INTRODUCTION TO

CLEANER PRODUCTION (CP)

CONCEPTS AND PRACTICE

Prepared by the Institute of For UNEP, Division of

Environmental Engineering Technology, Industry, and
(APINI) Kaunas University of Economics
Technology, Lithuania
 Contents

1. How did environmental strategies evolve?

2. What is CP?

3. How CP is applied in practice:

CP practices
Benefits and barriers
Procedures

4. What is CP contribution to main stakeholders?

Governments
Financial institutions

2
 Course Objective
At the completion of this course the participants
will have understanding of :

- Evolution of environmental strategies, concept

of sustainable development

- Basic concepts of preventive environmental

approaches

- Methodology of CP implementation in industrial

enterprises

- How to develop and implement CP project

3
 Passive environmental
strategies
Dilute & disperse

4
 Reactive environmental
strategies
end-of-pipe approaches

5
 Reactive environmental
strategies
On - site recycling

6
Proactive environmental
strategies:
Cleaner Production

Prevention of Waste
generation:
- Good housekeeping
- Input substitution
- Better process control
- Equipment modification
- Technology change
- On-site recovery/reuse
- Production of a useful by-
product
- Product modification

7
 What is waste?
There are literally hundreds words for
different types of waste:
• allowance • greenhouse loss
• BOD • hidden losses
• broke • leakage
• contaminated • non-conforming
solids material
• core loss • overfill
• customer
• packaging
returns
• damage • process loss
• draining • rework
• dust • second quality
• effluent • stock loss
• evaporation • washings
• furnace loss and etc.

8
 !!!
Waste is waste what
ever you call it : take
the opportunity to cut
waste and increase
profits!

9
 Cleaner Production Financing
The “Cost of Waste” Iceberg

nt&
e
tm sal
e a po
Tr Dis
Re
g
Co ulato
mp r
lia n y
ce

THE HIDDEN COST

OF WASTE
r gy,
R aw , Ene
o st rials
Co
L te
Ma bor
m

y
pa

ilit
La
ny

b
Lia
Im
ag
e

Adapted from: Bierma, TJ., F.L. Waterstaraat, and J. Ostrosky. 1998. “Chapter 13: Shared Savings and
10
Environmental Management Accounting,” from The Green Bottom Line. Greenleaf Publishing:England.
 Where are you now?
• Only a change
in technology
would eliminate
waste
completely • We have
identified our
• We are waste and
optimising our monitoring it
processes and
• We plan to
achieving big
reduce waste
cost reductions
• Waste is cost
• Waste is and regulatory
coming down as issue
we change the • Waste is only
way we work disposal issue
• Waste is not an
issue
11
Cleaner Production Definition

“The continuous application of an integrated

preventive environmental strategy applied to
processes, products, and services to increase
overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans
and the environment.”

(United Nations Environment Programme)

12
Cleaner Production Definition

Continuous Products Processes

Humans

Preventive STRATEGY for Risk Reduction

Integrated Services Environment

13
Properly implemented CP :

always
• reduces long-term liabilities which
companies can face many years
after pollution has been generated
or disposed at a given site

14
 Properly implemented CP :

usually
· increases profitability
· lowers production costs
· enhances productivity
· provides a rapid return on any capital or
operating investments required
· increases product yield
· leads to the more efficient use of energy
and raw materials

15
 Properly implemented CP :
usually (continuation)
· results in improved product quality
· increases staff motivation
· relies on active worker participation in
idea generation and implementation
· reduces consumer risks
· reduces the risk of environmental
accidents
· is supported by employees, local
communities, customers and the public

16
 Properly implemented CP :

often
· avoids regulatory compliance costs
· leads to insurance savings

· provides enhanced access to capital

from financial institutions and lenders
· is fast and easy to implement
· requires little capital investment

17
Cleaner Production principles

• precaution principle
• preventive principle
• integration principle

18
How CP could be applied in
practice?

19
Cleaner Production practices
1. Good housekeeping

take appropriate managerial and

operational actions to prevent:
- leaks
- spills
- to enforce existing
operational
instructions

20
Cleaner Production practices

2. Input substitution

substitute input materials

- by less toxic
- or by renewable materials
- or by adjunct materials which
have a longer service life-time
in production

21
Cleaner Production practices

3. Better process control

modify:
- operational procedures
- equipment instructions
and process record keeping in
order to run the processes more
efficiently and at lower waste and
emission generation rates

22
Cleaner Production practices
4. Equipment modification

modify the existing production

equipment and utilities in
order:
- run the processes at higher
efficiency
- lower waste and emission
generation rates

23
Cleaner Production practices

5. Technology change

replacement of:
- the technology
- processing sequence
- synthesis pathway
in order to minimise waste
and emission generation
during production

24
Cleaner Production practices

6. On-site recovery/reuse

- reuse of the wasted materials

in the same process for another
useful application within the
company

25
Cleaner Production practices
7. Production of a useful by-
product

consider transforming waste into

a useful by-product, to be sold
as input for companies in
different business sectors.

