cleaner production i&e25 34

UNEP

ISSN 0378-9993Industry and EnvironmentVolume 25 No. 3-4July – December 2002

A publication of the United Nations Environment ProgrammeDivision of Technology, Industry and Economics

Une publication du Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnementDivision Technologie, Industrie et Economie

Una publicación del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente División de Tecnología, Industria y Economía

industry andenvironment

Cleaner Production Seventh International High-level Seminar

Prague

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C o n t e n t s

2 ◆ UNEP Industry and Environment July – December 2002

3 Editorials : Klaus Toepfer, Milos Kuzvart, Arcado D. Ntagazwa5 Introduction – by Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel6 • Presentation and background

• Présentation et contexte• Presentación y contexto

8 Glossary9 Recommendations10 Keynote Speeches – by Isabelita Sy-Palanca and Lorraine Maltby11 Summary Report12 Plenary Sessions

• From Rio to Johannesburg, and the next ten years• Changing production and consumption patterns: progress made and remaining challenges• Cleaner production and sustainable consumption: strategies to implement multilateral

environmental agreements• Promoting a Life-Cycle Approach• Closing session: action plan for WSSD and beyond• Comments on CP7 by directors of Cleaner Production Centres

30 Sustainability is everybody’s business – by Christian Kornevall33 Changing production and consumption patterns: progress made and

remaining challenges – by Reg Green36 Sustainable consumption and production patterns: elements and

challenges – by Victor Escobar Paredes38 Promoting a life-cycle approach39 Life-cycle assessment and social impact – by Philippe Pommez41 Cleaner production in the context of sustainable development – by Rajeswari Kanniah44 Stakeholder perspectives: government – by James Riordan48 Stakeholder perspectives: facilitating organizations – by Don Huisingh51 International Declaration on Cleaner Production: recent signatories 52 Cleaner production in Sri Lanka – by Nihal Abeysekera55 Green productivity: an Asian approach to sustainable development – by Yuji Yamada and

Mandar Parasnis60 The challenges of industrial development in Africa – by Desta Mebratu63 Helping small and not-so-small businesses improve their triple bottom line

performance – by Justus von Geibler and Michael Kuhndt67 Developing a system of sectoral sustainability indicators for the European aluminium

industry – by Michael Kuhndt , Jörg Schäfer and Christa Liedtke72 Facilitating uptake of cleaner production with decision support tools, learning

opportunities and information technologies – by John E. Hay75 What next in cleaner production technologies? – by Ken Geiser78 Eco-efficiency and beyond: the next sources of innovation – by Claude Fussler81 Making it happen: investing in sustainability 84 Inherently Safer Pproduction, a natural complement to cleaner production –

by Gerard I.J.M. Zwetsloot and Nicholas Askounes Ashford86 Norway’s Environmental Home Guard – by Terje Torkildsen88 La publicité face aux défis du développement durable – by Bernhard Adriaensens91 Selling sustainability – by Mike Longhurst

92 The impact of trade on the environment: main issues and challenges – by Genevieve McInnes

96 World News98 Industry Updates99 UNEP Focus104 Books and Reports110 Web Site Highlights

◆ News ◆ Actualités ◆ Actualidades

◆ Other topics ◆ Autres sujets ◆ Otros tópicos

◆ Cleaner Production

◆ Seventh International High-level Seminar, Prague

ContentsIndustry and Environment is a quarterly reviewpublished by the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme Division of Technology, Industry andEconomics (UNEP DTIE), Tour Mirabeau, 39-43quai André-Citroën, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France.Tel: +33 1 44 37 14 50; Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74; E-mail: [email protected]; http://www.uneptie.org

Director

Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel

Editorial Board

Michael ChadwickClaude FusslerNay HtunAshok KhoslaWilliam H. Mansfield IIIHaroldo Mattos de LemosWalter RetzschLéon de RosenSergio C. Trindade

Editorial Staff

Françoise RuffeRebecca BriteJohn SmithThalia Stanley

Editorial Policy

The contents of this review do not necessarily re-flect the views or policies of UNEP, nor are they anofficial record. The designations employed and thepresentation do not imply the expression of anyopinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP concern-ing the legal status of any country, territory or cityor its authority, or concerning the delimitation ofits frontiers or boundaries.

The non-copyrighted contents of this reviewmay be reprinted without charge provided that Industry and Environment and the author orphotographer concerned are credited as the sourceand the editors are notified in writing and sent avoucher copy.

Industry and Environment welcomes for pos-sible publication feedback from readers, news ontheir sectors of activity, or articles. The editors can-not guarantee publication or return of unsolicitedmanuscripts, photographs and artwork. Manu-scripts which do not conform to the conventionsand standards of the review may be returned for re-vision.

Subscriptions

Industry and Environment is subject to an an-nual subscription fee of US$ 60.00. See back coverfor order form. Upon application to the Director,submitted on letterhead, the annual subscriptioncharge may be waived for government, educationaland non-profit organizations in developing coun-tries which are unable to remit payment.

Industry and Environment is printed on 100%chlorine free paper.

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UNEP Industry and Environment July – December 2002 ◆ 3

Cleaner Production

Klaus ToepferUNITED NATIONS UNDER

SECRETARY-GENERAL AND

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNEPUNEP’s Seventh International High-level Seminar on Cleaner Production(CP7) sent a clear message that it iscrucial to integrate cleanerproduction more deeply withsustainable consumption. The morethan 350 senior decision-makers from

government and business who met in Prague for CP7 in April 2002stressed that everyone, as private citizens and through theinstitutions we represent, must contribute to sustainabledevelopment by changing production and consumption patterns.

The focus of CP7 was on taking stock of what has beenaccomplished, establishing the importance of linking cleanerproduction with sustainable consumption, and preparing input forthe World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Augustand September in Johannesburg. At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992,participants were so sure cleaner production would succeed thatthey did not realize implementation would require so much follow-up work. For all stakeholders (government, industry, the public)implementation and ongoing support were the missing links. Now,after WSSD, we must ensure that education and action follow.

Let me recall a few sobering statistics. Since 1992 the globalpopulation has increased by nearly 800 million. Fifty years agoAfrica had one-third as many people as Europe. Now the oppositeis the case. High-income countries continue to consume the bulk ofthe planet’s resources, even as consumption in low-incomecountries is increasing.

Since Rio, UNEP has been monitoring progress around the worldon cleaner production and similar approaches such as eco-efficiency and green productivity. It has become increasinglyevident that the environmental gains achieved by suchprogrammes are being offset by trends on the demand side –population growth, rising standards of living, increasing demandfor products and services. This “rebound effect”, as it is usuallycalled, means that it is ever more urgent to switch to sustainableconsumption in addition to cleaner production.

If the overall aim of cleaner production is to minimize theenvironmental impact of a product’s manufacture, sustainableconsumption means satisfying a maximum of consumer needs andwants while minimizing the environmental impacts of productsand services.

The challenge we face is to establish a framework for action inwhich producers and consumers can move together towardssustainable development. Only by taking a preventiveenvironmental management approach throughout the product’slife cycle – from design and manufacture through use and disposal– will we be able to advance towards the objective of “doing morewith less.”

In this connection, CP7 was the occasion for launching the LifeCycle Initiative, a joint effort between UNEP and the Society ofEnvironmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). This initiativewill develop and disseminate practical tools for evaluating theopportunities, risks and trade-offs associated with products andservices over their entire life cycle.

“Life-cycle thinking” and related approaches will succeed onlythrough cooperation and collaboration by private enterprise,government and the public. The Czech Republic’s young economyprovides a good example. New technical approaches, a well-educated generation of young people, and visionary leadership areputting this country on the path to sustainability – which isespecially important as the Czech Republic prepares to join theEuropean Union.

Other examples of the efforts that will be required to meet thischallenge include:◆ integrating environmental costs into prices, not to punish peoplebut to stimulate new technology;◆ finding ways to manage the growing demand for water,including through cleaner production;◆ cooperating with private business;◆ integrating financial institutions into the process of change;◆ using eco-labelling to inform consumers about products’ lifecycles;◆ initiating take-back systems for cars and other products;◆ working with the media to help change consumption patterns;◆ involving young people.

This double issue of Industry and Environment is devoted tosummarizing the results of CP7, including such recommendationsas building better links between cleaner production andmultilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); expanding thenetwork of UNEP/UNIDO National Cleaner Production Centres(NCPCs); further encouraging investment in cleaner production;and expanding activities related to consumption. Many of thearticles in this issue present concrete examples of the links betweencleaner production and sustainable consumption and how theyrelate to the challenges ahead. ◆

Milos KuzvartMINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT, CZECH REPUBLIC

At UNEP’s Sixth International High-level Seminar on Cleaner Production,hosted by the Canadian Governmentin Montreal, I pledged the support ofthe Czech Republic for the seminar tofollow. The intervening time spentorganizing CP7 furnished the

opportunity to collaborate with international partners and toreview current cleaner production activities in my own country. I am pleased to say the experience has been extremely fruitful forall involved. In particular, it has given Czech stakeholders from

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industry, government and civil society a unique occasionto review our progress and plan our sustainable future.UNEP’s Seventh International High-level Seminar on CleanerProduction set the stage for the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) in Johannesburg later in 2002. The CzechRepublic’s 1992 Act on the Environment defines “sustainabledevelopment” as development that preserves, for the presentand future generations, the ability to satisfy these generations’basic needs, and simultaneously does not decrease naturaldiversity or hinder the natural functioning of ecosystems.Sustainable development is thus a question of creating a balancebetween the ideals of humanism and nature protection, ofpreferring a long-term perspective over short-term gain, and ofhumility and respect for everything that has been createdwithout human effort.

Cleaner production plays a critical role with respect toinfluencing changes in consumption and production patterns.These changes are driven by both regulatory and voluntaryinitiatives. The Czech Republic has developed an effectiveNational Programme of Labelling Environmentally FriendlyProducts, a National Cleaner Production Programme and aNational EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)Programme. In addition, the Government has introducedprinciples for concluding voluntary agreements and prepared amethodology for implementing life-cycle assessment (LCA) forenterprises and consultants. We have also taken an importantstep towards the “greening” of our government. Arecommendation that all ministries preferentially purchaseenvironmentally friendly products has been issued. TheGovernment will evaluate follow-through on thisrecommendation annually. Information dissemination, trainingand public education campaigns that foster sustainableconsumption and production are especially important.

We were very pleased with the involvement of a number ofcompanies and organizations, including the Czech NationalCleaner Production Centre and Czech companies andassociations. Some CP7 participants have highlighted theircommitment by adding their signatures to the InternationalDeclaration on Cleaner Production. All the seminar participants,and all those who will be involved in changing production andconsumption patterns in the weeks and months followingWSSD, face a great deal of work.

Given the spirit and energy I have seen, I am convinced thatCP7 will contribute significantly to the deliberations onchanging patterns of production and consumption, leadingeventually towards sustainable development. ◆

The concept, thechallenges and the way forwardArcado D.NtagazwaMINISTER OF STATE, TANZANIA

The world community is fast realizingthat, today more than ever, there

exists a compelling sense of collective responsibility for thesurvival of humankind. As people the world over deploy and

employ all kinds of natural and man-made resources, either toeke out a living or to pursue profit-driven ventures, it is essentialto apply integrated preventive techniques to processes, productsand services so as to increase overall efficiency and reduce risksto humans and the environment.

To avoid jeopardizing future generations, the worldcommunity must ensure that services and products respond tobasic needs and improve the quality of life while minimizing useof natural resources and toxic materials (as well as wastegeneration and polluting emissions) over the life cycle. That isthe ultimate goal of sustainable development, which requiresadoption of sustainable consumption and production practices.

Cleaner production involves striving for a fairer society bydefending consumer rights and promoting responsible,sustainable consumption by everyone. Meeting consumer needsand desires, while promoting cleaner production andsustainable consumption, is one of the greatest challengesfacing humankind. Addressing poverty and environmentaldegradation requires changing how goods are produced,distributed and consumed. It also requires conservation andmore efficient use of resources such as energy, together withaction-oriented thinking. There is no excuse for doing otherwise.

Consumers have a duty to help push societies and nationstowards socio-economic justice, sustainable development,prosperity and environmental quality. They also have a right toexpect business operations (including all stages of production,distribution and marketing) not to compromise consumerinterests or to harm the environment.

Whenever humans must accomplish something, challengescrop up. Cleaner production is no exception. It is a fairly recentconcept. Experts, particularly in developing countries, may berather scarce and training programmes may not yet have caughton. Willingness to finance cleaner production may be weak,partly due to financial institutions’ misconceptions. Otherobstacles include the erroneous idea that changing productionand consumption patterns means fewer goods produced, orlower quality services. In reality, the benefits of cleanerproduction can be clearly demonstrated.

Many global resources are finite. Any strategy focusing ontheir efficient use (which is what cleaner production is all about)should be promoted. Some may hope that, in time, science andtechnology will solve all problems, but who knows what naturehas in store in the near future?

As Nikita N. Moiseev, a member of the Russian Academy ofSciences, says in his 1998 book To Be or Not to Be: Humanity’sDilemma, “Man himself poses the main threat to the biosphere’sstability. During the past three centuries the biosphere has beensubjected to increasing, and ever more burdensome,anthropogenic loads. These are not only causing thedegradation and restructuring of the biota, they are alsoresulting in a drastic reduction in the diversity of plant andanimal life, thus posing a grave threat to the stability of thebiosphere as a whole.”

It is obvious that humankind cannot simply sit by and donothing in the face of the deadly menace this implies. The wayforward involves unreservedly agreeing to fully implement suchstrategies as cleaner production – in deeds, not just in words. ◆

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The International High-level Seminar on Cleaner Production coveredin this issue of Industry and Environment is the seventh such seminarorganized by UNEP since 1989. In that year we launched the cleaner

production programme to promote the seemingly simple idea that preven-tion costs less than cure.

Starting with the first seminar held in Canterbury in 1990, our aim hasbeen to provide a global forum devoted to reorienting work programmes,building partnerships to promote action, and reviewing progress made andactions still needed.

At the Canterbury seminar the term “cleaner production” was formallyadopted. It was defined as “the continuous application of an integrated pre-ventive environmental strategy to processes, products, and services to increaseoverall efficiency, and reduce risks to humans and the environment” – andas applicable “to the processes used in any industry, to products themselvesand to various services provided in society.” Cleaner production means that,instead of managing outputs of emissions and waste, producers improve man-agement of raw materials and other inputs, such as energy and water, from themoment a product or process is conceived.

The cleaner production concept received further support at Rio in 1992.It has been evolving and expanding ever since. This programme was designedas a “partnership” long before that term gained its current popularity. It is apartnership with other intergovernmental organizations, such as the UnitedNations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank,the Asian Development Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development (OECD) and – underlining the workforce’s role in clean-er production – the International Labour Organization (ILO). It is also apartnership with industry, NGOs and governments, not least the govern-ments that have hosted the high-level seminars, from the United Kingdom in1990 (and again in 1996) to France, Poland, Korea, Canada and now theCzech Republic.

The road to cleaner production is not free of obstacles by any means. Onebarrier to adopting prevention-based approaches is resistance to change.Another barrier involves preconceived ideas about the amount of investmentand possible unknown risks. Despite these and other challenges, cleaner pro-duction is making headway. Its benefits are clear: not only do producers save

money on end-of-process treatment, they also save on raw materials at thebeginning of the chain. Cleaner production reconciles economic growth andenvironmental protection. The economic benefits are even greater when thepolluter pays principle is applied, so that the environmental and other realcosts of production are fully taken into account.

The cleaner production programme’s achievements are demonstrated clear-ly in the 22 sectoral reports that UNEP launched in 2002. These reports showthat production processes have improved. Step by step, the cleaner productionprogramme has expanded to areas such as product design, life-cycle approach-es and consumption. Concrete expressions of its achievements include theregional round tables on cleaner production and, at the national level, theincrease in the number of UNEP/UNIDO National Cleaner Production Cen-tres world-wide. Another milestone is the International Declaration on Clean-er Production introduced at CP5 in Seoul in 1998. This declaration is anexpression of signatories’ commitment to cleaner production.

As the sectoral reports and other evidence also show, the progress alreadyachieved makes it clear how much still needs to be done. Many parts of indus-try, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, have not yet adoptedcleaner production. Life-cycle thinking must be given higher priority. Fur-thermore, we must change the way people commonly misunderstand theneed to drastically alter consumption patterns: it is often still seen as a threat,rather than an opportunity for innovation and for overall improvement toquality of life.

In this context the delegates to the World Summit on Sustainable Devel-opment agreed to “encourage and promote the development of a ten-yearframework of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives toaccelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production.” Thisagreement marks a new phase in the efforts of all those working on cleanerproduction and sustainable consumption. UNEP looks forward to con-tributing its expertise as the ten-year work plan unfolds.

The task emerging is quite clear: integrating cleaner production and sus-tainable consumption. I invite you to discover, in this issue of Industry andEnvironment, where and how progress is being made, who is involved, and thecommitments that have been made to take action to meet the challenges weface. ◆

AcknowledgementsUNEP would like to express its appreciation to the government of theCzech Republic and to the Czech Environment Minister, Milos Kuzvart,for hosting the Seventh International High-level Seminar on Cleaner Pro-duction. Thanks in particular to Mr. Kuzvart for actively promoting clean-er production in connection with the last two high-level seminars.

Special thanks also to Arcado Ntagazwa, Minister of State, Office of thePresident, Tanzania. His vision of cleaner production as an important build-ing block of sustainable development – indeed, as the cornerstone of sus-tainable development – has been a vital element in encouraging relatedactivities in his county.

We are extremely grateful to the keynote speakers: Lorraine Maltby, Pres-ident of the World Council of the Society of Environmental Toxicologyand Chemistry (SETAC); Christian Kornevall, Senior Vice President and

Head of Sustainability Affairs at ABB; and Isabelita Sy-Palanca, Chair of thePhilippines National Steering Committee on the Global Compact, Char-ter President of the Women’s Business Council, and Philippines Commis-sioner for Business and Industry.

The seminar would not have been possible without the staff of the CzechEnvironment Ministry. We are indebted to them for their assistance inplanning and organizing the seminar, and for hosting the cultural events.

Last but by no means least, we express our thanks to the governmental,non-governmental, business, academic and international agency repre-sentatives who attended the seminar, served as chairs, speakers, panellists,rapporteurs and participants, and contributed to the recommendationsand other outcomes, thus demonstrating their commitment to sustain-able production and consumption.

IntroductionJacqueline Aloisi de Larderel

UNEP Assistant Executive DirectorDirector, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics

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Este número doble de Industry andEnvironment incluye informaciónacerca del Séptimo Seminario Inter-nacional sobre Producción másLimpia (PL7), que se realizó del 28al 30 de abril de 2002 en Praga. ElSeminario fue organizado por la

UNEP y el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de laRepública Checa y tuvo como anfitrión al gobiernocheco.

Una de las conclusiones claves del PL7 fue que laaplicación conjunta de producción más limpia yconsumo sustentable constituyen uno de los pilaresprincipales del desarrollo sustentable. La UNEP haestado trabajando para asegurar la integración ade-cuada de estos conceptos.

Hacia principios de 2002 se resaltó la importan-cia de integrar ambos conceptos. Como parte de laspreparaciones para la Cumbre Mundial sobre Desa-rrollo Sustentable (World Summit on SustainableDevelopment – WSSD), la UNEP presentó infor-mes de 22 sectores industriales sobre sus progresosen haras de la sustentabilidad y las iniciativas pen-dientes. Dentro de sus conclusiones el proyectoestablece que los logros ambientales de la industriase ven neutralizados por el aumento del consumo.

Con anterioridad a la WSSD y el PL7, la UNEPeditó informes sobre los progresos a la fecha en pro-ducción más limpia y consumo sustentables(www.uneptie.org/pc/cp). A continuación se descri-ben las propuestas y desafíos que destacan los infor-mes.

Producción más limpiaLos progresos tangibles a nivel mundial en produc-ción más limpias incluyen:◆ Una red de más de 100 centros de producciónmás limpia, que operan en todas las regiones brin-dando asistencia técnica, entrenamiento e informa-ción, y otro tipo de servicios a nivel local y nacional;◆ Organización de mesas redondas en Africa,región Asia Pacífico, Europa y las Américas parafacilitar la difusión de información y el intercambiode experiencias entre y a través de las regiones;◆ Más de 100 instituciones educativas que ofrecencursos en producción más limpia, brindando edu-cación a miles de estudiantes y profesionales delmercado laboral;◆ Más de 1000 proyectos de prueba en varios países,que aportan pruebas fehacientes de la magnitud delalcance de la reducción de energía y materia primaen procesos de producción, con la consecuentereducción de residuos y polución;◆ La instauración de mecanismos institucionales

This special double issue of Industryand Environment covers the SeventhInternational High-level Seminar onCleaner Production (CP7), whichtook place on 28-30 April 2002 inPrague. It was organized by UNEPand the Ministry of Environment ofthe Czech Republic, and hosted bythe Czech government.

One key point made at CP7 wasthat cleaner production and sustain-able consumption together form oneof the most important buildingblocks of sustainable development. UNEP has beenworking to ensure that these concepts are properlyintegrated.

The importance of combining the two conceptswas underlined earlier in 2002 when, as part ofpreparations for the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD), UNEP facilitated reportingby 22 industry sectors on their progress towards sus-tainability and work that remains to be done.Among the findings of this project is that, whileindustry has made environmental improvements,such progress is neutralized as consumption grows.

In advance of WSSD and CP7, UNEP alsoissued status reports concerning progress to date oncleaner production and sustainable consumption.Advances and challenges highlighted in the reportsare summarized below.

Cleaner productionTangible progress world-wide with respect to clean-er production includes:◆ a network of over 100 Cleaner Production Cen-tres, operating in all regions to deliver technical

assistance, training and information,and other services at the local andnational level;◆ roundtables in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Amer-icas that have facilitated informationdissemination and exchange of expe-rience between and across regions;◆ over 100 educational institutionsthat offer courses on cleaner produc-tion, educating thousands of studentsas well as in-job professionals;◆ over 1000 demonstration projects

in various countries, providing undeniable proof ofthe tremendous scope for reducing material andenergy intensity in production processes, and there-fore reducing waste and pollution;◆ the establishment of institutional mechanisms fortransfer and adoption of cleaner technologies, whichhas contributed to greater uptake of such technolo-gies;◆ cleaner production financing programmes andrelated technical assistance, enabling practical appli-cation of cleaner production measures and installa-tion of safer and cleaner technologies by manymajor companies.

Nevertheless, considerable scope remains to fur-ther strengthen and integrate cleaner production.

Strategies proposed include:◆ formally integrating cleaner production and sus-tainable consumption to facilitate the adoption ofan approach covering the entire life cycle of a prod-uct or service, expanding the horizon from produc-tion facilities to product use and disposal;◆ “mainstreaming” cleaner production into nation-al and local development planning processes and

policy frameworks;◆ expanding the network of cleaner production cen-tres and institutions, as well as their roles and capa-bilities;◆ linking related issues, such as implementation ofmultilateral environmental agreements, energy effi-ciency, health and safety, and environmental man-agement systems;◆ increasing outreach to small and medium-sizedenterprises, to help them apply cleaner productionmeasures;◆ encouraging greater participation by the privatesector in technology development and cooperation,financing of cleaner production investment, andmarket building.

Sustainable consumptionConsumption patterns throughout the world con-tinue to threaten sustainable development. Of par-ticular concern are the growing disparities betweenrich and poor countries’ consumption levels andbetween consumption levels within developingcountries, as well as the fact that total growth in useof resources (particularly water, food and energy) indeveloped countries is offsetting technologicallyengendered efficiency improvements.

Progress towards sustainable consumption mustbe made in industrialized countries, which are thesource of the world’s dominant consumption mod-els and aspirations. To break with current concep-tions and ensure that aspirations for sustainableprosperity become the global pattern, such aspira-tions first need to be widely and visibly embracedwithin developed countries.

It should also be pointed out that the recent UNEPand Consumers International review of implementa-tion of the Sustainable Consumption section addedto the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Pro-tection in 1999 found a “clear need for a better andmore systematic approach to spreading knowledgeand understanding of the Guidelines.” ◆

For more information about UNEP’s cleaner produc-tion activities, see www.uneptie.org/pc/cp.

Presentation and background

Presentación y contexto

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para la transferencia y adopción de tecnologías máslimpias, aumentando la incorporación de dichastecnologías;◆ Programas de financiamiento de producción máslimpia y asistencia técnica, permitiendo la aplica-ción de medidas de producción más limpia y laincorporación de tecnologías más seguras y máslimpias en varias de las principales companías.

Sin embargo, queda mucho por hacer en materiade fortalecimiento e integración de la producciónmás limpia.

Se propone, entre otras, las siguientes estrategias:◆ Promover la integración de producción más lim-pia y consumo sustentable para facilitar la incorpo-ración de propuestas que abarquen todo el ciclo devida de un producto o servicio, desde la planta deproducción hasta la utilización y disposición delproducto;◆ “Incorporar” la producción más limpia en la ela-boración de estrategias y el desarrollo depolíticas locales y nacionales;

◆ Ampliar la red de centros e instituciones de pro-ducción más limpia y aumentar sus funciones y bene-ficios;◆ Vincular con otras cuestiones relacionadas, talescomo la implementación de acuerdos ambientalesmultilaterales, sistemas de eficiencia energética, saludy seguridad, y sistemas de gestión ambiental;◆ Promover la incorporación y aplicación de medidasde producción más limpia en pequeñas y medianasempresas;◆ Fomentar una mayor participación del sector pri-vado en el desarrollo e intercambio de tecnologías,financiamiento de inversiones en producción máslimpia, y constitución del mercado.

Consumo sustentableLos patrones de consumo globales aún constituyenuna amenaza para el desarrollo sustentable. Se debeprestar especial atención a la disparidad crecienteentre los niveles de consumo de países pobres y ricosy entre los niveles de consumo dentro de los países

en vías de desarrollo. Asimismo es importante teneren cuenta que el aumento significativo del uso derecursos en países desarrollados (en particular agua,alimento y energía) se contrapone al aumento deeficiencia producto de la tecnología.

El progreso hacia el consumo sustentable se debeiniciar en países industrializados, donde se generanlos modelos de consumo que prevalecen a nivelmundial. Para contrarrestar las concepciones actua-les y constituir patrones globales que incorporenmetas de prosperidad sustentable, los países desarro-llados deben incorporar antes dichas metas demanera clara y manifiesta.

Cabe señalar que el informe elaborado reciente-mente por UNEP y Consumidores Internacionalesacerca de la aplicación de la sección de Consumo Sus-tentable anexado a la Guía de Protección del Consu-midor de la Naciones Unidas en 1999, establece “quese necesitan propuestas mejores y más sistemáticaspara aumentar la difusión y comprensión de los con-tenidos de la Guía”. ◆

Ce numéro double d’Industry andEnvironment rend compte du 7e

Séminaire international sur la pro-duction plus propre (CP7) quis’est déroulé du 28 au 30 avril2002 à Prague. Organisé par lePNUE et le ministère de l’Envi-

ronnement de la république Tchèque, il étaitaccueilli par le gouvernement tchèque.

Le séminaire a tout particulièrement insisté surun point : la production plus propre et la consom-mation durable constituent à elles deux l’une desclefs de voûte du développement durable. Le PNUEœuvre pour que ces concepts soient correctementintégrés.

L’importance de la combinaison des deuxconcepts avait déjà été soulignée courant 2002quand, dans le cadre de la préparation du Sommetmondial sur le développement durable, le PNUEavait donné à 22 secteurs industriels la possibilité derendre compte de leurs progrès en matière de déve-loppement durable et du travail restant à faire. L’unedes conclusions du projet est que si l’industrie a amé-lioré ses performances environnementales, ses avan-cées sont neutralisées par l’augmentation de laconsommation.

Avant le Sommet mondial de Johannesburg et leséminaire CP7, le PNUE a également publié desétats des lieux de la production plus propre et de laconsommation durable (voir www.uneptie.org/pc/cp). Les avancées et les difficultés exposées dans cesrapports sont résumées ci-après.

Production plus propreLes progrès tangibles accomplis dans le monde enmatière de production plus propre sont notam-ment :◆ un réseau de plus de 100 centres de productionplus propre implantés dans toutes les régions pour

fournir à l’échelon local et national des prestationsd’assistance technique, de formation et d’informa-tions, ainsi que d’autres services ;◆ des tables rondes en Afrique, en Asie-Pacifique, enEurope et sur le continent américain qui ont facilitéla diffusion des informations et les échanges d’expé-riences entre régions et à l’intérieur des régions ;◆ plus de 100 établissements d’enseignement quiproposent des cours sur la production plus propresuivis par des milliers d’étudiants, ainsi que par desprofessionnels en activité ;◆ plus de 1 000 projets de démonstration dans diverspays, preuve indéniable des possibilités extraordi-naires qui s’offrent de réduire la consommation dematière et d’énergie dans les procédés de produc-tion, donc de diminuer les volumes de déchets et lapollution ;◆ la mise en place de mécanismes institutionnelspour le transfert et l’adoption de technologies pluspropres qui a permis à ces technologies de s’imposerdavantage ;◆ des programmes de financement de la productionplus propre et l’assistance technique correspondan-te, qui ont permis la mise en œuvre par de nom-breuses grandes entreprises de mesures deproduction plus propre et l’installation de techno-logies plus sûres et plus propres.

Il reste toutefois beaucoup à faire pour dévelop-per et intégrer davantage la production plus propre.

Voici quelques exemples de stratégies proposées :◆ intégrer formellement la production plus propreet la consommation durable pour faciliter l’adoptiond’une approche couvrant la totalité du cycle de viedes produits ou services, débordant ainsi les installa-tions de production pour englober l’utilisation etl’élimination des produits ;◆ intégrer la production plus propre dans les proces-sus nationaux et locaux de planification du dévelop-pement et dans les politiques cadres ;

◆ étendre le réseau de centres et d’organismes de pro-duction plus propre, élargir leurs rôles et accroîtreleurs capacités ;◆ lier les questions connexes entre elles, commel’application des accords multilatéraux sur l’envi-ronnement, l’efficacité énergétique, l’hygiène et lasécurité, les systèmes de gestion de l’environnement ;◆ accroître la communication avec les petites etmoyennes entreprises pour les aider à appliquer lesmesures en faveur de la production plus propre ;◆ encourager le secteur privé à participer davantageau développement des technologies et à la coopéra-tion dans ce domaine, au financement des investis-sements dans la production plus propre et à lacréation de marchés.

Consommation durablePartout dans le monde, les modes de consommationrestent une menace pour le développement durable.Les disparités croissantes dans les niveaux deconsommation entre pays riches et pauvres, maisaussi dans les pays en développement, sont particu-lièrement préoccupantes, de même que le fait que laprogression globale de la consommation de res-sources (eau, denrées alimentaires et énergie, en par-ticulier) dans les pays développés annule les gainsd’efficacité permis par les technologies.

Les modes de consommation durables doiventprogresser dans les pays industrialisés, qui sont à l’ori-gine des modèles de consommation et des aspirationsqui prévalent dans le monde. Pour en finir avec lesconceptions actuelles et faire en sorte que les aspira-tions à une prospérité durable deviennent le modèlemondial, il faut d’abord que les pays développésadhèrent largement et concrètement à ces aspira-tions.

Il faut signaler également que l’étude récente par lePNUE et Consumers International de la mise enœuvre de la section relative à la consommationdurable ajoutée en 1999 aux « Lignes directrices desNations Unies pour la protection du consomma-teur » fait ressortir le « besoin évident d’une démarcheplus adéquate et plus systématique pour faireconnaître et comprendre les Lignes directrices. » ◆

Présentation et contexte

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Cleaner Production

Cleaner production: the continuousapplication of an integrated preventive envi-ronmental strategy to processes, products andservices to increase overall efficiency, and to re-duce risks to humans and the environment.Cleaner production can be applied to the processesused in any industry, to products themselves,and to various services provided in society(UNEP).

Eco-efficiency: the delivery of competi-tively priced goods and services that satisfy hu-man needs and bring quality of life, while theyprogressively reduce ecological impacts and re-source intensity throughout the life cycle to alevel at least in line with the Earth’s estimatedcarrying capacity (World Business Council forSustainable Development, WBCSD). Eco-effi-ciency is based on issues of economic efficiencythat will produce environmental benefits, whilecleaner production starts from issues of envi-ronmental efficiency that will produce economicbenefits.

Factor 4/factor 10:the concept that, inorder for sustainability to be reached and main-tained during a period when human populationsare likely to double in size and average livingstandards to increase significantly, industry shouldincrease its resource conversion efficiency by aminimum factor of 4 (i.e. resource productivityshould grow fourfold). Put another way, theamount of wealth extracted from one natural re-source unit should be quadrupled. Since indus-trialized societies typically consume 20 to 30times more than less developed ones, some peo-ple are calling for a factor 10 increase in con-version efficiency in the developed world (RockyMountain Institute and Wuppertal Institute).

Green productivity: a strategy for en-hancing productivity and environmental per-formance with a view to overall socio-economicdevelopment, involving the use of appropriatetechniques, technologies and management sys-tems to produce environmentally compatiblegoods and services. Green productivity can beapplied to manufacturing, services, agricultureand the community (Asian Productivity Orga-nization, APO).

Leapfrogging: process by which, throughtechnology transfer, developing countries adopttechnologies designed and tested in industrial-ized countries without bearing the costs of de-velopment or experiencing the same relativelyslow stages of development that characterizedthe introduction of these technologies in the in-dustrialized world (various sources).

Life-cycle approaches: ways to addressenvironmental issues and opportunities holisti-cally, and to evaluate or design product servicesystems with the goal of reducing potential en-vironmental impacts over the entire life cycle.These approaches include:

• Life-cycle assessment: an objective processfor evaluating the environmental burdens asso-ciated with a product, process or activity by iden-tifying the energy and materials used and wastesreleased to the environment, and to evaluateand implement opportunities to effect envi-ronmental improvements (Society of Environ-mental Toxicology and Chemistry, SETAC).

• Life-cycle management: an integrated frame-work of concepts, techniques and proceduresto address environmental, economic, techno-logical and social aspects of products and orga-nizations, in order to achieve continuous envi-ronmental improvement from a life-cycleperspective (SETAC).

• Design for environment:(also called “eco-design”): systematic integration of environ-mental and social considerations into productand process design (National Research Coun-cil of Canada).

• Product service systems: a marketable mixof products and services that jointly fulfil clientneeds with less environmental impact (UNEP).

• Integrated product policy: working to stim-ulate each part of each phase of a product or ser-vice life cycle to improve its environmental per-formance, from natural resources extractionthrough design, manufacture, assembly, mar-keting, distribution, sale and use, and on toeventual disposal as waste (EU).

Pollution prevention: the use ofprocesses, practices, materials, products or en-ergy that avoid or minimize the creation of pol-lutants and waste, and that reduce the overallrisk to human health or the environment (En-vironment Canada). Pollution prevention andcleaner production both focus on a strategy ofcontinuously reducing pollution and environ-mental impacts through reduction at source.

Rebound effect (also called “take-backeffect” or “offsetting behaviour”): increased con-sumption resulting from actions that increaseefficiency and reduce consumer costs. One ex-ample would be a home insulation programmethat reduces heat losses by 50% but does notsucceed in bringing about a 50% reduction inenergy consumption, as residents discover theycan now afford to keep their homes warmer morecheaply. In such cases a portion of potential en-ergy savings is spent on greater comfort (On-line TDM Encyclopedia, www.vtpi.org/tdm).

Sustainable consumption: con-sumption of services and products that respondto basic needs and bring a better quality of life,while minimizing use of natural resources andtoxic materials as well as the generation of wastesand pollutants over the whole life cycle of theproduct or service, so as not to jeopardize theneeds of future generations (UN Commissionon Sustainable Development, UNCSD).

Triple bottom line: the whole set of val-ues, issues and processes companies must ad-dress in order to minimize the harm resultingfrom their activities and to create economic, so-cial and environmental value. The three bottomlines represent society, the economy and the en-vironment. Society depends on the economy –and the economy depends on the global ecosys-tem, whose health is the ultimate bottom line(SustainAbility).

Sources of definitions indicated in brackets.◆

Glossary Sustainable production and consumption: some frequently used terms

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Cleaner Production

The following recommendations were adopted in Prague. They were drawnfrom conclusions presented at the end of each plenary session.

1. Further strengthen government policies and continue strategies tobuild institutions for mainstreaming cleaner production.Put particular emphasis on enhancing the institutional, technical and man-agerial capacity of the National Cleaner Production Centres, as well asexpanding the NCPC network.

2. Expand the scope of cleaner production to address sustainableconsumption, with particular attention to the rebound effects ofunsustainable consumption.Integrate the expanded definition of cleaner production into sustainableconsumption thinking. The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, launchedin Prague, should provide an opportunity to communicate the expandeddefinition.

3. Continue development of policies, planning and strategiesoriented towards cleaner production.Set up economic and political frameworks, at the national, regional andinternational levels, that are conducive to adoption of cleaner production.Promote the International Declaration on Cleaner Production and obtainfurther commitments. Mainstream cleaner production in environmentalgovernance and national economic development policies and programmes.

4. Develop synergy between cleaner production and multilateralenvironmental agreements. Define the needs of various MEAs with respect to cleaner production, aswell as links between cleaner production and the agreements. Cleaner Pro-duction Centres should be supported further so that they play an expandedrole in establishing such links and building dialogue. Clearinghouses andcentres for excellence, oriented towards technology development and trans-fer related to MEAs, should be made part of NCPC activities.

5. Promote cleaner production in investments and obtain thecommitment of the private financial sector.Encourage funding of cleaner production through local financing institu-tions as well as multilateral development banks. Raise the local institutions’capacity and strengthen funding mechanisms, and better target small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local governments.

6. Promote application of cleaner production in sectors such asservices and infrastructure, using complementary approachesincluding energy efficiency, safer production and resource protection.Expand the base of cleaner production stakeholders to include consumer-related organizations, the media and market players such as retailers, vendorsand suppliers.

7. Increase trade links and business-to-business interactions throughnetworks such as the Sustainable Alternative Network (SANet),initiated by UNEP and the Global Environment Facility.While continuing to promote technology transfer from industrialized/devel-oped countries, recognize the potential of local technology development.

