Case study: Desso

The challenge:
In 2007, Stef Kranendijk, chief executive of carpet manufacturer Desso, set new sustainability goals for his company based on the cradle-to-cradle concept developed by Michael Braungart and William McDonough.

Companies that commit to this must produce goods that consist of non-hazardous raw materials that do not release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are easy to disassemble.

Using the cradle-to-cradle criteria, these products will either be broken down later to form a new product or disposed of as biodegradable waste. Any company choosing this route must organise a rigorous analysis of its raw materials.

Desso has publicly committed itself to becoming a cradle-to-cradle company by 2020.

Persuading shareholders:
Desso was able to convince its shareholders, including its private equity part-owner, that cradle-to-cradle would help business performance.

“We launched it as a design and quality initiative that would boost our innovation capability with positive effects on the environment and public health,” says Mr Kranendijk. “This way, we convinced ourselves and the other shareholders that cradle-to-cradle was a business-building concept.”

Desso also saw an opportunity to leap ahead of its competitors in sustainability.

The results, according to Mr Kranendijk, were that initial costs were high, but “it led to so much innovation that we saw a swift pay out”.

Communicating across the organisation:
Mr Braungart held workshops within the company to explain the process to all managers and staff. Once they heard about cradle-to-cradle, they were proud to be associated with it. “The cradle-to-cradle movement unleashed an enormous amount of energy, which helped to accelerate innovation and change,” recalls Mr Kranendijk.

Employee satisfaction levels rose, according to the company’s surveys.

Persuading suppliers:
This was the toughest challenge, and about half the suppliers were unwilling to make the changes.

“We told the ones who would not dance with us to stay seated while we danced with the others,” says Mr Kranendijk.

Those that did get involved were enthusiastic, however. One supplier invested tens of millions of euros in new equipment to enable it to depolymerise – break a polymer down into smaller units – yarn into caprolactam from batches of used carpet tiles. Caprolactam can then be used to make new yarn.

Innovation:
Alongside design and functionality, the commitment to cradle-to-cradle manufacturing has become one of the three drivers of innovation at Desso.

For example, the company’s focus on VOCs prompted it to look more closely at air quality. This has led to the development of the Desso AirMaster, a new carpet designed to capture fine dust that can carry damaging particles into the lungs or cardiovascular system.

Desso is also developing a new business in which it offers to take back and reprocess used carpets for the same cost as disposing of the materials in landfill. This is especially relevant to France and the UK, where carpet materials are sent to landfill rather than incineration as in other parts of Europe.

The company hopes other carpet manufacturers will follow suit: “The cradle-to-cradle process will only work if others take it on as well,” says Mr Kranendijk.

Making it happen:
In 2008, Desso started with its largest product range: carpet tiles for offices. Working with Mr Braungart, Desso changed a few of the ingredients leading to a new product called EcoBase.

Also, at Desso, carpet tiles can be reused through a process during which the yarn is depolymerised by one of its suppliers to become caprolactam and turned into new yarn.

Key lessons:
Setting a long-term goal to become cradle-to-cradle was key. Desso also found it useful to start making changes in office carpet tiles, where it could achieve an early win. That was instrumental in proving that a big change could be achieved.

Having a leader who was committed to the change and communicating to all stakeholders has also helped. Mr Kranendijk has held regular sessions with staff and pressed the company’s suppliers to change their approach – which has included letting some of them wait it out while he worked with the more willing ones.
- Financial Times, 10 Nov 2010