Tim Janßen
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cradle to Cradle NGO
Tim Janßen studied economics at Leuphana University Lüneburg and the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW), among other institutions. As co-founder, he has been building the nonprofit Cradle to Cradle NGO since 2012 and leads it as Executive Director. His work focuses on how circular products become viable business models and how the circular economy can reach people beyond expert circles. He is also exploring these questions during regular visits to C2C companies. He helped shape the International Cradle to Cradle Congress into the world's largest C2C platform. With Labor Tempelhof, the NGO turned large-scale concerts attended by 330,000 people into a real-world laboratory for the circular economy. He serves on the DIN/DKE Advisory Board on Circular Economy, among other bodies, and at the EU level contributes to the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. Until 2025, he was a member of Commerzbank's Sustainability Advisory Board. He teaches at DHBW and Technische Universität Berlin.
During their residency at the Thomas Mann House, Tim Janßen and Nora Sophie Griefahn will explore new ways to transform the narrative of sustainability from a story of sacrifice into a declaration of love for the future – one that not only changes our products but also strengthens social cohesion.
Selected Awards
2026 | Social Enterprise Award of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises
2024 | Special Award of the German Sustainability Award, for the “Labor Tempelhof” project
2024 | TransVer Award of the German Insurance Association (GDV)
Selected Publications
2025 | “Mit Cradle to Cradle Zukunft gestalten.” In: Re:use – Re:think – Re:volution: Endlos gut – Warum die Zukunft im Kreis läuft. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung.
https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/publikationen/publikation/did/reuse-rethink-revolution-endlos-gut-warum-die-zukunft-im-kreis-laeuft
2022 | “Cradle to Cradle: Eine positive Perspektive für das 21. Jahrhundert.” In: Vom betrieblichen Umweltschutz zur großen Transformation. Munich: oekom verlag.
https://www.oekom.de/buch/vom-betrieblichen-umweltschutz-zur-grossen-transformation-9783962383787
2020 | “Wiederverwenden statt wegwerfen.” In: Frankfurter Rundschau, May 25.
https://www.fr.de/meinung/wiederverwenden-statt-wegwerfen-13775558.html