8. Increase demand for cleaner production-related information bymoving beyond information networking to knowledge managementand counseling.Improve the context, relevance and user-friendliness of cleaner productioninformation systems vis-à-vis developing countries. Strengthen the NCPCs’capacity for effective information delivery.

9. Promote innovative partnerships, focusing on those involving theprivate sector.Include partnerships with international and national bodies, between busi-ness and civil society and between business and government.

10. Emphasize and integrate workplace-related health and safetyissues, gender issues and labour rights in the application of cleanerproduction.

11. Continue efforts to promote cleaner production to SMEs.Focus on SMEs through approaches such as supply-chain managementinvolving trade, contracting, information and technology transfer.

12. Continue efforts towards capacity building in cleaner production.Follow the CPC/NCPC approach and use “train the trainer” strategies tobuild cleaner production capacity on the part of other professionals and todevelop a market for cleaner production.

All participants agreed that these recommendations should constitute inputto the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. ◆

RecommendationsSeventh International High-level Seminar on Cleaner Production

28-30 April 2002, Prague, Czech Republic

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Cleaner Production

Isabelita Sy-PalancaChair, National Steering Committee on the Global Compact, Philippines

One of the challenges associated with sustainable development in Asia is reachingsmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many of which are family-run andhave between ten and 100 employees. In her keynote address Mrs. Palanca

focused on how to reach this group effectively. SMEs supply goods and services to localmarkets and larger corporations; they often play vital economic and social roles in the localcommunity. However, recognition of SMEs is limited on the international scale. They areessentially “faceless”.

Mrs. Palanca noted that in view of this “facelessness” internationally it would be diffi-cult to implement cleaner production directly in Asian SMEs. Understanding of cleanerproduction operations is limited, and penalties for violations would be difficult to enforce.While cleaner production, the drive for decent work conditions, the Global Compact andmany other UN activities are worthwhile, most SMEs would be reluctant to incorporatesuch agendas since they assume that this would increase the expense of running their busi-ness. Disenfranchisement of SMEs occurs regularly. Grievances are not often addressedor even recognized, due to the fact that larger international companies and their networksare for the most part unaware of their presence. Furthermore, SMEs are predominantlyoperated by women. The CEO is often a woman who has started – or taken over – a fam-ily business.

By contrast, large multinational companies competing in the global market have thou-sands of employees and well-trained management. They can be better partners for initi-ating and implementing widespread change. Large corporations frequently haveself-sufficient facilities providing a full range of on-site services. They are ISO certifiedand their work ethics, systems and procedures comply with “best practice” standards.

A disproportionate majority of businesses in Asia are SMEs faced with competitionfrom other markets that readily provide cheaper goods. Thus SMEs are primarily con-cerned with immediate fiscal responsibilities, and initiatives such as cleaner productionare relegated to an inferior position. It is more realistic for bigger businesses to implementsuch initiatives and, through them, to affect changes in SMEs.

To address the challenge, Mrs. Palanca welcomed the Global Compact as very timely inthat it recognizes the need for private business to become involved in sustainable devel-opment and to comply with the nine principles of the Global Compact, which relate tohuman rights, labour rights and the environment.

Mrs. Palanca chairs three committees of the Employers’ Federation of the Philippinesrelated to social responsibility, the Global Compact and the Federation’s annual conven-tion. She described how these committees are reaching out to involve SMEs in the Glob-al Compact through such initiatives as:◆ “speaking the language of business” through presenting the Global Compact as a call toshare the benefits of the New Global Economy. The outreach messages cite cases in whichsuppliers have been banned or ostracized because of their non-adherence to protection ofhuman rights, labour rights or the environment;◆ “synergizing limited resources” by using the Global Compact as the theme of the employ-er federation’s national annual convention and fostering adherence to the Global Compactthrough preparatory regional consultations leading up to the national convention;◆ “facilitating the establishment of business-initiated, multi-sectoral committees designedto foster consensus-building” among employers, employees, NGOs, the media, academia,churches and local government units. The committees have been organized through part-nerships with large corporations, as well as organizations with chapters throughout thePhilippines and with many SME members – chambers of commerce, industry associa-tions and the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines. This strategy is based on usingthe synergy of partners;◆ capitalizing on the aspirational nature of the Global Compact principles to appeal forbroad-based support. There are plans for a media campaign and endorsement by popularpersonalities. Strategic plans include monitoring schemes, documentation processes andsystems, and incentives for compliance. The support of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Presi-dent of the Philippines, is being sought.

Mrs. Palanca linked the Global Compact and cleaner production to the goals of theorganizations she works with: to help women and SMEs enter the world of global businessand, by being there, to transform the human face of globalization into a happy one. ◆

Keynote Speeches

The launch of the Life Cycle Initiative began with a keynoteaddress by Lorraine Maltby, President of the SETAC WorldCouncil, Belgium. SETAC is a not-for-profit professional societyfounded in North America in 1979, with over 5000 members inmore than 70 countries and a mission to support the developmentof principles and practices for the protection, enhancement andmanagement of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystemintegrity. Life-cycle assessment and management, Ms. Maltbyemphasized, are key elements in achieving this mission.

The Life Cycle Initiative created in May 2000 between SETACand UNEP brings to this initiative a global, scientific approach toenvironmental issues by drawing on SETAC members from gov-ernment, industry and academia in both developed and develop-ing nations. This complements UNEP’s work on environmentalpolicy issues and interactions with governments. The objective ofthe Life Cycle Initiative is to influence scientists, managers andpolicy-makers to look at environmental issues in a more holisticand integrated manner.

Ms. Maltby described three key challenges and the Life CycleInitiative programmes set up to address them:◆ a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) Programme to address the lack ofstandard life-cycle data and the limited access to such informa-tion;◆ a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) Programme to addressthe lack of universally agreed assessment practices;◆ a Life Cycle Management (LCM) Programme to address thelimited understanding of importance and value when assessingimpacts, trade-offs and opportunities during a product’s life cycle.

These three working groups will be managed by the Internation-al Life Cycle Panel (ILCP), chaired by UNEP’s Assistant ExecutiveDirector, Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel. The Panel is co-chaired bythe official SETAC representative, James Fava of Five Winds Inter-national (United States) and Atsushi Inaba of the Japanese Nation-al Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

The aim of the Life Cycle Initiative is to provide practitionerswith the tools required to implement a life-cycle approach ratherthan to satisfy the needs of the academic community. To this end,the Initiative will:◆ develop demonstration projects and guidelines related to LCAand life-cycle thinking. These can be adapted to different sectorsand regions and used to promote better environmental manage-ment;◆ develop training modules and dissemination activities to edu-cate and to foster life-cycle thinking;◆ develop indicators on environmental, economic and socialissues;◆ develop communication strategies and a global network of inter-ested parties.

Ms. Maltby talked about LCI activities in 2001-2002, whichincluded meetings, workshops, short courses and publications.

Further information is available on the Life Cycle Initiative website hosted by UNEP (www.uneptie.org/pc/sustain /lca/lca. htm) andthe SETAC web site (www.setac.org).

The Life Cycle InitiativeLorraine MaltbyPresident, World Council of the Society of Environmental Toxicolo-gy and Chemistry (SETAC), Belgium

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Cleaner Production

In this Summary Report the presentations anddiscussions at UNEP’s Seventh InternationalHigh-level Seminar on Cleaner Production

(CP7) in April 2002 are summarized. Each of theplenary sessions is briefly described. Highlights ofthe parallel sessions are also presented.

The articles on cleaner production that followthis Summary Report are based on papers sub-mitted before and after the seminar.

Opening ceremonyCzech Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart andUNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer wel-comed the over 350 delegates to Prague. A cere-mony launching the UNEP/SETAC Life CycleInitiative then took place, with a keynote addressby Lorraine Maltby, presidentof the Brussels-based WorldCouncil of the Society of Envi-ronmental Toxicology andChemistry (SETAC).

Mr. Kuzvart described theseminar as setting the stage forthe World Summit on Sustain-able Development (WSSD).He highlighted some of theCzech Republic’s actions relatedto sustainability, such as nation-al programmes on eco-labelling,cleaner production and EMAS(the EU Eco-Management andAudit Scheme) as well as guide-lines for voluntary agreementsand a methodology for life-cycle

assessment. The Czech government has issued arecommendation that ministries choose environ-mentally friendly products. Every year it evaluateshow well they have followed through. Mr. Kuz-vart emphasized the roles of information, trainingand public education in fostering sustainable con-sumption and production.

Mr. Toepfer’s speech echoed the sentiment thatthe seminar was about getting ready for WSSD,

especially with respect to ways the participantsand their institutions could act to change produc-tion and consumption patterns. At the 1992Earth Summit people were so sure cleaner pro-duction would succeed that they neglected imple-mentation and did not do a good enough job ofexplaining the concept to governments, industryand the public. In contrast, WSSD must be fol-lowed up by education and action.

The rate of growth of both population and con-sumption in lower-income countries makes theemphasis on sustainable consumption especiallyurgent. “We must think of the end of the life cyclebefore we create products. Such thinking will leadto new kinds of products,” Mr Toepfer said. Thiswould entail more efficient use of resources and

less environmental burden.The aim of the Life Cycle

Initiative being launched byUNEP and SETAC is to helpgovernment, businesses andconsumers adopt more envi-ronmentally friendly policies,practices and lifestyles. MrToepfer stressed that activecollaboration by private enter-prise will be necessary if life-cycle thinking and acting areto become a reality.

Ms. Maltby, in her keynotespeech, introduced SETAC toparticipants and described theinitiative’s origins and opera-tions (see page 10).

Summary ReportWe must think of the end of

the life cycle before we create products

Klaus Toepfer, UNEP

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Cleaner Production

The speakers at the first plenary session wereagain Mr. Kuzvart and Mr. Toepfer. UNEP’s

Executive Director emphasized the role of part-nerships (between governments, between govern-ment and business, and between government andconsumers) in achieving sustainable productionand consumption.

Much has been achieved since Rio in relationto the implementation of Agenda 21, he said. Cit-ing growth in public awareness, institutions andconventions, both internationally and regionally,Mr. Toepfer underlined the importance of UNSecretary-General Kofi Annan’s Global Compact,with its nine principles concerning human rights,labour standards and the environment. Imple-mentation of the Global Compact is being facili-tated by UNEP, along with the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO) and the UN Com-mission on Human Rights.

Society must move from addressing the “limitsof growth” to the “growth of limits”. That is,human possibilities need to be expanded throughan efficiency revolution. A “factor 4” increase inefficiency of resource use will not be enough, Mr.Toepfer argued. Ultimately we must increase effi-ciency by a factor of 10.

Eradicating poverty and achieving sustainabledevelopment continue to be the main goals of theglobal community. The former depends oninvestment in new jobs, especially for young peo-ple in developing countries; the latter meanschanging production and consumption patterns.

Meeting that challenge will require measuresand initiatives such as:◆ integrating environmental costs into prices –not to “punish” users but to stimulate technologydevelopment;◆ managing growth in demand for water, partlythrough cleaner production as applied to wateruse by industry;◆ cooperating with private business;u integrating financial institutions into the processof change;◆ using eco-labelling to inform consumers aboutthe life cycle of products they buy;◆ initiating take-back programmes for cars andother products (Mr. Toepfer noted the EuropeanUnion’s advances in this area and in the area ofeco-labelling);◆ working with the media to help change con-sumption patterns;◆ involving young people.

Mr. Toepfer briefly sketched the history ofcleaner production, noting that UNEP had donemuch to promote the concept and get it recog-nized globally. It was launched in 1989 at the FirstHigh-level Seminar on Cleaner Production, host-ed by the UK. That event led to the establishmentof National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs)jointly backed by UNEP and the United Nations

Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).Biennial seminars have since been hosted byFrance, Poland, the UK again, Korea, Canada andnow the Czech Republic. Among UNEP’s otherinitiatives are its publications on cleaner produc-tion, the 1998 International Declaration onCleaner Production, and support for starting theRegional Round Tables on Cleaner Production.UNEP has worked with the Asian DevelopmentBank and several other regional and world organi-zations to catalyse the adoption of cleaner produc-tion or similar programmes. (See www/uneptie.org/pc/pc for more about UNEP’s cleaner pro-duction activities.)

The introductory addresses were followed bykeynote speeches by Christian Kornevall (SeniorVice President and Head of Sustainability Affairsat ABB Brown Boveri, Switzerland) and IsabelitaSy Palanca (Vice-Chair of the Women’s BusinessCouncil, Philippines, and Chair-elect of the Con-federation of Women Business Councils inAPEC) (see page 10). ◆

Plenary Sessions

Isabelita Sy Palanca

Christian Kornevall

Parallel session : Government perspectivesChair: Martina Motlova (Deputy Minister-Director General, Ministry of the Environment,Czech Republic). Introduction: Janine Ferretti(Executive Director, North AmericanCommission for Environmental Cooperation,Canada). Panellists: Dagmar Sucharovova(Deputy Director, Environmental Strategy,Ministry of the Environment, Czech Republic),Sirithan Pairoj-Boriboon (Director General,Pollution Control Department, Thailand) and

Yin Gai (Director General, Department ofScience, Technology and Standards, SEPA,China).

Panellists discussed government policies andstrategies to promote sustainable production andconsumption and cited specific government ini-tiatives. They concluded that:

For government policies and strategies to be“mainstreamed”, governments need to i) mod-

ernise their regulatory efforts while continuingexisting awareness-raising and challenges toindustry; ii) integrate their policies, programmesand tools; iii) look for new ways to integrate pol-lution prevention/cleaner production initiativesinto industrial, fiscal and investment policies anddecisions.

In many countries, promotion of voluntaryagreements has proved a good basis for develop-ment of negotiations between the government

From Rio to Johannesburg, and the next ten years

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Cleaner Production

The second plenary session opened withremarks by Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel

(UNEP Assistant Executive Director and Direc-tor, Division of Technology, Industry and Eco-nomics) and Surya Chandak (Cleaner ProductionCoordinator, UNEP DTIE), followed by panel-lists’ presentations.

Chairing the session, Mrs. Aloisi de Larderelreviewed progress in cleaner production since 1989.She described cleaner production and sustainableconsumption as complementary means of reachingthe goal of sustainable development, and stressedthe need for factor 4 and, ultimately, factor 10improvements in resource use and pollution pre-vention. UNEP has developed various approachesto promote cleaner production and sustainableconsumption, shown in the table below with theaccompanying tools and techniques.

The 22 industry sector reports produced byUNEP and industry associations in preparationfor WSSD – the first such sectoral reporting evercarried out – demonstrate that industry has cer-tainly made environmental improvements, butMrs. Aloisi de Larderel added that these improve-ments are neutralized as consumption grows. Nor,she noted, do the reports cover the environmentalimpact of smaller businesses.

Referring to the common belief that protectingthe environment is costly, she said the key messageto be disseminated is that prevention makes goodbusiness sense. Preventive approaches yield three

types of dividend: environmental, economic andsocial. In addition, the preventive approachesembodied in cleaner production can significantlyenhance implementation of multilateral environ-mental agreements (MEAs). Mrs. Aloisi de Larder-el underlined that energy efficiency considerationsshould be part of cleaner production.

To set the discussions at this seminar in context,she presented global and regional trends drawnfrom Tomorrow’s Markets: Global Trends and TheirImplications for Business, a joint publication of theWorld Resources Institute, UNEP and the WorldBusiness Council for Sustainable Development:◆ Population growth in developing regions willmean large markets dominated by the young.◆ As economies become more service-based,women’s role in the formal labour force is growing.◆ Rising consumption and energy demand, andcontinuing pollution, accelerate the need forinnovation that produces more value with lessenvironmental impact.◆ Survival depends on preserving natural capital– the resource base.◆ Business will be conducted in an increasinglynetworked world.◆ The spread of democracy improves conditionsfor market-based economies, but also increasesdemand for greater accountability from govern-ment and business; business must earn the licenceto operate.

In this context, important challenges facingUNEP and cleaner production advocates andpractitioners are to:◆ go beyond production processes and introducelife-cycle thinking, which includes addressingconsumption patterns. Cleaner production andsustainable consumption are two sides of the samecoin. We need demand for cleaner products, andwe need supply of such products;◆ forge new partnerships and invigorate existingones;◆ put cleaner production and sustainable con-sumption on the agenda of trade organizations.Leverage increased financing for application ofcleaner production (e.g. through the Finance Ini-tiatives and Financing Cleaner Production);◆ improve availability of information to agents ofchange (e.g. through the Internet-based Sustain-able Alternatives Network, or SANet);◆ provide learning forums, such as CP7.

Mr. Chandak began by observing that while the

Cleaner production andsustainable consumption aretwo sides of the same coin.

We need demand for cleanerproducts, and we need supply

of such productsJacqueline Aloisi de Larderel,UNEP

Approach Tools/techniques

Integration of issues ◆ Cleaner and safer production◆ Cleaner production and eco-efficiency integration◆ Cleaner production and environmental convention integration◆ Life-cycle approaches

Cleaner production in ◆ International Declaration on Cleaner Production to secure commitmentdevelopment planning ◆ Policy frameworks conducive to cleaner production

Communication and ◆ Efficient Entrepreneur calendarinformation networking ◆ Publications and databases

◆ Dissemination via the media (e.g. UNEP Advertising and Communication Initiative)

Partnerships and capacity building ◆ Sustainable Alternatives Network (SANet)◆ NCPCs◆ Cleaner production in educational curricula

Technology development ◆ UNEP Finance Initiativesand finance ◆ Environmental technology assessment

◆ Financing Cleaner Production

and stakeholder groups. A combination of vol-untary initiatives and introduction of mandato-ry programmes would seem an acceptable way tospeed the adoption of cleaner production andsustainable consumption.

Governments should institute “smarter” reg-ulations. Environmental regulations shouldfocus much more on products than on processes.

The emphasis on products should be accom-panied by a life-cycle perspective. One way regu-

lations can combine effective solutions to envi-ronmental problems with enhanced productivi-ty is by stimulating innovation.

Governments at all levels should formulate andimplement effective policy packages. Some coun-tries have come up with very effective provincialand local initiatives and strategies in promotingcleaner production and sustainable consumption.Initiatives in three countries were cited:◆ The Czech Republic: voluntary agreements

between the Ministry of the Environment andvarious associations (industry, services);◆ China: construction of ecological industrialparks at the regional level and establishment ofcleaner production centres at provincial and locallevels;◆ Thailand: an effort to raise public awareness ofgovernment initiatives so that the government isseen not only as a regulator but also as encourag-ing partnerships with stakeholders.

Changing production and consumption patterns:progress made and remaining challenges

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Cleaner Production

idea of sustainable development was as old as theHindu scriptures, in modern times the conceptwas presented in the 1987 report Our CommonFuture. The challenge is to put the concept intopractice. By 1992 cleaner production had beenrecognized as an important part of meeting thatchallenge. Since then over 500 workshops on thesubject have reached thousands of people. Orga-nizations such as the World Bank and AsianDevelopment Bank, as well as many industries,now recognize the language of cleaner production.

Some question whether cleaner productionactually works, but Mr. Chandak pointed to evi-dence from more than 1000 industry-baseddemonstration projects proving that the conceptmakes good business sense. Applying cleaner pro-duction, however, requires support. To this end,NCPCs around the world have been buildingcapacity at national and local levels. Surya Chandak

The issue now is engaging stakeholders, whichthe NCPCs alone cannot do. Additional initia-tives to help engage stakeholders and move imple-mentation forward include:◆ 70 courses on cleaner production at universities;◆ 111 institutions providing information oncleaner production;◆ technology transfer networks;◆ efforts to develop financing mechanisms;◆ projects to “mainstream” cleaner productioninto policy development frameworks in certaincountries of Africa and Asia.

“But the more that’s achieved,” Mr. Chandakcontinued, “the more we see that needs to bedone.” He highlighted four issues in particular:◆ integration of cleaner production and sustain-able consumption into a holistic approach to sus-tainable development;◆ moving more effectively from “signature to

Parallel session: Industry perspectives

Chair: Roland Vaxelaire (CEO, DelegateCarrefour Group to the EU, Carrefour, Belgium).Introduction: Mohiuddin Babar(Communications Manager, Lafarge Cement,Bangladesh). Panellists: Julie Haines (Chief ofParty, US-Asia Environmental Partnership ,United States), Otakar Kaucky (ManagingDirector, Kovohute Pr íbram, Czech Republic),Winfried Hoelzer (Director of Environment,L’Oréal, France) and Andreas Kircherer (BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Germany).

The session focused on industry initiatives andexperiences in promoting sustainable productionand consumption.

Mr. Vaxelaire related sustainable developmentto his company’s sense of responsibility to cus-tomers, employees, suppliers and shareholders.Carrefour is active in all types of retail distribu-tion, primarily food retailing, with stores in 30countries. The company sees its responsibility tocustomers as supplying safe, good-quality prod-ucts at low prices; to employees, not only provid-ing a fair salary but also addressing training andsocial needs; to shareholders, making a profit. Anaspect of the company’s social responsibility is theUS$ 585 million in taxes it pays to the commu-nities it operates in.

Mr. Babar focused on the special challengesdeveloping countries face in promoting cleanerproduction and sustainable consumption. Envi-ronmental degradation is an issue around theworld, but has more severe impacts in develop-ing countries. For example, climate change couldleave Bangladesh flooded. Furthermore, whilemultinationals operating in the developing worldmay use cleaner practices, local SMEs cannot orwill not. Mr. Babar stressed the effects of devel-oping-world population growth on agricultureand industry, and observed that consumptionpatterns imported from the developed world

have a significant impact on lifestyles and theenvironment in developing countries.

Despite increasing understanding of sustain-able development in developing countries, thesecountries lag behind the developed world in fram-ing policies and implementing action plans. Tobring about the right conditions for industry topromote sustainability, governments must priori-tise local and regional action programmes,emphasise cost-effective approaches to pollutionand waste treatment, and introduce market-basedeconomic instruments. Mr. Babar called on devel-oping-country governments to work in close part-nership with NGOs that have good connectionswith the grassroots. Cleaner production is a fun-damental component of good enterprise manage-ment, but requires government, business andother stakeholders to work together.

He concluded with two questions: How cangreener production be better integrated intobusiness systems? And how can people on thefront lines be made more aware of and commit-ted to sustainable development and production?

Ms. Haines said members of her major archi-tectural and engineering firm had long grappledwith how to motivate companies in developingcountries. Their conclusion: “We can talk untilwe’re blue in the face, but ultimately the marketwill drive industrial behaviour.” She added that:“As cleaner production people we’ve been verypoor at capturing what motivates people. Muchof the answer has to do with data collection and

putting the case for sustainable development inconcrete business language.”

Mr. Kaucky, whose medium-sized companyfocuses on recycling of lead and other metals,described how Kovohute Príbram’s recently mod-ernized lead plant had incorporated sustainableproduction. Mining and metallurgy in Príbramdate back to at least 1311, and a plant completedin 1793 was the basis of the present company.Technology modernization and the constructionof a new furnace in the 1990s brought the plantup to contemporary European standards.

The firm’s recycling activities focus on lead andlead alloy waste and lead accumulators, the finalproduct being lead and lead alloys in ingots. Theprecious metals division recycles electronic andelectro-technical devices in an environmentallysound manner. Numerous smaller companiesdisassemble, sort and partially process the elec-tronic waste, after which Kovohute Príbramextracts gold, silver, palladium and platinumusing traditional lead technology. The productdivision makes and sells a broad assortment ofitems based on lead, tin, antimony and othernon-ferrous metals.

Several projects are under way at KovohutePríbram to develop technology for cleaner pro-cessing and recycling of metals. The company’sfuture success, Mr. Kaucky added, depends onaddressing environmental and human healthissues as much as economic ones.

Mr. Hoelzer said the cosmetic industry pro-duces relatively little pollution and takes theenvironment very seriously. As the world’slargest cosmetic company, L’Oréal has a leader-ship role on environmental issues in the indus-try. Middle management had undertaken manyenvironmental initiatives, but not until a com-mitment came from the CEO did significantchange happen. At each plant owned by L’Oréaland its subsidiaries, someone is assigned specific

Ultimately the market will drive industrial

behaviourJulie Haines,

US-Asia Environmental Partnership

P3-29 13/12/02 14:14

action” on the International Declaration onCleaner Production;◆ integration of cleaner production into policymaking and decision making to facilitate its appli-cation;◆ integrating cleaner production with MEAs tofacilitate implementation of the latter.

Opening the panellist presentations, VictorEscobar Paredes (Head of Unit, InstitutionalCooperation Section, Ministry of the Environ-ment, Spain) noted that in today’s global marketsmost problems with unsustainable consumptionand production patterns stem from developedcountries, while the social and environmentaleffects are largely felt in developing countries. He

called for efforts to adjust production and con-sumption patterns in ways that respect ecosystemsand facilitate development for all.

Stressing the need to break the link betweeneconomic growth and environmental degra-dation, he noted the importance of pro-moting cleaner production along withnew technologies and economic ef-ficiency. A change in consumptionpatterns and lifestyles in devel-oped countries will becrucial, but if suchchange is well managedit will not threaten jobsor quality of life.


Cleaner Production

The more that’s achieved, the more we see that needs to be doneSurya Chandak,UNEP

responsibility for the environment, and all theplants are expected to meet the same standardsworldwide. A system of awards helps engageemployees in environmental issues. L’Oréal hasa significant positive influence on other compa-nies; as a market leader, it is often bench-marked. With its market clout it can requireenvironmentally friendly behaviour from itssuppliers, for example obliging them to elimi-nate heavy metals from packaging. Such pres-sure can generate new, greener technology.

Mr. Hoelzer emphasized that action, notwords, wins consumers over. L’Oréal has bannedthe use of heavy metals and pesticides through-out its products’ life cycles. “The alternatives costa little more, but consumers will pay more,because they like our product.” L’Oréal does notadvertise such actions, however, because researchindicates that “if you tell it, people will say it’s justPR”. Stories about a company’s environmentalactions have much more credibility when told bythird parties. He added that to reach young peo-ple one must speak their language and use theirmedia, such as video games.

“Because we are really caring,” he concluded,“we are successful. Doing a very good businessand environmental responsibility are not mutu-ally exclusive.”

Here Mr. Vaxelaire, the chair, underlined fourfactors in L’Oréal’s experience: CEO and othermanagement commitment, an employee rewardsystem, serving as the benchmark for other com-panies, and emphasizing actions over words.

Mr. Kircherer described the sustainable devel-opment “platform” that BASF, a company withannual sales of $35 billion, initiated several yearsago. The platform rests on the three pillars of sus-tainability: economic, environmental and social.Commitment by the CEO is indeed critical, butthe top-down approach is not enough; the strat-egy must include sales and marketing people,

who will be best convinced if the company canshow how standards and procedures not onlyaddress environmental issues but also improvethe bottom line. For example, salespeople have astake in pleasing the customer, so if the customerhas environmental demands salespeople will tryto meet them.

When BASF has success stories, it shares themwith customers. The company has developed an“on-screen manager” to help customers addressenvironmental, health and safety issues. It is alsoinvolved in a project with UNIDO and UNEPto help the US textile and dyeing industryaddress environmental issues.

Ms. Haines said she was “very heartened” bythe excellent environmental programmes ofsome multinationals. She felt that cleaner pro-duction professionals should be sharing thesestories with businesses, particularly SMEs, in thecountries where they operate. “We ought to betalking about tools and outcomes, and doing soin language that can motivate business.” TheGlobal Reporting Initiative should be used totrack progress in cleaner production and sustain-able development because “what gets measuredgets done.” As such efforts involve more andmore industries and customers, the pressure foruse of cleaner production will build.

Mr. Vaxelaire said cleaner production peopleshould pay more attention to the media, given itsrole in motivating people. He referred to the “lipservice issue,” i.e. consumers say they want greenproducts and services but in fact tend to buy

whatever is cheapest. There may be a role formultinationals in educating consumers. As forthe challenge of promoting cleaner productionto SMEs, they should be given affordable accessto pollution prevention technology.

Delegate questions and comments◆ Given the toxicity of lead, mercury and arsenic,we should be looking for alternative approachesto isolating precious metals.◆ From a delegate involved in a union represent-ing workers at Kovohute Pr íbram, L’Oréal andBASF: How are companies involving the work-force in cleaner production? Workers can furthercleaner production on the job and practise sus-tainable consumption off the job, and they areambassadors for the values of a company. Com-panies should seize the opportunity to educateand train workers in cleaner production.◆ It is important for upstream companies to traintheir customers in cleaner production. There arealso opportunities to partner with NGOs inintroducing cleaner production to industry.◆ International retailers operating in developingcountries do not give environmental concerns ahigh profile in their activities and communica-tions; these retailers tend to overshadow local“mom and pop” stores.

The panellists strongly agreed that involvingworkers in cleaner production is important. Mr.Kircherer said BASF communicates with work-ers about environmental issues very often and inmany different ways, such as the monthly articleon eco-efficiency in the company newsletter. Mr.Hoelzer noted that people were reluctant tochange work processes, so L’Oréal emphasizesworker training, particularly when change isinvolved. Mr. Vaxelaire said Carrefour is “con-scious of not doing everything we have to regard-ing environmental issues and needing to gofurther with more initiatives.”

Good business and environmental responsibility

go hand in handWinfried Hoelzer, L’Oréal

Claude Fussler

P3-29 13/12/02 14:14


Cleaner Production

Developing countries need opportunities to“leapfrog” directly from traditional production tocleaner production and environmentally sustain-able growth, he said, calling for a global pro-gramme, led by developed countries, to promotecleaner production, reverse environmental degra-dation, support more equitable access to naturalresources and further develop a common set ofsustainable development indicators. He alsoreviewed EU proposals for actions to help achievesustainable development (see page 22). “All thiswork will be meaningless if the social issues are notaddressed.”

Claude Fussler (Director, WSSD Preparations,World Business Council for Sustainable Develop-ment, Switzerland) showed participants a satellitephotograph of Earth’s night side, with concentra-tions of light dramatically illustrating the differ-ence between energy use in the North and that inthe South.

Light bulbs, he pointed out, are a product areawhere significant strides have been made in ener-gy efficiency and in the amount of informationand choice available to consumers. But the rightmarket framework for fostering sustainable con-sumption requires additional elements:◆ sustainable convergence criteria;◆ shared targets and performance assessmentprocesses involving governments, companies,communities, even households;◆ negotiated transitions;◆ removal of perverse subsidies;◆ economic instruments to steer change;◆ research and technology strategy;◆ “walking the talk” (see book review, page 105).

Reg Green (Director, Health, Safety and Envi-ronmental Affairs, International Federation ofChemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’

Unions, Belgium) identified the need to bring thediscussion of cleaner production and sustainableconsumption down to a more human level. Oneof the best places to do that, he said, is the work-place. Workers are both producers and con-sumers. Associating cleaner production and

sustainable consumption in the workplacethrough training and education will therefore bepositive in sustainability terms.

However, workers will even object to positivechange if it means losing their jobs, livelihoodsand self-respect. For workers in “sunset” indus-tries, action is needed to minimize dislocations.The concept of a “just transition” from less sus-tainable to more sustainable patterns is increas-ingly seen as central to any strategy for making thenecessary changes.

Rajeswari Kanniah (Assistant Director, Region-al Office for Asia and the Pacific, ConsumersInternational, Malaysia) observed that in Austria,Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the UnitedStates total waste generation has been increasingdespite eco-efficiency initiatives. Not enough hasbeen done to clean up production, and life-cyclethinking has not been sufficiently integrated intocleaner production.

Multinational or transnational corporations(TNCs) are “largely a rule unto themselves” in theglobal economy. They are much larger and morepowerful than the governments of many develop-ing countries. Most pollution stems from TNCactivities, environmental regulations have beenrelaxed in developing countries for competitivereasons, and hazardous waste is exported to devel-oping countries. Such countries lack fair access tocleaner technologies, while the policies of TNCsand the International Monetary Fund are “biasedagainst developing countries.”

Since little progress has been made in curbingwasteful lifestyles, consumption patterns and thedevelopment dimension must be integrated intocleaner production or it will be ineffective. Chal-lenges that need to be met if consumption pat-terns are to be changed and cleaner productionachieved include the following:◆ TNCs must clean up whatever pollution theyare responsible for in developing countries.◆ International environmental regulations needto be made more equitable, in order to protectweaker parties and place more responsibility onlarger ones. In particular, environmental regula-tions must make TNCs accountable.◆ Material flow-throughs in industrial economiesmust be tracked as a way of measuring progress.◆ Consumers should be given incentives to buyenvironmentally friendly products, and systemsof extended producer responsibility and producttake-back need to be set up.◆ Banks should place environmental conditionson loans to TNCs, as is done with governmentsof developing countries.

The policies of the World Trade Organization,World Bank and International Monetary Fund“weaken” the UN system and its efforts on behalfof developing countries, Ms. Kanniah said. Sheadded that UNEP in particular needs muchgreater financial support. She urged UNEP to“fight for” equitable international regulations andincrease its focus on strengthening weaker gov-ernments’ environmental bargaining power.

The second plenary session was followed by asigning ceremony for the International Declara-tion on Cleaner Production (see page 51). ◆Rajeswari Kanniah and Reg Green

Victor Escobar Paredes

All this work will bemeaningless if the social issues are not addressed

Victor Escobar Paredes, Ministry of Environment, Spain

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Cleaner Production

Jukka Uosukainen (Deputy Director General,International Affairs, Ministry of Environment,

Finland), who chaired the third plenary session,said panellists would reflect on:◆ how to demonstrate the potential of preventivestrategies in the implementation of MEAs andhow to disseminate such strategies;◆ ways to promote and ensure the practical adop-tion of cleaner production strategies in MEAimplementation;◆ how to effectively engage government, industry,civil society, etc. in the integration of preventivestrategies in MEA implementation;◆ which agencies at the local level (e.g. NCPCs)could be involved in facilitating MEA implemen-tation through preventive strategies and whatinputs these agencies would require to work effec-tively;◆ ways to integrate cleaner production into capac-ity building related to MEAs.

Introductory speaker John Hilborn (Head,Chemical and Hazardous Waste Conventions,UNEP Division of Environmental Conventions)said UNEP’s objectives with respect to multilater-al environmental agreements include further col-laboration, synergies and interlinkages amongMEAs and strengthening governments’ capacityfor implementation. A recent UNEP study identi-fied 500 multilateral agreements related to envi-ronment, of which 41 were considered of globalimportance. The study pointed to needs that MEAsecretariats felt the agreements were not meetingeffectively, such as:◆ identifying and making available alternatives to

bad environmental practices;◆ quantifying and publicizing the economic ben-efits of good environmental practices;◆ developing effective economic instruments andincentives.

Over the past 30 years, he observed, the inter-national community has put forward internation-al environmental policy primarily through MEAs,so that these agreements have had to be as effectiveas possible. Cleaner production can play a rolehere, yet the potential for improving MEAs’ effec-tiveness remains largely untapped.

Scientific studies indicating declines in orthreats to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity canlead to public perceptions that MEAs and theassociated tools and funding mechanisms are inef-fective. The background paper to this session, Mr.Hilborn pointed out, identifies gaps in MEAs’effectiveness (e.g. insufficient awareness, commu-nication, capacity building and financing, alongwith a lack of ways to measure progress).

Looking at the five issues to be discussed by thepanellists, he suggested the following actions:

Issue 1: Demonstrating the potentialof preventive strategies in theimplementation of MEAs anddisseminating such strategies◆ Where necessary, continue to build trust as aprerequisite for co-operation.◆ Develop strong arguments showing that bet-ter awareness and cooperation on cleaner pro-duction initiatives can result in mutualbenefits.◆ Define the target audience strategically.◆ Challenge the target audience to be moreproactive in selling the benefits of the cleanerproduction approach to MEA implementa-tion.◆ Have cleaner production experts extendassistance to civil society organizations, pro-ductivity councils, chambers of commerce andindustry, universities, etc.

Issue 2: Promoting and assuring thepractical adoption of cleanerproduction strategies in MEAimplementation◆ Stress the urgency: the costs of ecosystemdestruction are being felt, and cleaner productionis a ready answer.◆ Have MEA secretariats define the cleaner pro-

Parallel session: Facilitating organization perspectivesChair: Donald Huisingh (Center for Clean Products and Clean Industry,University of Tennessee, United States). Introduction: Warren Evans(Director, Environment and Social Safeguard Division, AsianDevelopment Bank, Philippines). Panellists: Martin Rocholl, Director,Friends of the Earth Europe, The Netherlands), Yuji Yamada (SpecialAdviser to the Secretary-General, Asian Productivity Organization,Japan) and Christoph Beir (Director, Planning and Development, GTZ, Germany).

The focus of the session was on successful models – organizations,activities, products – that various groups have used to promote sustain-able production and consumption. Examples of facilitating organizationsinclude NGOs, universities, cleaner production centres and round tables.

The major issues that emerged from the discussion were:◆ How to “facilitate the facilitator” and discover mechanisms for multi-stakeholder partnerships from the financial institution perspective. A keysuggestion was that the role of the local community, as a central stake-holder in CP promotion, must be emphasized.◆ The links and synergies possible among various stakeholders – financialinstitutions, educational institutions, NGOs, consultants, employer orga-nizations, etc. What role can such organizations play in mainstreaming

cleaner production, and how can the synergies be discovered and exploited?◆ Financing of cleaner production at micro level. Panellists and partici-pants expressed concern regarding cleaner production financing for SMEs.The role of local, national and international financial institutions in train-ing, R&D and implementation also emerged as an important focus.◆ Eco-taxation as a policy tool to promote cleaner production. This wasa point emphasized by NGOs. Reference was also made to ecological taxrequirements and resource taxes. Trade action, trade restrictions and cor-porate accountability were also mentioned.◆ Eco-ratings/eco-labelling to provide incentives for mainstreamingcleaner production.◆ Whether it is possible to achieve cleaner production without transfersof clean technology to developing economies. Participants stressed theeconomics of technology transfer at affordable cost.◆ The role of educational institutions in cleaner production promotionand development. In particular, possible synergies with other organiza-tions were discussed.

