Mosa, industry leader in sustainability, achieves milestone Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold!
Here at Rubble Tile, environmental sustainability is something that we greatly value and celebrate. That’s why we’re so excited to share that one of our tile designers and manufacturers, Mosa, has achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certification for 99% of its entire tile collection.
Mosa has been producing quality tiles from the purest raw materials for over 135 years, with a focus on helping to create living spaces that have a positive impact on both people and the planet. This Dutch tile manufacturer has long been regarded as an industry leader not only in its design and production of beautiful tile that will stand the test of time, but also in its proven commitment to the highest standards of sustainability.
So, it may come as no surprise to those in the home building and design worlds that Mosa is in fact the world’s first ceramic tile company to achieve Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold!
The Cradle to Cradle Philosophy
Mosa has always maintained environmental sustainability as one of their utmost core values. They began the journey of adopting Cradle to Cradle principles more than a decade ago as a Cradle to Cradle Charter Organization. Prior to achieving Certified® Gold earlier this year, their products were previously certified at the Silver level.
Certification is awarded by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which assesses products according to the world’s most rigorous, science-based criteria for determining environmental impact. The leveling up in certification to Gold is the culmination of Mosa’s years of research, ongoing development of responsible production processes, and continued investment in building a sustainable future.
What does “Cradle to Cradle” mean? The founding idea of Cradle to Cradle is to take cues from nature in production practices. In nature, everything has a use. This circular system of use and re-use can help us to ensure that production generates no waste, maximizes the utility of materials, and contributes a positive impact on people and the planet from which the resources originate.
Reusing raw materials means that valuable resources aren’t squandered. Moreover, by relying on renewable energy sources in production processes, we can significantly reduce pollution.
Another component of the Cradle to Cradle philosophy is the value of social fairness and equity, as individuals involved in all stages of production must be treated ethically.
The ultimate goal of Cradle to Cradle is to start a new industrial revolution founded on sustainable production.
The Certified® Gold Milestone
With these principles in mind, the Cradle to Cradle program stringently assesses products on five criteria: purity of raw materials, recycling, energy and water usage, and social conditions. In order to achieve Certified® Gold, Mosa stepped up its commitment to sustainability in these key ways:
- Renewable energy sourcing. Mosa was already using renewable energy for the energy-intensive process of kiln firing, which requires temperatures of up to 1200 degrees celsius. Now, they’ve also added a way to channel the heat from the kilns to use as an energy source for pre-firing preparation processes. They also now use carbon certificates to offset the carbon impact of all non-renewable energy that is still used.
- Material reutilization. Mosa now replaces more than 30% of its wall tiles’ mass with secondary materials—that is, byproducts or would-be waste from other production processes. For instance, raw chalk—a primary material in ceramic tiles—can be replaced by calcite, which is indistinguishable from raw chalk and is a natural byproduct of drinking water production. Mosa has also increased its integration of post-consumer recycled materials.
- Social fairness. Mosa screens all of its raw materials suppliers for conflict minerals. Almost 90% of its raw materials are sourced from monitored quarries in the region of Mosa’s birthplace, Maastricht. Mosa remains committed to ensuring fair working conditions.
Future Directions in Sustainable Design
Mosa’s ambitions to be a leader in environmentally sustainable design and production don’t end here. We’re confident that Mosa will continue in its dedicated research and innovation on how to make tile production more sustainable. In addition to their new Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certification, their tiles continue to be used in projects that contribute to sustainable building certifications like LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, and HQE.
We encourage you to reach out to us about some of the Mosa collections we offer and consider using them in your project. Sustainability is the future!