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Cleaner Production practices

8. Product modification

modify the product

characteristics in order:
- to minimise the environmental
impacts of the product during
or after its use (disposal)
- to minimise the environmental
impacts of its production

27
 CP versus End-of-Pipe
approach
Cleaner Production Pollution Control and Waste
Management

Continuous improvement One-off solutions to individual

problems
Progress towards use of closed loop Processes result in waste materials
or continuous cycle processes for disposal a pipeline with
resources in and wastes out
Solutions are developed by experts
Everyone in the community has a often in isolation
role to play; partnerships are
essential
Reactive responses to pollution and
Active anticipation and avoidance of waste after they are created
pollution and waste Pollutants are controlled by waste
treatment equipment and methods
Elimination of environmental
problems at their source Relies mainly on technical
improvements to existing
Involves new practices, attitudes
technologies
and management techniques and
stimulates technical advances
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What is not CP?
• Off-site recycling

• Transferring hazardous
wastes

• Waste treatment

• Concentrating hazardous
or toxic constituents to
reduce volume

• Diluting constituents to
reduce hazard or toxicity
29
 What are the benefits of
Cleaner Production?
Improving
environmental situation

Continuous
Increasing environmental
economical benefits improvement

Gaining
competitive
Increasing
advantage
productivity
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 CP barriers

- Lack of information and

Internal to the companies: expertise
- Low environmental
awareness
- Competing business
priorities, in particular, the
pressure for a short term
profits
- Financial obstacles
- Lack of communication in
firms
- Middle management inertia
- Labour force obstacles

31
 CP barriers

External to the companies:

-Difficulty
in
accessi
The failure ng
of existing cleaner
regulatory technolo
approaches gies

-Difficulty
in
accessi
ng
external
finance
32
 CP motivators and drivers

Internal to the companies:

- Improvements in productivity
and competitiveness
- Environmental management
systems and continuous
improvement
- Environmental leadership
- Corporate environmental
reports
- Environmental accounting

33
 CP motivators and drivers
External to the companies:

- Innovative - Soft loans

regulation from
Financial
- Economic institutions
incentives
- Community
- Education involvement
and
training - International
trade
- Buyer – incentives
supplier
relations

34
 The role of
international organizations in CP
development
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO)
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD)

• World Business Council for Sustainable

Development (WBCSD)

• Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)

35
 Team for CP success
• Managers, engineers and finance people in
industry and commerce, in particular those
responsible for business strategy, product
development, plant operations and finance

• Government officials, both central and

regional, who play an important role in
promoting CP

• Media representatives who play an

important role in disseminating information
on good environmental practice

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Cleaner Production procedures
The recognized need
to minimise waste

The first Planning and

step Organization

The second Assessment

step Phase

The third Feasibility Analysis

step Phase

The fourth
step Implementation

Successfully implemented CP projects 37

1. Planning & Organization

• Obtain management
commitment

• Identify potential barriers

and solutions

• Set plant-wide goals

• Organize a project team

38
2. Assessment

• Identify sources

• Identify waste/
pollution causes

• Generate possible
options

39
Material and energy balances

Heat Power The

Energy
Balance

Raw The Industrial Products

& Waste
Materials Process

The
Cooling Mass
Balance

40
Why are material and energy
balances so important?
The material and energy balances are not only
used to identify the inputs and outputs of mass
and energy but their economic significance is
related to costs, such as:
• cost of raw material in waste
• cost of final product in waste
• cost of energy losses
• cost of handling waste
• cost of handling waste
• cost of transporting waste
• cost of solid wastes disposal
• cost of pollution charges and penalties
41
 Possible causes for waste
generation

Choice of Technical Product

Production Status of Specifications
Technology Equipment

Choice &
Quality of Process Process
Efficiency
Input Materials

Management
Personnel
Planning & Wastes &
Skills &
Information Emissions
Motivation
Systems

42
 Option generation (1)
• Creative Problem Solving (CPS):
- Find facts
- Identify the problem
- Generate ideas to solve the problems
- Define criteria to be used to select solutions/ideas
 

• Screening of ideas / options:

- Select all ideas/options that may be implemented immediately
- The remaining options/ideas should then be divided into three boxes:
- Good housekeeping
- Interesting options but more analysis is needed
- Waiting box + Rejected

• Weighted sum method to prioritise options in second group:

- What are the main benefits to be gained by implementing this option?
- Does the necessary technology exist to implement the option?
- How much does it cost? Does it appear to be cost effective, meriting
in depth economic feasibility assessment?
- Can the option be implemented within a reasonable timeframe without
disrupting production?

