Around 40 visitors arrived at the surface technology company Voigt & Schweitzer (ZINQ) in Essen to see the Cradle to Cradle idea live and in person. Also present were the managing director of Cradle to Cradle e. V., Tim Janßen, and the former Lower Saxony Environment Minister and chairwoman of the association, Dr. Monika Griefahn.

At 8:30 am, the bus carrying the visitors turns into the industrial estate and stops in front of the blue industrial warehouse, on whose corrugated metal facade four large letters glow: ZINQ. While the sun is still rising over the factory roofs, the guests alight in front of the Essen production site of the traditional coating specialist. A diverse group aged between 20 and 60. People from the manufacturing sector, tradespeople, but also academics and politicians. And all of them share an interest in the recyclability of materials and, consequently, an ecological and economic awareness of the growing importance of circular economy. And so, on this day, they experience an approximately 2.5-hour guided tour through the world of hot-dip galvanizing.

A type of packaging

The managing director of the company, Lars Baumgürtel, will start proceedings. He will briefly explain the fundamental tasks of hot-dip galvanising and say:

„We protect steel from corrosion by applying a zinc coating. This means that steel structures could still be standing in 100 or 150 years exactly as they are today, without any maintenance or repairs.“

An impressive figure that does not leave visitors unaffected. An appreciative murmur accompanies the next sentences, which confidently steer towards the hurdles of certifying one's own process. Back then, when the initial contact was made with Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, co-founder and scientific director of the international environmental research and consulting institute EPEA and Cradle to Cradle pioneer, he was unwilling to accept the special recycling qualities of galvanised goods, as it was merely a surface coating and not a certifiable product. „In the end, we said that zinc is fundamentally nothing more than a packaging for steel, like cardboard – and cardboard is a product.“

Today, the company with the ZINQ® umbrella brand is the world's only surface technology company to be Cradle to Cradle certified. An exception that gives Baumgärtel less joy than it makes him thoughtful, because in principle all coating companies could join this appreciative idea, provided the criteria for certification are met. Commitment is a prerequisite. Unlike the pure doctrine of efficiency in the use of energy and resources, in the Cradle to Cradle philosophy, the use of resources is not a matter of quantity, but of quality. The fundamental prerequisite here is the use of high-quality, „good“ materials and the ability to permanently maintain material quality at all times in closed-loop systems. Under these conditions, Cradle to Cradle is a growth-oriented economic model and allows for „more of the right thing“ – in contrast to pure efficiency approaches, which ultimately always mean the end of economic growth and thus also of increased prosperity.

Sustainability = Cradle to Cradle?

The concept of sustainability has been heavily diluted in recent years due to excessive, and in some cases, abusive use. Sustainable action is often placed within the context of individual measures or overarching strategies at the corporate level. It is doubtful whether this lives up to the demands of the subject matter.

Cradle to Cradle, on the other hand, offers a concrete concept with ISO-compliant certification as proof of implementation of requirements. In various fields of action, there are clear criteria. Full material recycling is assumed for the process and the product. Compared to management systems like ISO14000 or EMAS, it's not just about improvements in a quantitative sense. With Cradle to Cradle, one must expect that products that cannot meet the criteria due to their quality or properties are therefore fundamentally not certifiable.
Product materials and processing methods are assessed in five categories. These include the material health of the ingredients used, the circularity of the product in a technical or biological cycle, the use of renewable energies, responsible water management, and compliance with social standards.

With all senses

For some members of the group, the ambient temperature is now rising, as they are invited to witness hot-dip galvanising up close. Equipped with safety helmets and goggles, they learn at the 450-degree hot kettle what it means to pre-treat steel, they learn about the separate pickling plant, a flux treatment plant, and they are present as multi-tonne metal parts are immersed into the gigantic bath of liquid zinc with the aid of a crane. It steams and smells, it's loud and it's warm. And that, precisely, is industry: a place where goods are produced. In a world of concepts, services and declarations of intent, it seems almost archaic, and yet, even in 2017, the world is nothing without industry.

The outstanding role

The former Lower Saxony Environment Minister and Chairwoman of Cradle to Cradle e. V., Dr. Monika Griefahn, also supports the approaches of the ZINQ boss:

„I consider it essential for companies to engage with the Cradle to Cradle concept because I believe it is the only perspective and a given in the future of production, and because all resources are finite.“

A plea for today's forward-thinking industry and the definitive renunciation of the material recklessness of previous generations. And Tim Janßen, Managing Director of Cradle to Cradle e. V., adds:

„It's something special for us to be here, because we are experiencing an industrial scale here that is also not the norm for the C2C association. Many more companies should be heading in these directions, and that's why ZINQ is certainly still a company that plays an outstanding role in this area and in the industry.“

Where Baumgürtel literally picked up visitors, its Head of Research and Development, Dr. Thomas Pinger, added the technical details that, from the practical aspects, formed a robust picture of modern hot-dip galvanising. A certified hot-dip galvanising process that is second to none worldwide, yet would much rather be in good company with like-minded individuals.