The biopolymer component of InPro’s revolutionary G2 Blend formula has just become Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM Silver from Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) has licensed the certification mark along with the Cradle to Cradle protocols to the Institute, which is responsible for certifying products.
NatureWorks’ Ingeo biopolymer, made from plants, not oil, is the first product of its kind to become Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver. InPro combines Ingeo with Eastman Chemical’s PETG, which also holds a C2C Silver certificate. InPro’s formula also contains recycled content. All three components give G2 Blend significant impact resistance for its interior protection products.
“With G2 Blend, we wanted to completely revolutionize interior protection products, and we were the first to step beyond traditional polymers,” said Mark Alan, senior vice president of product management and development at InPro. “We had toyed with plain PETG for six years, but it didn’t live up to our performance expectations. We abandoned it because it was just too brittle, especially in field fabrication.
“By combining Ingeo, PETG and some recycled content, we arrived at a much-more-durable formula,” Alan said. He went on to say InPro’s G2 Blend biopolymer products continue to rack up impressive sales numbers. “We keep having to move the sales target for the biopolymer products because the market is buying well ahead of our projections. I’ll gladly do that math.”
Like NatureWorks and Eastman Chemical, InPro is staying in the lab, and pushing R&D to reach beyond past-generation plastics. “The market wants to know we’re doing our part to take material science to the next level, and then the one beyond that,” Alan said. “R&D can often take us out into unexplored territory, but that’s what innovation is all about.” +
Related Stories
| Dec 9, 2011
BEST AEC FIRM 2011: Chapman Construction/Design
Taking sustainable practices to heart.
| Dec 9, 2011
BEST AEC FIRMS 2011: EYP Architecture & Engineering
Expertise-Driven Design: At EYP Architecture & Engineering, growing the business goes hand in hand with growing the firm’s people.
| Dec 8, 2011
Keast & Hood Co. part of Statue of Liberty renovation team
Keast & Hood Co., is the structural engineer-of-record for the year-long $27.25 million renovation of the Statue of Liberty.
| Dec 8, 2011
HDR opens office in Shanghai
The office, located in the Chong Hing Finance Center in Shanghai’s busy Huangpu District, will support HDR’s design efforts throughout Asia.
| Dec 8, 2011
HOK elevates the green office standard
Firm achieves LEED Platinum certification in New York office that overlooks Bryant Park.
| Dec 7, 2011
ACE Mentor Program receives Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring
Thornton Tomasetti founding principal Charles H. Thornton responsible for launching ACE.
| Dec 7, 2011
NSF International qualifies first wallcoverings distributor to the New American National Standard for Sustainable Wallcoverings
TRI-KES demonstrates leadership in environmental stewardship as the first distributor to earn qualification.
| Dec 7, 2011
DPR Foundation awards $590,000 to youth organizations
Grants will fund programs for disadvantaged kids across six states.
| Dec 7, 2011
Autodesk agrees to acquire Horizontal Systems
Acquisition extends and accelerates cloud-based BIM solutions for collaboration, data, and lifecycle management.