43
 Option generation (2)
Traditional brainstorming

• Formulate problem (problem

identification)
• Define objective of the
brainstorming session
• Follow the rules of brainstorming:
- Select a secretary to write down
all ideas (The secretary can't take
part in the idea generation)
- Select a group leader (the group
leader shall control that the four
main rules are followed)
• Close the idea generation after
30-40 minutes

44
 CP assessment practices

Good Input Better Process

Housekeeping Substitution Control

Equipment
Modification
Process Technology
Change

On-site Production of
Recovery/ Product
Useful Modification
Reuse By-Product

45
 3. Feasibility Studies

• Preliminary evaluation
• Technical evaluation
• Economic evaluation
• Environmental evaluation
• Selection of feasible options

46
 Payback Period

Capital investment
_____________________________
Payback period =
Annual operating cost savings

- period of time
(years) needed to
generate enough
cash flow to
recover the initial
investment

47
 4. Implementation &
Continuation

• Prepare a CP plan
• Implement feasible CP measures
• Monitor CP progress
• Sustain Cleaner Production

48
CP attacks the problem at several
levels at once. The implementation
of an industry/plant level
programme requires,

- the commitment of top management

- a systematic approach to CP in all
aspects of the production processes

49
 CP management system
Marketing

Top management
commitment

Pre-assessment

CP policy
declaration

Start CP project

Top Management reviews Project organization

Final report Assessment

The continuous
CP loop
Measure progress CP options

Project implementation Feasibility analysis

50
Assessment report
CP and main stakeholders

51
How can governments
promote CP?

· Applying regulations
· Using economic instruments
· Providing support measures
· Obtaining external assistance

52
 CP applicability for local
governments

· Corporate decision-making
· Local environmental management strategies
· Community and industry partnerships
· Sustainable economic development
· Public environmental education
· Specific local environmental
problems
· Local environmental
monitoring

53
CP and financial institutions
Environmental evaluation can help:
• Establish an exclusion list
• Identify environmental
risks in every project
• Understand the financial
institution’s exposure to
environmental risks and
liabilities
• Monitor the environmental
risks of transactions and
respond
• Evaluate risks and
liabilities in foreclosure or
re-structuring activities
54
 What are the benefits of
Cleaner Production?

Financial advantages:
• Usually a short Payback Period of only months
• Many low-cost options
• Quick to implement
• Improved cash flows
• Greater shareholder value
• Better access to capital and appeal to financial
institutions
• Inherent preventive approach leads to insurance
savings

55
 Overall Risk Profile

CONSUMERS’ NEW
WORKERS’ HEALTH REGULATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH ACCIDENTS

RISKS
LIABILITY REPUTATION

CLEAN-UP
BUSINESS VALUE
INSURANCE
PRODUCT SALES
CLAIMS
56
 Main factors affecting
exposure to environmentally-
derived risks
· The nature of environmental risks
inherent in business activity of the
client
· The size and term of, and the security
for, the transaction
· The client’s ability and commitment
to adequately manage these risks

57
If a CP project is presented to a financial
institution, it should be clear that the
company already undertook voluntary actions
aimed at:
· rationalising the use of raw materials, water and energy
inputs, reducing the loss of valuable material inputs and
therefore reducing operational costs
· reducing the volume and/or toxicity of waste, wastewater
and emissions related to production
· improving working conditions and occupational safety in
a company
· making organisational improvements
· improving environmental performance by the
implementation of no-cost and low-cost measures from
the company’s funds
· reusing and/or recycling the maximum of primary inputs
and packaging materials

58
 Environmental investment
opportunities
· loans to enterprises to finance required or desired
investments in technologies resulting in direct and
indirect environmental benefits
· loans to municipalities to finance investments in
environmental infrastructure
· loan guarantees to both enterprises and
municipalities for “soft” credits from national or
regional environmental funds for environmental
investments
· loans to finance businesses providing
environmental goods and services

59
 What have we learned?
· The CP approach reduces pollutant generation at every
stage of the production process
· CP can be achieved through:
- good operating practices
- process modification
- technology changes
- raw material substitution
- redesign and/or reformulation of product

· The economic advantages of CP are:

- cost effectiveness
- increased process efficiency
- improved product quality and enterprise competitiveness
- cost of final treatment and disposal is minimised

· Effluent treatment, incineration, and waste recycling outside

the production process are not regarded as CP
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Broader Application of CP

CP is closely linked to:

• Environmental Management
Systems

• Total Quality Management

• Health and Safety
Management

61
 Cleaner Production and
Sustainable Development
Sustainability
Responsible
Environmental
Entrepreneurship
space
Economic Instruments
Eco-efficiency
Co-regulatory agreements Factor X

Cleaner Production
Command & control

Agenda 21 Compliance

Government Sustainable
Agenda development

Business EHS ICC

EMS
Agenda Auditing Charter
Time

62
 !!!
CP is
a journey
not a
destination
63
 “An understanding of
the business value to be
gained from efficient use
of natural resources is an
important first step
toward sustainability:
toward building a world in which resources
are managed to meet the needs of all
people now and in the future.”

(J. Lash, President of

the World Resources Institute)

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