Cradle to Cradle Café

What Cradle to Cradle Café does

Cradle to Cradle Café is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting Cradle to Cradle café) established in 2010 in Veldhoven, Netherlands, that organizes free educational mini-seminars on Cradle to Cradle principles and circular economy practices for the Dutch construction and architecture sector. The initiative operates on a quarterly cadence, hosting events in rotating regions across the Netherlands — including Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Maastricht, Vianen, and Waalwijk — featuring speakers such as Michael Braungart, Thomas Rau, and Cécile van Oppen. Over 30 cafés have been organized since inception, with peak attendance exceeding 120 guests per event, and a 15th anniversary festival was hosted in Utrecht in April 2026.

The underlying product is a programmed content platform: recurring seminars plus a website archive of past presentations, a YouTube channel, a LinkedIn presence, and a newsletter. The organization describes its own core technology as 'not applicable', with no proprietary software, AI features, APIs, or integrations disclosed. Beyond the seminars themselves, the only 'productized' offering is the annual Cradle to Cradle Café Festival format launched as a milestone event series.

The business model is non-transactional: all seminars are free to attendees, with no ticketing or premium tiers. The foundation is funded by four founding partner companies — Koninklijke Mosa (tiles), QbiQ (glass wall systems), Schüco (building envelopes), and Tarkett (flooring) — all C2C-certified product manufacturers that sponsor the initiative as part of broader sustainability outreach. Event registration is handled via Eventbrite and Microsoft Forms, and partner facilities are used as venues. Distribution relies on owned digital channels (website, email, LinkedIn, YouTube) and the recurring Dutch Design Week partnership in Eindhoven. The addressable user base is Dutch architecture, construction, real estate, and sustainability consulting professionals; no enterprise SaaS customers, paid contracts, or recurring revenue lines exist.

Name

Cradle to Cradle Café

Legal name

Stichting Cradle to Cradle café

Website

https://cradletocradlecafe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cradle to Cradle Café is a Dutch non-profit foundation founded in 2010 that hosts free quarterly mini-seminars on Cradle to Cradle sustainability principles for construction, architecture, and real-estate professionals across the Netherlands, funded by four founding partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Education Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAGALAM

Hybrid Meetings & Tech-Enabled Conference Hotels

Travel & Hospitality/Lodging & Accommodation/Convention & Conference Hotels

Keywords

• Sustainability education
• Circular economy seminars
• Green construction events
• Cradle to cradle training
• Sustainable building workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Veldhoven

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Seminar Events: The Cradle to Cradle Café organizes free mini-seminars (cafés) on sustainability topics. Events are offered at no cost to attendees, with the initiative funded by the founding partner companies (Mosa, QbiQ, Schüco, Tarkett) as part of their commitment to spreading Cradle to Cradle principles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cradle to Cradle Café organizes free quarterly mini-seminars (cafés) across different regions in the Netherlands on Cradle to Cradle principles, circular economy, and sustainability topics in the construction sector. The events feature inspiring speakers — including original C2C thinkers Michael Braungart and Thomas Rau — and provide attendees with current information and networking opportunities on topics such as healthy buildings, material health, sustainable materials, AI in architecture, and circular construction.

Product overview

Cradle to Cradle Café is an initiative born in 2010 from a partnership between the companies Koninklijke Mosa, QbiQ, Schüco, and Tarkett. The core product is the Cradle to Cradle Café itself — free mini-seminars held quarterly across different regions in the Netherlands where sustainability and Cradle to Cradle topics are discussed by inspiring speakers. The founding partner companies develop and produce their own building material products (tiles, wall systems, flooring, and building envelopes) according to Cradle to Cradle principles. An annual Cradle to Cradle Café Festival celebrates milestones and features prominent speakers from the circular economy movement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cradle to Cradle Café Seminars Free quarterly mini-seminars held across different regions in the Netherlands where current and varied topics related to Cradle to Cradle and sustainability are discussed by inspiring speakers, providing quick and comprehensive information on sustainability themes for construction-sector professionals, architects, designers, building owners, and sustainability consultants.
• Cradle to Cradle Café Festival Annual festival celebrating the Cradle to Cradle Café's milestones, featuring special guest speakers and presentations on circular economy and sustainable construction topics for the Dutch building-sector community.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Workplace Vitality HubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaborated on October 2022 café event focusing on 'DIGITS and DATA: indispensable for circularity' addressing the measurability of sustainability innovations.
• Koninklijke MosacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Dutch tile manufacturer based in Maastricht, established 1883. Founding partner of Cradle to Cradle Café. First ceramic tile company worldwide to achieve C2C Gold certification for complete tile collection. Products designed, developed and produced with respect for residents, environment and materials.
• QbiQ Wall SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Glass wall specialist based in Alphen aan den Rijn, focused on interior walls for commercial construction. All wall systems are C2C Silver certified. Offers system walls, fire and smoke-resistant walls, and safety glass with minimalist 33mm profile design.
• SchücocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Develops and sells system solutions for building envelopes including window, door, and facade systems, plus intelligent solutions for ventilation, safety, and sun protection. Over 90 C2C certified aluminum systems with 80 Silver and 15 Bronze status certifications.
• TarkettcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Global flooring solutions provider with over 140 years of history. Produces PVC floors, linoleum, carpet, wood floors, and artificial turf. Approximately 12,000 employees and 34 production locations. Daily sales of 1.3 million m² of flooring. Implements eco-innovation strategy based on C2C principles.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Material Economics: Nordic consultancy producing influential research on circular economy in heavy industry including construction materials. Comparable as a thought-leadership organization shaping the sustainability conversation C2C Café disseminates, though as a consultancy rather than event organizer.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): Administers the LEED green building rating system and runs large-scale educational programming (Greenbuild conference, workshops). Comparable role in sustainability building education, though at vastly greater scale and US-centric scope.
• BRE Group (BREEAM): UK building science organization that operates the BREEAM sustainability certification scheme and runs training/education for construction professionals. Comparable in its construction-sector sustainability education role, though as a certification body rather than pure educator.
• World Green Building Council: Global umbrella network of national Green Building Councils running sustainability advocacy and education for the building sector. Comparable mission of educating built-environment professionals on sustainable practice, but at significantly larger scale and broader scope than C2C Café.

Direct peers

• Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC): Netherlands-based non-profit that operates the BREEAM-NL scheme and runs educational programming on sustainable building. Directly comparable as a Dutch construction-sector sustainability education platform.
• Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA): Dutch professional association for architects that runs continuing-education events and programming. Comparable as a Netherlands-based organization convening architects and construction professionals for educational events, including on sustainability themes.
• Architecture Foundation: UK-based non-profit that runs public talks, exhibitions, and events on architecture and the built environment. Comparable as a foundation model that delivers free educational programming on built-environment topics to professional audiences.
• Circle Economy: Amsterdam-based impact organization focused on accelerating circular economy adoption, including within the built environment. Comparable as a Dutch-headquartered non-profit producing educational content and events on circularity for professionals.
• Dutch Design Week (DDW): Annual design event in Eindhoven with which Cradle to Cradle Café has partnered since 2013 for special-edition cafés. Comparable as a Netherlands-based event platform that convenes designers and sustainability-focused programming.
• Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute: The global non-profit that administers Cradle to Cradle Certified® and serves as the standards body for the framework Cradle to Cradle Café educates about. Closely aligned mission on C2C adoption; C2C Café's founding partners (Mosa, QbiQ, Schüco) are certified by this institute.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDeG2ICNPt5w1ZM-NvIREcA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c2c-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cradle to Cradle Café