Developing a data-driven approach to certified sustainable products

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2C PII) is renowned for stewarding the “gold standard” certification for sustainable products. But they faced challenges with ensuring the consistency of underlying chemical assessment data essential for product certification. Workshop partnered with the Institute and took a design thinking approach to develop a comprehensive data assessment platform.

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute maintains a portfolio of sustainable product certifications. But the process of certifying products is complex. It involved analyzing chemical compositions, human health impacts and environmental effects. All of this relies on quality data, but data was inconsistent and inaccessible to C2C Institute. The Institute needed a robust solution to centralize data and ensure consistency across the certification process.

Research & Discovery

• Conducted multi-stakeholder research with manufacturers, assessors, suppliers, and industry partners to map the chemical data landscape and identify where the current model was breaking down
• Used formative user research to identify the highest-leverage entry point in the market, reorienting the entire platform strategy around a new model for data sharing and access

Data Model & Platform Strategy

• Designed a database architecture spanning public and private data layers, enabling chemical hazard profiles to be shared across manufacturers while protecting assessor IP
• Defined a platform strategy built on extending existing tools rather than building from scratch, integrating with solutions like ToxNot and Portico already in use across the industry

Design, Development & Activation

• Led sprint-based design sessions with chemical assessment teams to pressure-test the platform model, align on requirements, and ensure the solution addressed real user needs
• Partnered with technical partner Viget to build and roll out the platform, running beta testing and training with assessment teams to validate adoption-readiness
• Developed a product charter, phased roadmap, and quorum-building strategy to guide implementation and drive adoption before broader rollout

• Streamlined certification: The new platform provided greater confidence in the  Institute’s product certification and supported a more rigorous certification process.
• Enhanced data collection: Data assessment became more automated and accessible, reducing manual effort and helping ensure quality and consistency in chemical assessment data.
• ‍Design thinking approach. Built capacity and knowledge across the Institute’s team on key design thinking approaches and methodologies.

• A clearer, shared strategy for modernizing and scaling chemical assessment data management across C2C PII's certification ecosystem
• A systems-level approach to transparency, verification, and product improvement replacing fragmented data management
• A software platform that enabled assessors to submit their chemical assessment data to the Institute while maintaining their data privacy and IP
• Increased organizational capacity in design thinking, agile collaboration, and user-centered platform development