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Cleaner production and the water cycle

Cleaner production – a future prospect?

Maarten Siebel

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

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CONTENTS

1. CLEANER PRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION INTO CLEANER PRODUCTION …………………………………....1

1.1.1. TREND-SETTING INTRO ................................................................................ 1
1.1.2. THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF ECO-EFFICIENCY ................................................ 3
1.1.2.1 Monitoring – key to improving eco-efficiency ......................... 4
1.1.3. WHAT IS CLEANER PRODUCTION, HOW IS IT ACHIEVED?................................. 6
1.1.4. CLEANER PRODUCTION – GOOD BUSINESS? ................................................. 9
1.1.5. CLEANER PRODUCTION – A FUTURE PROSPECT? ........................................ 11
1.1.6 REFERENCES............................................................................................ 12

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1.1.5. CLEANER PRODUCTION – A FUTURE PROSPECT?

The increasing size of the population, the increasing material per capita demand, and the
material and energy inefficiency of industrial activities are affecting our environment at an
alarming rate. Key environmental problems, such as deforestation, the increasing ozone
hole, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, the rising sea level, urbanization and
desertification are the result. Increasingly human and environmental health is in jeopardy.
Assuming the above arguments as causing factors to the ongoing environmental quality
deterioration, the following points can be made:

LIKELY REASONS WHY ENTERPRISES, PRACTICING CLEANER PRODUCTION, DO

BETTER ON THE SHARE MARKET RELATIVE TO THOSE NOT PRACTICING
CLEANER PRODUCTION?

- Higher product volume income for same material input costs

- Less waste treatment costs

- More pro-active management attitude (probably not only in environmental issues)

- More critical employee attitude (not only towards environmental issues)

- Better internal and external communication

- Better public relations

• Reducing the size of the population: This is a hot political issue in the context of
development cooperation, income distribution, human rights, global trade, North –
South division, etc. Although progress in terms of population growth reduction has
been made in a number of countries, the fact remains that the global population
growth figure has never before been so high with a doubling of the present 6 billion
people expected in a little over 40 years. However, the influence on this particular
phenomenon of the practicing engineer or scientist is limited.

• Reducing the material per capita demand: Also this meets with political sensitivity in
the sense that the ‘North’ enjoys a high per capita consumption with a relatively small
population size, while the ‘South’ combines a low per capita consumption with a
relatively high population size. Moreover, the growth rate of both population and per
capita demand is highest in the ‘South’. Therefore, progress in this area will at most
be slow. However, on the positive side, the automatism of the ‘more is better’ concept
is slowly loosing ground. Moreover, the need for reducing per capita consumption is
also visible in the consumption of certain compounds, for example CFC’s, lead in fuel,
specific anti-microbial paints, etc. In this area quite some progress has been.

• Reducing industrial energy and material inefficiency: This area, covered under the
broad topic of Cleaner Production, is where significant progress has been and is
being made. Redesigning of industrial processes, waste separation, waste reuse,
recycling, recovery, inclusion of costs for expenditures to process products after their
useful life in the purchase price, green labeling, zero emission production, etc. are
topics that have passed the conceptual stage and are, to a varying extent, being
practiced.

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For now, reducing per capita waste production, the realm of Cleaner Production, is one of
the very few areas which can potentially at least partly counterbalance the imminent
problems related to human and environmental health. An additional advantage is the
potential for economic benefits for those willing to see. Therefore, Cleaner Production has
more than a future. Wide-scale introduction of the concepts and practice of Cleaner
Production is presently one of the few options available to bring a halt to the ongoing
deterioration of the human and environmental health conditions.

1.1.6 REFERENCES

(1998). Eco-management Guide.

UNIDO (1994). Ecological Sustainable Industrial Development.

(1976). First UN seminar organized by the ECE.

(1994). Sustainable Performance Group.

(2004). Industry and Environment.

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