Since its foundation in 1987 by Professor Dr. Michael Braungart, the environmental protection encouragement agency EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH has developed into a global research and consultancy institution promoting environmentally-friendly products, processes and buildings. The activities are focused on the Cradle to Cradle® principle. Applied to the construction industry, this means designing all structures, plant and equipment, and construction products in such a way that the quality of their components is retained. Buildings therefore become repositories of raw materials, which they release at the end of their useful life for continued use. Cradle to Cradle® projects running in other sectors, such as textile, packaging, paper and printing, and cosmetics and cleaning products industries, will be continued as scheduled by EPEA GmbH – Part of Drees & Sommer.
Peter Mösle, Partner at Drees & Sommer SE and newly appointed EPEA Managing Director, explained: ‘The business combination is the logical culmination of our work together up to now and underlines our holistic approach, which we call the blue way: always combining economic and environmental objectives. Thanks to the support and the extensive materials knowledge of our EPEA colleagues, we can give our clients, especially in Europe, comprehensive advice – not only on real estate projects but also on recyclable products. We are thus underpinning our role as pioneers for sustainability issues, reinforcing the Cradle to Cradle® concept and creating the basis for new business models in the circular economy segment.’
EPEA Nederland B.V. will in future also be responsible for Belgium and Luxembourg. The successful cooperation with the licensee EPEA Switzerland GmbH will be continued with the newly founded EPEA GmbH – Part of Drees & Sommer.