3. Compost Our cleaning chemicals are biodegradable.
A pioneer in the circular economy
For more than 30 years
Circular Economy
Green Care Professional stands for the circular economy along the entire value chain, from raw materials to packaging. The materials used (cleaning chemicals and packaging) are safe for human life and nature. We guarantee their safety with product design in which all ingredients can be returned to technical and biological cycles. The electrical power required for production is obtained exclusively from renewable energy sources and the necessary process heat is generated with climate-neutral natural gas. Thanks to our in-house water treatment plant, we also ensure consistently good water quality. Werner & Mertz Professional, the company behind the brand, commits itself to social fairness and environmental justice and to conservation of biodiversity.
With Green Care Professional into a circular future
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Biological
Cycle
1. Formulas We use only plant-based surfactants in our sustainable formulas. They contain no critical ingredients or allergens!
2. Product Our products are safe for users and kind to the environment.
4. Plant-based Raw Materials We use renewable, plant-based raw materials.
1. New Packaging We see waste as a resource: Almost all of our packaging is made of recyclable and recycled waste.
2. Use Phase The dosing of our products is simple and resource-sparing.
3. Recycling Simple disposal of empty packaging via the Yellow Bag.
4. Technical Raw Material (recyclates) Sorting and processing yield recyclates that are used to make packaging of high-quality plastic.
Technical
Cycle
Biological Cycle
The biological cycle refers to the product ingredients. To maintain a closed cycle, the formulas use plant-based resources and organic material which can be returned to nature after product use. In a natural process the materials are converted into humus, which is fertile soil for the cultivation of more vegetable raw materials. The ingredients in the formula must be completely biological degradable.
Our products have been successfully tested for biological degradability against strict standards.
Technical Cycle
The technical cycle refers to the product packaging. To keep the material cycle closed, the packaging has to be recyclable and has to be made of recycled material. That turns the waste into a valuable resource as used PET bottles become technical raw materials for the next product cycle. The goal is to create a closed circular system without producing any new waste.
Our brand products are designed according to this basic principle and almost all our packaging is made of recyclable and recycled waste.
Life in a circular economy – The “Cradle to Cradle®” principle
“Cradle to Cradle®” describes the principle of the circular economy in which products are developed and used in cycles. At the end of the 1990s the chemist Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart and the US American architect William McDonough invented the concept, which the EPEA (Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency) in Hamburg developed further. The underlying credo “from Cradle to Cradle®” stands in contrast to the well-known linear production principle of cradle to grave. In the latter system, materials often flow from their sources to their disposal without conscious consideration given to the long-term protection of natural resources.
“Cradle to Cradle®” is based on designing products for smooth integration into biological or technical cycles. The challenge is in planning the product’s progress through a closed material cycle, that is, product materials should be suitable for a safe and complete return to the biosphere or for recovery and good quality reuse. Future products on the market should be designed in such a way that the quality of the recovered recycling fractions increases, making recycling possible at the same or a higher level. Ingredients should be selected to preclude toxic effects during use or in other phases such as manufacture, recycling and reuse. In keeping with the “Cradle to Cradle®” principle, crude oil, for instance, used one time to make plastic, remains in the cycle and is not irretrievably burned. The energy for recycling, as for other production processes, should be drawn if possible from renewable sources in an environmentally and climate-friendly fashion. A good example of this is the production of a new PET bottle from an old PET bottle.
“Cradle to Cradle®” is a registered trademark of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry LLC. Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM is a certification mark for certified products, exclusively sublicensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII).
Genuine eco-effectiveness: Doing the right things right
Sustainability is often mistakenly equated with efforts made to reduce pollutants. The process, however, has to begin much earlier so that the pollutants never get into circulation. A genuine circular economy goes even further and involves doing the right things right from the start. We live according to this credo along the entire value chain. The raw materials required for production are kept in biological and technical cycles and used again and again. It starts with the use of renewable energy in the production process and our efficient in-house water treatment and goes over integrally sustainable ingredients in formulas and beyond to packaging material made of recyclates.
CEO and Head of
Werner & Mertz Professional Division
“The Cradle to Cradle® certification shows that the Green Care Professional brand is a role model in the circular economy. Our own product and quality standards are thus confirmed by an independent institution.”
Cradle to Cradle® and Green Care Professional
Green Care Professional presents the world’s first extensive cleaning and care assortment with the Cradle to Cradle Gold® certificate! Previously awarded the EU ecolabel, the range includes highly innovative products whose design takes into account the requirements of all institutional and industrial users.
For certification purposes, the selected cleaning and care products from Green Care Professional were analyzed thoroughly. The Cradle to Cradle® Design includes a detailed product evaluation key which shows that the materials used in Green Care Professional products do not harm human life or the environment and that the materials can be put back into biological and technical cycles. The power required for production is obtained exclusively from renewable energy sources and the necessary process heat is generated with climate-neutral natural gas. Thanks to our in-house water treatment plant, we also ensure consistently good water quality. Werner & Mertz, the company behind the Green Care Professional brand, commits itself to social fairness and environmental justice and to conservation of biodiversity.
Cradle to Cradle® is eco-effective because it prevents waste with the right product design – in contrast to eco-efficiency, which only reduces or minimizes waste or avoids wastefulness. In connection with other ecolabels, Cradle to Cradle® goes beyond the product’s cleaning performance and rounds off the key elements for an integrated and sustainable product design.
Head of Packaging Development
Werner & Mertz
“Used plastic is a technical raw material for us: Our packaging is made almost completely of recyclable or high-quality recycled plastic waste. We keep the material in a technical cycle and thus make sure that plastic packaging can be used over and over again.”
Recyclate Initiative
Does the telling count or is the count telling?
While others just talk about it, we already have
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- 0
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- 0
- 0
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100% recycled plastic bottles in use.
Thats’s a world record for 100% recycling!
Genuine recycling can succeed only if we put packaging from the Yellow Bag into a closed technical production cycle. That is the approach of the Recyclate Initiative. Anyone who wants to share his knowledge or experience with us is welcome to join our efforts. Together we are working on innovative solutions for an effective material cycle based on resource conservation and sustainable product design. The more sustainable the product design is, the less waste it will generate. Through sustainability we provide for our future.