In general, the overall emphasis of the session was on policy level inter-vention for cleaner production promotion. The fact that cleaner pro-duction awareness-raising is still necessary, more than a decade after theconcept was introduced, was underlined.

Cleaner production and sustainable consumption:strategies to implement multilateralenvironmental agreements

Jukka Uosukainen

P3-29 13/12/02 14:14


Cleaner Production

duction needs involved in various agreements.◆ Have NCPCs and other stakeholders help MEAsecretariats determine which obligations under anMEA might best be achieved by a preventiveapproach, and have the secretariats and NCPCswork together to identify an active role forNCPCs at MEA negotiation and implementationmeetings.◆ Build optimism by using the UNEP/UNIDOglobal network to promote cleaner productionawareness and cooperation to maximum advan-tage.◆ Expand the NCPC network and provide expertservices to companies.◆ Make cleaner production a national priority inpolicy development on implementing MEAs.◆ Address developing country concerns abouttechnology transfer.◆ Ensure that MEA secretariats are aware of thefull power and potential of cleaner production.

Issue 3: Engaging government,industry, civil society, etc. in theintegration of preventive strategies in MEA implementation (Mr. Hilborn noted here that the UNEP DTIEProduction and Consumption Branch is a readyresource with broad experience in multistake-holder dialogue.)◆ Forge partnerships founded in the notion ofmultiple benefits.◆ Engage youth, tomorrow’s consumers, who willinherit the effects of MEAs.◆ Develop an intergovernmental frameworkallowing developing countries to engage in MEAdevelopment and implementation more effec-tively.◆ Introduce cleaner production as an issue to beaddressed under the formal structures establishedto enhance interlinkages and synergies amongMEAs.◆ Ensure that intergovernmental assessments ofenvironmental change provide a common knowl-edge base for stakeholder engagement.

Issue 4: Which agencies at the locallevel (e.g. NCPCs) could be involved infacilitating MEA implementationthrough preventive strategies andwhat inputs would these agenciesrequire to work effectively? (Mr. Hilborn added to this issue the need to findopportunities at the local level to change behav-iour and close the communication gap betweennational authorities and industrial and commer-cial interests.)◆ Exploit the strong bonds that NCPCs, workingwith a network of cleaner production practition-ers, have with national authorities and with indus-trial and commercial interests.◆ Link MEA goals to UNEP’s work to enhancethe engagement of civil society, including NGOs,business and industry, and national and localauthorities.

Issue 5: Integrating cleanerproduction into capacity buildingrelated to MEAs (And, Mr. Hilborn added, “finding opportunitiesto provide more focus on MEA implementationas a moral commitment for all stakeholders and

to foster better understanding of stakeholderroles.”)◆ Make cleaner production a priority area forcapacity building.◆ Position NCPCs so they can participate as fullpartners with MEA-related implementation bod-ies in support of convention capacity building.

Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto (Executive Sec-retary, UNEP Secretariat for the Basel Conven-tion) said a ten-year strategic plan for imple-menting the Basel Convention on the Control ofTransboundary Movements of HazardousWastes and their Disposal includes engagingindustry, governments, citizens and other stake-holders as one of its key elements. The 1999Basel Declaration on Environmentally SoundManagement emphasizes the need to focus onwaste reduction, including preventive and life-cycle approaches, and calls for active promotionand use of cleaner technology.

Ms. Kuwabara-Yamamoto gave examples of thekind of initiative that will help integrate cleanerproduction into implementation of the BaselConvention:

Parallel session: What next? TechnologyChair: Thomas Johannson (Executive Director, IIEEE, Lund University, Sweden). Introduction: Ken Geiser (Director,Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute,University of Massachusetts, United States).Panellists: Iain Gillespie (OECD BiotechnologyUnit, France), Irina Souproun (Manager,Cleaner Technology Centre, Ukraine),Monthip Sriratana Tabucanon (Deputy Director-General, Department ofEnvironmental Quality Promotion, Thailand)and Babajide Alo (Centre Director,Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos, Nigeria).

The session focused on opportunities repre-sented by new hard and soft technologies forachieving sustainable prosperity. Participants

concluded that emerging technology areas,including information technology, biotechnol-ogy and nanotechnology, offer excellent oppor-tunities to improve environmental perfor-mance, but such positive applications of thetechnologies will not just happen. It is essentialfor the cleaner production perspective and phi-losophy to be well integrated into the develop-ment and implementation of the technologies.

Appropriate technology is a precondition forsustainable prosperity, but more than that isneeded. The social component, in particular,has been largely neglected. Effecting culturaland structural changes is just as important astechnological changes.

Even though it has long been recognized thattransferring dirty, outmoded or banned tech-nology from North to South is unacceptable,

this is still common practice. Enterprises indeveloping countries too often lack capital andhence are willing to buy cheaper, “low-grade”technology. To stop this practice will take effec-tive implementation and enforcement of mul-tilateral environmental agreements. Proposedmechanisms for preventing transfers of dirtytechnology include “transparency of transfer-ring processes” and “extended supplier respon-sibility”.

It is increasingly clear that a paradigm shift isnecessary, from simple transfer of high-techhardware from North to South with no adapta-tion for local circumstances, towards transfer ofknowledge and know-how so that appropriatetechnology can be developed locally. Capacitybuilding and empowerment of local organiza-tions are essential.

Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto and Mayra Sanchez-Osuna

continued on page 20 ☞

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Cleaner Production

Parallel session: What next? SupportChair: Mecislav Kuras (Head of Department ofEnvironmental Chemistry, Institute ofChemical Technology, Czech Republic).Introduction: Mark Kasman (SeniorInternational Information Officer,Environmental Protection Agency, UnitedStates). Panellists: Prasad Modak (UNEPTextiles Working Group, India), Desta Mebratu(President, Ethiopian Society of ChemicalEngineers), Mehti Wecharatana (Center forEnvironmental Engineering and Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, UnitedStates), Jörg H. Schäfer (AluminiumAssociation Germany) and Ard Kant, DeputyHead, Manager Relations and Finance, SANet(Sustainable Laternatives Network) talkedabout the SANet and UNEP-GEF Networks.

The discussion concerned the need for amechanism to facilitate collaboration and coor-dination among cleaner production advocatesworld-wide. The key issue was that effectiveaction requires informed decisions, but there isno formal mechanism for coordinating infor-mation exchange world-wide among cleanerproduction advocates, practitioners and deci-sion makers. A recent UNEP survey of NCPCweb sites found that a lot of information existsbut is not very user-friendly, and that despite athirst for information and training, businesspeople are not spending much time on the Net.The importance of marketing to target audi-ences has not been recognized. UNEP wants tohave an effective global cleaner production net-work set up by the end of 2002.

Counselling and education are also needed,to move people from information to knowledge.UNEP offers a wealth of publications and train-ing materials, but not much information oncleaner production web sites, and there is con-siderable repetition. Among the many problemsregarding current sites and networks are that:◆ information exchange is supply-driven;◆ the quality and depth of content are uneven;◆ information upkeep is a major weakness andsite information is often dated;◆ most databases tend to be restricted to themanufacturing sector and its needs;◆ most cleaner production information net-works are maintained by international agenciesand governments, while most “real” informa-tion is in the private sector;◆ many SMEs must depend on equipment ven-dors for advice and information;◆ information focuses more on what worksthan on what doesn’t, though valuable lessonscould be learned from the latter;◆ there is still widespread resistance to using e-based information;◆ more customized information is needed;◆ some users have only outdated computerequipment.

Developing countries have different cleaner

production information requirements than dodeveloped countries, and many principles andpractices (which may promote or detract fromcleaner production) can be traced to communi-ty traditions. Context relevance and user friend-liness are vital. Most African countries, forinstance, have a very limited range of industriesand most companies are SMEs. Most industriesin Africa either lack Internet access entirely orare handicapped because downloading infor-mation is difficult and takes much too long.Improved accessibility is needed, along withdevelopment of user-friendly search enginesand instruments, and enhancement of thecapacity of national information models.

When developing countries are exposed tothe global market without preparation, it resultsin significant deindustrialization domestically.Cleaner production has to be presented as a wayfor companies to be more productive and sur-vive. Regional working groups’ knowledge ofthe context and needs in their area should beutilized.

Another reason information sharing is soimportant, especially for developing countries,is that experts who really know cleaner produc-tion and its social and economic aspects are rare,whether in government, NGOs, academia orindustry. Some existing information sharingcentres were mentioned:◆ information clearinghouses at EPA and Envi-ronment Canada;◆ National Research Center, United States;◆ IGERT: Integrative Graduate Education andResearch Traineeship Program;◆ New Jersey Institute of Technology;◆ ADB Centers in Thailand.

The importance of benchmarking and envi-ronmental performance indicators was empha-sized. As opportunities to earn consulting feesmay work against information sharing, jointinformation ownership agreements are needed.

Participants were told that the German alu-minium industry had gathered a great deal ofinformation in the course of various initiativesrelated to sustainability, such as stakeholder dia-logue, supported research and a voluntary pro-gramme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Indeed, there was so much information, theindustry needed a tool to help prioritise it. Asurvey of internal and external stakeholdersindicated that climate change was the biggest

challenge facing the aluminium industry, soinformation in such areas as GHG emissionsand energy consumption was given priority.The key challenges now are systematic intro-duction of environmental indicators for theindustry and intensification of stakeholder dia-logue.

The Sustainable Alternatives Network, orSANet, an Internet-based tool, was introduced.(“We are intermediaries between technologiesand the people who need them.”) For example,SANet is producing Internet directories in suchareas as best practices and best policies. The net-work can also provide grants in special situa-tions where extra diligence is needed. It evenoffers customized counselling, e.g. to a singleentrepreneur in Bangladesh or Bolivia.

Delegate questions and commentsA delegate involved in starting Cleaner Ppro-duction Centres in the Middle East asked forpointers on what has and has not worked. Mr.Kasman stressed the importance of knowingthe purpose of the cleaner production informa-tion network and who the target audiences are.Make sure that the information is practical andtimely, he said, and that there is a mechanismfor regular updating. Technical and policyinformation is especially needed. NCPCs in theUnited States don’t want to be told what to doby Washington, since they know the best infor-mation is out in the field.

“A mistake we made,” said Mr. Kasman, “isthat we didn’t market ourselves to users in a verycoordinated fashion. From the beginning, thinkabout how you are going to market the centresto your audience. First, identify your stake-holders and get their agreement to create a website. Much has been done in Asia and LatinAmerica that new centres could learn from.”

A delegate said it was important for environ-mental indicators to be universally comparableand not just useful for a particular industry. Mr.Schäfer said the aluminium industry was aim-ing at such comparability.

The cleaner production network needs qual-ity information from the beginning, but it isvery difficult to obtain, another delegate point-ed out, adding that the Internet is not alwaysthe best vehicle for sharing information, partic-ularly in parts of the world without good com-puter access.

A delegate involved in developing a com-mercial web site targeting both large companiesand SMEs (the purpose being to enable updat-ing), asked for ideas regarding prices. Anotherdelegate suggested basing prices on the targetaudience. Still others expressed some discom-fort with charging for information, as experi-ence indicates SMEs feel they can’t afford to payfor information. It was suggested that the sys-tem include third-party sponsorship for thosewho need it.

From the beginning, thinkabout how you are going tomarket [cleaner production]

centres to your audienceMark Kasman, US Environmental

Protection Agency

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◆ collaboration between the Basel Secretariat andregional Cleaner Production Centres on imple-mentation, education and demonstration projects;◆ information-sharing on measures taken toreduce hazardous waste generation;◆ cooperation on already-defined areas ofmutual interest between the Basel Secretariat,other MEA secretariats and regional CleanerProduction Centres, such as capacity building,science and technology, information and

awareness-raising campaigning and supportservices (indeed, she added, governments haveencouraged such cooperation);◆ cooperation with other MEA secretariats con-cerning ship dismantling, which can endangerhuman health and the environment (again,technical, legal and working groups are alreadycollaborating in this area, and the Internation-al Labour Organisation is involved through itsinterest in protecting workers).

Sibbele Hietkamp (Council for Scientific andIndustrial Research, South Africa) focused his com-ments on South Africa, which faces special chal-lenges in the areas of climate, economy, social issuesand health. South Africa is a dry country whereirregularity of rainfall can cause crop failures; mean-while electricity is abundant and cheap enough thatthere is little incentive to save energy. The latterpoint is of particular concern because the country’spower is largely coal-generated and its CO2 emis-

Parallel session: What next? Approaches

Chair: Somporn Kamolsiripichaiporn (DeputyDirector, Environmental Research Institute,Thailand). Introduction: Bebet G. Gozun(Clean Cities Center of the League of Cities ofthe Philippines). Panellists: John Hay (Directorof Professional Training, International GlobalChange Institute, University of Waikato, NewZealand), Tarcisio Alvarez (Economic AffairsOfficer, UN Department of Economic andSocial Affairs) and Gerard Zwertsloot (SeniorConsultant and Researcher, TNO Work andEmployment/TNO Arbeid, The Netherlands).

The session presented and discussed ap-proaches and tools to evaluate, implement and/or communicate cleaner production as a meansto achieve the goals of sustainable development.The presentations highlighted what has worked,based on experiences in the last decade, and con-straints on disseminating cleaner productionworldwide. The discussion resulted in propos-als for strengthening existing tools and promot-ing new ones. The main points of the discussionwere as follows.

Intensive work has been done over the lastdecade in promoting and applying cleaner pro-duction world-wide. This work has resulted inthe development of a broad set of tools, whichcan basically be categorized as tools for:

◆ analysis (e.g. environmental benchmarking,environmental auditing, life-cycle assessmentand environmental technology assessment);◆ action (e.g. environmental management sys-tems and economic instruments);◆ communications (e.g. corporate reporting andaward programmes).

However, despite the relative successes, moreeffort is needed to give new impetus to cleanerproduction and increase its uptake. Several sug-gestions were made:◆ The approaches developed so far are moresupply-driven than demand-driven. This trendneeds to be reversed, or at least balanced.◆ All available tools must be integrated for moresynergy and efficiency.◆ Cleaner production needs to be better inte-grated into all macro-level sectors, includingeducation, banking, trade, development plan-ning and government policy.◆ Fostering partnerships among stakeholders isvital for achieving sustainable production andconsumption patterns.◆ The existing tools need to be reinforced andother compatible approaches incorporated, suchas inherently safer technology and environmen-tally focused technology assessment.◆ Principles and values should play a key role inthe development of cleaner production ap-

proaches. “Smart” tools are needed, which re-flect the concept of “doing things right” whilenot neglecting the basic business principle ofmaximizing profit.◆ To maximize outreach to all stakeholders, it isimportant to promote cleaner productionthrough the Internet, particularly via “e-learning”.

For the future, promotion and adoption ofcleaner production on a wider scale and moreeffectively requires developing more partner-ships and capacity building; adopting a holisticapproach that incorporates technical as well asmanagement concerns; addressing concernssuch as occupational health and safety issues;mainstreaming cleaner production in decisionmaking and planning processes, as a means toeconomic progress and environmental sustain-ability; and encouraging promotion and appli-cation of new approaches such as environmentaltechnology assessment and inherently safer pro-duction, focusing particularly on effective newapproaches for promoting sustainable con-sumption.

For SMEs in particular, integration of exist-ing and new cleaner production tools into exist-ing management tools will make implementa-tion less complicated and hence more effectiveand faster. Developing countries may need extrasupport to use such tools as LCA effectively.

☞

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sions are relatively high. Overall economic growthhas been disappointing over the last 15 years,income levels vary widely, and the crime rate is quitehigh. HIV/AIDS is a major health problem: aver-age life expectancy was 60 years in 1990, but by2012 it is projected to be under 40, mainly becauseof AIDS. All these conditions affect South Africa’spriorities in addressing environmental issues.

Mr. Hietkamp’s suggestions for addressing thefive issues:

Issue 1◆ Increase the number of NCPCs and ensure thatthey share information effectively.◆ Ensure good cooperation between nationalgovernments and Cleaner Production Centres.Establish win-win relations with industry.◆ Provide education and capacity building atnational level on MEA-related issues.◆ Also at national level, provide incentives foruse of cleaner production technology, andenforce related legislation.

Issue 2◆ Encourage shared understanding of problems –not only production issues but also social, envi-ronmental and economic challenges.◆ Identify and remove export barriers related toenvironmental regulations.

Issue 3◆ Increase international and national support forcapacity building through Cleaner ProductionCentres.◆ Encourage active participation by South Africanindustry associations, including small, medium-sized and large enterprises, and ensure that cost-benefit analyses are carried out.◆ Involve appropriate government departmentsand ensure cooperation between them and Clean-er Production Centres on capacity building.◆ Involve labour in education and capacity build-ing, using tertiary educational institutions andCleaner Production Centres.

Issue 4◆ Build capacity in industry, government and edu-cation institutions via a National Cleaner Pro-duction Centre integrated into the internationalnetwork.◆ Focus on technical and economic issues andaddress them at higher levels as well as lowerones, while providing sufficient training toensure implementation.

Issue 5◆ Establish a benchmark of current national prac-tice.◆ Define goals over agreed-upon time frames.◆ Use practical and relevant demonstration pro-jects that are in the interest of the participatingindustry.

James Willis (Executive Secretary, UNEP Sec-retariat of the Stockholm Convention) explainedthe aim of the Stockholm Convention. He saidthe secretariat was helping countries develop mea-sures to eliminate production and use of the per-sistent organic pollutants (POPs) covered in theagreement, to end stockpiling of them and to dealwith unintentional production of POPs.

The convention requires use of best availabletechnology (BAT) for new sources of dioxins andfurans. The parties to the convention are review-ing a proposal to require an explanation from anycountry that is only promoting BAT but not usingit. All parties will have to develop implementationplan based on individual country priorities.

The convention thus represents an emerginggrowth market for NCPCs and provides themwith a good opportunity to integrate themselves

into the process of addressing POPs at the nation-al level. Financing is available through the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) and other sources,including UN agencies, to help countries elimi-nate POPs.

Mayra Sanchez-Osuna (Team Leader, CleanerProduction Group, United Nations IndustrialDevelopment Organization) talked aboutUNIDO’s support for international environmen-tal agreements on international waters, ozonedepletion, land degradation and POPs. She notedthat UNIDO has worked on 51 POPs-related pro-jects, including one focusing on the same tree as analternative pesticide source. Cleaner production isexplicitly involved in 15 projects being carried outas part of UNIDO’s integrated programmes,which are designed to help countries overcomecritical industrial development problems. Forexample, UNIDO is involved in a cleaner produc-tion approach to biodiversity conservation. It alsoparticipates in GEF international programmessuch as one involving a strategy for abating mer-cury pollution from gold extraction.

Questions and commentsDelegates:◆ While there may be a case for grassroots involve-ment in MEAs in developed countries, in devel-oping countries “you have to start at the top. Youneed to involve and educate the top ministers andsenior industry managers, because they don’tknow what cleaner production means.”◆ How can MEAs support sustainable devel-opment, which means supporting productionprocesses to achieve not only environmentalaims but also building the competitive capaci-ty of developing countries?

Mr. Uosukainen, the session chair: ◆ NCPCs are one of the best tools available forpromoting MEAs. The win-win aspects of MEAshave to be communicated, and “the role of indus-try can’t be overemphasized. It’s industry that hasthe skills and resources to innovate.” ◆

The role of industry can’t be over-emphasized.

Industry has the skills andresources to innovate

Jukka Uosukainen,Ministry of Environment, Finland

Parallel session: Making it happen – sustainable SMEsChair: Arcado Dennis Ntagazwa (Minister ofState, Vice President’s Office, Tanzania).Introduction: Michael Kuhndt (SeniorResearcher, Wuppertal Institute, Germany).Panellists: Janine Ferretti (Executive Director,North American Commission forEnvironmental Cooperation, Canada),Miroslav Krcma (Deputy Director, NationalCleaner Production Centre, Czech Republic),Tilly Zwartepoorte (Director, VROM, theNetherlands) and Luis A. de la Torre,Executive Director, Cleaner ProductionCentre, Peru).

The session was devoted to three issues:◆ Increasing SME participation proactively.

What are SMEs’ specific information needsand how can these be met?◆ Determining what tools are available to inte-grate economic, environmental and social con-cerns into SME decision making.◆ The benefits to SMEs of standardized andharmonized measuring and reporting tools.Are environmental monitoring systems (EMS)and ISO 14001 useful to SMEs? Would GRIbenefit them? Do such tools need to be adjust-ed to attract SMEs?

Participants highlighted a need for localpoliticians to cooperate in cleaner productionand EMS activities. They examined how anEMS programme could be applied with select-ed elements of ISO 14001. They also dis-

cussed whether it would be advisable for a gov-ernment to encourage SMEs to participate in aprogramme in which they would prepare envi-ronmental plans, obtain certification and carryout reporting, using facilities provided by thegovernment.

Other suggestions included:◆ subsidizing the cost of internal changesrequired for use of cleaner production andEMS;◆ subsidizing the additional cost of new equip-ment/technology for cleaner processes.◆ incorporating information about cleanerproduction and EMS into the educational sys-tem.

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The chair of the fourth plenary session, Christi-na García-Orcoyen Tormo (Member of the

European Parliament, Spain), discussed the Euro-pean Union’s concept of integrated product poli-cy. Panellists also commented on IPP and otherapproaches to life-cycle thinking.

IPP, a key EU environmental priority in thenear term, seeks to minimise environmentaldegradation via review and, where needed, actionin all phases of a product’s life cycle. IPP shouldlead to sustainable products and services by ori-enting production and consumption towards sus-tainable development. Ms. García-Orcoyenreferred to the “triple bottom line” concept andthe three elements of sustainable development:economic, environmental and social. She empha-sized the need for a life-cycle approach at businessdecision-making level, adding that an importantaspect of IPP is stimulating demand for greenproducts and services. Reinvigorating eco-labelling would be a particularly effective way ofstimulating such demand. In addition, method-ology is needed for applying a life-cycle approachto SMEs and in developing countries.

The first panellist, Ana Lorena Quiros (Presi-dent, Eco-Global, Costa Rica), observed that thewealth that economic globalization has broughtto some has not gone hand in hand with povertyalleviation. But life-cycle thinking and life-cyclemanagement, she maintained, has the potential toreinforce and contribute to a new global stake-holder value culture that views the earth as a sys-

Promoting a Life-Cycle Approach ◆ engaging governments;◆ engaging consumers, individuals and house-holds.

Ysé Serret (Administrator, National PoliciesDivision, OECD Environment Directorate,France) introduced the OECD synthesis reportTowards Sustainable Household Consumption,which indicates that environmental pressures fromhousehold consumption will continue intensify-ing up to 2020. The OECD report recommends alife-cycle approach to decision making: first,understanding the environmental impacts associ-ated with current consumption and productionpatterns, then designing integrated, coherent pol-icy approaches aimed at changing those patterns.

Kevin Bradley (Director General, Alliance forBeverage Cartons and Environment, Belgium) saidhis organization is interested in promoting a life-cycle approach for several reasons: the move towardsIPP in Europe has implications for packaging; excesspackaging is not in retailers’ interests; effective pack-aging prevents product loss but consumers are leftwith the packaging, so there is an interest in recy-cling; and consumers are pressuring for packagingthat minimizes environmental impacts.

He suggested that the Life Cycle Initiative could:◆ define and communicate the life-cycle manage-ment approach, particularly for policy makers;◆ develop a link between life-cycle managementand a practical approach to IPP, in particular toimproved use of resources and energy;◆ focus on key resource issues;◆ set goals for environmental protection andimproved eco-efficiency.

tem. She called the Life Cycle Initiative an excel-lent way to bridge North-South gaps. The Northlags behind the South in some ways. For example,the North would benefit greatly from informationavailable in the South on social diversity and bio-diversity – areas in which the South has been gath-ering data for decades, with Costa Rica one of thecountries setting the pace.

Three challenges to NCPCs were identified:◆ stakeholder definition/identification;

Christina García-Orcoyen Tormo

Parallel session: Making it happen – communicating sustainabilityChair: Bernhard Adriaensens (ManagingDirector, World Federation of Advertisers,Belgium). Introduction: Charles Laroche (VicePresident Corporate Relations and PublicAffairs, Unilever HPC Europe, Belgium).Panellists: Uchita de Zoysa (Executive Director,Centre for Environment and Development, SriLanka), Terje Torkildsen (Project Leader, TheEnvironmental Home Guard, Norway), MikeLonghurst (Vice President, McCann-EricksonEurope, United Kingdom) and Christina Pinto(President, Full Jazz Communications, Brazil).

Mr. Adriaensens said advertising was one ofthe most important elements of change, butthere are limits to its power. It cannot make peo-ple buy, on a continuing basis, what they don’tdesire. It does not determine consumer behav-iour, though it can influence it. It cannot do thewhole selling job, especially as regards concepts.

One barrier to communicating sustainabilityis the lack of a clear definition of sustainability.A recent report on youth and sustainabilityfound low awareness of terms like “sustainableconsumption” which may be too abstract to bemeaningful to youth. Young people are veryinterested in sustainability once they knowwhat it means, but they do not see any person-

al benefit in sustainable consumption. Thechallenge for communicators is to develop apositive message about sustainable consump-tion.

For Unilever, communicating sustainabilityis a key success factor because the company’sgoal is to respond creatively and competitivelywith products and services that raise the quali-ty of life, and this is impossible without com-munication. Key insights obtained in a recentsurvey on consumer response to environmentalissues included the following:◆ Consumers have trouble feeling connectedwith environmental issues, especially globalones. They find environmental problems toobig and removed. Some feel guilty about theirimpact on the environment.◆ Personal well-being is a motivator. Some peo-ple are concerned about air pollution, for exam-ple, because it is linked with their asthma.◆ Consumers are not ready to compromise onquality.◆ Most consumers feel there is too much infor-mation, it is too technical, and they don’t knowwho or what to believe.◆ People want more information before theyunderstand and trust the actions of companies.Often they consider the environmental state-

ments of companies to be dubious.These insights have certain implications for

communicating sustainability:◆ Empower consumers through innovation:Give them the ability to choose an innovativeproduct or service to make a difference.◆ Consumers must feel sustainable develop-ment is progress, not a step backwards. Sustain-ability must enhance quality of life.◆ People don’t like to be told what to do. Theywant a friendly relationship with the commu-nicator.◆ People buy brands, not products, and theyhave an emotional connection through brands.

Two examples of Unilever brand innovationthat linked sustainability with consumer bene-fits were given:◆ Unit-dosing detergent tablets for laundry anddishwashers have reduced use of chemicals inWestern European countries by an estimatedhalf million tonnes a year and led to significantreductions in packaging and transport. Thetablets were presented to consumers as offeringconvenience, speed and economy in addition toproviding significant environmental benefits.◆ Unilever’s Wash Right campaign, usingleaflets, print media, the company web site andTV, has raised awareness and influenced many

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Philippe Pommez (Vice President, BusinessDevelopment and Innovation, Natura, Brazil)said that in developing countries life-cycle assess-ment must be adapted to local needs. NCPCs canplay a role in this. The concept of sustainabilityimplies a human factor not addressed by currentlife-cycle assessment methodology. (See “Life-cycle sustainability,” p. 38.)

James Fava (Managing Director, Five WindsInternational / SETAC, United States) noted thatmany progressive companies now incorporate life-cycle assessment into their decision making. Forexample, at 3M product development teams usea life-cycle matrix to systematically address envi-ronmental, health and safety opportunities and

issues. And the New York City Transit system isgreening its supply chain. Such cases show that themost sustainable choice is not always obvious. Helisted as specific aims of the Life Cycle Initiative:◆ exchanging information on conditions for suc-cessful application of LCA and life-cycle thinking;◆ exchanging information about the interfacebetween LCA and other tools;◆ carrying out educational activities on the appli-cation of LCA and life-cycle thinking;◆ enhancing the availability of sound LCA dataand methods;◆ providing guidance on the use of LCA data andmethods.

At the session’s end Ms. García-Orcoyen drew

the following conclusions from the panellists’remarks:◆ The economic and social dimensions must beadded to LCA.◆ LCA must be simplified for SMEs, especially indeveloping countries.◆ It is important to establish common objectivesand indicators, then let each country or institu-tion determine how to reach its own goals.◆ Leaders in both developed and developingcountries must find the political will to tell con-sumers things they may not want to hear;◆ Education, information dissemination andexchange of experiences need to be encouraged.◆

James Fava Nilmadhab Mohanty

Olga Ojeda

consumers to change their washing habits, usinglower temperatures and less water. Data showthat the campaign started to work the day theeconomic benefits were highlighted.

Internal commitment to sustainability wasconsidered a prerequisite for external success.Once the internal commitment is achieved,external communication is much easier.

From Sri Lanka came a Southern perspectiveon communicating sustainability which tookissue with much of the UNEP advertising sec-tor report to WSSD. The report refers to a bet-ter standard of living, but: “How do you definethat term? For example, how can more peopledriving cars be sustainable? What is needed ismuch more efficient and comfortable publictransport in our part of world.” The report“lacks a holistic approach and imagination” anddoes not recognize new ideas influencing soci-ety. Concerns about sustainability are an impor-tant element of the anti-globalization move-ment.

Advertising and the media are not enough tocommunicate sustainability to the masses; inter-personal activities are also needed. It would bebetter to by-pass the North-South divide andform global alliances for sustainability, empha-sizing the importance of responsibility and

choice. Advertisers can choose not to promoteunsustainable products and services. While con-sumers also have responsibility, they cannotexercise it without comprehensive informationon products and services.

Norway’s Environmental Home Guard is a“green living” concept and toolbox for more sus-tainable households (see page 86). Experiencewith the project has resulted in several hints forcommunicating sustainable consumption effec-tively:◆ Simplify the message.◆ Focus on simple tasks and everyday habits.◆ Realize that achieving sustainability is a step-by-step process; there are no short cuts.◆ Use both the carrot and stick (benefits andpenalties): both have a role in motivating behav-iour.◆ Create new trends, such as the classic “less ismore.” Many people feel their quality of lifeimproves when they consume less.◆ Forge new alliances, especially with trendmakers and innovators.◆ Use community networks, e.g. local Agenda21 projects.◆ Understand that people are the most powerfulmedia.

For the advertising industry, sustainability is

an opportunity. The case for sustainability isboth rational and emotional, and consumerssupport the aims of sustainability, so why arethey not spontaneously demanding sustainableproducts and services? (see p. 91)

From Brazil, the world’s fifth largest consumermarket, came agreement that advertisers sellbrands, not products: “Brands have the power toreally influence people, opening channels forpeople to join in thoughts, behaviour, lifestyles,feelings, happiness. That is the wonderful andexciting opportunity advertisers have today.”Advertising can destroy visions and self-esteem,but also build new mental models of what is pos-sible – for example, the model of sustainabledevelopment as growth for and by people.

Delegate commentsDelegates said they were impressed with the pre-sentations on the opportunities presented by theidea of sustainability as a “brand,” and with theadvertisements that some panellists showed.However, they also noted special challenges,such as how to influence the most powerfulmembers of society and how to address the con-flicting consumption patterns and needs of con-sumers in different countries.

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UNEP Assistant Executive Director JacquelineAloisi de Larderel chaired the closing session.

Participants approved 12 recommendations (seep. 9) and called for UNEP to continue to play aleadership and catalytic role to ensure their imple-mentation, in partnership with other internation-al bodies, especially UNIDO, the ILO and themultilateral and regional development banks.

Martin Rocholl (Director, Friends of the Earth,Europe) said all the recommendations were stepsin the right direction. He was pleased with theconsensus that current production and consump-tion patterns, if not altered, would destroy theplanet. “But,” he asked, “do you really believe thatthe recommended actions will deliver progress fastenough to meet the challenges in front of us?” Toachieve sustainability, he said, eco-efficiency in theindustrialized countries must increase by a factorof 10 and developing countries must make a“detour” in industrialization to avoid the destruc-tion that has characterized the developed world’sgrowth.

Legislation is crucial, but will “not be enoughto get us where we want to go.” Changes in pro-duction and consumption patterns must allowfor business profit, and governments hesitate to

Closing session: action plan for WSSD and beyond

and political framework for sustainability.” Thisremark was met with loud applause.

Olga Ojeda (Co-ordinator, InternationalAffairs, Ministry of Environment and NaturalResources, Mexico) urged delegates to act quicklyon the recommendations. Her ministry hadbelieved for years that cleaner production was anopportunity, but it had taken time for the Mexi-can government and society to get this message. Tomove cleaner production to centre stage, it has tobe integrated into day-to-day government decisionmaking. To this end, Mexico’s Environment Min-ister now participates in economic discussions inCabinet; growth with quality has become a prior-ity; and her ministry is working with cleaner pro-duction organizations in Mexico and participatingin round tables around Latin America. Mexico rec-ognizes the need for a clear link between cleanerproduction and MEAs.

Ms. Ojeda also announced that Mexico wouldhost CP8 in 2004.

Nilmadhab Mohanty (Principle Advisor to theDirector General, UNIDO) noted that UNIDO,which manages and supervises the NCPCs anddoes much outreach towards SMEs, would workwith UNEP in acting on the recommendations.A holistic approach to cleaner production,addressing business, social and environmentalissues, is greatly needed: “It is not surprising thatan enterprise will introduce cleaner production

We need an economic andpolitical framework for

sustainabilityMartin Rocholl,

Friends of the Earth

introduce taxes and legislation designed to fostersustainability because they fear a loss of competi-tiveness. Nevertheless, Friends of the Earth willdemand that governments institute structuresand instruments needed to progress to sustain-ability, such as a new tax on aviation fuel.

Recalling Rajeswari Kanniah’s demand for cor-porate accountability by multinational compa-nies, Mr. Rocholl said Ms. Kanniah representedwhat people in developing countries actuallythink and experience. NGOs would have foundher remarks modest, he pointed out. He addedthat, at WSSD, Friends of the Earth woulddemand global accountability by transnationalcorporations. Such a move would level the play-ing field – which, he said, would actually benefitmost companies represented at CP7.

In closing, he said that “We need an economic

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much more readily if it makes them more prof-itable and competitive.” Since poverty is the mosturgent problem in developing countries, it is cru-cial to bring down the cost of the environmental-ly friendly technologies needed in such countries– by subsidy if necessary.

Arcado Ntagazwa (Minister of State, Office ofthe President, Tanzania) described cleaner pro-duction as a very important building block, if notthe cornerstone, of sustainable development, andunderlined that developing countries musturgently eradicate poverty: “Poverty dehumanizes.Desperation leads to suicide or terrorism.” Giventhis urgency, many people in developing countriescan’t see why they shouldn’t use environmentallyharmful processes just as the developed countriesdid. The challenge is to convince them of the needto “leapfrog” to sustainable technologies. Globalsustainability requires galvanizing both North andSouth: environmental issues know no borders.What is needed is less emphasis on the differencesbetween North and South, and more on interna-tional cooperation.

Delegate questions and comments◆ On taxing aviation fuel: many taxes are notspent the right way: the proceeds are used foractivities that do not support the sustainabilitygoals of the tax. Whoever collects the taxes has tobe accountable.◆ More emphasis is needed in the recommenda-tions on the role of governments as large potentialconsumers of green products.◆ On the need for a political and economic frame-work for cleaner production and sustainable con-

sumption, UNEP should hold a “brainstormingsession on the ministerial level” before WSSD.(Such a session had already been planned, and washeld after CP7.)◆ Mr. Rocholl’s comments, particularly on themagnitude of the eco-efficiency challenge, werevery pertinent, as were Mr. Ntagazwa’s commentson the urgency of poverty alleviation and the needfor industrial leapfrogging. The recommendationsshould better reflect these concerns. (Mr. Rochollresponded that leapfrogging requires funding andtechnology transfer, which, in his view, developedcountries owe to developing countries, “as we haveoverused their resources.”)◆ UNEP is the only source of cleaner productionknowledge in Asia. Cleaner production should beincluded in higher-education curricula. ◆

Parallel session: Making it happen – investing in sustainabilityChair: Alya Kayal (Senior Analyst,International/Human Rights, Calvert GroupLtd., United States). Introduction: KrystinaBrice (Investment Officer, Private SectorAdvisory Services, International FinanceCorporation, Czech Republic). Panellists:Nguyen Duc Thang (Ministry of Planning andInvestment, Viet Nam), Edgar Bucaro(Executive Director, Genesis EmpresarialFoundation, Guatemala), Christopher Bray(Head of Environmental Risk Management,Barclays Bank, United Kingdom) and RosieChekenya (Project Co-ordinator, ROSCAMStrategic Development Consultancy,Zimbabwe).

Participants discussed the lack of publiclyavailable data on company sustainability prac-tices, saying such data could generate signifi-cantly more support from the financialcommunity and from enterprises for cleanerproduction. Also identified as a key need wasawareness raising at all levels of government, inthe private sector and in the population at large.Financing cleaner production through micro-finance presents particular challenges, including

difficulties in designing a system to guide andtrain loan officers.

The following conclusions were reached:◆ As cleaner production requires behaviouralchange that itself requires intellectual change,cleaner production must directly address deci-sion makers’ value systems.◆ Internal cost management is a key prerequisitefor the proper assessment of cleaner productionprojects by financial institutions.◆ Even when cleaner production generates eco-nomic and environmental benefits, conflictswith social objectives may still exist, leading tothe failure of cleaner production projects.◆ Loan managers in micro-finance institutionsneed to benchmark and monitor customers’environmental performance.◆ For commercial banks, environment is justone criterion among others. Environmental riskassessment is part of usual practice. The key con-siderations are the costs of compliance withexisting and emerging regulations and expectedpressures via the supply chain.

Participants put forward the following rec-ommendations:◆ In financial appraisal of cleaner production

projects, start with an evaluation of macro con-ditions before moving to micro ones. Any bigdistortions in resource pricing will reduce thepossibility of a win-win situation.◆ Improve company accounting practices toreflect the true cost of water and waste manage-ment, of environmental compliance and of risk.◆ Actively promote awareness and commitmentof decision makers.◆ Use targeted environmental funds to help sup-port cleaner production investment before com-mercial banks take over.◆ Encourage the banking sector to customizedecision making in favour of cleaner production.◆ Promote cleaner production through the massmedia.◆ Build financial institutions’ capacity for assess-ing and monitoring cleaner production invest-ments.◆ In the absence of collateral, focus on the cashflow implications of a project to make it attrac-tive to financial institutions.◆ Even when subsidized financing is required,commercial banks can play a role, e.g. in pro-viding expertise on screening projects and assess-ing proposals.

