen verwachtingen dat Bitumen meteen volledig zal worden vervangen door EcoBase aangezien de consument eerst aan dit alternatief zal moeten wennen en tevens zal niet iedereen meteen bereid zijn een duurder product te verkiezen boven een goedkoper product. In de meest ideale omstandigheid zal dezelfde productie lijn voor Bitumen en EcoBase worden gebruikt zodat er snel tussen deze twee materialen kan worden gewisseld en er voldoende omzet kan worden gedraaid. Naast Bitumen is ook de lijm, S(tyreen)B(utadieen)R(ubber), die we inzetten ter verankering van garens, gedefinieerd als ‘rood’ materiaal. Ook voor SBR is een alternatief gezocht en gevonden.
Problemen tijdens het invoeringsproces van C2C; -
Zijn alle partners binnen de supply chain bereid om jullie de benodigde informatie te verschaffen binnen het C2C proces?
Aangezien het voor het basis certificaat nodig is om de volledige samenstelling van het product op papier te hebben, is het nodig om alle materialen van elke leverancier te weten te komen. Helaas wilde niet alle leveranciers hun grondstoffen prijs geven omdat DESSO dan in principe alle informatie zou hebben om dit materiaal zelf te maken en zo de leverancier niet meer nodig zou hebben. De oplossing hiervoor is dat alle leveranciers de grondstoffen die zij gebruiken voor het produceren van de aan DESSO geleverde materialen rechtstreeks doorgeven aan EPEA, het bedrijf van Braungart die onderzoekt of grondstoffen tot de categorie ‘groen’, ‘oranje’ of ‘rood’ behoren. EPEA heeft een geheimhoudingsplicht naar deze leveranciers toe zodat deze informatie niet bij DESSO of andere bedrijven komt. Hierdoor stemmen leveranciers vaak in om mee te werken en alle informatie aan EPEA door te geven. Het samenwerkingsverband met leveranciers die niet willen mee werken zal worden beëindigd en hier zullen andere leveranciers voor in de plaats worden gezocht.
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Kunnen alle technische grondstoffen tot in het oneindige gerecycled worden of levert dit problemen op?
DESSO is op het moment bezig om een scheidingsmethode te ontwikkelen. Dit houdt in dat de bovenlaag van de tegel van de onderlaag wordt gescheiden. Deze bovenkant bestaat uit garen, polyamide genaamd, en de onderkant is de EcoBase die door Desso zelf ontwikkeld is. DESSO is een samenwerkingsverband aangegaan met de leverancier van polyamide, om het polyamide na het scheidingsproces terug te brengen naar de leverancier. Polyamide wordt niet gesmolten, maar gedepolymeriseerd. Smelten leidt immers tot degradatie van het polymeer polyamide (=downgrading). Downgrading rijmt niet met de C2C filosofie. De-polymeriseren houdt in dat de polyamide teruggebracht wordt tot de oorspronkelijke bouwstenen (het 35
monomeer caprolactam). De caprolactam wordt vervolgens ingezet om gepolymeriseerd te worden tot polyamide. Dit proces leidt tot honderd procent recycling en doordat de polyamiden terug worden gebracht naar hun oorspronkelijke staat ontstaat er geen kwaliteitsverlies waardoor de grondstoffen tot in het oneindige recyclebaar zijn. De leverancier heeft voor dit recycling proces een eigen fabriek gebouwd zodat dit ook waargemaakt kan worden. De achterkant van de tegel, de EcoBase zal door ons verwerkt worden tot nieuwe vulling voor de rug van de tegel zonder kwaliteitsverlies.
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Is er op dit moment een markt om de DESSO producten terug te brengen zodat het scheidingsproces kan plaatsvinden?
Er is net een samenwerkingsverband met de afvaldienstverlener Van Gansewinkel Groep opgezet. Deze hebben sinds 2008 een samenwerkingsovereenkomst met Braungart en EPEA. De Van Gansewinkel Groep heeft veel kennis van recyclingprocessen en samen met hen proberen we nieuwe technieken te ontwikkelen om garen te winnen uit oude tapijten. Niet alleen oude tegels van de klanten van ons bedrijf maar ook van de klanten Van Gansewinkel Groep zelf. Samen hebben we een terugnamesysteem ontwikkeld welke het garen van de achterkant van de tegel scheidt.
