William McDonough

William McDonough is an architect, advisor, designer, thought leader, and author. He has appeared in documentaries such as Blue Vinyl (2002), Too Hot Not to Handle (2006), and Rooted in Peace (2013). He has also appeared in the PBS series e2. He is recognized globally as a leader in sustainable development. McDonough has founded companies that include, McDonough Innovation, William McDonough + Partners and MBDC. With Dr. Michael Braungart, he has co-authored publications such as "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things, and "The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability--Designing for Abundance." William McDonough also co-founded Make It Right (2006), with Brad Pitt, to bring affordable Cradle to Cradle-inspired homes to New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina. McDonough and Braungart have appeared in the documentary Waste=Food, which shows their "intelligent product system" based on cradle to cradle principals. McDonough has also appeared in the PBS series e2, which is narrated by Brad Pitt. The series explores the innovators and solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges. In the first season of the series, McDonough shared his innovative plans to make China an entirely sustainable country and the ways architecture can be both profitable and environmentally intelligent. McDonough helped found the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (2009) at the invitation of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to create a global standard for the development of safe, healthy products. McDonough has received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development (1996), the U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003), and the Smithsonian's National Design Award (2004). In 2012, McDonough began a collaboration with Stanford University Libraries to create a "living archive" of sustainability with real-time collection of his professional papers and current communications serving as its centerline.