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Gyula ZilahyManaging Director, Hungarian Cleaner Production Centre,[email protected]://hcpc.bke.hu

The Hungarian Cleaner Production Centre (HCPC), established at theBudapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration, hasmade effective use of its unique position. First, being located at a highereducation institution, the Centre is able to share first-hand experiences andinsights on environmental management and environmental policy issueswith students. The Department of Environmental Economics and Tech-nology – the HCPC’s host institution – runs several courses at the under-graduate, graduate and Ph.D. levels. Every year at least 80% of business andeconomics students learn the basics of environmental management and eco-nomics, including principles of cleaner production. By working with anexpert staff that has both an economics and engineering background, theHCPC has a definite advantage over other similar institutions in regard toenvironmental policy consulting, corporate environmental strategy andmanagement, environmental marketing, environmental reporting andenvironmental accounting/controlling.

By providing services in the above-mentioned fields, the HCPC can setup projects aimed at fostering cooperation among different environmentalstakeholders, e.g. government agencies, companies, environmental NGOsand professional organizations.

Rachid NaftiTunisia CITET, [email protected]

CITET has been involved in promoting cleaner production practices since1997. This effort has been evolving with experience, in order to achieve anadequate level of efficiency for streaming cleaner production in industrialenterprises. A noteworthy initiative was launched in 2001 for integration ofcleaner production, with the implementation of ISO 14001 in a group of12 enterprises operating in the mechanical and electrical, oil recycling, dairy,soft drinks, paints and tyre production sectors, as well as two municipalwaste treatment plants. The programme consisted of providing trainingand technical assistance to the enterprise for a period of 18 months, to ter-minate with ISO 14001 certification.

After 15 months all enterprises except one have developed a cleaner pro-duction programme and adopted it as the Environmental ManagementProgramme required by the ISO standard, with a specific focus on pollutionprevention, sound management of resources and integration of cleanprocesses. The EMS system is currently in place, and the companies havebegun the testing stage previous to applying for third-party certification(planned by the end of 2002).

Among the lessons learned from this experience is the difficulty and ret-icence shown by enterprises when one attempts to bring them into the pro-gramme. There is a need to overcome the perception that an environmentalprogramme means additional costs and effort. A major driver was compe-tition among international firms, as Tunisia is opening its economy andsigning a free trade agreement with the European Union that will be effec-tive in 2007. Enterprises expressed more enthusiasm as they advanced EMSimplementation and realized that integration of cleaner production andEMS is the best approach to achieving continuous improvement, ratherthan merely focusing on achieving compliance with environmental regu-lations. In using this approach, the EMS will sustain cleaner productionimplementation and its full integration in the enterprises’ management sys-tems as an effective strategy to strengthen their competitiveness. It is expect-ed that these companies will serve as catalytic examples to encourage othersto stream cleaner production in their operations, allowing CITET to dis-seminate this approach full-scale in industry.

V.R. Sena PeirisDirector, Sri Lanka National Cleaner Production Centre,[email protected]

CP7 was remarkable as a meeting of people from various fields and sectors,all dedicated to promoting cleaner production.

The launch of the Life Cycle Initiative and the presentations and discus-sions were very relevant to the newly emerging economies, particularly withregard to planning and initiating activities based on a life-cycle approach,eco-design and environmentally beneficial alternatives. The life-cycleapproach not only benefits the environment, but also provides new businessand employment opportunities. This approach can help alleviate povertyand improve the living conditions of the poor in the developing world. It isimportant for this work to continue, and the application of life-cycle think-ing should be mainstreamed into manufacturing and other economic sec-tors in these countries.

Comments on CP7 by directors of Cleaner

Production CentresDirectors of Cleaner Production Centres were asked to share their impressions of CP7,

reflect on their experiences in recent years, and highlight new areas of innovation. Their responses reflect some of the differences and priorities in various countries.

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Sustainable production and consumption is a most relevant issue today.During the sessions, useful information was conveyed and exchanged aboutdesigning cleaner production programmes for other countries. The keyissues raised by some of the panelists are very pertinent to many developingcountries.

Although the parallel sessions in which I participated (Industry, Tech-nology and Sustainable SMEs) were insightful, some discussions were lim-ited due to time constraints. The session on Sustainable SMEs wasexceptionally well-organized and useful, particularly in the context of devel-oping countries (where most enterprises are SMEs).

Overall the proceedings at CP7 were relevant, informative and useful.The new contacts made and meetings with other dedicated colleagues pro-vided additional encouragement to our young NCPC to move ahead andmeet the challenges of sustainable development.

Jose Roberto Nuila El Salvador CNPML, San [email protected]

Central American economies must be resourceful to offset the impact ofdecreasing public spending and private investment. As the financing andpromotion of cleaner production projects would benefit priority sectors,selecting clients effectively and providing the best service is important. Wemust therefore dedicate much time and effort to building cooperative busi-ness relations among industry, government and NCPCs.

Cleo MagiroDirector, Tanzania National Cleaner Production Centre,Dar es [email protected]

The Centre decided to work very closely with city and municipal councilsthrough the Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) units, which coordinateand implement urban environmental programmes. The SCP’s approach isexclusively participatory in nature, involving various stakeholders in thecity or municipality through working groups.

Working with this model, we aimed to reach a wider audience and a var-ied clientele at the grassroots level. Normally we develop a cleaner produc-tion capacity-building programme involving the various stakeholders. It isof major interest that, using this approach, one creates an opportunity forthe “regulators” (municipalities) to work with the “regulated” (enterprises)and appreciate together the advantages of the preventive and proactive envi-ronmental strategy to industrial pollution.

Through this approach one attempts to remove barriers between lawenforcers and those in compliance by encouraging the parties to sit downand work together in a neutral atmosphere.

Working with municipalities is also advantageous and cost-effective inthat the enterprises participating in the cleaner production programme arelimited to a given area, making in-plant training and post-training follow-up less involving from a logistics and cost perspective.

A localized approach is conducive to the formation of Waste Minimiza-tion Clubs or Circles (WMC), which are catalytic in assuring the sustain-ability of cleaner production activities in the respective municipality.

Our Centre has been designated the coordinator (National OzoneOffice) of the Country Programme for the phase-out of ozone-depletingsubstances under the Montreal Protocol. This has enhanced the Centre’simage and broadened its mandate. Through implementing programmeactivities it has encountered a unique clientele with specific problems, con-sequently influencing and enhancing perceptions of the Centre regardingenvironmental pollution issues. The government is considering involvingthe Centre in more MEAs, which should have a positive effect with respectto the Centre’s sustainability.

Patrick MwesigyeDirector, Uganda Cleaner Production Centre, [email protected]

As a new entity in Uganda, UCPC started its operations in October 2001.It is hosted by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute in the NakawaIndustrial Area. The Centre has initiated three unique programmes: an Eco-Benefits Programme, a Cleaner Production Financing scheme for enter-prises in Uganda (in collaboration with UNEP) and an eco-designprogramme for product innovation in Ugandan enterprises (in collabora-tion with UNIDO, the Technical University in Vienna, Austria, and theDelft Technical University in the Netherlands)

The Eco-Benefits Programme is a ten-month package programme tohelp companies minimize the costs of a cleaner production project. It pro-vides company staff with comprehensive know-how and on the job trainingin cleaner production, enabling the companies to continuously improvethrough in-house capacities once the programme has ended. UCPC expertsprovide comprehensive technical assistance, as well as supervision of in-plant assessments and of implementation of cleaner production options.Companies that successfully complete the full programme will receive acleaner production certificate.

Training between 22 May and 17 July 2002 involved 28 participants (14consultants from various consultancy firms and 14 employees from sevenenterprises). After training, the programme proceeded with implementa-tion, evaluation and follow-up within participating enterprises.

The Cleaner Production Financing Programme is targeted at financialinstitutions interested in supporting cleaner production implementationin enterprises and increasing cleaner production awareness in the financialcommunity. UCPC, with assistance from UNIDO and UNEP, conductedCleaner Production Financing Awareness Seminars for chief executives andmiddle bank managers in June 2002.

The eco-design programme is intended to encourage increasing aware-ness of sustainable product innovation. UCPC organized a two-day eco-design training workshop for enterprises in August 2002. It also participatedin the UNIDO survey project. The Centre hosted an intern student fromDelft Technical University (July-August 2002), who conducted a prelimi-nary product innovation survey in enterprises in Uganda.

Anna ChristianovàDirector, Czech Cleaner Production Centre, [email protected]

At each cleaner production seminar I value most highly the discussionson experiences in implementing the cleaner production strategy underdifferent conditions. At the Seventh International High-level Seminar(CP7) the concrete examples of procedures for integrating preventiveapproaches/ cleaner production strategies into other activities were veryinsightful.

An important shift can be seen from production towards products(“From Cleaner Production towards Cleaner Product”). But this also worksrespectively: inspired by the complex life-cycle analysis approach, we aim atmonitoring the impact of selected measures of a cleaner production projecton the technology life cycle.

Current waste management issues are associated with products. Wastesand pollution from end-of-life products attract more attention than pro-duction wastes and pollution, as these are reduced and controlled by sectorallegislation. An example might be end-of-life vehicles and electroscrap – anenormous increase in amounts of waste is directly linked with an increase inconsumption and shortening of the product’s life cycle.

First of all, it is a question of changing the consumption formula thatwould lead to sustainable development. A product that retains its environ-mental friendliness throughout its whole life cycle needs to meet consumerrequirements. It must not lose its quality and utility properties and must

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be safe. Experiences and methodological procedures of cleaner productionprojects related to production can also be used for product change.

The path from political consensus to day-to-day reality can be long andcomplex. This also holds true for the preventive approach to environmen-tal protection. Cleaner production should logically be perceived as a nat-ural approach – an obvious first step – towards viewing the proposedmeasures. It should become a part of other projects and programmes, espe-cially programmes for regional and territorial economic development.However, its application is not commonplace yet.

In the course of transition to market economy, certain time periodsrequired by companies/enterprises and their management to acquire sta-bility (primarily economic) must be considered. As soon as they achieve thisand are able to consider their development at least on the medium-termhorizon, they start being interested in options for environmental protec-tion solutions (resulting especially from new legislation and control of itscompliance) using voluntary activities. While a stabilized company canidentify the advantages of a preventive approach and make the best of it, itis able to estimate the benefits of a cleaner production project and accept theimplementation of environmental management systems.

In economically unstable companies with out-of-date technologies,where a cleaner production project could in fact bring the greatest benefits,the cleaner production strategy is perceived as a superstructure that “canwait for some time”. Such companies will not implement cleaner produc-tion without support, or may not finish the project. At the same time, sup-port can be counterproductive: with respect to the low standard ofmanagement or existential problems, it does not result in reducing the envi-ronmental load but only postpones its breakdown. The knowledge andapproaches acquired by employees in the course of cleaner production train-ing are usually surmounted by social instability.

Hugo SpringerDirector, Brazil National Cleaner Production Centre, Porto [email protected] or [email protected]/cntl

It is rewarding to verify the evolution of the acceptance, adoption and dis-semination of the cleaner production approach in Brazil in recent years.

Local state cleaner production initiatives have been established in at leastten Brazilian states. Eight of them have experienced capacity-building oftheir human resources by the NCPC of Brazil (called CNTL, CentroNacional de Tecnologias Limpas, which is legally an operational unit ofSENAI, the National Service of Professional Education).

In this context a significant amount of industries already actively includecleaner production in their production strategies.

At Mercosul (which refers to the Common Market of the South, includ-ing Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) a five-year project begun lastFebruary focused on SMEs in these four countries. In Brazil, CNTL waschosen to carry out technical coordination at the national level.

The Third International Forum on Cleaner Production, held in Rio deJaneiro on 26-27 June 2002, was organized and conducted by CNTL inpartnership with important local actors like CEBDS, FINEP and SENAI-RJ. Oral presentations and roundtables discussed recent evolutions in thecleaner production process in Brazil. There were contributions from Chile,Ecuador, Germany and Paraguay.

The need to create a National Cleaner Production Policy in Brazil is beingstressed by many actors. The concept has also been recommended for inclu-sion as a guiding principle in the Brazilian National Solid Residues Policydraft. Corresponding final discussions are being held at the National Houseof Representatives.

Meanwhile, cleaner production has also become a theme for graduatework at some Brazilian universities and a focus for research developmentsupport agencies.

Under such circumstances it is rewarding to know that the activities ofBrazil’s NCPC, in synergy with other local institutions, are making a sig-

nificant contribution to the recognition, acceptance and actual implemen-tation of the cleaner production concept, principles, methodologies andtechniques in this country.

César BarahonaDirector, Nicaragua National Cleaner Production Project,[email protected]

The Cleaner Production Center of Nicaragua has experienced great successat national level by applying step-by-step introduction of the advantages ofcleaner production and cleaner production methodology among relevantstakeholders. First the academic sector was approached, and awareness-rais-ing and training activities were carried out. Then the private sector wasinvited to produce national successful case studies, supported by the alreadytrained academic group. Next efforts were focused on dissemination of thenational success stories, inviting associations and chambers of industrialand services companies. Government interest increased through recogni-tion of the benefits of the cleaner production methodology. The Interna-tional Declaration on Cleaner Production was signed by the government,and a national cleaner production policy preparation group actively pro-motes the need for a national approach among stakeholders. Lately thefinancial sector has been getting involved, which will support investmentsin cleaner production. Clean technology transfer is one step the CPC-Nicaragua is promoting this year.

CP7 was an excellent opportunity to get to know the latest trends regard-ing the promotion of cleaner production and new activities related to sus-tainable development that can be promoted. Cleaner production andmultilateral environmental agreements, for example, opens new opportu-nities to continue sustainable adoption of cleaner production at nationallevel.

Meeting and sharing with people from many different countries is a greatchance to network and develop new alliances and projects.

Permod K. GuptaDirector, India National Cleaner Production Centre, New [email protected]

A few innovative strategies, attempted in partnership with Regional Clean-er Production Centres (RCPSs), Local Cleaner Production Centres(LCPCs) and regional industry associations, which have produced out-standing results are briefly discussed below.

In India there is a need to develop a large manpower base of cleaner pro-duction professionals and use their services effectively through a system ofnetworking. Employment of such a large number of full-time professionalsby Regional Cleaner Production Centres is neither economically viable noreven advisable. India’s regional centres are still financially dependent onstate governments. In this context networking through key resource per-sons seems a viable option.

Such key resource persons help promote the cleaner production move-ment by revolutionizing the attitudes and perceptions of industry on mat-ters of pollution and waste through promotion, training and facilitation ofimplementation of cleaner production in industry. As ambassadors ofCleaner Production Centres, key resource persons function via a network-ing system. Each district or industrial area in a state/region will have keyresource persons who are fairly well-informed about the local industry. Thenumber of key resource persons varies according to various factors includ-ing size of the area, number of industries and type of industries.

The RCPCs associate themselves with planning, coordination and poli-cy-related functions, whereas the key resource persons deal with the corecleaner production activities.

To facilitate exchanges between SMEs, and to contact a Cleaner Pro-

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duction Centre, cleaner production services are to be readily provided inregions where a RCPC exists. Help desks are often arranged on-site to provideinformation and assistance to individual entrepreneurs on matters related toproductivity, pollution and profitability. RCPC experts with sector-specificexperts and key resource persons are available in the industry associationoffices to provide on-the-spot assistance.

Any entrepreneurs can avail themselves of help desk services by filling outa registration form with details on the nature of the assistance required. Noregistration fee is required. The help desk is open once a week between 2:00pm and 5:00 pm at the local industry association office. Information availablefrom the help desk will be provided immediately on request. Such informa-tion, if not immediately available, may be provided at a later time.

Generic cleaner production awareness seminars without proper follow-upmechanisms have proven to be time-consuming and expensive. They are oftencriticized for overexposure of industries to the concept by various national andinternational agencies. Cleaner Production Clinics have been formed due tothe demand for the creation of a target-specific information supply mecha-nism that emphasizes economic gain from cleaner production (preferably withexisting success stories). The Cleaner Production Clinics are mainly organizedby local industry (sector-specific) associations, and participants are encour-aged to come prepared with their cleaner production related problems andtheir past experiences. Cleaner Production Clinics function as an excellentplatform for cross-fertilization of information among entrepreneurs with sim-ilar types of products and production facilities.

One of the most encouraging results of the Cleaner Production Clinics hasbeen the promotion of the establishment of Cleaner Production Circles,

which was otherwise considered extremely difficult due to barriers of com-petition among entrepreneurs.

A target group for Cleaner Production Clinics is corporate management,to ensure their commitment and to make decisions on-the-spot concerningtheir willingness to form the Cleaner Production Circle in order to judge theeffectiveness of the training. A feedback form for the Clinic is distributed,and Regional Cleaner Production Centres collect and compile the feedback.

On the initiative of the Industrial Development Agency and industry asso-ciations having Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), the concept ofLocal Cleaner Production Centres was conceived. Initially, 19 hot spots(mostly having chemical industries in the State of Gujarat and having a Com-mon Effluent Treatment Plant) were selected for the establishment of LCPCshosted by the CETP. LCPCs started with the sole objective of reducing waterconsumption, wastewater volume and load to improve the efficiency of theCETP as well as operating costs. However, the scope of services was expand-ed to provide cleaner production audit assistance to member units on a no-profit-no-loss basis, as well as providing infrastructure facilities required formonitoring, analysis and energy audit, etc. Technical assistance to LCPCs sofar is provided free of charge by National and Regional Cleaner ProductionCentres.

Not only were the results of the above-discussed innovative strategies over-whelming, but the visibility of cleaner production in the region has improvedappreciably. The outstanding achievement has been the increased demandfor cleaner production services, capacity-building of professionals in cleanerproduction, and establishment of cleaner production service providers clos-er to the users. ◆

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The world scene has changed since Agenda21 was adopted at Rio, but the basic prob-lem of unsustainable development remains.

Today it is more urgent than ever to embark on amore sustainable path. While we are still far fromsolving global environmental problems, thedebate is gradually shifting towards the socialissues of sustainability. We cannot continue todeprive a majority of the world’s population of thebenefits of our common development. Poor coun-tries need to be part of the global market on muchbetter terms than hitherto. Business is prepared tocooperate more than before with governmentsand civil society, so as to create a global marketthat can benefit everybody.

In the 1990s many companies received wake-up calls, as they were confronted by activists’demands, embarrassing media reports, disap-

pointed staff and sudden drops in share prices.Recent revelations of accounting fraud in well-known and respected companies have shocked theinvestor community. They have also had a directnegative effect on the prices of shares world-wide.More than ever, transparency and ethics need tobe key aspects of business practices. This isrequired by shareholders. But business also needsto address specific demands of other stakeholders.

“Triple bottom line” reporting is becoming thebusiness response to stakeholders’ variousrequests. A breach of trust with respect to socialand environmental issues can dramatically erode acompany’s reputation and result in a substantialloss of market share. There are many examples.

A survey by Environics International, reportedat the last World Economic Forum, indicated thatthe general public has relatively little trust in glob-

al companies.1 This level of trust is not increasing.On the contrary, it reached a very low level fol-lowing the latest accounting frauds (leading to thebankruptcy of major companies). The generalopinion prevails that business is not doing enoughto protect the environment. De facto, the publicexpects business to deliver more to the broadersociety. In the eyes of too many people, businessis responsible for many of the negative conse-quences of the present development path.

The planet’s health is deteriorating rapidly. Thereare no signs that global inequalities are narrowing;rather, the gap between haves and have-nots isgrowing. According to the WRI/UNEP/ WBSCDpublication Tomorrow’s Markets: Global Trends andTheir Implications for Business, 78% of the world’spopulation is poor, 11% is in the middle incomecategory and 11% is rich.2 More and more peopleperceive this situation as unfair and are demandinga new business approach that goes far beyond self-interest, thus making a greater contribution to anincrease in the quality of life of all people.

Natural capital is being depleted andecosystems degradedThe planet is in a bad shape. The present genera-tion’s ecological footprint is too large. The WWF’s2002 Living Planet Report, produced with theUNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre,estimates that the world’s average ecological foot-print exceeds available bio-capacity by about20%.3 We are able to keep this overdraft bydestroying the Earth’s capital stocks of fertile land,forest and fish. And the signs are many.

The CO2 level in the atmosphere is increasing,causing the Earth’s temperature to rise and lead-ing to the melting of polar ice caps and glaciers.The number of forest fires is also increasingaround the world. Rivers are running dry. InChina in 1972, the Yellow River did not reach thesea for the first time in history. In 1997, a very dryyear, it did not reach the sea during 226 days.Plants and animals are taking a strong hit; they aredesperately trying to adapt, but too many will notmake it. There is a dramatic increase in coralbleaching, a much more dramatic event than peo-ple generally understand. 70% of marine fisheriesare either fished to capacity or overfished. Andthere is no need to draw your attention to theincrease in destructive weather events.

Poverty erodes human capitalThere are also stark social inequalities. 20% of theworld population accounts for over 80% of totalconsumption. Nearly half the world population(an estimated 2.8 billion people) lives on less thantwo dollars a day. Without access to simple prod-

Sustainability is everybody’s business

Christian Kornevall, Senior Vice President and Head of Sustainability Affairs, ABB, Affolternstrasse 52, CH-8050, Zurich, Switzerland([email protected])

Summary As living standards improve and expectations grow in both developed and developing coun-tries, pressures to find a sustainable development path are increasing. Achieving sustainabili-ty requires basic changes in production- and consumption-related activities. Finding ways todeliver better performance using less energy and raw materials (and creating less waste) cancontribute to the improvement of living standards world-wide. Especially during the lastdecade, many businesses have begun to adopt a more responsible attitude towards sustain-ability, e.g. in the areas of eco-efficiency, social dialogue with stakeholders, and corporatesocial responsibility. Companies are recognizing that they must cooperate with a wide rangeof partners and stakeholders to become more sustainable and be successful in the market-place.

RésuméA mesure que les conditions de vie s’améliorent et que les attentes des citoyens des paysdéveloppés comme ceux des pays en développement s’accroissent, les pressions pour trouverune voie de développement durable s’intensifient un peu partout dans le monde. Parvenir audéveloppement durable exige des modifications fondamentales des activités liées à la produc-tion et à la consommation. Trouver les moyens d’améliorer les performances en consommantmoins d’énergie et de matières premières (et donc en produisant moins de déchets) peut aiderà améliorer la qualité de la vie sur la planète. Au cours de la décennie écoulée tout partic-ulièrement, de nombreuses entreprises ont commencé à adopter une attitude plus respons-able à l’égard du développement durable, par exemple dans le domaine de l’éco-efficacité, dudialogue social avec les parties prenantes et de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises. Celles-ci reconnaissent la nécessité de coopérer avec divers partenaires et parties prenantes pourdevenir plus viables et s’imposer sur le marché.

ResumenA medida que crecen las expectativas y mejoran los estándares de vida en países desarrolladosy en vías de desarrollo, aumentan las presiones a nivel mundial para encontrar una vía haciael desarrollo sustentable. Para alcanzar la sustentabilidad es necesario implementar cambiosbásicos en actividades vinculadas con la producción y el consumo. El desarrollo de sistemasque generen mayor rendimiento con menor consumo de energía y materia prima (generan-do menos residuos) puede contribuir a mejorar los estándares de vida a nivel mundial. Princi-palmente en la década pasada, muchas empresas asumieron mayor responsabilidad encuestiones relacionadas con la sustentabilidad, por ejemplo en áreas vinculadas a la eco efi-ciencia, la promoción del dialogo entre sectores involucrados y la responsabilidad social cor-porativa. Las companías reconocen la necesidad de alentar la colaboración con los múltiplessectores involucrados para lograr metas sustentables y posicionarse en el mercado.

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ucts that could help them meet basic needs, thesepeople are marginalized. They are not part of theglobal marketplace. The World Bank’s LivingStandards Measuring Study (LSMS), which looksat over 15 countries and 55,000 households, con-firms that the poor lack basic infrastructure ser-vices in the form of electricity, piped water,sewerage, and private telephone services.4 Thereare few exceptions in urban areas. If the quality oflife of all these poor people is to be improved, theyneed to be incorporated into the market place.

World development efforts in years to comewill create great business opportunities by pro-ducing new and affordable products and basic ser-vices for poor people. Consumption by the poorwill increase in the coming decades. Businessneeds to take up this challenge, incorporatinglocal markets that serve the poor into the futureglobal marketplace.

Production and lifestylesSustainability is strongly linked to production-and consumption-related activities. Pressures tofind a sustainable development path arise from theway we live, how we produce and how we con-sume. These pressures are growing, as living stan-dards and expectations increase in developed anddeveloping countries alike. Furthermore, we can-not ignore the fact that the world population willgrow rapidly (by about 80 million a year) in thedecades to come. We will probably reach a level ofapproximately 9 billion people around 2050.

Industry has considerable economic, environ-mental and social significance. The current worldproduction system is unsustainable due to theconstant increase in resources used and waste pro-duced. Industry needs to ensure that the presentmodernization and globalization of activitiesbring production and use of products within theframework of sustainability. We need to decouplegrowth from material and energy. Thus, we needto accommodate more growth while using lessmaterial and energy. To match the unavoidablefuture increase in the world’s throughput, we mustincrease our efficiency, adopt new technologiesmore rapidly, and stimulate radical innovations.

The market is the only system that can pull usin the right direction – provided, of course, pricesare not distorted by perverse subsidies. We needhonest prices to drive the transformation of tech-nologies towards the reduction of pollution and ofresource consumption. Governments must assumetheir responsibility by supporting full-cost pricing.

Sustainability is best served by open and com-petitive markets that allow the use of differentcountries’ comparative advantages. The developedworld must open up for basic products comingfrom the developing world. In turn, the develop-ing world must open up for trade – liberalizinginternal markets and introducing the necessaryinfrastructure reforms to allow international tradeto flourish.

Technology assumes a very important role inensuring that sustainable production systems arealso competitive in the marketplace. Not only isit used to make things, but it also influences ourexpectations concerning lifestyles and consump-

tion patterns. Our present unsustainable cultureof consumption is strongly influenced by tech-nologies that support modern communications,advertising, media and fashion. It spreads rapidlyto the rich and middle class citizens of developingcountries, who can now be observed beginning tospend their free time in shopping malls.

How is business responding?During the last decade most business began toadopt a more responsible attitude towards sus-tainability, especially in regard to eco-efficiency,social dialogue with stakeholders, and corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) agendas.

In the environmental field, business began withend-of-pipe and compliance approaches beforemoving towards cleaner production practices,which are more precautionary and cover not onlymanufacturing processes but also products andservices (as well as taking care of products whentheir lifetime is over).

The World Business Council for SustainableDevelopment (WBCSD) stimulated moreprogress by promoting the eco-efficiency concept,which has the following seven aspects:◆ reduce the material intensity of goods and ser-vices;◆ reduce the energy intensity of goods and ser-vices;◆ reduce toxic dispersion;◆ enhance material recyclability;◆ maximize sustainable use of renewables;◆ increase material durability;◆ increase the service intensity of goods and ser-vices.

Manufacturing industry’s response to the con-cept of eco-efficiency was positive, as it is easy toshow that by applying an eco-efficient strategy inthe production process companies (as a direct con-sequence) improve their economic bottom line.Forward-looking companies introduced eco-design into products to further reduce material andenergy use in production processes. This alsohelped increase recycling as well as re-manufactur-ing possibilities.

In the future we will introduce informationtechnology and advanced command and controlsystems (“industrial IT”) across the whole indus-trial process. We will radically change the envi-ronment of factory floors in a way similar to thatin which Microsoft has transformed the officeenvironment. By these means production process-es will become more cost-efficient and achieveoptimal use of resources while minimizing waste.Processes will be remotely controlled. Employeeswill no longer need to be close to the process,thereby eliminating occupational hazards andavoiding harsh conditions. The new industrial ITwill not only increase eco-efficiency but will alsoenhance occupational health and safety along thesupply chain.

Getting more from less – a life-cycleapproachIndustry needs to find new ways to deliver betterperformance while using less energy and rawmaterials and creating less waste. Continuous

improvement in these areas is necessary toimprove living standards world-wide and, at thesame time, limit the size of the environmentalfootprint. Research and development need tofocus on new technologies that reduce environ-ment impact, in particular curbing CO2 emissionsbut (equally important) improving existing prod-ucts’ environmental performance. These productsmust offer high economic performance over theircomplete life cycle. Only if they save time, labourand capital will they replace traditional, less eco-efficient products.

To be eco-efficient, the entire industrial processfrom product design and material selectionthrough manufacturing and distribution to wastemanagement needs be considered together. A life-cycle approach can reduce environmental impact,save energy and resources, and reduce waste.

For the industrial sector in general and certain-ly for most products from ABB, a global powerand automation technology group, the greatestenvironmental impact (99% or more) usuallyoccurs during the useful life of the product. Thisis especially the case for electrical products. A greatdeal of energy can be saved if product perfor-mance increases. Let’s take the astonishing exam-ple of electric motors, most of which are designedto run full-speed in all conditions. It is like drivinga car with the gas pedal fully down and regulatingthe speed with the brakes, but that’s how mostelectrical motors used in industry work.5

Environmental management systemsAn important milestone has been the introduc-tion of environmental management systems: ISO14001 and EMAS (the European Eco-Manage-ment and Audit Scheme). An EMS allows a com-pany to integrate environmental improvementsinto day-to-day work at production sites. It hastwo basic elements: ensuring that production sitescomply with environmental laws and regulations,and continually improving environmental perfor-mance through concrete actions.

By April 2002, registration of ISO 14001 certi-fications had reached a level of about 38,000 com-panies world-wide. Japanese industry is in the lead,followed by companies from the UK, Germany,Sweden and the United States. The number of cer-tifications is increasing rapidly every year. TheEMAS system has gained a strong hold in Ger-many. German companies account for 65% of allEMAS certifications so far. In addition to certifiedenvironmental management systems, it is estimat-ed that at least 100,000 companies have imple-mented an EMS without external certification.

Compared with the total number of companiesworld-wide, the number of EMS sites is still verylow and needs to increase substantially. Theimportance of introducing EMS at site level can-not be emphasized enough. It allows companiesto introduce operational performance indicatorsand keep a record of environmental incidents.Moreover, EMS generates continual improve-ment projects. ABB estimates that it has some twoto three thousand continual improvement pro-jects running at any one time across the ABBGroup. The impact of each individual project may

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be limited, but taken together these projects havehad a huge effect in raising ABB’s sustainabilityperformance.

Without EMS, companies cannot properlyaccount for their environmental performance.This is increasingly recognized by customers, whoare demanding ISO 14001 certification by theirsuppliers to secure their upstream supply lines.This trend will have a significant impact on im-proving sustainability along the value chain. It willalso serve as a very important information base fordue diligence investigations concerning acquisi-tions and divestments. EMS contributes system-atically to the environmental improvement of theproduction process.

Environmental product declarationsTo inform customers of a product’s total environ-mental impact, companies are starting to produceenvironmental product declarations (EPDs).EPDs are based on life-cycle assessments (LCAs),which measure products’ environmental impactsover their entire life cycle. These impacts are mea-sured by analyzing material and energy use, as wellas emissions and waste, taking all phases of theproduct’s life cycle into consideration (from mate-rial extraction, manufacture of the product, trans-portation, operation over the product’s useful life,and eventual disposal or recycling). LCAs showthat the greatest environmental impacts of manyof ABB’s products usually occur during theseproducts’ use and eventual disposal. It is veryimportant that customers be fully informed, astheir choice and use of products directly affect theenvironment.

In some countries (e.g. Sweden and Italy) theinformation in an EPD may be verified by anexternal verification body. This will eventuallymake it possible for customers to compare prod-ucts’ environmental performance, just as theyhave long been used to comparing prices, quality,delivery time and other parameters before theymake their decision to buy.

“Catch 22” – the rebound effectEco-efficient manufacturing uses less energy andmaterial and produces less waste. The total impactof many products is determined by their use.However, manufacturing products that delivermore per unit of input, with less environmentalimpact throughout their life cycle, is not enough.Products must also be able to pass the market test,in that they need to be competitive and meet cus-tomer requirements.

In view of the “rebound effect”, modernizationof production, eco-efficiency and the introduc-

tion of EMS are not sufficient to reach sustain-ability. With higher productivity and less use ofmaterial and energy, the prices of products can belowered and consumers can (as a consequence)afford to purchase more products. Despite doingthe right thing during the production phase andproviding cleaner and more efficient products, thegain for the environment may be offset or evenreduced by increased consumption – resulting ina net increase in the size of the ecological foot-print.

Innovation – lifeline of the westernworld’s lifestyleTherefore, we cannot consider only the produc-tion side in measuring sustainability. We need toinclude consumption and life style as well. Toreach sustainability, we need to find new ways toproduce products and services, meeting humanneeds while not expanding the ecological foot-print. Innovation will be increasingly importantin this process. Business needs to find new solu-tions within environmental limits and social con-straints. To find new sustainable solutions, wehave to integrate consumption and production.

Efficiency strategies contain linear thinkingabout lowering inputs for a given activity. Sus-tainability strategies are concerned with findingnew ways to meet human needs, focusing on theidea of product service systems required to meetthese needs and on the performance required ofproducts. We can illustrate with some examples ofnew compared with traditional ways of thinking(selling flooring services rather than carpets, cleanclothes or cool food rather than washing machinesand refrigerators, mobility rather than cars, ener-gy rather than oil, building systems rather thancement, etc.). A change in mindset can stimulatenew ideas and new innovations. Creativity will bea key word in the future.

Moreover, to enhance the sustainability effect,companies can retain ownership of their productsand sell only the service performance to the cus-tomer. Ownership tends to promote more durableproducts and so use less of the world’s resources.For example, ABB provides painted cars insteadof a paint-spraying installation, turning power(torque) instead of motors, kilowatt-hours insteadof generators.

This new sustainability reality is being under-stood by many business leaders. There have beena number of good initiatives lately to review sus-tainability in industry sectors (automobiles,cement, mining, energy, the fishing and forestryindustries). The WBCSD has played an impor-tant facilitating role in many of these reviews.

Companies face many obstacles in applyingand implementing these new strategies. Obstaclesare often related to the market reality. Concertedaction is needed to overcome them, as part of theinnovation process. Companies must be moredemanding with respect to the markets. Regula-tors need to be pushed to eliminate all the perversesubsidies that cause markets to send unsustainablesignals.

Markets are human constructs governed by cus-toms, values and norms, laws and regulations.They need to be shaped to serve the creation ofnew sustainable innovations. Business needs toactivate market players and key stakeholders,including suppliers, government regulators, localcommunity representatives, NGOs, suppliers ofventure capital and future customers, so as to pro-vide the right market framework. Very few com-panies today can risk developing new systems ifdemand is only supply driven.

Stakeholder dialogues can greatly help compa-nies gain a better understanding of market trends,customer preferences, and the priorities and agen-das of other interested stakeholders. It can openup possibilities for new common solutions.

No one can do it alone. To be successful, indus-try needs to cooperate with many partners andstakeholders. The market must become a pull.Governments need to establish the right frame-work and offer the right incentives. Media andopinion-makers need to make sustainable valuesfashionable and desirable. People need to knowwhat is at stake and take responsibility for theiractions. Working together is a must. Sustainabili-ty is everybody’s business.

Notes1. Around 25,000 people were interviewed in apoll conducted in 20 countries. See www.envi-ronicsinternational.com for more informationabout this organization. Several related EnvironicsInternational surveys are available on the WorldEconomic Forum web site (www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/content/voting).2. See www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/contribu-tions/publications.3. See www.panda.org/livingplanet.4. See www.worldbank.org/lsms.5. Industry uses 50% of all electricity, of which65% is for electric motors. Conventional motorsalways run at maximum capacity. Up to 70% oftheir energy could be saved by varying motorspeed according to actual need for energy. Onlyabout 5% of the world’s motors are currently fit-ted with energy-saving drives.

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Cleaner Production

Change is the handmaiden Nature requires to do her miracles with.

Mark Twain, Roughing It

Interest is rapidly growing in the contribution tobe made to sustainable development by chang-ing unsustainable production and consumption

patterns. UNEP, which is helping to bring suchchanges about, will have a major role in ensuringthat sustainable production and consumptionconcepts and practices are further developed inthe future. As will be clear from the following arti-cle, UNEP needs to find partners and build coop-eration if this is to be achieved effectively andequitably.

Understanding the relationships between pro-duction and consumption patterns will be key toidentifying their respective deficiencies and themost effective ways to change them. However, it isimportant to recognize that positive changes inproduction patterns do not automatically lead topositive changes in consumption patterns, or viceversa. It is also becoming very clear that in some

instances the concept of sustainable consumptionwill embrace the notions of no consumption, orof radically modified consumption. (For the pur-poses of this article, the assumption is that the pro-duction/consumption debate is principally anissue for market economies. I do not thereforeaddress the relationship between the two in thecontext of past or present planned economies.)

Current state of affairs: overviewEconomic development in the modern worldremains directly and heavily linked to increasedproduction and – its necessary corollary –increased consumption. Such developmentdepends upon (increasingly multinational) com-panies producing and selling more of their prod-ucts. If this is true for the highly developedcountries, it is likely to remain at least as true fordeveloping countries in which basic needs (e.g.energy, clean water, housing and basic infrastruc-ture) are currently far from being met. There is, tobe sure, a healthy debate around how to unlink or

“decouple” economic development from resourceuse. This debate has undoubtedly increased theunderstanding and acceptance of the need formuch greater efficiencies and waste reduction, asexemplified in the “factor 4” and “factor 10”approaches,and is to be welcomed and encour-aged. Efficiency increases will remain cruciallyimportant in the foreseeable future, but it is alsoimportant to consider the possible limits to pro-duction (however efficient) in the longer term. Ithas become fashionable to dismiss the Club ofRome Limits to Growth report published in 1972as doom-laden and hopelessly pessimistic, but onewonders how many of the report’s critics wouldbe prepared to bet unequivocally that economicgrowth, based on the prevailing model, will besustainable in the longer term.

