Cleaner production
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cleaner production is preventive, company specific initiative of environmental protection. It is intendend to minimize waste and emissions and maximize product output [1]. By analysing the flow of materials and energy in a company, one tries to identify options to minimize waste and emissions out of industrial processes. Improvements of organisation and technology shall help to make best possible use of materials and energy and avoid waste, waste water generation, and gaseous emissions, but also waste heat and noise.
Examples for Cleaner production options are:
- Documentation of consumption (as a basic analysis of material and energy flows, e. g. with a Sankey diagram)
- Use of indicators and controlling (to identify losses from poor planning, poor education and training, mistakes)
- Substitution of raw materials and auxiliary materials (especially renewable materials and energy)
- Increase of useful life of auxiliary materials and process liquids (by avoiding drag in, drag out, contamination)
- Improved control and automatisation
- Reuse of waste (internal or external)
- New, low waste processes and technologies
On of the first European initiatives in Cleaner Production was started in Austria in 1992 by the BMVIT (Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie). This resulted in two initiatives: "Prepare" and "Ecoprofit". In Germany, 1999 the initiative "PIUS" was founded. UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) since 1994 operates the so called the National Cleaner Production Centre Programme with centres in Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
The Journal of Cleaner Production, appearing from 1993 on, is explicitly devoted to the topic. It publishes papers on industrial ecology, LCA, and so on.
[edit] See also
- Energy conservation
- Environmental management
- Green Design
- Industrial ecology
- ISO 14001
- Pollution prevention
- Sustainability
- Waste minimisation
[edit] External links
- Ecoprofit
- Pollution prevention in China
- National Cleaner Production Center Programme
- Cleaner Production by sectors
- PIUS: Produktionsintegrierter Umweltschutz
- Prepare
- UNIDO NCPC Programme, including lessons learned, and contact to National Cleaner Production Centers
[edit] References
- ^ Yacooub, Ali; Fresner, Johannes. (2006): Half is Enough - An Introduction to Cleaner Production. LCPC press. Beirut. ISBN: 3-9501636-2-X