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Is elke leverancier bekend bij jullie, ook de leveranciers die in de tweede rij leveren?
In principe is iedere leverancier bekend bij DESSO. Wanneer een leverancier aan DESSO levert is het de taak van de leverancier om de eigen handelaren op papier te hebben en te zorgen dat ook de grondstoffen van deze leveranciers bij EPEA terecht komen. Wanneer dit niet het geval is dienen ze dit zelf op te lossen anders zoekt DESSO naar alternatieve leveranciers. DESSO is altijd opzoek naar nieuwe grondstoffen om zo kosten naar beneden te brengen en kwaliteit van de producten te verbeteren. Normaal gesproken werd er eerst gekeken en getest of de grondstoffen bruikbaar zijn voor onze producten maar met de invoering van C2C zal er eerst gekeken moeten worden of het voldoet aan de eisen van EPEA voordat we met leveranciers in zee gaan.
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Is er voldoende kennis binnen het bedrijf om in alle informatie te voorzien die nodig zijn om C2C te implementeren?
Op het moment dat er sprake was van de invoering van C2C was er binnen het bedrijf geen persoon aanwezig die de benodigde kennis had van het concept. De sustainability director is volledig vrijgemaakt van andere projecten om zich in te zetten voor C2C. Daarnaast zijn er 6 FTE’s (fulltime employees) aangenomen die fulltime met C2C in de weer zijn. Desso heeft 36
contact opgenomen met het bedrijf van Braungart, EPEA, en heeft hier een aantal consultanten van ingehuurd die het proces begeleiden. Tevens hebben werknemers van Desso een aantal trainingen van EPEA gehad om meer bewustzijn te creëren. Om meer kennis over C2C beschikbaar te maken is DESSO samen met Braungart een bibliotheek voor C2C aan het opzetten waardoor de kennis toegankelijker wordt voor andere bedrijven.
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Kan elk materiaal met een ‘rood’ label worden vervangen door een alternatief?
Voor elke grondstof die niet is goedgekeurd door EPEA dient een alternatief gezocht te worden en daarbij is geen optie om het ‘rode’ materiaal nog te gebruiken wanneer er geen alternatief gevonden is. Het product zal worden vervangen door een ander product wanneer er geen andere grondstof gevonden kan worden. Tapijttegels zijn voor mode gevoelig en wanneer er een nieuw product ontworpen wordt zal er vooraf meteen worden gekeken of het aan de EPEA eisen voldoet, zo niet dan wordt het niet geproduceerd. Zo worden ‘rode’ producten voorkomen. De enige grondstoffen die in de toekomst problemen kunnen leveren zijn de kleurstoffen die garen kleurt. Voor een mogelijke oplossing zijn we in gesprek met onze leveranciers en met de leveranciers van onze leveranciers.
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Appendix C Interview Rudi Daelmans, supply chain manager DESSO Waalwijk, 02-06-2010
Algemeen: -
Wat is uw rol binnen het implementatie proces van C2C binnen Desso?
Als sustainable director binnen Desso, ben ik verantwoordelijk ben voor het gehele implementatie proces van C2C.
Problemen tijdens het invoeringsproces van C2C; -
Wanneer partners binnen de supply chain niet bereid zijn om de benodigde informatie over grondstoffen te verschaffen aan Desso of EPEA, hoe wordt dit dan aangepakt?
Allereerst wordt er gevraagd om de informatie over de grondstoffen aan Desso te verschaffen. Wanneer leveranciers dit niet willen kunnen ze het rechtstreeks aan EPEA doorgeven. Als een leverancier geen samenwerking wil leveren, dan wordt er op zoek gegaan naar een andere leverancier en wordt de samenwerking beëindigd. We hebben gemerkt dat er veel leveranciers zijn die erg positief zijn over C2C en degene die in eerste instantie niet wilden meewerken, komen hier soms na een tijdje op terug vanwege de crisis en omdat ze inzien dat C2C mogelijkheden biedt.
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Wat gebeurd er met de tweede rij leveranciers die geen samenwerking willen verlenen mbt het verschaffen van informatie over grondstoffen?
Allereerst zal de eerste rij leveranciers, degene die direct aan Desso leveren, moeten kijken of ze de benodigde informatie kunnen achterhalen. Wanneer dit niet lukt, zal Desso hiermee aan de slag gaan. Als een 2de rij leverancier dan nog steeds niet wil mee werken wordt er gevraagd of ze de informatie wel rechtstreeks aan EPEA willen door geven. Zo niet, dan wordt er gekeken naar vervanging van deze leverancier.