Sustainable production andconsumption: the challengesModification of production and consumptionpatterns to render both more sustainable in thelonger term will provide challenges for economicgrowth per se and for the distributional aspects ofsuch growth. Nor can cleaner production and sus-tainable consumption remain insulated from themany other economic and social realities that arecrying out to be addressed. Modified productionand consumption patterns will largely be deter-mined by needs (e.g. poverty reduction, employ-ment creation and maintenance, resource avail-ability, etc.) and policy responses (e.g. multilateralenvironmental agreements, taxation, investmentand public spending, etc.).

Moreover, attempts to modify currently unsus-tainable production and consumption patternsneed to address the respective responsibilities ofboth producers and consumers. In a market econ-omy one can expect progress in cleaner produc-tion to be linked – even if imperfectly – toconsumer demand. Improved production andconsumption policies and strategies that ignorethe crucial role that must be played by consumerswill seriously miss the mark. If there is no con-sumer demand, or if such demand remains limit-ed to a “niche” group, the benefits will be muchless than if the demand is more generalized(though benefits may not necessarily be insignifi-cant in particular instances). The experience of theorganic food movement is perhaps instructive inthis regard. The developed world in particular has

Changing production and consumption patterns: progress made and remaining challenges

Reg Green, Director, Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs, International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, Avenue Emile de Beck 109, Brussels 1050, Belgium ([email protected])

SummaryUnsustainable production and consumption patterns should change in the context of increasedpoverty alleviation and economic growth. As major shifts in perception and behaviour areexpected, the respective responsibilities of producers and consumers need to be addressed.Cleaner production will be a central element of corporate social responsibility. Several recom-mendations to UNEP are made, including development of indicators for cleaner productionand sustainable consumption as well as further cooperative multi-stakeholder initiatives.

RésuméIl faut modifier les modes de production et de consommation non durables dans le contexte dela lutte contre la pauvreté et de la croissance économique. Dans la mesure où l’on s’attend àdes changements majeurs de perception et de comportement chez les producteurs et les con-sommateurs, il est impératif de réfléchir à leurs responsabilités respectives. La production pluspropre va devenir un élément central de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises. Plusieursrecommandations sont adressées au PNUE, concernant notamment l’élaboration d’indica-teurs de production plus propre et de consommation durable et de nouvelles initiatives decoopération multi-partites.

ResumenEn un contexto de reducción de la pobreza y crecimiento económico, se deben modificar lospatrones de producción y consumo no sustentables. Se anticipan cambios significativos depercepción y comportamiento, por consiguiente se debe apelar a las responsabilidades respec-tivas de productores y consumidores. La producción más limpia constituirá un elemento clavede la responsabilidad social corporativa. Se plantean algunas recomendaciones a la UNEP,incluyendo la necesidad de desarrollar indicadores de producción más limpia y consumo sus-tentable y promover iniciativas conjuntas con múltiples involucrados.

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a long way to go to get the sustainable consump-tion message across to its citizens.

Consumers in the highly developed countrieshave grown accustomed to the increased avail-ability of goods and services at prices that havegenerally fallen over time compared to averageincome. The costs of many consumer durableshave decreased in the highly developed countriesover one or two generations (often massively) incomparison with average wages in these countriesover the same period. These consumer benefitshave, however, come at a cost. Many of the “exter-nalities” of producing the goods and services beingconsumed (e.g. depleted resources, pollution, lossof biodiversity, undesirable impacts on the devel-oping world) are now being recognized as theunpaid costs of largely unchecked “consumerism”.An important message is that if producers – indus-try and business – are not the whole of the prob-lem, they cannot be expected to provide the wholeof the solution.

Unfortunately, it is generally easier and lesspolitically inconvenient to target business andindustry than to remind consumers, individuallyor collectively, of their responsibilities and of thedownside of their consumer choices. There issomething of a paradox involved. Business andindustry may be prepared to “take it on the chin”since, by doing so, they stand the best chance ofdemonstrating good corporate citizenship (there-by protecting their licence to continue to produceand sell, ideally at increased levels). Governments,too, benefit from the fact that increased produc-tion helps secure jobs (though by no means at his-torical levels, given increased automation) and taxand other revenues. According to this scenario,neither governments nor companies are necessar-ily highly motivated to draw too much attentionto the reduced consumption (as opposed to clean-er production) approach to sustainability. Thissuggests that there are likely to be serious struc-tural impediments to the realization of more sus-tainable consumption and is an issue whichcannot be ignored.

The wholesale changes in production and con-sumption patterns that are implied in any reason-able understanding of globally sustainabledevelopment are unlikely to be easy or uncon-tentious; otherwise the world would be much fur-ther advanced than is currently the case. For thisreason, one needs to be wary of those pedallingeasy or “obvious” solutions. Someone onceremarked that for every complex problem there isusually a simple solution – which is wrong. Thereneeds to be better understanding of the nature ofthe obstacles that stand in the way of more sus-tainable production and consumption. However,it is important to stress that simply because a chal-lenge is difficult is not evidence that it can orshould be ignored, the challenge of climate changebeing perhaps the best example.

It is certain that in the short to medium termsproduction and consumption patterns that aremore sustainable will have to be developed in thecontext of both increased poverty alleviation andincreased economic growth. Poverty and unem-ployment, wherever they occur, are and will

remain serious barriers to the adoption of moresustainable production and consumption patterns,though the negative effects that affluence, too, hashad (particularly on unsustainable consumptionpatterns) should not be underestimated.

Complicating the issue is the fact that neitherproduction and consumption challenges nor pro-ducer and consumer needs are uniformly or equal-ly distributed around the world. There is goodreason to believe that achieving widespread accep-tance and commitment for necessary changes willlargely depend on countries in the highly devel-oped world being prepared to shoulder a muchgreater share of the “transition burden”. However,experience with the Kyoto Protocol and climatechange mitigation efforts more generally have pro-vided depressing examples of just how difficult itis to persuade people of the need for (and the pos-sibility of ) differential responsibilities.

Cleaner production undoubtedly needs to be acentral element of corporate social responsibility,but sustainable consumption will also require con-siderable shifts in perception and behaviouramong consumers, especially those in the highlydeveloped countries. There is evidence that such ashift is occurring. One example is the rapidgrowth in ethical or socially responsible invest-ment. A growing number of investors are devel-oping specific approaches for investing in moresustainable industries. Such investment is typical-ly targeted at “industries of the future” or atproven leaders in the more traditional sectors. Theclear message is that more sustainable productionmatters, and that those who get it right can expectto profit from increased investment and thegreater acceptance and good name that goes withbeing identified as a leader rather than a laggard.

It is true that ethical and socially responsibleinvestment does not yet represent anything morethan a small part of overall investment. However,indications are that it is on a firm upward growthcurve. UNEP should enhance cooperation withthe ethical and socially responsible investmentcommunity to investigate ways in which the fundsthat are increasingly available for such investmentmight be used to encourage and support cleanerproduction and consumption. The questionremains whether consumers more broadly – espe-cially in the highly developed world – are preparedto accept the limits to consumption that are like-ly to be necessary.

Lots of difficult questions, no easyanswersAgainst this general background, the cleaner pro-duction and consumption debate needs to be car-ried on at a higher level of sophistication andanalysis. Serious consideration needs to be given tothe contradictions that are inherent in ever-increas-ing production, however clean. In the final analy-sis cleaner production may be a necessary“evolutionary” step that will almost certainly beinsufficient for achieving global sustainable devel-opment. There may also need to be a “revolution-ary” approach involving a major paradigm shiftprofoundly affecting both producers and con-sumers. It will also be necessary to understand the

varying impacts of differing production and con-sumption patterns. Some production and con-sumption patterns that are unsustainable in thelong run may have lesser immediate impacts andmay provide a “bridge” or “socio-economic breath-ing space” during which the appropriate transitionpolicies and practices must be developed. At thesame time, activities whose impacts are cumulativeand either serious or potentially catastrophic clear-ly need to be identified and prioritised.

In market economies, particularly in the high-ly developed countries, there has been a tendencyover the last two decades for governments to takea less interventionist approach than has histori-cally been the case since the end of the SecondWorld War. This trend has been especially dis-cernible following the collapse of Communism.However, it is clear that while the market is goodat delivering certain things, it is not as good at andsometimes incapable of delivering others. If pro-duction and consumption patterns are to becomemore sustainable, governments around the worldwill have to rethink their responsibilities. Thisrequires, for instance, addressing the all too fre-quent “perverse” subsidies that are the very feed-stock of unsustainable production and consump-tion patterns. It is interesting to note that there isevidence of slowly increasing support from theprivate sector for an enhanced governmental role,notably in the form of large and multinationalcompanies seeking market stability and a levelplaying field as a fundamental prerequisite fordoing business.

Changing production and consumption pat-terns need to be a part of a longer-term approach toa more sustainable future. If, as I believe is highlylikely, sustainable production and consumptionpatterns will ultimately require seismic shifts in theway we run both our economies and our personallives, there will inevitably be major upheavals forthose whose livelihoods are currently linked to old(unsustainable) ways. On one hand, the morerapid the change the more likely the social and eco-nomic disruption; on the other, the sooner onestarts seriously to address a problem the less chanceit will need to be addressed later on in panic.Whatever happens, there will have to be a lot morehonesty and willingness to accept that there arebound to be winners and losers in any meaningfulchange to sustainable production and consump-tion patterns.

“Win-win” or “win-win-win” options shouldcertainly be pursued wherever possible – after all,they are by definition efficient, but they will notalways be available. And distinctions have to bemade between macro-economic and micro-eco-nomic impacts. It is all very well for analysts tocomment that the net effect of change will be eco-nomically, socially or environmentally positive“on average”. One could also argue that a personwho sleeps with his head in a refrigerator and hisfeet in an oven will “on average” have a comfort-able body temperature. The devil, as they say, is inthe detail. Managing change and dealing fairlywith those most adversely affected will be crucialto the pace, the extent, and indeed the very suc-cess of such change. In short, for the debate on

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cleaner production and consumption to lead to awidely supported global commitment, it will needto be carried on beyond the walls of academia andthe intellectual elite and engage the hearts andminds of a much broader spectrum of society.

It has been correctly said that turkeys rarelyrejoice on Thanksgiving Day. We should thereforenot be surprised if those who stand to lose theirjobs, livelihoods and attendant self-respect as aresult of major changes in production and con-sumption patterns are less than enthusiastic aboutsuch changes. That is why the concept of a “justtransition” from less sustainable to more sustain-able patterns is increasingly seen as one of the cen-tral elements for any successful strategy for change.The concept of a “just transition” has been thestarting point for a growing number of tradeunions seeking to link social equity with equallydesirable greater sustainability. The concepts sup-porting “just transition” are still being developedand refined. No one pretends they will always beeasy to realize in practice. However, sustainabledevelopment in general and changing productionand consumption patterns in particular will be eas-ier to achieve if serious consideration is given to themechanisms necessary for maximizing education,consensus and acceptance.

Workplace solutionsWorkers are both producers and consumers. Theyare in a position to influence future productionand consumption patterns positively. My experi-ence is that there is a real willingness to engage inthe debate on the part of workers, and many arealready doing so. But in order to capitalize on theenormous potential for real and far-reachingchange existing among workers around the world,it is necessary to provide optimal conditions.What are these conditions? At the risk of oversim-plification, they include:◆ the rights to participate and act collectively;◆ the right to fair treatment; and◆ the rights to be informed, and to education andtraining.

The parameters within which the above condi-tions are met are increasingly becoming the para-meters against which companies and governmentsare being judged. This article is not the place to gointo greater detail. But the major relevant initia-tives, standards and conventions covering workerrights can be found in the ILO Conventions, theILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concern-ing Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy,the UN Global Compact, and the Revised OECDGuidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Provided workers’ rights are protected and theirinput genuinely welcomed and encouraged, wecan expect that education and training in cleanerproduction and sustainable consumption con-cepts and practices will have an especially positiveimpact on the future of sustainability. Not onlydoes the workplace offer a potentially very effec-tive organizational setting for such education andtraining, but workers who are well-informed andwell-trained will be able to put their skills andlearning to use beyond the workplace, includingmaking more informed consumer choices.

A vision for the futureThose who once thought that sustainable pro-duction and consumption were someone else’sproblem are hopefully becoming fewer in num-ber. There is no top-down solution to the prob-lems thrown up by current production andconsumption patterns, and there is as yet no crit-ical mass of bottom-up understanding about orsupport for sustainable production and con-sumption – though this seems to be changing, asexplained above. The workplace can provide fer-tile ground for the development of a mutuallybeneficial and mutually reinforcing approachbetween employers and workers, upon whom suc-cess will largely depend. A joint employer/unionapproach to more sustainable production andconsumption issues can have a number of directand indirect benefits for both employers andworkers. These include:

For employers◆ wide and informed support for increasing effi-ciency through the reduction of both naturalresources input and waste creation;◆ increased worker motivation, with its attendantbenefits for production, workplace morale, reducedindustrial strife and reduced worker turnover;◆ timely warnings of potential problems, helpingto avoid major negative consequences;◆ a more positive company reputation, based on ademonstrated commitment to integration of thesocial, the environmental and the economic pil-lars of sustainable development.

For workers ◆ real and positive influence on the future (andfuture sustainability) of their workplaces and jobs;◆ increased understanding of the links betweenthe workplace, the local community and thebroader world, and much greater appreciation ofthe impacts of employment activities beyond thecompany perimeter fence;

◆ the development of real and transferable skillsand experience;◆ greater job satisfaction.

These are not likely to be the only benefits, butthey suffice to demonstrate the real advantages tobe gained by a genuinely cooperative approachbased on mutual respect and commitment.

What can UNEP do?The UNEP International Declaration on CleanerProduction was an important first step towardsobtaining wider support for the concept of clean-er production. The Declaration now needs devel-oping.

UNEP should consider cooperating with otheragencies and stakeholders to develop and/or refine“Indicators of Cleaner Production and Con-sumption” (Icepacks) against which current andfuture performance can be measured. Such indi-cators would be useful to UNEP and to govern-ments, companies and investors generally, all ofwhom require indicators against which to measureboth risk and performance and to identify bench-marks and trends.

In the past there has been good cooperationbetween UNEP and the International LabourOrganisation (ILO). Given the strong social, envi-ronmental and economic aspects of productionand consumption patterns, and the likely impactson workers of changing them, this cooperationshould be strengthened.

UNEP should consider developing an initiative(perhaps together with the ILO and OECD) onthe structural barriers to more sustainable con-sumption. This might be done by adopting a “sce-narios” approach to the question.

UNEP should also seek to strengthen coopera-tion with the socially responsible and ethicalinvestment community. It is important to demon-strate that sustainable production and consump-tion practices can be real contributors to the triplebottom line commitments of companies and theirinstitutional investors, and to those who have yetto make such a commitment.

UNEP should consider inviting submissionsfrom companies and trade unions of examples ofcooperation to achieve cleaner productionimprovements and disseminate such examples onthe UNEP web site.

UNEP should work with the Global ReportingInitiative to ensure that, as this initiative develops,it takes adequately into account the reporting ofcontributions to cleaner production.

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Sustainable consumption and production patterns: elements and challenges Victor Escobar Paredes, Head of Unit, Institutional Cooperation Section, Spanish Ministry for the Environment

Plaza San Juan de la Cruz, S/LN 28071 Madrid, Spain ([email protected])

Agenda 21 identified unsustainable consumption and production patterns,especially in developed countries, as the major cause of continued deterio-ration of the global environment. A majority of problems stem from devel-oped countries, but the most severe impacts are felt in the world’s poorestregions. In today’s global markets much of the social and environmentalimpact of primary production will increasingly be felt in developing coun-tries.

In both developed and developing countries short-term economic con-siderations and shortcomings in market signals often hinder sustainabledevelopment. It is vital to push for integrated decision-making at all levels,based on precaution and taking into account long-term perspectives formaintaining functioning ecosystems to support further economic and socialdevelopment. Sustainable development requires that production and con-sumption be adjusted to ecosystems’ carrying capacity and contribute togreater human well-being.

The key challenge is to decouple environmental degradation fromincreased production and economic growth through addressing both sup-ply and demand, with a focus on the most serious environmental challenges.Decoupling occurs when the growth rate of environmental degradation isless than the economic growth rate (e.g. as has happened in the case of SO2emissions).

Decoupling requires integration of the economic, social and environ-mental aspects of sustainability, and vice versa. It implies adjusting tochanges in the quality of economic growth, as well as changes in existingconsumption patterns and the lifestyles of developed countries. Well-man-aged, this is not a threat to jobs nor does it mean deterioration of quality oflife. It will actually make possible economic growth, the creation of newbusiness opportunities and promotion of human well-being in industri-alised and developing countries. A political discussion is needed concerningwhat we understand by well-being, and about our values and lifestyles, inorder to comprehend better the driving forces of consumption.

It is also important to develop coherent and coordinated environmen-tally related product policy (or integrated product policy, IPP). The chal-lenge for governments is to provide efficient product regulation, and tomotivate all the actors involved by creating incentives to voluntarily improveenvironmental performance above the level based on regulation. Addressingthe pricing of products and the internalization of externalities, improvingthe environmental quality of products and promoting “green demand” byconsumers are central themes of this policy, along with increased focus onthe function of products (including services, product service systems or leas-ing). The product policy also satisfies the strong consumer demands ofhealth and safety.

An important tool in this context is promotion of eco-efficiency.To

enhance global equity, eco-efficient practices as well as product policy shouldoffer developing countries ways to “leapfrog” from traditional polluting tomore technologically advanced production – and to environmentally viableeconomic growth that takes account of the poor and uses natural resourcessustainably. They should also offer possibilities for a good working environ-ment, including equal occupational rights and opportunities, health andsafety in the workplace, employee involvement, and lifelong learning.

Goals and prioritiesGiven that sustainable development cannot be achieved without funda-mental changes in the ways societies produce and consume, concreteprogress in this area is crucial for a successful outcome of the WSSD. Suchprogress should be pursued by all countries, with developed countries tak-ing the lead. Moving the global economy onto a more socially responsibleand resource productive path will provide benefits to society, the environ-ment and the economy in every country.

To strengthen the ongoing work on sustainable consumption and pro-duction patterns, there is a need to establish a new, focused work pro-gramme for the coming decade with medium and short-term goals. Thisshould lead to strengthened efforts to speed up implementation of agreedcommitments so as to achieve measurable results, as well as to prioritize andfocus on key areas.

The European Union has identified actions that could contribute toachievement of sustainable production and consumption patterns at dif-ferent levels. These actions would need to be carried out by governments,other authorities, the private sector and civil society:◆ provide adequate market structures supportive of sustainable develop-ment; enhance corporate responsibility and further develop general guide-lines for sustainable development reporting; and promote internationalstandardization of environmental reporting;◆ encourage authorities at all levels to apply environmental and social con-siderations in decision making processes, including national investments ininfrastructure, business development and public procurement, and train-ing of relevant authorities;◆ promote the role of governments, including their responsibility for ensur-ing adequate regulation, inspection and provision of essential services as abasis for sustainable development;◆ use economic instruments and market incentives, including policies tointernalize external costs through fiscal instruments, as well as market mech-anisms;◆ develop incentive and support programmes for cleaner production linkedto state-financed loans, venture capital and like programmes for regionaland business development;

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◆ achieve a four-fold increase in energy and resource efficiency in developedcountries by 2012;◆ progressively eliminate environmentally harmful, trade-distorting subsi-dies that encourage unsustainable consumption and production patternsand inefficient use of natural resources;◆ establish and support national and regional cleaner production centres toassist enterprises, especially SMEs, in identifying, acquiring, adapting andintegrating technologies that improve productivity, reduce pollution andwaste generation, and conserve natural resources;◆ integrate environmental considerations into the national innovation sys-tem, and encourage industry and publicly funded research and develop-ment institutions to engage in strategic alliances to enhance research anddevelopment, in order to achieve cleaner production technologies and accel-erate the commercialization and diffusion of those technologies;◆ encourage all sectors to adopt voluntary initiatives and codes of conductincluding certification, such as ISO 14 000 and other environmental man-agement standards;◆ encourage/promote development of certification and similar mecha-nisms/initiatives directed at industry, which embrace ecological as well associal dimensions;◆ promote eco-design, eco-labelling and other transparent, verifiable, non-misleading and non-discriminatory consumer information tools to provideinformation at all stages of the product chain, ensuring that they are notused as disguised trade barriers, and engage the media in promoting sus-tainable consumption and production;◆ assist small and medium-sized companies, through information and train-ing programmes, to take advantage of the business opportunities arisingfrom increasing consumer awareness of sustainable consumption;◆ develop and disseminate renewable energy technologies to increase theshare of renewable energy in energy production and consumption and accel-erate the development, diffusion and use of energy-efficient technologies;◆ raise consumer awareness of sustainable consumption and production,taking into account regional, cultural and ethical values in carrying out sus-tainable development initiatives;◆ promote workplace-based partnerships, including training and educationprogrammes that engage workers and employers in joint actions for sus-tainable development;◆ promote specific programmes on sustainable development at the work-place, and link their performance to local, national and international sus-tainable development goals through well-integrated mechanisms;◆ promote investments in the development of multimodal mass publictransport systems, with technical and financial assistance for developingcountries and economies in transition;◆ implement transport strategies that reflect specific national and local con-ditions and take into account all forms of mobility (so as to improve theaffordability, efficiency and convenience of transportation as well as improv-

ing environmental performance) and that improve reduction of greenhousegasses, urban air quality and public health, including through environ-mentally friendly vehicles and cleaner fuels;◆ encourage the role of governments at all levels in promoting eco-efficien-cy and sustainable lifestyles in infrastructure planning, construction andbuilding, land use and city planning, public procurement, and training forall concerned stakeholders;◆ promote waste prevention by encouraging production of reusable con-sumer goods and promoting use of renewable raw materials for productionof consumer goods. Promote production of goods that are easily recoverableafter consumption. Promote and provide international support for wasteprevention, reuse, recycling and safe disposal and cleaner urban waste han-dling systems that generate income opportunities;◆ promote rapid ratification and implementation of international instru-ments on chemicals, including the Basel Convention on the Control ofTransboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, theRotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedures for CertainHazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and the Stock-holm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, as well as relatedamendments;◆ promote an environmentally related product policy to decrease environ-mental impacts through the whole life cycle of products, including theimpacts of chemicals in products, and the use of natural resources and ener-gy, using a balanced mix of instruments, with participation of all relevantstakeholders;◆ endorse development of a strategic approach to international chemicalsmanagement and the IFCS Bahia Declaration on Chemical Safety and pri-orities for action beyond 2000, as the foundation for this approach by 2005;urge the active engagement of the major agencies responsible for fundingand delivery of international development cooperation and other relevantactors; and call upon all governments and other relevant actors to takeimmediate action to implement the identified priorities;◆ improve technical and financial assistance to developing countries incor-porating chemical safety issues in development agendas; support capacitybuilding and knowledge and technology transfer for environmentally soundmanagement of chemicals and hazardous waste, especially in developingcountries; encourage partnerships regarding concrete actions with industryto make operational the multilateral enironmental agreements (MEAs) andany other relevant international agreements on sound management ofchemicals and hazardous waste;◆ promote capacity building and transfer of technology for developingcountries and economies in transition with respect to energy efficiency andenergy conservation, and enable them to benefit from the Clean Develop-ment and Joint Implementation mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, whilemitigating climate change and promoting sustainable development.

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The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative,launched at the opening of CP7, furtherscleaner production and sustainable con-

sumption by looking at the whole life cycle of aproduct, service, etc. from a strategic and practicalperspective.

At the recent World Summit on SustainableDevelopment, the need to change production andconsumption patterns was high on the agenda.Life-cycle thinking is the key to bringing aboutsuch change, and life-cycle approaches providepeople and groups from all walks of life with themeans to do so.

Life-cycle thinking is a way to address environ-mental issues and opportunities holistically, andto evaluate or design product service systems withthe goal of reducing potential environmentalimpacts over an entire life cycle. The impacts ofall life-cycle stages need to be considered in orderto take informed decisions concerning productdevelopment, policies and management strategiesaimed at changing consumption patterns.

The concept of life-cycle thinking is essential toachieving sustainable development. It can involvevarious life-cycle approaches such as life-cycle

assessment (LCA), design for environment, life-cycle management, product service systems andintegrated product policy. (All of these exceptLCA are “triple bottom line” tools incorporatingsocial, economic and environmental issues.)

SETAC1 defines life-cycle assessment (LCA) as“an objective process to evaluate the environmen-tal burdens associated with a product, process, oractivity by identifying energy and materials usedand wastes released to the environment, and toevaluate and implement opportunities to affectenvironmental improvements.”

Design for environment (DfE) is the systematicintegration of environmental and social consider-ations into product and process design.

SETAC defines life-cycle management as “anintegrated framework of concepts, techniques andprocedures to address environmental, economic,technological and social aspects of products andorganizations to achieve continuous environmen-tal improvement from a life-cycle perspective.”

UNEP defines product service systems (PSS) as amarketable mix of products and services that arejointly capable of fulfilling a client’s need – withless environmental impact. UNEP DTIE recently

published a booklet containing PSS case studies.2

Integrated product policy (IPP), a concept devel-oped by the European Commission, involvesworking to stimulate each part of each individualphase of a product or service’s life cycle – fromextraction of natural resources through design,manufacture, assembly, marketing, distribution,sale and use to eventual disposal as waste – inorder to improve environmental performance.

Structural changes in production systems havebeen occurring world-wide. As a result of global-ization, there are clear indications that consumertastes and habits are changing and converging.While production has become more efficient,however, consumption of goods and services hasalso increased. Life-cycle tools provide a basic sup-port for making these trends visible to consumersand producers.

Many developed countries are relativelyadvanced with respect to cleaner production, butin the last decade have witnessed “reboundeffects,” in which improvements in efficiency areoffset by increased consumption (efficiencyimprovements may even stimulate consumption).The result is that the total effect of these improve-ments on both society and the environment isminimal.3 Rebound effects can be addressed bychanging consumption patterns.

Individual consumers and consumer organiza-tions have demonstrated their interest in the“world behind the product”. That means morethan the environmental burden of a product.Consumers now often ask about social considera-


Cleaner Production

Launch of the Life Cycle Initiative

Promoting a life-cycleapproach

At the opening of UNEP’s Seventh High-level Seminar on Cleaner Pro-duction (CP7), Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, and LorraineMaltby, President of the World Council of the Society of Environmen-tal Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), launched the Life Cycle Initia-tive, a joint effort by the two organizations. Its mission is to “develop anddisseminate practical tools for evaluating the opportunities, risks andtrade-offs associated with products over their whole life cycle.”

The impetus for this initiative was the Malmö Declaration of 31 May2000, in which environment ministers at the first Global MinisterialEnvironment Forum advocated “development of cleaner and moreresource efficient technologies for a life-cycle economy.” The MalmöDeclaration in turn followed the 1999 revision of the UN Guidelines forConsumer Protection, whose new Section G includes a call for govern-ments to “encourage the design, development and use of products andservices that are safe and energy and resource efficient, considering theirfull life-cycle impacts.”

The Life Cycle Initiative links key themes of the recent World Sum-mit for Sustainable Development, such as good governance, protection ofconsumer interests, dissemination of best practices, business opportuni-ties, poverty alleviation, globalization, multi-stakeholder partnerships,and the Global Reporting Initiative and Global Compact.

The initiative aims to foster life-cycle thinking world-wide throughdevelopment of an international life-cycle management framework, pro-ject-specific activities, and databases of best available methods and dataconcerning life-cycle assessment (LCA).

LCA tools are increasingly being used by industry and government toestimate the true impacts of products and services. Ms. Maltby noted inher keynote address that “Consideration of pollution problem shifting[e.g. when new technology reduces a given factory’s air emissions butthese emissions are increased at the nearest power plant] is at the heart oflife-cycle thinking.”

Mr. Toepfer emphasized that the challenge is to “change consumptionpractices in richer countries while bringing newtools to the table. The Life Cycle Initiative will ulti-mately help tackle poverty and ensure a safe andsecure environment for long-term sustainabledevelopment.”

He concluded by emphasizing that the initiativewould be driven by the implementation and dis-semination of life-cycle thinking and approaches,with a key role for demonstration studies and train-ing modules for smaller enterprises, particularly indeveloping countries and countries with econ-omies in transition.

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Cleaner Production

tions; they want to know how and where a prod-uct has been produced, for example. The averageconsumer is not interested in detailed findings,but information at a glance, e.g. on a label.

Consumer organizations increasingly includeenvironmental issues among their criteria forproduct comparison. Eco-labelling and environ-mental product declarations, used in combinationwith other tools, are one strategy for providinginformation about the product to consumers.There is a need for consistent product criteria andinformation about the message conveyed througheco-labels and product declarations.

However, eco-labelling and product declara-tions should not hinder trade or severely skew themarket. Rather, eco-labelling should be support-ed, developed and applied to provide new busi-ness opportunities. The Life Cycle Initiative, with

its International Life Cycle Panel, could prove anappropriate forum for making eco-labelling andenvironmental product declarations an efficientmeans of business-to-business and business-to-consumer communication. It is vital to provideconsumers with a consistent set of signals. Themore they rely on LCA or other life-cycle tools,the more business, government and consumerorganizations will share a common language.

The Life Cycle Initiative aims to provide astrategic framework to help government and busi-ness use life-cycle tools.

Governments set the framework and condi-tions for production and consumption patterns.Government initiatives to stimulate markets forgreener products will not only secure andstrengthen the position of the industrial and ser-vice sectors on regional and global markets, but

also assure overall environmental benefits to soci-ety, balanced with economic and social aspects.This is what the European Commission seeks todo through IPP.

For business and industry, the challenge is tosecure and increase market share, to protect andexpand business values, including shareholdervalue, and to achieve competitive advantage thatgoes beyond legal compliance and short-term costsavings. Incorporating life-cycle and sustainabili-ty management will improve image and brandvalue for world market players as well as for small-er suppliers and producers. By integrating the life-cycle perspective into overall management andmoving product and process development in amore sustainable direction, business can harvestbenefits to environmental, occupational healthand safety, risk and quality management, as well

Life-cycle assessment and social impactPhilippe Pommez, Vice President, Business and Development Innovation, Natura

Rodovia Anhanguera, Km 30, 5 07750 000 Cajamar SP, Brazil ([email protected])

While life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been making enormous progressin providing data, management tools, software and methodologies, allow-ing for more precise measurement, a number of issues have yet to beaddressed. Many of these issues concern world-wide dissemination ofLCA methods and how these methods are adapted for developing coun-tries through building databases and customizing management tools tosuit local demands.

Addressing such issues can be carried out within an existing structure,such as that of the National Cleaner Production Centres, but it alsorequires investments that must be shared among industry, governmentand international agencies.

According to Walter Kloepffer, editor of the International Journal ofLife-Cycle Assessment, sustainability is the ultimate aim of product devel-opment. LCA initiatives have focused on measuring the economic andenvironmental impacts of a product over its entire lifetime, but sustain-ability also implies a human factor that is more difficult to assess. This isa gap in the current methodology for evaluating the impact of the prod-uct’s life-cycle.

While no methodology yet exists for accurately assessing the socialimpact of a sustainable development project, a number of academic worksand publications in recent years have examined the development of sucha methodology. For instance, Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway,authors of Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (1992), define a “sustainable liveli-hood” as one integrating justice, capability and sustainability.

To quantify sustainable livelihood, Ian Scoones of the University of Sus-sex’s Institute for Development Studies has proposed a method involvingfive types of capital: natural, financial, human, social and physical. Usingthis method, in cooperation with a community, the degree to which agiven project has affected the community’s access to any of these types ofcapital can be measured.

Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company, recently supported a project ina Brazilian ecosystem in which such a methodology was used to assess theaffect of a carbon sequestration project on the communities involved. Itwas possible through interviews with local people to create a diagnosticof the project’s impact. As a very preliminary undertaking, this may serveas a basis for developing social life-cycle indicators. These indicators maybe described as follows:◆ Natural capital: reduction in levels of deforestation and maintenance ofstocks of animals and fish;◆ Financial capital: increased access to credit;

◆ Human capital: level of literacy;◆ Social capital: level of participation in decision-making processes;◆ Physical capital: existence of roads, hospitals and other infrastructure.

Since Natura was founded 33 years ago, one of its guiding principleshas been to rely on the use of natural raw materials. Three years ago an in-depth assessment of the company’s values and beliefs took us to a newdevelopment platform: sustainable use of Brazilian biodiversity, drawingon the knowledge of the traditional indigenous populations.

In developing a line of products called Ekos (from ekó, meaning “life”in the Tupi-Guarani language), Natura sought to conserve and dissemi-nate the Brazilian natural, cultural and social heritage while creating sus-tainable wealth by buying plant extracts and natural oils fromcommunities or reserves, in conjunction with raw material suppliers.

To assure sustainable exploration and handling of flora, Natura estab-lished a certification programme to audit the entire supply chain, takinginto account environmental, social and economic criteria. Ingredientsobtained through extraction are measured using a set of principles and cri-teria established by the Forest Stewardship Council. Ingredients obtainedthrough cultivation must abide by the principles and criteria of the Con-servation Agriculture Network.

Challenges that arose during the project include:◆ a supplier mentality of working “just-in-time”;◆ definitions regarding access to and use of genetic information and com-pliance with regulations;◆ remuneration of traditional knowledge;◆ the ability to create economic sustainability.

Because product success and product life-cycle duration varied so muchfrom product to product, the variable economic sustainability of com-munities/reserves from which ingredients were procured became an issue.Hence, the research and development approach is being redirected andthe product development cycle is now initiated in cooperation with thecommunities/reserves involved. The potential for multiple ingredients(reducing dependence on a single product or service) would diversify com-munities’ sources of income, as would activities such as eco-tourism, fish-ing and woodcraft.

As this description shows, LCA in such a case is quite complex andincludes elements that cannot be measured using conventional tools. Toobtain a holistic view of the chain of relationships throughout the lifecycle, LCA must integrate the social aspects of development, preservationof the culture in question, and traditional knowledge.

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Cleaner Production

as developing and applying cleaner process andproduct options.

There is a particular need to make life-cycletools easily obtainable in developing countries,where small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) could especially benefit. More generally,to assure a global shift towards sustainability,developing countries need to be able to “leapfrog”with more sustainable technologies, methodolo-gies and data. Yet most developing countries lackthe needed resources.

A gap exists between developed and developingcountries regarding the application and percep-tion of life-cycle thinking in general and LCA inparticular. LCA has not been adapted to the needsof stakeholders in developing countries. Few data-bases accurately reflect the needs of SMEs in manyregions of the world. And yet developed countries’trade with developing countries is increasing, as istrade within the developing world. Developingcountries provide raw materials for the supplychain of industry in developed countries. Forthese and other reasons, the requirements for envi-ronmental considerations should be the same inNorth and South.

There are also differences between the applica-tion of life-cycle approaches in North and South.For example:◆ Developing countries tend to see life-cycle toolsmore as a way of thinking, while industrializedcountries stress that they are “scientific” tools.◆ Industrialized countries have more experiencethan developing countries in the end-use of life-cycle tools. Green government purchasing, eco-labelling, sectional environmental databases andsectoral environmental benchmarking are as yetlimited to industrialized countries.

◆ In developing countries comparison of compet-ing products is thought to be an application ofLCA, whereas in industrialized countries thispractice is seldom mentioned and the focus is onproduct development, measuring the perfor-mance of planned alternatives against existingproducts.◆ Clients and consumers are often more involvedin industrialized countries.◆ Some developing countries are optimistic aboutthe future use of LCA and other life-cycleapproaches, but seek clearer methodology adapt-ed to their needs, synergies with other instrumentsand broad dissemination of these approaches.

Life-cycle approaches will help orient con-sumption in a more sustainable direction by offer-ing better information for purchasing, transportsystems and energy sources to guide consumerbehaviour. This offers a platform for multi-stake-holder dialogue and public involvement withindustries and governments in political and prac-tical initiatives, ranging from Local Agenda 21 tonational and international strategies for sustain-able development.

To summarize, life-cycle approaches can beadvantageous by:◆ providing reliable information in an accessibleformat, improving communication and con-tributing to awareness raising and more informeddecisions by consumers, governments and indus-try;◆ preparing industry for increasingly aware con-sumers by facilitating more efficient communica-tion strategies and stakeholder involvement, to beimplemented by both the public and the privatesector;◆ supporting good business practices – life-cycle

approaches assist stakeholders in “thinking out ofthe box” and can thereby provide an importantcontribution to “leapfrogging” both within andamong regions (North and South), countries andindustries;◆ contributing to continuous improvement – theadaptation of currently existing methods to thetriple bottom line fosters a truly holistic way ofthinking and thus creates efficient structures forimprovement;◆ ensuring global applicability and dissemination– efficient implementation of the life-cycleapproach should optimize usability and preventduplication of work.

Notes1. Society of Environmental Toxicology andChemistry (see www.sectac.org/lca).2. Reviewed on page 105.3. E. Matthews et al., The Weight of Nations –Material Outflows from Industrial Economies,World Resources Institute, 2000. For an exami-nation of the rebound effect in relation to energy(and improvements in energy efficiency), see L.A.Greening, D.L. Green and C. Difiglio, Energyefficiency and consumption – the rebound effect,Energy Policy 286/7, 2000. Also see F. Pearce,Consuming Myths, New Scientist 159/2150,1998.

For more information or to share experiences, exam-ples and ideas about work addressing and promotingvarious life-cycle approaches, contact: Bas de Leeuw,Coordinator, Sustainable Consumption, Productionand Consumption Branch, UNEP DTIE, 39-43quai André-Citroën, 75739 Paris, France, E-mail:[email protected]. ◆

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We all agree that sustainable developmenthas three dimensions: environmental,economic and social. Cleaner production

needs to be assessed with respect to all three dimen-sions: Has it resulted in less environmental impact?Has it contributed to equitable economic benefitsfor all people in the North and South? Has itbrought about societal benefits? The key word hereis measurement. How do we measure these gains?

