The Upcycle

Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance

By: William McDonough, Michael Braungart

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

The Upcycle is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cradle to Cradle, the most consequential ecological manifesto of our time. Now, drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of putting the cradle-to-cradle concept into practice with businesses, governments, and ordinary people, William McDonough and Michael Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis: We don't just reuse resources with greater effectiveness, we actually improve them as we use them.

For McDonough and Braungart, the questions of resource scarcity and sustainability are questions of design. And they are practical-minded visionaries: They envision beneficial designs of products, buildings, and business practices - and they show us these ideas being put to use around the world as everyday objects like chairs, cars, and factories are being reinvented not just to sustain life on the planet but to grow it. It is an eye-opening, inspiring tour of the next industrial revolution as it unfolds in front of us.

The Upcycle is every bit as ambitious as such classics as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring - but its mission is very different. McDonough and Braungart want to turn on its head our very understanding of the human role on Earth: We should not just protect the planet from ourselves but should redesign our activity to improve the planet. And that goal is well within our reach.

©2013 William McDonough and Michael Braungart. (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Stimulating and inventive." ( Kirkus

Win-win thinking applied to the big problems

The ideas contained in this book are awesome, encouraging, and inspirational. If you're familiar with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (R), think Habit 4. EVERYONE wins when this mentality guides our efforts. The goal says it all: "The goal of The Upcycle is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy, and just world with clean air, water, soil, and power—economically, equitably, ecologically, and elegantly enjoyed." As a materials engineer, it's what I work toward. As a customer, it's what I will pay for. As a father, it's what I can give to my children. As a living, breathing human being, it just makes sense.

Excellent Intro to Sustainability

I really enjoyed this text on what I've been referring to as the "circular economy" and the triple bottom line for awhile. It was encouraging to hear some examples where these principles were successfully implemented in real businesses 👏. Hopefully, we can find more templates on how best to implement these excellent ideas and policies.

I'd like to be more optimistic about the future of all this. In a more rational world 🌎, wide implementation of Cradle-to-Cradle and similar practices would be a slam dunk.

But our current social / political environment is a very toxic one where state governments are repealing decades-old recycling ♻️ programs while punishing corporations that divest from fossil fuels ⛽️ all while certain "news" organizations label LED light bulbs, solar panels and 15-minute cities 💡 as "socalist" plots.

It is difficult to be very hopeful about making much forward progress under current circumstances. It feels like the prevailing currents are moving the world backward. This kept coming top of mind as I read this book. Incumbent power structures don't just go quietly into the good night.

Still, giving up is not an option. We just need to realize that implementing any positive programs, ike C2C, will be an uphill battle the entire way.

Probably a good reference book, not great audio.

Probably a good reference book, not a great audio book. For a book about design, the writing (and so the story) is not clearly structured. It consists of stories of the author's many projects, the author's past books, and the author's non profits. my key takeaways from the book were that even when humans try to do good, they could still do better, but do not ask me where to start, because that got lost in the shuffle with this book.

Great

So much knowledge 📖 and full of real-life examples that makes you feel enlightened and creative

A must read for our time. Interesting & inspiring.

An impressive follow up to Cradle to Cradle. I would reccomend this book anyone who has the time to listen.