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Reikt de samenwerking met van Gansenwinkel Groep alleen tot Nederland, of zijn er ook toekomst plannen op internationaal niveau?
Op dit moment worden oude tapijt tegels vanuit de Benelux opgehaald om vervolgens hier het scheidingsproces in te gaan. In de UK is hier ook naar gekeken, maar daar de methoden van de van Gansenwinkel Group niet werken en moet gekeken worden naar een samenwerkingsverband met een andere partner.
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Er moet gekeken worden of het economisch zinvol is om vanuit alle landen, materiaal terug te vervoeren naar Nederland of dat het beter is om in het betreffende land een scheidingsfabriek te plaatsen. De Verenigde Arabische Staten zijn erg enthousiast over dit concept en zijn met de overheid in overleg of er vanuit hen ophaaldiensten kunnen worden ingezet om zo bij te dragen aan het scheidingsproces. Na het scheidingsproces wordt de polyamide6 op 1 centrale locatie gedepolymeriseerd om vervolgens weer in garen verwerkt te worden. Deze koopt Desso weer terug om te verwerken in het productie proces. De achterkant van de tegel wordt op verschillende locaties verwerkt waarna het materiaal via vaste afnemers in de wegenbouw terechtkomt.
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De benodigde C2C kennis was van te voren nog niet in Desso aanwezig, hoe is dit opgelost?
Desso is een samenwerking met EPEA gestart, waardoor deze een aantal workshops binnen Desso heeft gegeven. Met name de afdeling ontwikkeling (research and development) heeft trainingen gehad en de marketing afdeling op het gebied van communicatie. Michael Braungart heeft een presentatie gehouden voor alle werknemers om deze zo bewust te maken van het C2C concept. Daarnaast hebben er een aantal meetings met EPEA plaatsgevonden voor het controleren van het proces. Ik heb als sustainability director dagelijks contact met EPEA. Vanuit Desso zijn er 15 werknemers bij EPEA in Hamburg geweest om daar trainingen te krijgen op het gebied van C2C om deze kennis zo binnen Desso te ontwikkelen. Daarnaast heeft het verdere management het boek; Cradle to Cradle: remaking the things we make, gehad om zo inzicht in het concept te krijgen.
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Hoe gaat Desso om met ‘rood’ gelabelde producten waar geen alternatief voor gevonden kan worden?
Het doel is om in 2020 helemaal C2C te zijn, wat betekent dat alle materialen C2C behoren te zijn. Alle producten worden ontwikkelend in de design criteria van C2C en voor de producten die niet in zijn geheel ‘groen’ gelabeld kunnen zijn wordt een phase out plan geschreven. Uiteraard wordt allereerst gekeken hoe belangrijk het product voor Desso is. Voor producten die goed worden verkocht zal de deadline van 2020 worden verschoven zodat hier langer aan gewerkt kan worden. Producten die minder belangrijk voor Desso zijn zullen uit het productie proces worden gehaald. Alle ‘rode’ materialen worden na elkaar aangepakt binnen het productie proces. Het is te veel om ineens alle materialen (bitumen, lijm en kleurstoffen) tegelijk aan te pakken. Het proces gaat geleidelijk. 39
In 2020 zouden alle producten uit de tapijttegel lijn zilver gecertificeerd moeten zijn. Op dit moment is 75 procent gecertificeerd met het basis certificaat. Naast het zilveren certificaat hopen we uiteraard op een aantal goud gecertificeerde tegels. We zijn als eerste begonnen met het aanpakken en invoeren van C2C in het tapijttegel proces. Daarnaast zijn we begonnen met de sport lijn (kunstgras) en de hospitality, marine en aviation lijn. Volgend jaar zijn de plannen om met de consumenten lijn te beginnen.
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Zijn er naast deze problemen nog andere waar aan gedacht moet worden?