Environmental measurementsTo achieve sustainable development, fundamen-tal changes need to be made in the ways societiesproduce and consume. A number of approacheshave been developed (e.g. cleaner production, pol-lution prevention, factor 4/factor 10, decouplingof economic growth from environmentalimpacts). To assess their success, it is essential tohave appropriate measurements.

The study of materials flows is one such con-crete measurement. The World Resources Insti-tute and its partner institutes conducted a studyof five industrial economies (Austria, Germany,Japan, the Netherlands and the United States).According to its report, total output of wastes and

pollutants in these five countries had increased byas much as 28% since 1975 despite more efficientnatural resources use. The report also showed thatbetween one-half and three-quarters of theresource inputs used in these five countries arereturned to the environment as waste within oneyear; this is attributed to “the tremendous scale ofeconomic growth and consumer choices thatfavour energy and material intensive lifestyles”.1

Similarly, an assessment of sustainable develop-ment progress by the UN Economic Commissionfor Europe unequivocally states that althoughprogress has been made in improving eco-effi-ciency in the ECE region, these gains have beenoffset by overall increases in consumption.2

It is not enough to clean up production. It isalso crucial to pay attention to the extraction anddisposal phases of the materials cycle and toincreasing consumption levels. While much atten-tion has been paid to cleaning up the productionphase, which is relatively well-regulated, theextraction, disposal and consumption phases havenot been adequately addressed. Cleaner produc-tion and the Life Cycle Initiative (LCI) do notbegin at the factory where a product is being man-

ufactured, but at the point where raw materials areextracted. They continue right through to use anddisposal of the finished product.

The challenge is how to measure environmen-tal impacts from raw materials extraction throughto consumption and disposal. This challenge isquite complex, as the main actors are transnation-al corporations. TNCs account for the largest shareof global economic activity and are the main enti-ties responsible for global environmental impacts.

TNCs are by and large a law unto themselves.The post-Rio and post-Uruguay Round era hasseen them acquire more economic clout, moreeconomic space and less regulatory constraints ontheir operations.

Of the world’s 100 largest economic entities in2000, 51 were TNCs and only 49 were govern-ments. By 2001, 54 were corporations and 46 weregovernments.3 Based on these statistics, RoyalDutch Shell’s revenue is greater than Venezuela’sGDP, WalMart is bigger than Indonesia, and Gen-eral Motors is roughly the same size as Ireland,New Zealand and Hungary combined. Three-quarters of all TNCs are based in North America,Western Europe and Japan; 99 of the 100 largestTNCs are based in industrialized countries.4

If we drew up an environmental balance sheetof TNC activities, this is what it would look like:◆ 122 TNCs account for 80% of all CO2 emis-sions. The oil produced by five private global cor-porations (ExxonMobil, BP Amoco, Shell,Chevron and Texaco) contributes some 10% ofthe world’s carbon emissions. Greenhouse gasemissions from the fuel they produce exceed totalGHG emissions from Central America, SouthAmerica and Africa combined!5

◆ Production and use of ozone-destroying CFCsand related compounds are virtually exclusivelycontrolled by TNCs.◆ The key mining industries are also controlled byTNCs.◆ 80% of agricultural land world-wide is cultivat-ed for export crops by TNCs.◆ Most of the world’s chlorine (the basis of someof the most toxic chemicals, including PCBs,DDT and dioxins) is manufactured by TNCs.◆ The main transmitters of environmentallyunsound production systems, hazardous materi-als and products to the Third World are TNCs.◆ TNCs dominate the trade in (and in many casesalso the extraction or exploitation of ) naturalresources and commodities that contribute todepletion or degradation of forests and water andmarine resources, as well as toxic waste and unsafe

Cleaner production in the context ofsustainable development

Rajeswari Kanniah, Assistant Director, Consumers International, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 5-1 Wisma WIM 7 Jalan, Abang Haji Openg Taman,Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lampur, Malaysia ([email protected])

SummaryThe success of cleaner production as a sustainable development strategy should be measured inthe context of environmental, economic and social impacts. CP implementation world-wide hasbeen offset by economic growth and increased consumption. The WTO, as well as the WorldBank and other lending institutions, have made the development crisis worse and are responsi-ble for increased environmental degradation. There has been a failure to monitor and regulatetransnational corporations. Much more needs to be done to enforce changes in TNCs’ policies,and to promote greater social and environmental responsibility.

RésuméLe succès de la production plus propre en tant que stratégie de développement durable doit êtreévalué en fonction de ses impacts environnementaux, économiques et sociaux. La mise en œuvrede la production plus propre dans le monde a été contrebalancée par la croissance économiqueet la progression de la consommation. L’OMC, ainsi que la Banque mondiale et d’autres institu-tions de prêt, ont intensifié la crise du développement et sont responsables d’une aggravation dela dégradation de l’environnement. Rien n’a été fait pour surveiller et réglementer les entreprisestransnationales. Il y a encore beaucoup à faire pour les amener à modifier leurs politiques et pourpromouvoir une plus grande responsabilité sociale et environnementale.

ResumenEl éxito de la producción más limpia como estrategia de desarrollo sustentable debe medirse enfunción de impactos ambientales, económicos y sociales. La implementación global de produc-ción más limpia se vio contrarrestada por un mayor crecimiento económico y aumento del con-sumo. La OMC (WTO), el Banco Mundial y otras entidades crediticias empeoraron la crisisgenerada por el desarrollo y son responsables de la creciente degradación ambiental. El monito-reo y la regulación de corporaciones transnacionales fue un fracaso. Aún queda mucho por hacerpara lograr modificar las políticas de corporaciones transnacionales y promover una mayor res-ponsabilidad social y ambiental.

Cleaner Production

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products. ◆ The culture of unsustainable consumption ispromoted by TNCs through aggressive advertis-ing and product promotion.

These companies are responsible for far moregreenhouse gas emissions than most countries.More CO2is emitted by use of oil produced byShell alone than by most countries in the world,including Canada, Brazil, Mexico, France, Aus-tralia and Spain. BP Amoco’s production accountsfor emissions surpassing those of the UK; Exxon-Mobil’s emissions are the equivalent of some 80%of those of all of Africa or South America.

The Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) estimates that to stabilize CO2 con-centrations at current levels we need to reduce car-bon emissions by some 60%. There is no way to dothis without massive reduction of fossil fuel con-sumption and development of alternative energysources. If fully exploited, proven oil and gas reserveswould far exceed the Earth’s capacity to absorb car-bon emissions. In other words, it is impossible toburn even the fossil fuels we already have safely, letalone those that remain undiscovered.

The oil industry has profound impacts not onlyon the global climate, but also on local ecology andthe struggle for democracy. New exploration andoil or gas pipelines threaten the survival of indige-nous peoples in the Amazon basin, South-EastAsia, North America and elsewhere. These peoplesand their supporters have been actively resistingthe encroachment of oil and gas exploitation.

The World Bank and other international finan-cial institutions contribute to global warming.These institutions lend millions of dollars per yearfor new fossil fuel projects. Amoco, ExxonMobiland Chevron, among other western companies,have been enriched by projects supported by theseinstitutions. World Bank projects financed since1992 will produce 37.9 billion tonnes of carbon –over a year’s worth of the world’s total carbonemissions. US export credit and insurance agen-cies, the Export Import Bank and the OverseasPrivate Investment Corporation have underwrit-ten $23.2 billion in financing for fossil fuel pro-jects world-wide that will emit 25.5 billion tonnesof CO2over their lifetimes.

The largest oil companies have not used theirpower to develop renewable energy significantly.In 1973 geothermal, wind and solar accounted for0.1% of world energy supply. In 1996 renewablesaccounted for a mere 0.4%. During the same peri-od oil declined in terms of dominance of fuel sup-ply, from 44.9% to 35.3%, though it remains thebiggest source. This decline was largely offset byuse of natural gas, which contributes equally toglobal warming, and by nuclear power.

There has been a failure to monitor and regu-late TNCs internationally. Instead, there havebeen moves to increase their rights and globalaccess through WTO agreements. No less daunt-ing is the need to change the policies of interna-tional financial institutions and the WTO.

Economic measurementsThe greatest failure post-Rio has been lack offinancial flows to developing countries. The UN

members have agreed that industrialized countriesshould contribute 0.7% of their GNP to officialdevelopment assistance (ODA). Instead of com-ing closer to this target, since the Earth Summitmost of these countries have fallen farther and far-ther behind. Only five (Denmark, Luxembourg,the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) met orexceeded the 0.7% aid target in 2000. Most of theleast developed countries (LDCs) suffered adecline in ODA of at least 25%; seven countries inthis group, all African, saw ODA reduced by morethan 50%. The share of ODA targeted for sus-tainable development of oceans and seas, protec-tion of the atmosphere, sustainable agricultureand combating deforestation fell from 25% in1996 to 17% in 1999.6

Structural adjustment polices and restrictionshave resulted in an immense lack of resources or“economic space” in many developing countries.Environmental regulations have been relaxed tocompete for foreign direct investment. In the1980s and 1990s the IMF imposed structuraladjustment programmes on over 70 countries.These polices have required 36 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half the popula-tion lives in absolute poverty, to decrease domesticconsumption and shift scarce resources to produc-tion of cash crops for export; state-owned compa-nies and many state services have been privatized,and health and education expenditures have beencut and restructured. The absolute number of peo-ple living in poverty rose in the 1990s in EasternEurope, South Asia, Latin America and theCaribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa – all of whichwere subject to adjustment programmes.

In 2000 a bipartisan US Congressional panel(the Meltzer Commission) found that World BankGroup and IMF failures could be traced to “over-lapping missions, ineffectiveness, corruption andwaste of resources, and failure to develop successfulregional programmes in agriculture, forestry, envi-ronment and health care” among other problems.Every year the World Bank awards some 40,000contracts to private firms. The US Department ofthe Treasury has calculated that for every dollar theUS contributes to international developmentbanks, US corporations receive more than doublethat amount in bank-financed procurement con-tracts. At the same time, World Bank projects inthe poorest countries have an astounding 65-70 %failure rate.

Since it was created in 1995, the WTO has ruledthat every environmental policy it has reviewed isan illegal trade barrier that must be eliminated orchanged. With one exception, it has also ruledagainst every health or food safety law it hasreviewed. Countries whose laws have been declaredtrade barriers, or that were merely threatened withWTO action, have eliminated or watered downtheir policies to meet WTO requirements.

There is little improvement in technology andno real will to change harmful production meth-ods. Indeed, a study of trends in the global miningindustry states: “In the South, liberalization tooka different form: liberalization of mining laws, der-estriction and deregulation. The common trend inmany Third World countries is the removal of

most barriers and instruments previously used bygovernments in the preservation, development andutilisation of their mineral resources. Around 70countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia Pacif-ic are now fully liberalizing their mining laws andimplementing deregulation in a wide range ofareas, including land rights and mineral rights, tax-ation, environmental protection, in order to attractforeign mining investors.”7

The promised technology transfer to the Southhas not taken place. Instead new obstacles haveemerged, such as enhanced intellectual propertyrights (IPR) protection. Harmful technologiescontinue to be exported to the South. Waste in theguise of recyclable material from the North hasbeen sent to the South. One only has to visit thewebsite of the Commission on Human Rights tofind hard evidence of the illegal flow of toxic wastefrom industrialized to developing countries.8

Since Rio there has been little or no progress infacilitating the transfer of environmentally soundtechnology (EST) to the South. Instead the inter-national intellectual property rights regime hasbecome stricter, especially through the TRIPsAgreement in the WTO. Evidence is also emerg-ing that the IPR regime can keep developingcountries from having effective access to EST.

Small and medium-sized industries in theSouth face formidable challenges to their survival,let alone to implementing cleaner productionpolicies, when pitted against the combined mightof the Northern countries, their TNCs, andbiased implementation of the economic polices ofthe Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO.

Social measurementsPoverty is still a major problem in developingcountries. Many are worse off today than theywere 30 years ago. The development dimensionhas not been successfully integrated in the sub-stance of cleaner production.

In this context we need to consider the questionof consumption. Levels of consumption are agood way to measure progress in natural resourcesavings. Household consumption world-wideincreased by 68% between 1980 and 1998. Theworking age population in developing countrieswill increase from 3 billion in 2000 to 4 billion in2025.9 These figures indicate the potential for anexplosion in consumption in the North and byelites in the South.

Expansion of global advertising has been phe-nomenal. Advertising has won a key psychologicalvictory: it has made people believe its dominantmessage that life’s problems can be solved by buy-ing things. The problem is that the “Americandream” depends on enormous and continuousinputs of those commodities whose production isthe most damaging to the Earth: energy, chemi-cals, metals and paper.

Cleaner production and the Life Cycle Initia-tive in themselves are not the solution. The unsus-tainable consumption patterns of the wealthy andthe middle class also need to be addressed. A glob-al survey by UNEP and Consumers Internation-al reveals slow progress by governments inimplementing the sustainable consumption pro-

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visions of the UN Guidelines for Consumer Pro-tection. 38% of the governments responding werenot aware of the Guidelines’ existence.Some of thelargest resource consuming countries (includingthe US) did not respond at all.10

The strongest economies have the greatestresponsibility for easing consumption patterns.Take CO2 emissions from cars and light trucks inthe US. That country accounts for 25% of worldCO2emissions. In the US transportation accountsfor one-third of all CO2 emissions, of which 62%is from cars and light trucks. Thus these vehiclesrepresent about 20% of US carbon emissions, orabout 5% of the world total. If the US personalcar and truck fleet were a country, it would rankfifth world-wide in terms of global warming emis-sions. The emissions from these sources nearlymatch those from all sources in Japan and exceedthose of India and Germany, which rank fifth andsixth in the world in global warming emissions.Controlling CO2 emissions from personal vehi-cles is key to addressing global warming.11

An analysis by Environmental Defense of thelargest automakers in the US (General Motors,Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Toyota and Honda)shows that between 1990 and 2000 the carbonburden of all these companies increased.12 Vehi-cle design is the main reason for this increase.Once a vehicle is designed, that model will beproduced more or less the same way, except forcosmetic changes, for four to six years and will beon the road for another 12 to 15 years.13 On aver-age a US citizen is responsible for emitting about120 pounds of greenhouse gases per day, abouttwice as much as the average in other wealthycountries like France, Germany or Japan. Withjust 4% of the world’s population, the US emitsabout one-quarter of the world’s greenhousegases. The average GHG emissions of one US cit-izen are equal to those of 25 Indians, 33 Pakista-nis, 125 Bangladeshis or 500 Nepalese. And USenergy consumption is still growing, largely as aresult of more driving, bigger cars, bigger housesand appliances, and lack of efficiency measuresby industry.

The challenges ahead1. Hold TNCs accountableSince TNCs dominate and use the largest share ofthe Earth’s resources and enjoy the spoils of theirpower, they have to accept the greatest share ofresponsibility. They must promote developmentthat meets basic human needs, and do so sustain-ably. Self-regulation has not worked: time andtime again it has been shown to result in lawless-ness and reckless behaviour by TNCs. The inter-national regulatory regime needs to keep track andtake stock of their activities. The internationalregulatory architecture must be strengthened inorder to do this effectively. Multilateral environ-mental agreements (MEAs) bind only govern-ments, but they should also hold TNCsaccountable for their activities at home andabroad. National laws should require those financ-ing TNCs’ operations to impose obligations onthem to implement cleaner production and pro-mote sustainable consumption.

2. Track materials flowsSystems are not in place to track flows of naturalresources from extraction, production, use andrecycling to final disposal. While GDP measureseconomic development in dollars, materials flowscan measure the impact of industrial activities onthe environment. Flows of natural resources,goods, pollutants and wastes generated by anindustrial economy could be a new way to mea-sure countries’ environmental performance.UNEP needs to develop databases and indicatorsthat document materials flows through industrialeconomies and produce a global report card oftheir environmental performance. The goal is todevelop new thinking and new management toolsto help bring about the transition to more efficientand less environmentally harmful patterns ofmaterials use in modern societies. We need tangi-ble measurements of the progress made. Other-wise we will forever be immersed in the anecdotesand rhetoric of sustainability without hard evi-dence to support claims to success.

3. Reduce wasteful consumptionGovernments, industry and civil society mustjointly accept responsibility for convincing con-sumers to change their consumption patterns.The initiative taken by UNEP and ConsumersInternational to survey implementation of the sus-tainable consumption provisions of the UNGuidelines for Consumer Protection is a step inthe right direction. It is to be hoped that theresults will be used to design programmes involv-ing all stakeholders in a world-wide effort toaddress the consumption issue.

Changes in consumption patterns cannot beachieved when consumers are bombarded withconflicting messages. Advertising of harmful andunhealthy products needs to be curbed. Con-sumers’ choices mainly depend on price and con-venience. Therefore they need to be givenincentives to choose environmentally friendlyproducts, produce less household waste and takepart in “reuse, reduce and recycle” campaigns.Cleaner production initiatives should also assesspost-production consumption measures such asafter sales service, repairs to household appliances,and responsibility for recycling or disposal ofobsolete consumer products.

4. Improve international environmentalgovernanceThe process of globalization, with economic liber-alization, has caused further environmental harm,increased the concentration of wealth and powerin a handful of big corporations, and underminedthe authority and autonomy of national govern-ments. In fact, governments have been weakened,are failing their citizens, and are unable to governeffectively. International environmental gover-nance is therefore a key issue. The UN system hasbeen weakened by the growing power of theWTO, with its enforcement capability, and theIMF and World Bank with their ability to attachconditions to loans. There is also concern that theproliferation of MEAs is creating fragmentation,diffusion and overlap in governance structures.

National implementation is weak in many casesbecause of highly inadequate financial resources.UNEP’s resources need to be enhanced for itsvoice within the UN system to be heard, so that itcan effectively champion the cause of sustainabledevelopment (particularly its economic, social,developmental and equity aspects).14 The UNsystem also needs to sufficiently integrate and col-laborate in strengthening the capacity of develop-ing countries, and to ensure adequate financingfor developing countries to implement andachieve sustainable development.

Notes1. World Resources Institute (2000) The Weightof Nations: Material Outflows from IndustrialEconomies (www.wri.org/materials/weightofna-tions.html).2. Ministerial Statement for the World Summit onSustainable Development. Regional MinisterialMeeting for the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment. Economic Commission for Europe(UNECE), Geneva, 24-25 September 2001.3. Singh, Kavaljit (2001) Selected Data on Cor-porate Power and Profits. Presented at 3rd APRNConference on Corporate Power or PeoplesPower, Sydney, 27-29 September 2001.4. Corpwatch (2001) Corporate GlobalizationFact Sheet (www.corpwatch.org/press).5. Bruno, K., et. al. (1999) Greenhouse Gangstersvs. Climate Justice (www.corpwatch.org/press).6. UN Economic and Social Council (2001)Implementing Agenda 21. Report of the Secretary-General, Commission on Sustainable DevelopmentActing as the Preparatory Committee for the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development, SecondPreparatory Session, Advance Unedited Text, pp. 40-41.7. Third World Network (1997) Some criticalenvironmental issues after Rio. Third World Resur-gence 81/82 (May/June). 8. www.unhchr.ch.9. World Resources Institute (2002) Tomorrow’sMarkets: Global Trends and the Implications forBusiness (www.wri.org/press/tomorrow_ market.html ).10. United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) and Consumers International (2002)Tracking Progress: Implementing Sustainable Con-sumption Policies.11. DeCico, J. and F. An (2002) Automakers’Corporate Carbon Burdens – Reframing PublicPolicy on Automobiles, Oil and Climate (www.enviromentaldefense.org/pdf.cfm? ).12. www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID+2222.13. Take, for example, Chrysler’s Grand Cherokeejeep. The 1999 model, which reached 300,000 inannual sales, was consuming 5 million barrels ofoil and emitting 1.9 million tonnes of CO2peryear. These emissions correspond to 0.5 millionmetric tonnes of carbon. 14. Third World Network (2001)InternationalEnvironmental Governance: Some Issues From aDeveloping Country Perspective (www.twnside.org.sg ).

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This is a review of some of the many impor-tant initiatives governments and others havetaken to promote pollution prevention and

cleaner production, especially in North America.1It addresses three themes:◆ Representatives of environmental agencies must“mainstream” cleaner production objectives intogovernment-wide industrial and fiscal policies, sothat they move from being the sole responsibilityof corporate environment, health and safety man-agers to being squarely on the agenda of the CEOand Board of Directors.◆ A strong environmental regulatory regime needsto be maintained. Although industry challengeprogrammes, educational measures and public-private partnerships have increasingly useful roles,it is clear that until we dramatically reform fiscalpolicies so as to incorporate full environmentalcosts into market prices, strong regulations will berequired to stimulate action and avoid “free rider”problems.◆ We need to continue learning how to expandthe agenda and vision beyond a focus on reducingwaste and emissions associated with industrial

processes to include product design and sustain-able consumption and social considerations, suchas the growing emphasis on “environmental jus-tice.”

PartnershipsThe premise underlying the first theme is thatdirect action by environmental regulators willonly get us halfway to our long-term objectives.Businesses (and consumers) make environmentaldecisions in response to a complex and inter-relat-ed set of internal and external drivers, only someof which environmental agencies can influence.Governments, markets, the local community andthe judiciary all create pressure for more (or less)improved environmental performance. In addi-tion, the business case for going beyond regulato-ry compliance is not universal: different businesseswill respond differently to the wide range of regu-latory, economic and social pressures they eachface. As a result, a strategy to stimulate innovative,environmentally appropriate production and con-sumption activities must deploy an array of incen-tives, including many that rely on non-regulatory

and even non-governmental forces. We musttherefore look to a variety of instruments to stim-ulate the non-governmental and private sectors tobe partners in the sustainable production and con-sumption agenda.

Many of the initiatives developed around theworld to promote pollution prevention rely onpartnerships. The National Cleaner ProductionCentres, the UN-sponsored sectoral workinggroups, and the many regional, national and localpollution prevention roundtables in virtually everyregion of the world all rely on a partnership model.

Partnerships can work at all levels. For example,the Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtablewas developed in the mid 1990s in response togrowing interest from industry, NGOs and gov-ernments at all levels in sharing information abouthow to promote and implement pollution pre-vention most effectively. Based on the NationalPollution Prevention Roundtable in the UnitedStates and the European Roundtable on CleanerProduction, the Canadian Pollution PreventionRoundtable is co-chaired by a representative of thefederal government and a member of the non-profit Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention,with a steering committee representing industry,NGOs, and municipal and federal governments.The roundtable is a virtual organization of indi-viduals who are interested in and committed toadvancing pollution prevention. The CanadianCentre for Pollution Prevention looks after allongoing communications and organization ofevents, which include regular meetings, fosteringongoing communications directly among mem-bers and through an e-mail list server.

In addition to our work at the national level, weare expanding our pollution prevention partner-ship efforts both upwards at the regional andinternational levels, and downwards to the locallevels. At the regional level, the North AmericanCommission for Environmental Co-operation(CEC) has supported the Capacity Building forPollution Prevention project. This has provided aforum for the Pollution Prevention Roundtablesin Mexico, the United States and Canada to meetregularly, exchange experiences and develop jointinitiatives. And under the Summit of the Americ-as, all Ministers of the Environment are support-ing the Roundtable of the Americas for CleanerProduction as an important aspect of their overallefforts to promote partnerships with industry andcivil society throughout the Americas.

Internationally, one of the most important out-comes of the Sixth International High-level Sem-inar on Cleaner Production (CP6) and theInternational Pollution Prevention Summit inMontreal was the creation of the Pollution Pre-

Stakeholder perspectives: government

James Riordan, Executive Director, National Office of Pollution Prevention, Toxics Pollution Prevention Directorate, Environment Canada,

351 St. Joseph Boulevard, 13 th Floor, PVM, Hull, Quebec, Canada ([email protected])

Summary Cleaner production (or pollution prevention) objectives need to be “mainstreamed” into over-all governmental industrial and fiscal policies. A strong environmental regulatory regime alsoneeds to be in place. Industry challenge programmes, educational initiatives and public-privatepartnerships are playing increasingly important roles. However, until fiscal policies are reformedso that market prices incorporate full environmental costs, strong regulations will be essential.It is time to move beyond a focus on reducing waste and emissions associated with industrialprocesses. Areas including product design, sustainable consumption and social impacts (e.g.“environmental justice”) have been receiving increasing attention.

RésuméIl est impératif d’intégrer les objectifs de production plus propre (ou de prévention de la pollu-tion) dans les politiques industrielles et fiscales globales des gouvernements. Il faut égalementmettre en place un système de réglementation fort pour protéger l’environnement. Les pro-grammes défis de l’industrie, les initiatives éducatives et les partenariats public-privé jouentun rôle de plus en plus important. Mais tant que les politiques fiscales n’auront pas été réfor-mées pour intégrer la totalité des coûts environnementaux dans les prix du marché, des régle-mentations fortes seront indispensables. On ne peut plus se contenter de réduire les volumesde déchets et d’émissions produits par les procédés industriels : il faut maintenant aller plus loin.A cet égard, des aspects comme la conception des produits, la consommation durable et lesimpacts sociaux (par ex. l’ “ équité environnementale ”) retiennent de plus en plus l’attention.

ResumenLas políticas gubernamentales industriales y fiscales deben incorporar objetivos de producciónmás limpia (o prevención de polución). Asimismo se debe implantar un esquema regulatorioambiental riguroso. Los programas de desarrollo industrial, las iniciativas educativas y las aso-ciaciones entre entes públicos y privados juegan roles cada vez más preponderantes. Sinembargo, hasta tanto se modifiquen las políticas fiscales para que los precios de mercadoincorporen todos los costos ambientales, es indispensable contar con normas estrictas. En estaépoca las propuestas para reducción de residuos y disminución de emisiones en procesos indus-triales son insuficientes. Temas tales como diseño industrial, consumo sustentable e impactossocial (por ejemplo: “ equidad ambiental ”) cobran progresiva importancia.

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vention Worldwide Information Network(P2WIN). Operated by the Canadian Centre forPollution Prevention, this network will provide avirtual meeting place for the many Pollution Pre-vention Roundtables, Cleaner Production Cen-tres and sustainability networks world-wide.

Local level partnerships may be particularlyeffective ways of reaching out to small and medi-um-sized enterprises (SMEs). Smaller companiesmake up a large majority of businesses in Canada.However, since many SMEs do not have theresources readily available to invest in pollutionprevention projects, they can be difficult to reach,mobilize or engage in environmental activities.The Toronto Region Sustainability Programme isan agreement between three levels of government(the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto andEnvironment Canada). The non-profit OntarioCentre for Environmental Technology Advance-ment is contracted to run the project. It identifiesbusinesses showing potential for pollution preven-tion, hires consultants to conduct pollution pre-vention audits of participating businesses,identifies problems and potential solutions, andfacilitates access to financing to undertake pollu-tion prevention projects.

EnviroClub is a similar concept, started by thefederal Department of Environment in theProvince of Quebec. Its objective is to help SMEsimprove competitiveness and profitability throughenhanced environmental performance. This pro-gramme shares with participating facilities the costof an environmental audit aimed at identifyingcost-effective pollution prevention opportunities.The programme has helped many SMEs identifyand implement pollution prevention opportuni-ties with valuable returns-on-investment thatmight otherwise have remained unrealized.

“High production-high volume” chemicals ini-tiatives to categorize the toxicological characteris-tics of the thousands of substances in commercerepresent another example of the potentiallyimportant role such partnerships can play.

Emerging experience also points to the poten-tially important role carefully structured public-private partnerships can play in stimulating“radical” innovations. Under the American CarrotProgramme, for example, a consortium of regula-tory agencies, NGOs and industrial representativesprovides an annual challenge to industry in vari-ous sectors to develop a more energy or materialefficient appliance of a designated type. The con-sortium widely publicizes the winning designs,helping stimulate considerable market pressure tosupport ongoing innovations in these products.

Canada and the United States, like many othercountries, are exploring the most effective ways todesign challenge programmes to try to encourage“beyond business as usual” cleaner productionactivities. Many of these initiatives explore issuessuch as:◆ how to use regulatory and permitting regimes toprovide incentives;◆ whether and how to incorporate certified envi-ronmental management systems;◆ how to ensure credibility through publicinvolvement, public reporting, and effective per-

formance verification mechanisms.In Canada much of the work in this area builds

on the suite of public-private challenge pro-grammes developed in the 1990s to address suchissues as energy efficiency (the Canadian IndustryProgramme for Energy Conservation, or CIPEC);smog (the federal-provincial Anti-Smog ActionPlan, or ASAP); toxic emissions (the AcceleratedReduction/Elimination of Toxics programme, orARET) and GHG emissions (the Voluntary Chal-lenge and Registry, or VCR). These programmeshave been insightful and are being improved uponto continue encouraging pollution prevention andsignificantly reduce the environmental impact ofan even greater number of businesses in Canada.

Finally, information disclosure programmesrepresent an under-utilized mechanism forempowering non-governmental actors to createpressure for improved environmental perfor-mance. A recent US Toxics Release Inventory(TRI) study concludes that the most importantimpacts of the TRI have flowed from its use bythird parties to target the most egregious pollutersfor direct community action (“environmentalblacklisting”) and to pressure government to focuson tightening standards and enforcing existingones against those facilities reporting the highestemissions (Fung and O’Rourke, 2000).

Following the lead of the US EnvironmentalDefense Fund and Friends of the Earth, UnitedKingdom, we have recently expanded on the basicpollutant release and transfer registry model inCanada. Help was given a coalition of environ-mental NGOs in developing an internet-basedsystem using data from our National PollutantRelease Inventory. Users can identify local releas-es and access easily understandable informationabout potential environmental and healthimpacts.

The importance of continued “smart”regulationsWhile exploring the potential benefits of partner-ship approaches, we are also being reminded ofthe importance of well-crafted regulations.

The general case for expecting that an environ-mental protection regime which includes strongregulations with clear targets can co-exist with(and may help promote) economic efficiency hasbeen made many times, most recently in a paperby Dan Esty and Michael Porter (2001).2 Thatpaper draws on the findings of the World Eco-nomic Forum’s Environmental SustainabilityIndex to argue that those jurisdictions with themost stringent environmental regulations alsoshow the best economic performance. Indeed,Esty and Porter argue that because they enhanceefficient use of resources, high levels of environ-mental stewardship and strict regulations shouldactually help stimulate a country’s competitive-ness, economic growth and standard of living.

Experiences with pollution prevention plan-ning and extended producer responsibility pro-vide good illustrations of the important roleregulations must continue to play. American statessuch as New Jersey and Massachusetts took thelead world-wide in mandating pollution preven-

tion planning in the mid 1990s. Most mandatorypollution prevention planning regulatory regimesdo not stipulate results: typically, they require des-ignated facilities to prepare a plan and implementwhatever pollution prevention measures theyidentify as appropriate. Recent evaluations of theNew Jersey and Massachusetts programmes con-firm that mandated pollution prevention plan-ning has resulted in a significant number ofcompanies identifying and implementing cost-effective pollution prevention opportunities.Companies were first forced to identify pollutionprevention opportunities and then implementedthem because of the cost-savings or short paybackperiod they offered. Without a requirement to dothe planning in the first place, however, many ofthese opportunities might have been overlookedfor the foreseeable future.

Canada continues to promote voluntary pollu-tion prevention by implementing similar manda-tory pollution prevention planning programmes.The Canadian Environmental Protection Act1999 contains provisions modelled on state pol-lution prevention planning programmes in theUS. The law authorizes the Federal Minister ofEnvironment to require pollution preventionplanning with respect to various substances desig-nated as “toxic”. A sewer use by-law recentlyimplemented in Toronto requires all facilities dis-charging certain pollutants to prepare and imple-ment pollution prevention plans.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) initia-tives are increasingly common – another excellentillustration of the important role well-crafted reg-ulations can play. At least 30 countries have EPRlaws for packaging; about 15 have laws concerningbattery take-back programmes; and nine nowrequire recycling of electronics components (anidentified area of growth for EPR). In Canadaalone there are at least 36 federal and provincialproducer stewardship programmes for such itemsas beverage containers, tyres, used oil, packaging,batteries, paint, refrigerants, pesticide containersand other hazardous materials. As a result ofincreased use of this approach, a shift has occurredover the past few years from asking what EPR is,and whether or not to implement it, to issues ofimplementation.

The OECD has invested considerable effort inhelping to promote EPR and improve our under-standing of how to utilize it most effectively.Within the past year both the OECD and Cana-da sponsored workshops to share experiences andidentify lessons learned. One of the key pointsemphasized at both workshops was that “volun-tary” EPR would work under very few circum-stances. Unless there are strong pre-existingmarket drivers, some form of government inter-vention is required.

A recent review conducted for the OECD iden-tifies “a definite shift from voluntary initiatives ofproducers to the introduction of mandatory pro-grammes by governments, or a combination ofboth” (Tojo et al., 2001).

In some cases, negotiated agreements can pro-vide an effective intermediate approach to intro-ducing EPR and similar cleaner production

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initiatives, where roles and responsibilities can bedelineated clearly without the transaction costsassociated with a regulation.

Canada recently followed Australia’s lead innegotiating with industry a programme to phaseout, take back and destroy remaining stocks ofCFCs being used as refrigerants. This experienceagain emphasizes the importance of retaining acredible regulatory regime. Following some yearsof discussions on this issue, an industry consor-tium developed an effective scheme very quicklyonce the federal and provincial governments joint-ly sponsored development of a model regulationthat would have required industry take-back.

We are also learning how to “regulate smarter”by focusing environmental regulations more onproducts rather than on processes. As Brady andFava (1999) emphasize, product-focused policiesare effective because products are the focal point ofmany businesses. Addressing products thereforerequires a systems perspective that ties environ-mental issues directly into a company’s core busi-ness activities. The emphasis on products shouldalso be accompanied by a perspective that accountsfor environmental impacts throughout the prod-uct’s life cycle. A life-cycle perspective can helpidentify the points of most effective leverage.

Mainstreaming cleaner productionthrough improved industrial and fiscalpoliciesDespite our collective success in significantlyenhancing awareness over the past decade, it mustbe acknowledged that cleaner production is noton the immediate agenda of every CEO or seniorgovernment official.

To achieve this goal, we will need closer inte-gration and alignment of industrial, fiscal andenvironmental policies. Although some Europeancountries have succeeded in linking environmen-tal and industrial policies, Canada and many oth-ers have had only limited success in usingpollution prevention and cleaner production con-cepts and objectives as the basis for reorientinggovernments’ industrial policies.

The key to fostering this linkage lies in recog-nizing the important focus on innovation under-lying all effective environmental policies. It can beargued, for example, that at the heart of pollutionprevention is a combination of: i) stimulating theinnovation and dissemination of new technolo-gies and processes that add value while dramati-cally reducing environmental impacts throughoutthe product life-cycle; and ii) finding new ways toprovide services related to delivering the desiredfunction – as opposed to a specific form – requiredby consumers.3

Thus an important objective for many envi-ronmental agencies should be to help our coun-terpart industrial policy agencies understand thepotential synergies among environmental andeconomic objectives that can result from thisinnovation-based agenda. As full partners in suchan agenda, industry departments would be well-placed to develop and deploy levers to promoteinnovation based, beyond “business as usual”environmental performance.

Such levers could include support for the devel-opment, improvement and dissemination of:◆ technologies that are consistent with a vision of“eco-effectiveness” or “natural capitalism”;◆ best management practices (such as environ-mental management systems, supply chain man-agement, pollution prevention planning andproduct stewardship);◆ standardized analytical tools (such as life-cycleanalysis);◆ standardized analytical measures (such as lifecycle based eco-efficiency indicators that combinemeasures of environmental and economic perfor-mance);◆ accurate consumer information (such as prod-uct standards, product labels and standardizedand meaningful corporate environmental andsocial responsibility reports).

In many cases industry agencies may be betterplaced to promote these types of policy measuresthan are environmental agencies.

Analytical tools, measures and public informa-tion form a particularly important package.Together these types of approaches are the key tocreating the sort of competitive dynamic withinour marketplace that will be required to move usbeyond where even the “smartest” environmentalregulations will take us.

In this regard, I think governments have animportant role to play in encouraging investmentmarkets to account directly for environmentalperformance. The growth in demand for sociallyresponsible and “green” investment opportunitieshas been impressive over the last few years. Invest-ment in these areas in Canada is growing at 40%per year and now includes $50 billion or 4% oftotal assets. In the United States the numbers arehigher: $2.2 trillion, equalling 13% of total assetsunder management.

Notwithstanding this growth, recent work bythe World Resources Institute indicates that main-stream investment markets are unlikely to rou-tinely account for the full dimensions of environ-mental performance until investment analysts areable to understand and measure more easily thelinks between environmental and financial per-formance. Recent initiatives in some of the Scan-dinavian countries and the UK illustrate that gov-ernments – and industry and finance departmentsin particular – can play a very important role insupporting this transition. For example, govern-ments could require more complete corporate dis-closure and could also play active roles in helpingthe investment community develop and learnhow to use new analytical techniques that wouldmake these considerations part of routine finan-cial analysis.

While both environmental and industrial poli-cy agencies can encourage and help companies toidentify possible “win-win” opportunities result-ing from improved environmental performance,the permissible scope of non-financial issues thatmanagers and boards of directors of publicly trad-ed companies are legally allowed to address is typ-ically well outside the domain of environmentalagencies. Although polls indicate that most Cana-dians want companies to address a wide range of

social and environmental issues, the country’s cur-rent corporate governance laws are unclear aboutthe degree to which this would be permitted.Most conventional interpretations restrict corpo-rate managers and boards to considering onlyissues with possible direct impacts on the value ofthe company (this is their “fiduciary” duty). Manycommentators, including most recently the well-publicized “Canadian Democracy and CorporateAccountability Commission”, have recommendedexpanding this duty to enable managers andboards to consider non-financial considerationsrelated to the environment and corporate socialresponsibility.4 This is an issue that may be moreapplicable to North American companiesthan others, but it is certainly gaining prominencein Europe.

Ultimately, to fundamentally reorient con-sumption and production patterns it will be essen-tial to integrate environmental costs into productprices through the tax system. In its ongoing workon ecological fiscal reform (EFR), the CanadianNational Roundtable on Environment and Econ-omy has identified four key elements of EFR:◆ removal of all existing fiscal disincentives toenvironmentally sound practices;◆ use of eco-taxes to help internalize the true costsof production and consumption;◆ selective use of incentives to encourage desiredbehaviour (e.g. accelerated capital cost allowancesfor energy and material-efficient technologies, rev-enue neutral taxes on products and practices withhigh externalities); ◆ development and use of new measures ofprogress that account more fully for environmen-tal impacts than the current system of nationalaccounts.

