EU Eco-Innovation Project
Every year, millions of square metres of used carpet are thrown away. Measures are therefore needed which transcend the minimum requirements of environmental legislation. In order to promote this and be able to achieve a complete Cradle to Cradle® production process, Desso developed its own Take Back™ programme. Together with various partners, Desso organises the international collection of used carpets.
Participating parties receive a Take Back™-certificate as a guarantee that the material was recycled according to Cradle to Cradle® principles.
At Desso, we are honoured that the European Union recognises the importance of the Cradle to Cradle® principle and the role of the Take Back™ programme. By means of the Eco innovation funding scheme, the EU wants to support innovative products, services and technologies which can promote better use of natural resources. Within the framework of the European wish to use materials in a socially responsible way (the ‘Sustainable Material Management programme’), in June 2010 the EU announced that DESSO’s Take Back™ programme was the perfect solution. The European Union has thus expressed its confidence in Desso and allocated a subsidy to the Cradle to Cradle® business operations and the Take Back™ Programme.
For Desso, the European Union funding plays an important role in helping to further establish and speed up this process. This is a wonderful example of the crucial synergy between government and industry to further increase support for the Cradle to Cradle® idea.
For more general information regarding the Eco-Innovation project initiated by the EACI, please see here