Ik zie het niet graag als een probleem, maar meer als een uitdaging waar aan gewerkt gaat worden. C2C is een filosofie die moet worden overgebracht op alle werknemers om het zo te laten slagen. Een grote uitdaging is om iedereen te enthousiasmeren en anders te laten denken dan men tot nu toe heeft gedaan: think out of the box. Afdelingen durven processen niet te veranderen omdat dit niet van de sales department zou mogen of omdat het te veel zou kosten. Management vraagt erom en het is niet zo dat zij of de afdeling het zelf moeten betalen, dus gewoon doen! Zeker in het eerste jaar moest iedereen aan het concept wennen en waren er sceptisch over. Wanneer je er verder vanaf staat is het moeilijk om enthousiast te zijn, bijvoorbeeld werknemers van een productielijn waarin C2C nog niet geïmplementeerd is. Een andere uitdaging is het feit dat bepaalde technieken nog niet binnen Desso aanwezig waren in 2007. De technieken voor een scheidingsproces bijvoorbeeld. 3 technologieën zijn in onderzoek gegaan en daaruit is 1 technologie naar voren gekomen welke in uitvoering is gebracht. Dit kost veel tijd, energie en geld.
C2C ideologie: -
Een van de richtlijnen binnen C2C is het gebruik van zonne-energie, werkt Desso hier ook mee?
Desso heeft als doel om de totale energie die binnen Desso wordt gebruikt zelf op te wekken. Op dit moment is de elektrische energie die binnen Desso Waalwijk en Dendermonde honderd procent hydropower; energie ontstaan uit stromend water. Desso is aan het kijken voor zonnepanelen waardoor er zonne-energie gebruikt zou kunnen worden. Daarnaast willen we gebruik maken van windmolens en zijn er onderzoeken bezig voor het gebruik van biovergisting. Dit betekent dat er biogas (CH4) wordt gewonnen uit mest in combinatie met gras en andere landbouwgrondstoffen. Dit biogas laat een motor draaien waardoor er elektrische energie wordt opgewekt. De warmte die hierbij vrij komt zal gebruikt worden voor verwarming en koeling binnen het bedrijf. Desso zal eigen energie gebruiken waar mogelijk is.
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Een andere richtlijn houdt zich bezig met celebrate diversity, wordt dit ook door Desso ingevoerd?
De mens is een individu en iedereen wil een eigen design, maar er moet ook rekening worden gehouden met het bio-individu. Bij biodiversiteit gaat het erom de natuur te stimuleren en de verscheidenheid van ecosystemen in de omgeving te verhogen. De economie is afhankelijk van het welzijn van bijen aangezien veel gewassen afhankelijk zijn van bestuiving. Wanneer het niet goed gaat met het aantal bijen zal de economie hier onder lijden. Desso is een onderzoek gestart naar het plaatsen van bijenkassen in de omgeving van de fabriek. Hier worden dan ook de bijbehorende gewassen geplaatst die bij de leefomgeving van de bijen horen. Samen met de gemeente is Desso aan het kijken hoe we de natuur kunnen betrekken in de leefomgeving bij het bedrijf. Daarnaast is in de meeste gevallen de industriële omgeving bedekt met zwarte daken. Dit absorbeert zonne-energie waardoor er warmte boven blijft hangen. Desso heeft geen zwarte daken waardoor het een verkoelende werking heeft op de omgeving. Dit is beter voor de flora en fauna.
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Maakt Desso gebruik van de triple top line als richtlijn?
Braungart heeft de triple top line zo genoemd om dat hij het erg belangrijk vind binnen C2C, vandaar top line. De triple top line is niets anders dan de 3 P’s: profit, people en planet. Uiteraard is Desso hier ook mee bezig. Profit spreekt voor zich, people; postieve invloed op de mens. Planet; waterzuivering en geen stoffen aan de planeet ontrekken. Het concept is niet bewust geïmplementeerd binnen Desso maar onbewust zijn we hier wel mee bezig, aangezien dat precies is waar C2C voor staat.
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Is er voordat het implementatie proces C2C begon nagedacht over de kosten die het met zich meebrengt?
Uiteraard heeft mr. Kranendijk nagedacht over het feit dat er enorme kosten aan het invoeren van C2C verbonden zitten. Dit heeft hem echter niet tegen te houden C2C toch in te voeren, en daarmee heeft hij naar mijn mening de juiste beslissing genomen. Desso heeft als C2C bedrijf een positieve naam gekregen bij consumenten. Er zijn zelfs klanten juist onze producten bestellen omdat we een C2C bedrijf. Zo verdient het zich terug.
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