Environmental justiceEnvironmental justice, an issue whose dimensionswe are only just starting to appreciate, is anotherarea that will require us to expand the scope ofmany of our current cleaner production relatedactivities. Environmental justice is one of five newprojects being addressed by the OECD WorkingParty on National Environmental Policies(WPNEP). The United States is ahead of mostcountries in institutionalizing environmental jus-tice concepts in its public policies. Following LoveCanal and other well-publicized incidents, the USEnvironmental Protection Agency (US EPA)established environmental justice as one of sevenguiding principles in its 1993 strategic plan. In1994 President Clinton issued Executive Order12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmen-tal Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations”. The US EPA now has anOffice of Environmental Justice, and many states’environment departments have environmentaljustice offices or programmes.

The US EPA defines environmental justice as“the fair treatment and meaningful involvementof all people regardless of race, colour, nationalorigin, or income with respect to the develop-ment, implementation, and enforcement of envi-ronmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fairtreatment means that no group of people, includ-

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ing a racial, ethnic, or socio-economic group,should bear a disproportionate share of the nega-tive environmental consequences resulting fromindustrial, municipal, and commercial operationsor the execution of federal, state, local, and tribalprogrammes and policies.” The US EPA classifiesan “environmental justice community” as one inwhich residents are “a minority and/or low in-come group; excluded from the environmentalpolicy setting and/or decision-making process;subject to a disproportionate impact from one ormore environmental hazards; and experience adisparate implementation of environmental reg-ulations, requirements, practices and activities intheir communities”.5

Environmental justice is an important chal-lenge for governments. Like various other aspectsof the sustainable production and consumptionagenda, it is one where we can start to make a dif-ference simply by acknowledging that the issueexists and then working collectively and in part-nership with civil society to start to address it.

Notes1. In this article, the terms cleaner production andpollution prevention are sometimes used inter-changeably. The opinions presented are those ofthe author.

2. A recent survey of the literature, sponsored byEnvironment Canada, found these conclusionsconsistent with the bulk of the academic researchin this area. For example, it was found that: i) while some environmental regulations can leadto layoffs in some firms, the overall impact of envi-ronmental policies in the United States has been again in employment; ii) stricter environmental reg-ulations do not affect exports or trade patterns inthe United States or other industrial countries; iii)environmental protection expenditures have a neg-ligible or positive effect on economic performanceand industrial productivity; and iv) plants withpoor environmental records are not more prof-itable than cleaner ones in the same industry, evenwhen comparing for age, size and technology.3. See, for example, Moffet et al., forthcoming.4. Canadian Democracy and Corporate Account-ability Commission (2002) The New BalanceSheet: Corporate Profits and Responsibility in the21st Century. Toronto.5. See http://es.epa.gov/oeca/main/ej.

ReferencesBrady, K. and J. Fava, Five Winds International (1999)Product and Supply Chain Focused Policies and Tools forSustainable Development. Prepared for EnvironmentCanada.

Canadian Democracy and Corporate AccountabilityCommission (2002) The New Balance Sheet: CorporateProfits and Responsibility in the 21st Century. Toronto.

Esty, Daniel C. and Michael E. Porter, Ranking Nation-al Environmental Regulation and Performance: A LeadingIndicator of Future Competitiveness? (forthcoming).

Fung and D. O’Rourke (2000) Reinventing Environ-mental Regulation from the Grassroots Up: Explainingand Expanding on the Success of the Toxics ReleaseInventory. Environmental Management 25, No. 2, pp.115-127.

Hamond, M.J., S. De Canio, P. Duxbury, A. Sanstaed,C. Stinson, Tax Waste, Not Work: How Changing WhatWe Tax Can Lead to a Strong Economy and a Clean Envi-ronment. San Francisco: Redefining Progress (forthcom-ing).

Johnston, D. (2000) Sustainable Development – AnOECD Perspective. International Council on Metals andthe Environment Newsletter, Vol. 8.

Moffet, J., S. Meyer and J. Pezzack, Collaborative PublicPolicy For Sustainable Production: A Broad Agenda anda Modest Example. In: Sustainable Production and Con-sumption (ed. Glen Toner) (forthcoming).

Tojo, N., T. Lindqvist and G. Davis (2001) EPR Pro-gramme Implementation: Institutional and StructuralFactors. Prepared for the OECD Seminar on EPR: Pro-gramme Implementation and Assessment, 13-14December 2001, Paris.

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Cleaner Production

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The promotion and development of moreeffective partnerships involving govern-ments, industries and other stakeholders is

crucial in facilitating accelerated implementationof the changes essential for truly sustainable soci-eties. For effective cleaner production, promotionand implementation of “other stakeholders” meansa wide range of facilitating organizations. This arti-cle discusses some of the most important types offacilitating organizations and related key issues.

Financial institutionsWhile maintaining their health and profitability,financial institutions, bankers and investors canmake a valuable contribution to more sustainablepatterns of production and consumption throughtheir influence at critical decision-making pointsin many commercial activities. In addition, finan-cial institutions as a sector can benefit frompreventive approaches applied to their own oper-ations.

Financial institutions world-wide have startedshowing interest in cleaner production, as illus-trated in The Pollution Abatement Handbook pro-duced by World Bank and The Cleaner ProductionPolicy Guidelines prepared by Asian DevelopmentBank. However, most current efforts seem to

emphasize the management of grant funds andconcessional lines of credit, rather than buildinga capital market and using revolving funds forcleaner production promotion and implementa-tion. In retrospective financing or operation ofcluster loans, use of cleaner production conceptsand related preventive approaches is still not com-mon in the standard project appraisal process orin the process guidance framework.

Many financing activities have not yet widenedtheir outreach to small enterprises, services andlocal utilities, perhaps due to credit risks. Privatesector participation in cleaner production financ-ing is still rather low, and most of the fund streamsare donor driven. Cleaner production financing isused mainly to hasten the decision-makingprocess though it does, in some cases, function tocreate market pull.

Cleaner production investments are intrinsicallyattractive to a financial institution, as they have arelatively short payback period due to potentialresource and energy conservation, increased pro-ductivity and decreased risks. Financial institutions,however, are not usually skilled in identifying orevaluating cleaner production projects themselves.Hence it becomes necessary that they partner withCleaner Production Centres (CPCs)/National

Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) or workwithin a regulatory framework that supports iden-tification, evaluation and implementation of clean-er production projects. During the last decade it hasbeen observed that CPCs/NCPCs are playingincreasingly significant roles in the cleaner produc-tion project funding process.

Examples of cleaner production investmentsinclude installation of new and more efficientheating boilers, new pumps and valves, dustrecovery systems, recovery of hydrocarbonvapours, recovery of materials from waste tailings,oil recovery, recirculation and reuse of water andchemicals, installation of new, more resource-effi-cient equipment, and installation of regulationand monitoring equipment. Experience withcleaner production programmes reveals that a20% reduction in waste and emissions is achiev-able with no new investment. A further 10-20%reduction is possible if minor investments aremade, with a payback period of less than sixmonths.

The financial sector in the United States is rel-atively innovative and mature. This, combinedwith the national pollution prevention (P2) pro-motion legislation enacted in 1990 and other sim-ilar legislation, contributes to the promotion ofpollution prevention (cleaner production) invest-ments in many states. Several states have pollutionprevention, direct loans for recycling, or revolvingloan fund programmes. State loans can enhancethe financial capacity of smaller firms, which maynot have the resources and collateral to affordcommercial financing. Revolving funds also lever-age state support by recycling loan monies over aperiod of years. Examples include the P2 LoanProgramme in Ohio, which targets SMEs; theRENEW Loan Programme in Colorado (wasterecycling); and the Nebraska Dollar and EnergySaving Loan Programme (small pollution preven-tion projects).

However, many SMEs fail to qualify for theseinstitutional mechanisms. SMEs are especiallycritical in developing countries, where they dom-inate the so-called informal sector. Because oftheir combined human health and global envi-ronmental impacts, they are urgently in need ofthe foregoing types of assistance to enable them toimplement cost and environmentally efficientcleaner production measures.

In the last decade, development-financing insti-tutions such as the World Bank have established acombination of cleaner production technical assis-tance and financing programmes. Notable among

Stakeholder perspectives: facilitatingorganizations

Don Huisingh,1 Professor, The Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37966-4134, USA([email protected])

SummaryEffective dissemination of cleaner production principles depends on the promotion and devel-opment of effective partnerships among governments, industries and “facilitating organiza-tions” (e.g. financial and educational institutions, NGOs, technical advisors, consultants andindustry associations). Several successful initiatives that involve facilitating organizations arecited. It is urgent for diverse stakeholders to play more active roles in helping society make thetransition to sustainable development.

RésuméLa diffusion effective des principes de production plus propre dépend des efforts faits pour pro-mouvoir et développer des partenariats efficaces entre gouvernements, industries et “ organ-isations servant d’auxiliaires ” (institutions financières, établissements d’enseignement, ONG,conseillers techniques, consultants et organisations professionnelles, par exemple). Plusieursinitiatives mises en place avec la participation de ces organisations et couronnées de succèssont citées. Il est urgent que diverses parties prenantes jouent un rôle plus actif pour aider lasociété à évoluer vers le développement durable.

ResumenPara promover la difusión de principios de producción más limpia es necesario alentar alian-zas y asociaciones entre gobiernos, industria y “entidades facilitadoras” (por ejemplo: institu-ciones financieras y educativas, ONGs, organismos de asesoramiento técnico, empresasconsultoras y asociaciones industriales). Se citan diversas iniciativas exitosas con entidades deeste tipo. Es imperioso que todos los involucrados desempeñen roles más activos en la transi-ción de la sociedad hacia el desarrollo sustentable.

Cleaner Production

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these are the Industrial Pollution Control and Pre-vention Project (IPPP) of the World Bank in India,with an aggregate financing of US$200 million,the Industrial Pollution Control Project in Brazil(US$50 million) and the Industrial Pollution Con-trol Project in China (US$100 million). In 1996the World Bank developed The Pollution Preven-tion Abatement Handbook: Towards Cleaner Pro-duction. This handbook is now used by severalfinancing institutions as a guide to mainstreamcleaner production. Lessons learned from theselarge cleaner production financing projects mustbe widely and efficiently disseminated throughoutthe financing community world-wide.

The potential for clean technology investmentsin Latin America is considerable. The lack offinancial instruments available for investments hasled many companies either to avoid making theinvestments needed or to secure loans at the highinterest rates prevailing in the region.

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) wasestablished in 1993 to encourage the growing roleof the private sector in Latin America and theCaribbean. Equipped with funding of $1.3 billion,the MIF’s broad and flexible mandate addresses therapidly changing private sector developmentneeds. A key MIF role is to introduce effective new“cluster-based” approaches to promote private sec-tor development. The MIF has adopted a clusterprogramme for Achieving Eco-efficiency throughCleaner Production and Environmental Manage-ment. Encouraging results are being documentedand should provide the basis for expansion of theseapproaches in other regions of the world.

Educational institutionsIncreasing the pace of the implementation of newstrategies requires correspondingly new attitudes,values, knowledge and skills for professionals.

To build environmental awareness and capaci-ty for integrated cleaner production promotion,as essentially linked with sustainable developmentof communities, regions, nations and society, edu-cational “capacity building” is urgently needed atall levels of education and in training activities ofall sectors of society.

The “educate-the-educator” approach can becentral to capacity building because of its poten-

tial to rapidly build national capacity, and fordeveloping pools of expertise that can help inter-nalize the concept and disseminate knowledgemore effectively. While many programmes arenow in action within universities, colleges andsociety, the groundbreaking Norwegian pro-gramme warrants special attention. The genesis ofthe “educate-the-educator” approach in cleanerproduction promotion may be traced to the Nor-wegian Cleaner Production Capacity BuildingProgramme initiated in Poland and in the CzechRepublic. This programme was initially conduct-ed entirely by Norwegian expertise, but was pro-gressively shouldered by local professionals whohad received training in earlier sessions. In turn,the Association of Managers for Cleaner Produc-tion (AMCP) was created – a core group of activeexperts on cleaner production in the CzechRepublic, established in 1993 by the graduates ofthe first long-term training programme under theCzech-Norwegian Cleaner Production Project.This continues to be the one of the outstanding,large-scale models of capacity building for pro-motion of cleaner production implementation.

Cleaner production is a concept that requires a“big picture” examination of the interaction among

elements such as product design, production, con-sumption, societal values, economics and the envi-ronment. This may result in a perception that itcannot easily be incorporated into any course struc-ture other than a “cleaner production” course.

However, the interdisciplinary nature of clean-er production is advantageous in training, as it isrelevant to nearly all areas of society. For example,in some universities cleaner production courseunits have been designed for integration into larg-er courses in engineering, product design, archi-tecture, business administration, political sciences,law, economics, ecology, ethics and religion.

Some educational institutions have set upcleaner production programmes at the graduatelevel and, in many cases, have initiated cleanerproduction related electives to complement sci-ence, technology and business related educationprogrammes.

Non-governmental organizations While NGOs vary from industry associations toissue-specific environmental groups, their role isevolving from that of an environmental “watch-dog” to one of a partner in problem-solving. Theirrole in catalyzing and educating the public is cen-tral to promoting changes in corporate, govern-mental and academic procedures. During the lastdecade, NGOs played a significant role in facili-tating the wider dissemination of the core messageof cleaner production/sustainable development inmultiple forms suited to local languages, interests,situations, values and priorities.

Some NGOs have started brokering innovativepartnerships among stakeholders, acting as facili-tators in providing a forum for discussion, infor-mation exchange and issue resolution. NGOshave also started forming networks to involvediverse stakeholders. And there is a progression inthe use of networking methodologies. The expe-rience of cleaner production/sustainable develop-ment networking world-wide has induced severalagencies and programmes to set up their own net-works, based on a common vision with cleanerproduction/sustainable development. Examples

Cleaner Production

NEFCO’s revolving fund system In 1997 NEFCO (the Nordic EnvironmentalFinance Corporation) established a cleanerproduction revolving fund system for theBaltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithua-nia) and north-west Russia, currently amount-ing to EUR 6.7 million. The objective of theRevolving Fund system is to finance imple-mentation of high-priority cleaner productioninvestments with rapid payback (not morethan three years) that yield environmental andeconomic benefits. Such investments shouldprovide enterprises with encouraging modelprojects to upgrade business and environmen-tal performance through low-cost measures.

Cleaner Production Centres play a centralrole by acting as intermediaries betweenNEFCO and enterprises applying for loans, aswell as by identifying and screening projects.

Grant-funded seminars and workshops forindustrial enterprises have been arranged incooperation with CPCs in Russia and Lithua-nia.

The CPCs are also project monitors, provid-ing NEFCO with follow-up reports on eachdisbursement and a completion report at theend of project implementation.

So far NEFCO has approved 20 loans toLithuanian enterprises, of which two have beenfully repaid and 14 are completed (the compa-nies are repaying the loans according to sched-ule). Estonia and Latvia have just startedactivities: two projects have been approved andone is under consideration. In Russia one pro-ject is completed and the company is nowrepaying; six more projects have been approved,but loan agreements have not yet been signed.

Increasing cleaner production investments in developing countries’ SMEs

In 1999 UNEP started a four-year projectdesigned to increase cleaner production invest-ments in SMEs in developing countries. Theproject, which focuses on five demonstrationcountries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Tanzania,Viet Nam and Zimbabwe), is being conductedunder a trust fund created by the Norwegiangovernment. The demonstration countries rep-resent a wide span of socio-economic condi-tions, industrial interests and stages ofindustrialization. Outcomes and experiences inthe demonstration countries will be used at theglobal level to motivate key decision-makers inthe financial sector to pursue cleaner production

investments in developing countries.The project is designed to show leaders of

financial institutions and industrial authoritieshow to assess the merits of cleaner productioninvestment proposals; to persuade leaders offinancial institutions to introduce credit schemescustomized to cleaner production investments; tostimulate the development of new initiatives suchas credit lines, trust funds, policy changes andtraining; to teach cleaner production assessorshow to make credit-worthy loan applications; andto improve the general environment for invest-ment in cleaner production in developing coun-tries. Early results have been encouraging.

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include the Greening of Industry Network (GIN),the International Green Productivity Association(IGPA) and the World Cleaner Production Soci-ety (WCPS).

As networks have been formed and operated inpartnerships, supply and demand related to clean-er production/sustainable development informa-tion and knowledge have increased. This has ledto the need for (and establishment of ) severalinformation clearinghouses available through theweb, hard copy, and face-to-face via trainingcourses and seminars. However, most of the infor-mation networks have been supply-driven and lit-tle work has been done to actually assess variousstakeholders’ information needs and demands.

Updating of information within database hasbeen and continues to be a major weakness.Future cleaner production information networksmay need to move from information to knowl-edge, and to support field-based counselling cen-tres where advice is also provided.

Technical advisors and consultantsConsultants are experienced in helping organiza-tions implement cleaner production and sustain-able production and consumption strategies. Insome instances, where environmentally relatedwork is contracted out, highly skilled consultantsmay be the best source of assistance available.

Technical advisors play an important role by

providing information, transferring experience,and guiding their clients in making well-informeddecisions. However, to date most of the advice,products and services offered by consultants in thefield of environment is end-of-pipe oriented,although the area of expertise in preventiveapproaches is growing.

Consultants can play a wide array of roles in pro-moting implementation of cleaner production/sus-tainable development. For example, they can offersupport to the diffusion of cleaner managementapproaches, better policies, and cleaner productsand technologies, which includes devoting atten-tion to the development of the corporate or gov-ernmental capacity essential to implement thesesustainable development oriented approaches.Hence the development of awareness and skills atall levels on new policies, management approach-es, products, processes and technologies is essential.For example, the human capacity element is criticalfor a technology to evolve from an innovation inthe research laboratory to its large-scale diffusion inthe field.

Another area of influence for technical advisorsis guiding their clients on upcoming and futurechanges in the economic and social environmentand advising them on how to respond to thosechanges. Instead of providing short-term respons-es, consultants could develop a long-term strategyto enable them to face the challenge of suchchanges on a continual basis. Examples of such along-term strategy would be the use of preventiveenvironmental strategies, or the development oftools to teach their clients how to continue todevelop, implement and monitor the results oftheir preventive strategies.

Cleaner Production

College and university approachesColleges and universities are demonstrating many innovative approaches inresponse to societal capacity building needs related to cleaner produc-tion/sustainable development and, more broadly, “ecological literacy”throughout society.

One such programme, at Monash University in Australia, developedaccounting practices that include cleaner production principles. The Uni-versity has formed an association with accounting bodies to disseminatecleaner production, as well as developing specific environmental account-ing course modules.

For more information, see www.monash.edu.au.

The International Institute of Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)at Lund University in Sweden has an intensive 14-month interdisciplinaryMaster’s Programme on Environmental Management, Cleaner Productionand Sustainable Development.

The IIIEE programme, now in its seventh year, involves several hundredgraduates working in multidisciplinary teams in governments, industries,consultancies, financial institutions and NGOs. Participants are workingtowards capacity building, which is crucial to accelerating the transition tosustainable societies.

For more information, contact IIIEE (www. iiiee.lu.se).

Another programme designed to facilitate capacity building at the Ph.D.level is the International Off-Campus Ph.D. Programme in Cleaner Pro-duction, Cleaner Products, Industrial Ecology and Sustainability beguneight years ago at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This

programme is designed for professionals already working full-time in gov-ernment, industry, academia or NGOs to further develop their capacity byconcurrently carrying out their Ph.D. research and thesis development.The approximately 25 candidates are similarly active within these sectors.

For more information, contact Dr. Leo Baas ([email protected]).

A new, rapidly evolving programme launched at Monterrey Tec in Mon-terrey, Mexico, is designed to educate the 9000 educators belonging to its32-campus network throughout Latin America in the concepts, approach-es and tools of cleaner production/sustainable development. This pro-gramme includes an annual symposium series with lectures by world-famous academic, governmental, industry and NGO leaders. Such keyevents are broadcast via Tec’s Virtual University network.

For more information, contact Dr. Francisco J. Lozano ([email protected]).

These examples of cleaner production/sustainable development educa-tional and research activities in higher education are a small part of a slow-ly growing number of programmes. Unlike demonstration projects andindustry based awareness programmes, cleaner production education andresearch at colleges and universities have traditionally received little invest-ment from multilateral/international aid agencies. Cleaner productionclasses and courses at universities seem to have been developed and deliv-ered largely by cleaner production/sustainable development enthusiasts,without any financial or adequate informational or educational resources.

Czech-Norwegian cleaner production project to train the trainers

Through the Norwegian Society of CharteredEngineers, the Norwegian governmentfinances the transfer of know-how pro-grammes on cleaner production strategies andassessment to several CEEC/NIS. These pro-grammes are designed to facilitate implemen-tation of economically profitable andenvironmentally beneficial restructuring ofindustrial processes. Cleaner productionassessments have been carried out in 100-500production companies (demonstration com-panies) in each country involved over a periodof one to six years. In addition, 200 to 800qualified “cleaner production” advisors havebeen trained in each country.

Specific educational goals are to educate a

minimum of 35-60 authorized local instruc-tors in the first one to two programme cycles,and to educate 200-750 authorized advisorsduring the following two to five years (to beconducted by authorized local advisors).

The programmes combine classroomstudies, group work, in-company projectwork and in-company advice. Programmeshave been established in the Czech Republic,Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and the RussianFederation.

In Poland the programme is currentlymaintained by the Polish Cleaner ProductionCentre (NIF-NOT), which coordinates thework of Polish engineering societies in pro-moting cleaner production training.

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Cleaner Production

Industry associationsIndustry associations are another group of facili-tating organizations that have a substantial impacton corporate activities and decisions, as part oftheir mission is to inform the leaders of membercorporations about relevant issues pertaining totheir operations. Such associations provide an

important platform for discussions on the futureof their sector or on industry as a whole. Govern-ments are increasingly involving industry associa-tions in the process of policy formulation andimplementation. Industry associations are alsoconsidered by their members to be a source of reli-able advice and expertise.

In some countries the trade associations of dif-ferent industry sectors have begun to develop apolicy concerning the environmental aspects ofmembers’ activities. They have also started givingenvironmental performance commitments onbehalf of their members. The signing of the Inter-national Declaration on Cleaner Production by anumber of national and international industryassociations (72 as of December 2002) is testimo-ny to this development. The Responsible Careprogramme of the Chemical Manufacturers Asso-ciation is the first globally structured programmedeveloped by industry that focuses on decreasingthe environmental impact of members’ activitiesand products. Another example is the AustralianMining Association’s Mining Code of Conduct,which addresses activities of affiliated corporationson environmental, ethical and equity issues. ◆

1. This article was writtten in cooperation withSurya Chandak, Coordinator, Cleaner Production,UNEP DTIE, 39-43 quai André-Citroën, 75739Paris Cedex 15, France ([email protected])

The Greening of Industry Network (GIN)The Greening of Industry Network stimulates,coordinates and promotes research of high qual-ity, relevance and usefulness aimed at ensuringthat the activities of industry (including busi-ness, labour, consumers and government) areconsistent with building a sustainable future.Research is often the cognitive and instrumentalbasis for policy-making, legislation and indus-trial strategies. An international, interdiscipli-nary network of researchers linked with thesestakeholders is working to identify and stimu-late needed research, and to engage in dialogue

to create sustainable policies, strategies andactions. Through an agenda of linked confer-ences, publications and communications begunin 1991, GIN seeks to create new relationships,visions and practices for sustainability.

The Greening of Industry Network com-prises over 1500 individuals representing acad-emia, business, public interest groups, labourand government in 50 countries. Network par-ticipation is open to all.

For more information, contact GIN (www.greeningofindustry.org).

International Declaration on Cleaner Production: recent signatories

Following the second plenary session of the Sev-enth International High-level Seminar onCleaner Production (CP7), Jacqueline Aloisi deLarderel, UNEP Assistant Executive Directorand Director of the Division of Technology,Industry and Economics, presided over the sign-ing of the International Declaration on CleanerProduction by several seminar delegates.

The new signatories were:◆ Christoph Beier, Director of Planning andDevelopment, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tech-nische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a developmentcooperating consultancy, Germany;◆ Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary Gener-al of the Confederation of National Associationsof Tanners and Dressers of the European Com-munity (COTANCE), Belgium;◆ Otakar Kaucky, Managing Director, Kovo-hute Príbram, a recycler of lead and other met-als, Czech Republic;◆ Miroslav Krejcí, Vice President, EastmanSokolov (formerly Chemicke zavody Sokolov),Czech Republic;◆ Vit Vanek, Chairman, Stavíme ekologickypri,Svazu podnikatelu ve stavebnictví (Associationof Construction Entrepreneurs), Czech Repub-lic;◆ Odeh S. Al Zaghmouri, General Manager, Palestinian Federation ofIndustries.

The Declaration was launched in 1998, with 67 signatories, at the FifthInternational High-level Seminar on Cleaner Production in Seoul, Korea.It is a voluntary public statement of commitment to the strategy and prac-tice of cleaner production.

As of October 2002, six signing ceremonies had been held since CP7,

adding another 24 signatories. These include the governments of Latvia,and of Italy’s Basilicata region, as well as signatories from Ethiopia, Poland,Brazil, China and Latvia. Over 350 organizations are now listed onUNEP’s register of high-level signatories.

The text of the Declaration (in several languages) as well as informa-tion about the signatories can be found at www.uneptie.org/pc/cp/declara-tion/home.htm.

Odeh S. Al Zaghmouri, General Manager of the Palestinian Federation of Industries, signing the International Declaration on Cleaner Production

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Sri Lanka is an island republic with a total areaof 65,610 sq. km. (including inland waters).Its population is around 19 million; the liter-

acy rate is approximately 92%. GNP per capita issome US$ 841.

Since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948,average annual growth in GDP has been around4-5%. In 2000 GDP increased by 6%, reflectingthe global economic situation. Sri Lanka experi-enced a contracting economy for the first time in2001.

The government has undertaken major policyreforms, establishing a target of 10% GDP growthwithin the next five years. This level of growth willbe necessary to achieve substantial reduction ofpoverty, as well as to reconstruct and rehabilitate theNorthern and Eastern Provinces with the advent ofthe peace process. There has been considerableprogress in reducing poverty since independence,as shown by Sri Lanka’s human development indi-

cators. The sectoral composition of GDP in 2000 was

20% agriculture, 17% manufacturing, 54% ser-vices, 1.7% mining and 7% construction. Almost40% of Sri Lanka’s population depends for itslivelihood on activities centred around land. Com-pared with 1999, the share of manufacturing inGDP has increased while the agriculture’s share hasfallen.

The economy of Sri Lanka will continue todepend heavily on natural resources. The mainenergy sources are biomass (59%), hydropower(14%) and petroleum (27%). Hydropower is usedfor approximately 45% of electricity generation.

Apart from increased industrial activity, popu-lation growth exerts pressure on natural resources.It has contributed to a rapid decline in the land-per-person ratio (forcing people to encroach onstate land), natural soil erosion in hilly areas, ero-sion in coastal areas, and excessive sand mining.

With economic development it is expected thatthere will be accelerated growth in construction.Consumption of sand in 2002 is estimated at7 million m3, increasing to 12 million m3 in 2006.

WaterOnly 14% of the rural population has access topiped water, compared with 75% of the urbanpopulation. The National Water Supply andDrainage Board (NWSDB) estimates that 40% ofwater provided by the piped water system is non-revenue producing. This is mainly due to welfaremeasures, poor maintenance and leakages.

The most significant reasons for water bodypollution are demand for water by the expandingindustrial sector (thus increasing effluent load),together with urbanization and the consequentgeneration of waste, especially sewage. There isincreasing consumption of water and agro-chem-icals used in agriculture. Surface and groundwa-ter quality is affected by fertilizers, herbicides andpesticides.

Oil pollution occurs in most urban, suburbanand coastal areas. For example, garages and servicestations dispose of waste oil to surface drainagesystems.

Salinity in irrigated paddy fields, while not yetextensive, appears to be increasing.

AirThe National Building Research Organization(NBRO) and the Central Environmental Author-ity (CEA) monitor air pollution using two fixedand one mobile air quality monitoring laboratoryunits. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone levels in1996 exceeded ambient standards set by the CEA atcertain times of the year. The main pressures on theatmosphere are due to fossil fuel consumers and thetransport, industry and power generation sectors.

ForestForest cover, occupying both wet and dry zones,has steadily decreased over the years (80% of landarea in 1881, for exapmle, compared with 22% in1992). Average annual deforestation between1956 and 1992 was over 36,000 ha.

Coastal resourcesSri Lanka has 1585 km. of coastline. The coastalzone represents 24% of total land area and 65% ofthe total urban area; 30% of the population livesin the coastal zone. Environmental problems resultfrom coral mining, large-scale clearance of coastalvegetation for aquaculture and other uses, exploita-tion of mangroves (which cover about 16,000 ha.)to obtain fuel wood, sand mining in coastal areas,unplanned construction, and dumping of waste.

Cleaner production in Sri Lanka

Nihal Abeysekera, Chairman, National Cleaner Production Centre, and Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific Round Table for Cleaner Production (APRCP),Level 3, No. 53, Vauxhall Lane, PO Box 2015, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka ([email protected])

SummarySeveral Sri Lankan organizations and projects concerned with cleaner production aredescribed in this article. One of these organizations, Small and Medium Enterprise Devel-opers (SMED), was created in 1989 to develop management and technical capacity in indus-try and the service sectors. Since 1997 it has conducted seminars and workshops promotingcleaner production and related concepts throughout Sri Lanka. It has also carried out otherprojects relating to cleaner production. SMED was chosen as the most suitable organiza-tion to host Sri Lanka’s National Cleaner Production Centre, which became operational in2002. The Ministry of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotionis the SMED’s government counterpart.

RésuméL’article décrit plusieurs organisations et projets sri-lankais qui s’intéressent à la productionplus propre. L’une de ces organisations, Small and Medium Entreprise Developers (SMED),a été créée en 1989 pour développer les capacités techniques et administratives des entre-prises industrielles et des prestataires de services. Depuis 1997, SMED anime divers sémi-naires et ateliers à travers le Sri Lanka pour promouvoir la production plus propre et lesconcepts connexes. SMED a également mis en œuvre des projets axés sur la production pluspropre. Cette organisation a été considérée comme la mieux placée pour héberger le Centrenational de production plus propre du Sri Lanka qui a commencé ses activités en 2002 etdont l’homologue au sein du gouvernement sri-lankais est la Direction de la politique indus-trielle et de la promotion des investissements, au ministère du Développement des entre-prises.

ResumenEl artículo menciona diversos proyectos y entidades de Sri Lanka vinculados a la producciónmás limpia. La organización Desarrollo de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa (Small and Medi-um Size Enterprise Developers – SMED) fue creada en 1989 para desarrollar capacidadestécnicas y de gestión en sectores industriales y de servicios. A partir de 1997 fue responsablede la organización de seminarios y reuniones de trabajo para la difusión de temas de pro-ducción más limpia en Sri Lanka, además de promover otros proyectos relacionados conproducción más limpia. SMED fue elegida como sede del Centro Nacional de Producciónmás Limpia de Sri Lanka, que comenzó a operar en 2002. El Ministerio de Desarrollo Empre-sarial, Política Industrial y Promoción de Inversiones es su contraparte en el gobierno.

Cleaner Production

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The national pollution controlstructureThe Central Environmental Authority (CEA) wasestablished in 1981 with the enactment of the1980 National Environmental Act (NEA). Twoimportant legal instruments were created underthe NEA: environmental impact assessment (EIA)and the environmental protection licence (EPL).

While all development activities classified as“prescribed projects” are required to obtain EIAclearance from the appropriate authority, there hasbeen reluctance to do so. The EPL process forindustrial units has been decentralized, and localauthorities are empowered to issue licences to spe-cific industries. Both these processes have beensimplified to enable entrepreneurs to invest in andcontinue their ventures without administrativeimpediments.

In 1990 a separate ministry was created to for-mulate policies, and to address and coordinate allmatters relating to environmental management.The National Environment Action Plan (NEAP)is the basic environmental management document.The current NEAP (1998-2001) is under revision.1

The Committee for Integration of Environmentand Development Policy (CIEDP), a coordinat-ing mechanism co-chaired by the Secretaries of theMinistries of Finance and Planning and Forestryand Environment, was established in 1996. It issupported by sectoral Committees on Environ-ment and Policy Management (CEPOMs) in thefollowing areas: biodiversity, land, water, energyand climate change, industry, coastal and marineareas, urban and built environments, and environ-mental health.

Cleaner productionAfter the framework for pollution control waswell-established (with varying mechanisms) pollu-tion control measures were not generally adoptedby industry, mainly due to the high cost of end-of-pipe control methods and equipment. Companiestrying to survive in the market were not eager toadd the further costs of treating pollutants. How-ever, cleaner production is a sustainable way tomitigate pollution and remain competitive at thesame time.

One CP initiative was the Industrial PollutionReduction Programme (IPRP), a UNDP funded,Central Environmental Authority (CEA)/ UNIDOmanaged project based at the CEA that covered sev-eral aspects of industrial pollution abatement. Themost significant and result-oriented aspect con-cerned cleaner production. Under this programme,begun in 1993, two batches of technical personnel(15 each) were trained in cleaner production assess-ment. The professionals trained were chosen froma wide spectre, representing industry, academic insti-tutions, development banks, private consultants,research institutions, etc.

The two groups of personnel together carriedout CP demonstration exercises in the followingindustry sub-sectors:◆ coconut;◆ leather tannery;◆ rubber (latex processing) (2);◆ meat and chicken processing (2);

◆ paint manufacturing;◆ hotel;◆ glass;◆ rubber product manufacturing.

CP demonstrations in the electroplating, textilesand tannery industries were conducted by localinstitutions under the guidance of internationalexperts. Financial assistance, available under arevolving fund, was provided for the glass, sugar,distillery, metal finishing, textiles and tanneryindustries, among others.

Organizations working in the cleanerproduction fieldSmall and Medium Enterprise Developers(SMED)Small and Medium Enterprise Developers(SMED) is a project of the Federation of Cham-bers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka(FCCISL) and Sri Lanka’s Friedrich NaumannStiftung (FNSt). SMED was created in 1989 todevelop management and technical capacity inindustry and the service sectors.

During the IPRP project, a SMED consultantwas trained in CP. This initiated a number of CPpromotional seminars and workshops, especiallywith the private sector. Gradually the SMEDcleaner production department was establishedand staff strength was increased. It is now well-equipped with in-house and external expertise inCP, ISO 9000, ISO 14000, productivity and EIA.

Staff have been trained locally and abroad,including in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, India andthe United States. SMED currently has fivetrained officers in-house and an external resourcebase of CP consultants who are utilized depend-ing on the work in hand.

During the last five years SMED has carried outseveral workshops and implementation pro-grammes, in association with FCCISL and otherprovincial chambers and industry associations.SMED is also engaged in promotional campaignswith other organizations that play a supportingrole vis-à-vis the business sector. These organiza-tions range from government ministries to provin-cial councils to local authorities.

SMED has been associated with the AsianDevelopment Bank, UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP,USAID and other donors in carrying out cleanerproduction programmes in Sri Lanka

Since 1997 SMED has conducted seminars andworkshops that promote cleaner production andrelated concepts in every part of Sri Lanka, includ-ing awareness programmes targeted to the mediacarried out with the assistance of the Ministry ofTransport and Environment. As a result, mediapublicity and coverage (both electronic and print)concerning CP are increasing.

The Ministry of Environment has entrustedSMED with conducting one-day walk-throughCP audits of 50 industrial establishments in theKelani Valley Basin. The first publication on clean-er production in Sinhala, Sri Lanka’s official andnational language, has been launched.

Industrial Services BureauThe Industrial Services Bureau (ISB) of North

Western Province has participated very actively inenergy and environmental management activitiessince it was created in 1990. As a natural extensionof well-established energy and environmentalmanagement activities, ISB is engaged in intro-ducing cleaner production to Sri Lankan indus-tries, particularly those operating in the NorthWestern Province.

ISB has carried out three cleaner productionawareness programmes. One programme was forrepresentatives of the desiccated coconut, fruit pro-cessing, rubber, hotel and other sectors. The pur-pose of the other two programmes was to createawareness of cleaner production in the desiccatedcoconut and coconut charcoal manufacturing sec-tors. ISB has initiated a programme for conduct-ing a cleaner production demonstration project inthe desiccated coconut sector, in association withthe National Cleaner Production Centre.

National Engineering Research andDevelopment CentreThe following CP related activities were carriedout by the Energy and Environmental Manage-ment Centre of the National Engineering Researchand Development (NERD) Centre between 1997and 2002:◆ two cleaner production audits and 25 energyaudits since 1999;◆ design and implementation of a waste heatrecovery system for a ceramics factory;◆ seven training programmes in cleaner produc-tion and energy related areas since 1998.

The other organizations involved in CP aware-ness creation are the Ceylon Chamber of Com-merce and the Industrial Technology Institute.

Related projectsThe UNIDO “triple bottom line”demonstration projectThe concept of the triple bottom line (TBL), aterm coined by author and management consul-tant John Elkington in 1997, is a new way for busi-ness people to incorporate sustainability into theirday-to-day activities to achieve better productivitywhile satisfying buyers. TBL refers to the threeprongs of social, environmental and financialaccountability, which are directly associated withthe concept and goals of sustainable development.It examines business ethics, corporate socialresponsibility and human rights, all of which areessential to sustainable development. TBL, whenproperly implemented, will provide informationthat can be used by buyers to assess how sustain-able an organization is. To be sustainable, the orga-nization must be financially secure, minimize oreliminate negative impacts on the environment,and act in conformity with the justifiable demandsof the employees.

The UN Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO), after studying international develop-ment and pressure from buyers, has undertaken aproject to introduce the TBL concept in SouthAsian countries. The project’s inaugural seminartook place on 24 March 2001. The purpose of theseminar was to train representatives from India,Pakistan and Sri Lanka on implementation of the

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TBL demonstration projects in their respectivecountries.

SMED, which hosted this seminar, was chosento implement the TBL demonstration project inSri Lanka. Implementation was carried out in sixexport-oriented companies in four sectors: rubber,apparel, textiles and confectionery. Each companywas requested to appoint a team consisting of rep-resentatives from top management, middle man-agement and the shop floor.

Initially, SMED consultants trained the teamsto handle the TBL project work in their respectiveorganizations. The existing situation with respectto the financial and social bottom lines (includinghealth and safety) was assessed using a set of ques-tionnaires. By studying the waste generated byeach unit during the production process, the teamassessed the environmental bottom line. Finally,through brainstorming sessions, options were gen-erated for improving the existing situation.

A few organizations have implemented theseoptions. By doing so, they have achieved the ben-efits described below.

The rubber industryReduction of latex wastage from 8 to 6% in thefirst month resulted in a monthly savings of Rs.175,000. One-third of this amount was distrib-uted to workers. Rs. 10,000 per month was savedby tuning up the boiler burners and stoppingsteam leakage.

The garment industrySolid waste (cut pieces, polythene and paper) wascollected separately and sold for recycling. Themoney generated was used to finance welfare mea-sures for workers. The absenteeism that had been aproblem in one firm was reduced from 10 to 5%by appointing a counsellor.

TextilesSolid waste was collected and sold, and the moneywas used to benefit workers. Chemicals in the sup-ply chain which created a production problemduring the dyeing process were changed after con-sultation with suppliers, resulting in substantialsavings.

ConfectioneryThis industry opted only for one high-cost option:installation of machinery for bulk handling of oil.

Sri Lanka’s National CleanerProduction CentreEstablishing a National Cleaner Production Cen-tre (NCPC) in Sri Lanka has been a very impor-tant step with respect to CP promotion andcapacity building. After the successful IndustrialPollution Reduction Programme (IPRP) ended in1998, UNIDO provided an international consul-tant to identify a suitable institution to host SriLanka’s NCPC. Thus the successful NCPC net-work established by UNIDO/UNEP could beextended to this country. Following a detailedstudy, the consultant recommended Small andMedium Enterprise Developers (SMED) as theorganization most suitable to host the NCPC. The

Ministry of Enterprise Development, IndustrialPolicy and Investment Promotion was designatedas the government counterpart. The Norwegiangovernment provided initial funding with a grantof NOK 13,000,000.

The NCPC began operating in 2002. It will beinstrumental in CP promotion and disseminationin Sri Lanka, as well as capacity building for suc-cessful application of CP in industry. The NCPCwill undertake the following activities:◆ in-plant assessment, including integratedCP/EMS assessment;◆ awareness raising;◆ training;◆ dissemination of technical information;◆ promotion of CP investments;◆ policy advice.

Industry is very rapidly becoming aware of theadvantages of cleaner production, which can pro-duce economic benefits while preventing negativeenvironmental impacts. Several sectors (hotel andcatering, metal, fibre, food, tea, chemicals, textilesand printing) have already implemented CP solu-tions and obtained very successful results.

Other supporting programmes in2001-02Other supporting programmes being carried outin the period 2001-2002 are:◆ UNIDO ISO 14000 training of auditors/con-sultants and a pilot project on certification of tencompanies;◆ establishment of a sub-contracting and partner-ship exchange (SPX) by UNIDO at the Federationof Chambers of Commerce and Industry of SriLanka (FCCISL/ SMED), which will extend itsservices to establish programmes on waste ex-change and greening of the supply chain;◆ a UNIDO tannery development project, involv-ing use of CP technology for treating tannerywastes along with modernization and relocation oftanneries to the industrial estate being establishedin Bata-atha in the Southern Province.

SMED is also hosting a UNEP funded demon-stration project on reduction of greenhouse gases(GHGs) using CP strategies.

Cleaner production financingFunding of pollution abatement has been availableto Sri Lankan industry for the past eight years. Sev-eral industries have used this funding to set upeffluent treatment plants, dust extraction systems,and other types of equipment. With the advent ofcleaner production, the need to include provisionsfor funding of CP options has arisen. As a result,the E-FRIENDS concessionary funding schemewas launched by the National Development Bank.

E-FRIENDS is an environmentally friendlysolution fund for industries. Funded by the JapanBank for International Cooperation and adminis-tered by the National Development Bank, it pro-vides technical assistance and low-cost loans tofirms interested in waste minimization, resourcerecovery/savings, and pollution control/abate-ment. The fund has two components: a generalloan component at concessionary interest rates,and an interest-free technical assistance loan com-

ponent. Any financially viable firm already oper-ating or scheduled to begin operations will be con-sidered for this loan scheme.

Government interventionWithin a short time the Sri Lanka government hasunderstood the importance of cleaner production,mainly owing to the effectiveness of private sectorCP initiatives and public-private partnerships.

The government has taken a major step byimplementing the Clean Industry DevelopmentProject (CLIND), a one-year programme spon-sored by the Ministry of Enterprise Development,Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion. Thisprogramme is funded by the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADP). In collaboration with a wide range ofstakeholders, it undertakes to develop the strategy,action plan and policies Sri Lankan industry needsto implement cleaner production, increase produc-tion efficiency, improve international competitive-ness and work towards sustainable development.

Development of the strategy and action plan isbased on extensive research and discussions, espe-cially advice from representatives of many privatesector firms and organizations. This combinationof understanding, policies, incentives, rewards,pressures and other conditions can make it clear toa business person that taking action for CP is in afirm’s best business interests.

Developing a workable strategy and action planrequires collaboration by many sectors of govern-ment, business and the community. Representa-tives of different perspectives and interests need tocome together to discover their common interestsin achieving cleaner production. The agenda ofeach stakeholder can contribute to a combined,integrated plan to achieve CP nationally, and towork aimed at integrating CP principles into pol-icy and programmes at all levels and in all eco-nomic sectors.

The principle objective of this project is to for-mulate a strategy for integrating cleaner produc-tion into industrial development, which will assistthe government of Sri Lanka in reducing industri-al pollution.

OutlookWith the rapid development of industries, indus-trial estates and the SME sector, cleaner produc-tion has great potential in Sri Lanka. Sub-sectorssuch as tourism (which is being given high priori-ty by the government) will further enhance clean-er production’s potential, especially in the hoteland catering sector.

Sri Lanka is becoming a more consumer-orient-ed society. The need to develop the agro-food andhealth sectors is being felt. Cleaner production willmake it possible for industries to comply with foodstandards such as HACCP.2 Recent health sectorreforms are considering CP approaches in order tominimize vector-borne diseases. CP strategies arealso being considered in the search for sustainablesolutions to the growing problem of garbage vol-umes (currently 2484 tonnes per day), the acutewater problem, high post-harvest losses (currentlyalmost 50%) and increasing volumes of construc-tion waste.

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Two such simple words: “sustainable” and“development.” Yet, when combined, theyrepresent the single greatest challenge to col-

lective creativity and the intellectual spirit humanshave ever faced. In the 30 years since the conceptof environmentally sustainable economic devel-opment was introduced at the 1972 StockholmConference on the Human Environment, envi-ronmental issues have evolved from an intellectu-al pursuit for relatively few people to a coremainstream business concern.

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, govern-ments adopted Agenda 21 and the UN Declara-tion on Environment and Development. Thetime had arrived to move from rhetoric to results.Up until the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) recently concluded inJohannesburg, and despite the challenge and thepotential for success, countries have not begun totake part in the marathon towards sustainabilityin a unified way.

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) isa regional intergovernmental organization basedin Tokyo. At APO we believe we have found atrack that moves us from rhetoric to a point atwhich we have evidence of results. The key is abroad, integrated, productivity-based approach.In this article we present the concept we call“green productivity” and share our efforts to serveas a catalyst for change.

Green productivity is a strategy for simultane-

Green productivity: an Asian approach to sustainable development

Yuji Yamada, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the Asian Productivity Organization, 1-2-10 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093, Japan ([email protected])

Mandar Parasnis, Program Officer, Environment Department, Asian Productivity Organization, 1-2-10 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093, Japan ([email protected])

SummaryThe concept of green productivity was introduced by the Asian Productivity Organization(APO). Green productivity is a strategy for improving both productivity and environmentalperformance. It aims to ensure well-rounded socio-economic development, leading to sus-tained improvement of the quality of human life. Applying appropriate productivity and envi-ronmental management tools, techniques and technologies can reduce the environmentalimpacts of an organization’s activities, products and services while increasing profitability andcompetitive advantages. Recommendations are made with respect to innovations by stake-holder groups (including governments, industry and academia) intended to bring aboutgreater sustainability.

RésuméLe concept de productivité verte a été lancé par l’Asian Productivity Organization (APO). La pro-ductivité verte est une stratégie pour améliorer à la fois la productivité et les performances entermes d’environnement. Elle vise à assurer un développement socio-économique harmonieuxpour une amélioration soutenue de la qualité de la vie. En appliquant des outils, techniques ettechnologies appropriés de gestion de la productivité et de l’environnement, il est possible deréduire les impacts sur l’environnement des activités, produits et services d’une entreprise, touten améliorant sa rentabilité et ses avantages concurrentiels. Des recommandations sont faitesaux parties prenantes (pouvoirs publics, milieux industriels et universitaires, notamment) à pro-pos des innovations susceptibles de permettre un développement plus durable.

ResumenLa Organización Asiática de Productividad (ASP) introdujo el concepto de producción verde. Laproducción verde es una estrategia para aumentar la productividad y al mismo tiempo mejo-rar el comportamiento ambiental. Apunta lograr un tipo de desarrollo económico social quetienda hacia la mejora sostenible de la calidad de vida humana. La aplicación de herramien-tas, procesos y tecnologías de productividad y gestión ambiental adecuados, permite reducirel impacto ambiental generado por la elaboración de productos y servicios y al mismo tiempoaumentar el rendimiento y las ventajas competitivas de una empresa. Se hacen recomenda-ciones referentes a las innovaciones de sectores involucrados (incluyendo gobiernos, industriay comunidad académica) cuyo objetivo es generar mayor sustentabilidad.

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Notes1. Other instruments relating to the environmentdeveloped over the years include: National Con-servation Strategy (1980); clean air (2000); coastalareas (1994-2000); Forestry Sector Master Plan(1995); Forestry Policy (1994); National Industri-al Pollution Management Policy: A Framework forAnalysis (1998); Refrigerant Management Plan(2000); Initial National Communication underthe UN Framework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC) (2000); National Action forProtection of the Marine and Coastal Environ-ment from Land Based Activities (1999); Biodi-

versity Conservation in Sri Lanka: A Frameworkfor Action (1998); National Industrial PollutionManagement Policy Statement (1996). Sri Lankahas also ratified over 25 important multilateralenvironmental agreements (MEAs) during the last20 years, including the Basel Convention on theTransboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastesand their Disposal (1989) , the Montreal Protocol(1987), the Kyoto Protocol (2002), the Conven-tion on Biological Diversity (1992), the RamsarConvention on Wetlands of International Impor-tance (1971) and the Convention to CombatDesertification (1994).

2. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. For abrief introduction to the HACCP approach to foodsafety, see (among other sites) www.fda. gov/opacom/backgrounders/haccp.htmland www. nal.usda.gov/fnic/goodborne/haccp/index.shtml.

ReferencesCentral Bank of Sri Lanka (2001) Annual Reportof the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (See www.lanka.net/centralbank/annual.html.)

UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacif-ic (2001) Sri Lanka State of the Environment – 2001. (Seewww.eapap.unep.org/pub/pub-nsoe. cfm.) ◆

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ously enhancing productivity and environmentalperformance (Figure 1). Its aim is well-roundedsocio-economic development, leading to sus-tained improvement in the quality of human life.The combined application of appropriate pro-ductivity and environmental management tools,techniques and technologies reduces the environ-mental impacts of an organization’s activities,products and services while enhancing profitabil-ity and competitive advantage.

In 1994, under a special grant from the Japan-ese government, the APO launched its SpecialProgramme for Environment to help its membereconomies integrate environmental concerns intotheir productivity enhancement activities. Therewas a special focus on small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs), in recognition of the impor-tant role they play in economic development andenvironmental degradation, as well as the lack ofresources and expertise that generally limits SMEs’involvement.

In 1996 the APO tabled its strategy to meet thischallenge head on – through green productivity.At the December 1996 World Conference onGreen Productivity in Manila, the APO providedevidence that it had found a way to move sustain-able development from the possible to the practi-cal.

The starting point was productivity consideredas a cost reduction strategy. By picking up thebaton of quality, productivity has metamorphosedto incorporate environmental protection andcommunity enhancement as the means to increaseprosperity. Under the umbrella of green produc-tivity, innovation (one of the main engines of eco-nomic growth) becomes part of a holistic strategyfor moving towards a sustainable future.

Just as productivity was the essential strategythat enabled Japan to rebuild after the SecondWorld War, with other Asian countries beinginfluenced by its success, the 19 APO membereconomies have rallied behind green productivi-ty (a more broadly defined concept of productiv-ity) to take part in this marathon for sustainability.

Green productivity begins with an intellectualdare: to shift from a monochrome bottom line toa more colourful triple bottom line.

How green productivity helpsenterprisesGreen productivity focuses on enhancing prof-itability through combined improvements in pro-ductivity and environmental performance. Thisengenders an important mind shift, from envi-ronment as a cost or externality to an asset and anopportunity to increase both efficiency and prof-itability. The power of this mind shift is not to beunderestimated.

When excessive use of resources and materials,or generation of pollution, are seen as manifesta-tions of lower productivity and poor environ-mental performance, theycan be treated as manufac-turing defects that need tobe consistently corrected.The next level of green pro-ductivity offers the logicalmethod drawn from quali-ty management, providingpractical tools and tech-niques. Knowledge andapproaches under theumbrella of green produc-tivity can help companiesattack their productivity challenges with increasedconfidence, leading to a better bottom line andcompetitive advantage.

Green productivity seeks technical and man-agerial interventions based on the concept of con-tinual improvement. Another important factor,along with this mind shift, is a transition fromend-of-pipe thinking to design for environment.Design changes necessitate research and develop-ment, which means a company’s response willevolve from concentrating on the cost of clean-upto the excitement of innovating new products andservices. Making products and services greener asa condition of innovation is significant. It excites

business, motivates investors, intrigues employeesand attracts consumers. Government has a role toplay in fostering this evolution.

Government policy is an important force forremoving barriers to innovation and for encour-aging sensible thinking about support for newtechnologies that enhance rather than degrade theenvironment. Green productivity is being aidedby the shift to a demand side market. As con-sumers have more money, they are asking forproducts with environmental sensitivity, rangingfrom shade tree coffee to recycled paper stock tocars with lower emissions to greener energysources. The lucrative lure of the market is a car-rot. As markets demand greener products and ser-vices, green productivity helps stimulate thesupply side by providing a logical process and thepractical tools and techniques with which thistransformation can be accomplished.

This concept is gaining ground because it is anintegrated approach that addresses the concernsof policy-makers and the realities faced by pro-ducers. Green productivity is characterized, inparticular, by the following four qualities.◆ It is integrated and people based. One of thestrengths of green productivity is its workerinvolvement and team based approach. This peo-ple based approach extends to improved workingenvironment, worker health and safety, non-dis-crimination, and related social welfare issues. Peo-ple involvement also ensures transparency andaccountability.◆ It relies on information-driven improvement.Documentation and reporting are strengths ofgreen productivity, drawn from management sys-tems that exist for quality and the environment(QMS and EMS, respectively). The adage “Whatgets measured gets done” is one of the drivingforces of green productivity. An organization’s per-formance once it has established a green produc-

tivity programme will becontinuously measuredand evaluated using a set ofdefined green productivityperformance indicators.◆ At its heart is environ-mental protection, whichis the purpose of legalinstruments. This is one ofthe greatest challenges fac-ing industry. Green pro-ductivity provides toolsand techniques for pollu-

tion prevention and source reduction. Residues,for example, require management using end-of-pipe treatment. While achieving environmentalcompliance, it is the unique characteristic of greenproductivity that productivity will also improve.These practices may lead to a situation beyondcompliance, with the ultimate aim of ensuringquality of life. It is paramount that governmentssupport enterprises as they develop innovativenew technologies that go beyond compliance, asthese technologies will bring greater returns.◆ It is based on continuous improvement. Theother side of the coin is improved productivity,based on the Kaizen approach of continuous

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Figure 1Green productivity (GP)

Green productivity is people based

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improvement. The cyclical quality man-agement approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act(PDCA) is derived from the study of howvariation is managed in nature. Green pro-ductivity leverages this congruence toobtain profit-oriented results, which needto accompany environmental protection.The concept of continuous improvement,achieved through adopting the tenets ofthe PDCA cycle, is aimed at ensuring notonly productivity improvement but also(unlike in classical productivity improve-ment) programmes for environmentalimprovement.

Green productivity frameworkEcological and productivity principlesplace responsibility and accountability forenvironmental protection in the producer’s hands,so that the business benefits of profit and com-petitive advantage reward those who take action.

Green productivity has an open framework forabsorbing several of the existing, provenapproaches that leverage the benefits of, for exam-ple, eco-efficiency, cleaner production and pollu-tion prevention. This framework is based on twokey components: a set of tools used to rationalizethe input-throughput-output focus, and a set ofdefined sustainable practices that guide the prac-titioner in achieving green productivity.

The emphasis of this framework is not, howev-er, on terminology or systems. It is based on thestrategy of sustainability in economic develop-ment and environmental protection, a logicalstep-by-step path for change.

The benefits of adopting this framework mustbe measurable. Progress has to be shown andshared. An organization’s performance, based onthe impact of green productivity, can be measuredusing Multifactor Productivity (MFP) and Prof-itability Analysis. These types of measurementsare commonly used in business.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to generateinformation about a product/service. Using thisinformation, decisions are made on productdesign, manufacturing practices, purchasing pol-icy, product distribution and management prac-tices.

Product design must follow the principles ofeco-design, thereby recognizing the need to devel-op products with a lower environmental burden.Having incorporated eco-design principles intoproduct design, the first step is to examine thepurchasing policy for inputs and, where required,modify it to ensure green purchasing.

Apart from green purchasing, eco-designrequires that environmental objectives be incor-porated into the manufacturing operation (withno or minimum loss of product performance, use-ful life or functionality) while reducing waste gen-eration, reducing the product’s toxics content, andreducing the product’s energy requirementsand/or extending its useful service life. This willalso help ensure health and safety in the work-place, as well as that of consumers using the prod-ucts. In using eco-design as a basis, productstewardship must be adopted in the distribution,

use, and disposal of the outputs (products).Green productivity advocates the need to gen-

erate profits, whether through savings on rawmaterials resulting from resource efficiency,improved productivity, quality, sales, or other fac-tors. Green productivity recognizes that prof-itability is essential if any form of economicactivity is to be sustainable.

Competitive advantage is essential if businessesare to establish and maintain a market position,which also translates into profitability. This prin-ciple advocates competitiveness in pricing, quali-ty and (in the case of green productivity) “eco-friendliness”.

Where green productivity is practised, the inte-gration of environmental and productivityimprovement will create new business opportuni-ties and provide competitive advantage in a mar-ket where “quality” has been the focus. Extendingthis concept to include environmental quality isshared by the global consensus behind the ISO14001 international management standard.Among the tools available under the umbrella ofgreen productivity, ISO 14001 is especially valu-able for bringing about internal managementimprovements that align environmental perfor-mance with quality, and as a way to communicatethese improvements to others using a globallyaccepted model. The importance of ISO 14001as a purchasing criterion and a passport to trade isincreasing.

As in the case of the quality revolution, whenbusinesses eventually realized that (apart from costreduction quality) quality could increase prof-itability, the advantages of integrating environ-

mental protection into business strategieswill be realized with the practice of greenproductivity.

Green productivity helps stimulateprogress within an enterprise by transfer-ring knowledge and building confidence.People-building or employer orientation iscrucial at two levels: ◆ the commitment of top management,since these are the people responsible forsetting companies’ resource allocation pri-orities and for motivating and encouragingemployees. A prerequisite of successfuladoption of green productivity in businessis employer (top management) commit-ment to “green” as a value-adding founda-tion;◆ worker involvement in the practice of

green productivity.

APO’s green productivity actionprogrammesThe three key activities used by the APO to pro-mote and disseminate green productivity throughits member economies are described below.

The Green Productivity Promotion Mission(GPPM) supports the acceptance of green pro-ductivity as a strategic, high-level managementgoal. Deputized experts spread awareness of theimportance of green productivity among top-levelgovernment officials, business executives andother environmental stakeholders. More specifi-cally, GPPM seeks to promote partnerships inmember economies by creating close workingrelationships among national productivity orga-nizations (NPOs) and environmental agencies inthe public and private sectors. The local networkpromotes green productivity, helps membereconomies identify major problem areas, andassists in choosing options for green productivityimplementation.

The Green Productivity Demonstration Pro-gramme (GPDP) helps NPOs establish demon-stration projects at a factory, farm, communityor service enterprise to demonstrate that envi-ronmental protection and productivity im-provement can be profitably harmonized, evenin the case of smaller enterprises. In particular,it shows how green productivity increases pro-ductivity while reducing environmental impact– without the need for substantial financial in-vestment. It emphasizes doing better with less.The experience and lessons gained from demon-stration projects are disseminated to other APOmember economies for their information andapplication, thus multiplying the number of en-vironment-friendly factories, farms, commu-nities and service enterprises in the region. Acritical component of a demonstration pro-gramme is building the NPOs’ organizationalcapacity and capabilities, which in turn pro-motes and supports green productivity activi-ties. So far, the APO has implemented GPDPprojects with a high degree of success in:◆ the tannery, metal plating, printing, precisiontools, dye manufacturing and fruit canning indus-tries;

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Information-driven improvement is of basic importance

Green productivity: increasing productivity while reducing environmental impact

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◆ livestock raising and crop farming; ◆ community based improvement projects.

Green Productivity Dissemination Assistance(GPDA) allows the benefits of experience andinformation gained from demonstration pro-grammes to be leveraged among membereconomies. The main purpose is to promote fur-ther awareness of green productivity and to createa domestic pool of experts in conjunction withNPOs. These local green productivity expertshelp amplify success in enterprise and communi-ty development. The opportunity to develop acompetitive advantage through cooperation is astrong attraction to other businesses. Lessonslearned from a peer or like-minded entity makespossible a chain reaction; projects initiated withGPDA foster success.

The following activities support the three-pronged programme described above.

The APO arranges for green productivityexperts to provide advisory services in membereconomies according to specific needs. At theAPO we also regularly prepare and disseminatevarious publications and multimedia materialsrelated to green productivity to all who are inter-ested. The APO’s green productivity home page(www.apo-tokyo.org) is yet another channel bywhich green productivity information is dissemi-nated to green productivity stakeholders through-out the world.

International cooperationThe APO maintains close links with other inter-national and national entities to enlarge theknowledge base on subject areas important toAPO member economies. Liaison with theseorganizations enables collaboration and extendsthe network of sourcing experts who could takepart in the technical expert scheme. This enablesthe parties involved to promote solutions to mat-ters of common interest and concern. Countriesthat have already joined us include Australia,Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands andthe United States.

Moreover, the APO works to diffuse knowl-edge, empower change and (in cooperation withother agencies around the world) heighten thereceptivity of markets to green productivity as ameans of fostering sustainability.

Demonstration projectsTo demonstrate empirically that environmentalprotection and improvement in productivity canbe profitably harmonized, even in SMEs, theAPO has been implementing green productivitydemonstration projects in industry, agriculture,the service sector and communities throughout itsmember countries where green productivityimplementation will have a “multiplier effect”.

So far, the APO has implemented over 25 suchprojects in member economies, including in themetal finishing, textile, tannery, food canning,cement, sugar, vegetable farming, poultry and pigfarming sections as well as in communities. Thesuccess stories of these green productivity demon-stration projects are available on the APO website.

One example is a demonstration project in

Indore, India (also see box on next page). Follow-ing a green productivity training workshop inIndore in May 2000, the APO became aware ofthe potential for productivity and environmentalimprovements at the Oil Division of Rama Phos-phate Ltd. (RPL). It therefore decided to supporta green productivity demonstration project(GPDP) there in 2001, carried out by the Nation-al Productivity Council (NPC) in New Delhi.

The APO provided financial support for localexperts, monitoring and laboratory analysis, anddissemination of project results using technicalmanuals, videos and seminars. A number of inter-national experts (from Japan, Malaysia, Singa-pore, and the United States) were deputed by theAPO to work with the demonstration site and tohelp identify green productivity improvementopportunities using appropriate feasibility stud-ies.

NPC provided the necessary technical expertiseon green productivity and ISO 14001, as well asnecessary logistical and administrative support.The Madhya Pradesh State Pollution ControlBoard (MPPCB) and the Soybean ProcessorsAssociation of India (SOPA) supported the pro-ject by serving as steering committee members.

RPL shouldered the cost of the hardwarerequired, in line with recommendations of bothinternational and local experts.

Having conducted preliminary surveys of pro-ject site operations, the possibilities and ways andmeans of improving pollution prevention andproductivity were examined with respect to issuessuch as:◆ reduction of water consumption and wastewater generation; ◆ reduction of chemical consumption and re-source inputs; ◆ recovery and recycling of intermediary pro-cessed materials; ◆ substitution of chemicals with more eco-friend-ly chemicals; ◆ cleaner work environment; ◆ increased yield; ◆ improvements in product quality.

RPL invested US$ 500,000 of their ownresources to implement a number of green pro-ductivity options. Installation of a new boiler hashelped improve the process parameters and hencequality. Recovery of heat from flue gas has result-ed in a reduction of coal consumption. By mak-ing changes in the process, the company hasreduced oil loss in dried oil cake; hexane loss hasalso been reduced. The payback period for theentire investment was expected to be only 15months.

The company has established an environmentalmanagement system to ensure continual improve-ment of its environmental performance. It recent-ly achieved ISO14001 certification.

The bottom lineGreen productivity is a successful strategy forinnovating sustainability. It provides a practicalmethod for creating value-added products andservices that result in triple bottom line results.Communities benefit from economic develop-

ment while improving environmental protection.The rewards it makes possible are quantifiable,demonstrating a method for obtaining a betterquality of life.

Too often the apparent dilemma of environ-ment versus development boils down to argu-ments about who will pay. Valuable time andresources may be absorbed in fruitless banter. Thetruth is that we all pay when inappropriate actionis taken, or when indifference leads the way. TheAPO has demonstrated that green productivityputs an end to this dilemma, replacing those “whopay” by those who profit and prosper. With thesupport of our countries, corporations and citi-zens, we can progress green productivity from trig-gering innovative ideas to becoming a fullinnovation – where environmental protectionnets prosperity.

The business of managing the planet for pros-perity demands a balanced approach betweengood governance, profitable enterprise and quali-ty of life. More often than not, people will pay forquality when the choice is offered. As more busi-nesses understand that there is profit in improvedenvironmental performance, and that there is acompetitive advantage in offering green productsand services, a demand-side market will pull sus-tainability forward.

Governments have an important role to play insupporting this transition. We need to set a goodexample by our own actions – with supportivepolicies, sensible laws and appropriate financialincentives. With the results that green productiv-ity has already produced, the conceptual dare forbusiness and politicians has become a carrot lead-ing to competitive advantage and poverty allevia-tion. Green productivity builds political will,community confidence and profit-orientedresults.

There are signals that supporting market drivenapproaches will pay off.

Cooperative competition (in theory and inpractice) can reduce costs and spread economicdevelopment opportunities. We need to cooper-ate beyond our traditional borders to bring com-petitive advantages to local communities, amarket driven variation of the “think globally, actlocally” mantra.

We need to send a powerful message to themarket that natural capital must be integrated intopricing. We should move our money and ourmanagement decisions upstream and recognizethe true costs of inefficiency. As governments, wemust make policy decisions that overcome barriersto change; our policies must support “watershedeconomics”. By adopting green productivity innational policy, we can take action to foster green-er innovation.

Looking beyond WSSDWe at the APO do not suggest that we have wonthe war on waste in any form. However, the resultsof green productivity have enabled enterprises thatdared to think beyond compliance to obtain com-petitive advantage.

Greening productivity changes the pace of themarathon. The stakes involved are enormous. We

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have everything to gain, but we risk losing all if wedo not enter the race.

Just as profit is the carrot that tempts enterpris-es to improve productivity, governments must runin parallel to help enterprises in the race for thecarrot and innovate sustainability.

Strategically, we must:◆ encourage countries to adopt green productivi-ty in policy and governance measures, and posi-tion green productivity to support sustainabilitythrough innovation. This includes removing bar-riers and subsidies that continue to degrade theenvironment and undermine productivity im-provements;◆ institute comprehensive market based instru-ments to encourage sustainability, pulled by themarketplace and pushed by regulatory measuresto accelerate the shift to sustainability;◆ increase cooperative alliances with public andprivate sector partnerships, to enhance diffusionof green productivity. The APO’s initial experi-ence with leveraging green productivity with inte-grated community development indicates that

green productivity has great potential with respectto poverty alleviation;◆ leverage experience with community economicdevelopment and green productivity to othercountries as a means of promoting global tradethat is sustainable;◆ facilitate cooperation between labour and man-agement to introduce cleaner technologies andimprove working conditions;◆ remove barriers to adoption of sustainable prac-tices by micro-enterprises and SMEs throughhelping them adopt green productivity.

Systematically, we must:◆ create an inventory of green productivity infor-mation and a database of results;◆ assess the impact of green productivity on glob-al trade and environmental issues;◆ expand green productivity into service sectors(e.g. green tourism) and urban settings to allevi-ate poverty;◆ facilitate development of green supply chains atall levels of government and in business clusters,including development of eco-industrial parks to

enhance synergies between enterprises;◆ focus green productivity activities on productredesign and completely new innovations to fosterorganic farming;◆ improve consumers’ ecological literacy, so thatthey understand the power and rewards of greenconsumerism and apply this power;◆ promote the adoption of ISO 14001, recogniz-ing its role in the greening of supply chains and asa passport to trade.

The message is simple: promote green produc-tivity as a sensible strategy to innovate sustain-ability for triple bottom line returns and economicdevelopment, thus alleviating poverty.

Green productivity has achieved substantial,tangible results in less than a decade. The APO isproud to have contributed towards realizing thegoals and visions of Agenda 21 by bringing sus-tainability “down to earth”. It will continue thisprogress in the Asia-Pacific region and, throughcooperation, extend green productivity to accel-erate a growing green global marketplace.

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Green productivity demonstration project in India’s edible oil industry

India is the fourth largest oilseed producing country inthe world (after the United States, China and Brazil). Itharvests about 25 million tonnes of oilseed per year.The edible oil sector occupies a distinct position inIndian economy, as it provides jobs to millions of peo-ple, achieves an average annual domestic turnover ofabout US$ 10 billion and earns foreign exchange ofUS$ 90 million per year. Soybean is the third largestoilseed crop in India after groundnut and mustard,accounting for 25% of total oilseed produced. Soy oilcontributes about 10% of total vegetable oils pro-duced.

In addition to this sector’s economic importance,edible oil processing industries have been identified asone of the most polluting sectors in India. Processingsoy seed to produce oil generates substantial amountsof water pollutants, gaseous emissions, and hazardousas well as non-hazardous solid wastes. As the soy oilprocessing industry is water and chemical intensive, itsignificantly impacts the environment.

With a view to enhancing productivity and envi-ronmental performance in the edible oil sector, RamaPhosphate Ltd. (Oil Division) of Indore, India, a soyoil processing industry, was selected for a green pro-ductivity demonstration project (GPDP). The unitstudied has the capacity to process up to 500tonnes/day of soy seed, extract up to 500 tonnes/dayof solvent and refine up to 100 tonnes/day of oil. Italso produces by-products such as de-oiled cake(DOC) and acid oil.

The green productivity methodology was applied to

identify problems and their causes and effects, usinggreen productivity tools and techniques (e.g. eco-map-ping, concentration diagrams, control charts, fish bonediagrams and brainstorming). The major problem areasidentified were losses of hexane and oil at the plant. Fol-lowing identification and analysis of problem areas, thegreen productivity team focused on steam generation,supply and distribution as the top priority. Seed prepa-ration was also identified as a major focus area. Basedon brainstorming and discussions with top manage-ment and steering committee members, 36 green pro-ductivity options were generated. They were classifiedbased on techniques/technologies and short-, medium-and long-term options. According to the technique/technology, the options concerned housekeeping,material substitution, recycling/reuse, recovery andtechnology (equipment modification and/or change)based options. All green productivity options wereassessed for technical feasibility, economic viability andenvironmental acceptability.

Out of 36 green productivity options, 18 had beenimplemented by management as of January 2002.Management has invested about US$ 425,500 inimplementing these options. The unit has achievedreductions in hexane loss of about 13% and in oil loss-es in de-oiled cake of about 20%. In recognition ofthis unit’s efforts, the APO has presented an award tomanagement. The unit has become ISO 14001 certi-fied through adopting the green productivityapproach. Management has received a best qualityproduct award for the second year in a row.

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Despite numerous international and region-al initiatives and interventions, Africa as aregion has continued to show negative eco-

nomic growth over the past two decades. It is truethat in recent years indications of economic recov-ery in Africa have given grounds for renewed opti-mism both within and outside the region. Thisscenario of recovery, however, is fragile and its sus-tainability is in question. Not only has it not beenunderpinned by strong investment performance,but it has been highly vulnerable to externalshocks including weather and the global terms oftrade.

One of the major reasons for the failure ofAfrican economic growth is poor performance inthe manufacturing sector (UNECA 1999). Theperformance of Africa’s industrial sector has shownneither meaningful growth nor significant struc-tural change over the past two decades. The aver-age share of Manufacturing Value Added (MVA)in GDP fell from 13.4% in 1985 to 12.9% in1998 (Table 1). If we look at the trend in low-income countries, the share of MVA in GDPincreased from 16.4% in 1985 to 20.3% in 1998.Similarly, the share of MVA in GDP grew from20.2% in 1985 to 22.9% in 1998 for middleincome countries. In the case of high-incomecountries, the share of MVA in GDP decreasedfrom 22.5% in 1985 to 21.2% in 1998. Thiscould be explained by the shift in the industrial

structure from manufacturing to services usuallyobserved at the later stage of the industrializationprocess.

A low level of capacity utilization (30-50% onaverage) and extreme dependence on foreigninputs, expertise and exchange are the dominantcharacteristics of most African industry sectors. Ingeneral, the industrial sector in the region is veryweak, contributing only about 1% to the worldindustrial output. Even that small contributioncomes mainly from the 12 out of 53 African coun-tries which more or less possess a relatively diver-sified industrial base. The remaining 41 countriescontributed only 28% of the region’s MVA(UNECA 1996).

In a nutshell, the manufacturing sector’s contri-bution to sustainable development in Africa hasbeen minimal. The significant slowdown in indus-trial growth in Africa, especially since the secondhalf of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s(associated with slightly declining rates of growthin GDP), reflects a changed structural relationshipin the form of deindustrialization (UNIDO1999). Manufacturing, which was the lead sectorin fast-growing developing countries in Asia andLatin America, has been a lagging sector in Africasince the 1980s. In view of the central role of man-ufacturing industry in fulfilling African countries’sustainable development objectives, African gov-ernments and their international partners should

put more effort into expanding the region’s manu-facturing sector on a sustainable basis.

Industrial development policiesFollowing the wave of independence in the 1950sand 1960s, newly emerged African governmentsrecognized industrialization as the logical, pre-ferred road to self-sufficiency and self-sustainedgrowth. It was believed that the shift of labour andother resources from low-productivity agricultureto high-productivity manufacturing, and thedevelopment of linkages between enclave mining,energy or plantation agriculture and an emergent,modernizing manufacturing sector would createmillions of new jobs while simultaneously raisingliving standards (UNIDO 1999). National indus-trial development policies and strategies have gonethrough different stages (Table 2).

An overview of regional development strategiespromoted over the last few decades shows thatthree major groups of development strategies haveinfluenced national industrial development poli-cies in Africa (Mebratu 2000). The first groupconsists of strategies adopted and promoted byUN agencies based on the concept of the devel-opment decade. In parallel with these UN initia-tives, a number of regional initiatives have beenpromoted by the Economic Commission forAfrica (ECA) and the Organization of AfricanUnity (OAU). The regional development initia-tives were guided by the principles of the LagosPlan of Action (LPA) adopted by the Summit ofAfrican Heads of States in 1980. The third majorgroup of initiatives that has affected the course ofevents since the 1980s consists of the interven-tions made by the World Bank and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund (IMF) in the economicpolicy-making of most African countries.

Although these initiatives have had limited suc-cess in terms of promoting industrial developmentin the region, they have provided a basis for under-standing what kind of policy interventions do notwork within the region. The following are someof the major lessons that could be drawn from theabove initiatives (Mebratu 2000):◆ limitation of supply-driven initiatives: develop-ment and promotion of “supply-driven” and “top-heavy” regional initiatives in the absence of theappropriate mechanisms, infrastructural founda-tions and sense of ownership at the national levelhas limited the possibility of success;◆ transformational rather than transplantingprocesses: attempting to bring about industrialdevelopment by promoting economic reformpackages under a “one-size-fits-all” model has lim-

The challenges of industrial development in Africa

Desta Mebratu, consultant, Sustainable Industrial Development, Box: 8412, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ([email protected])

SummaryDeveloping Africa’s industrial sector on a sustainable basis is vital to overcome the region’ssocio-economic and socio-ecological problems. This article reviews the contribution of theindustrial sector to African economies and highlights the principal challenges to sustainableindustrial development. Possible contributions of institutions promoting cleaner production tomeeting the challenges of industrial development in Africa are discussed.

RésuméPour venir à bout des problèmes socio-économiques et socio-écologiques de l’Afrique, il est vitalde développer le secteur industriel de la région sur des bases durables. Cet article fait le pointsur la contribution du secteur industriel aux économies africaines et met en relief les principalesdifficultés que pose le développement industriel durable. Il explore la contribution possible desinstitutions qui encouragent la production plus propre pour relever les défis du développementindustriel en Afrique.

ResumenEl desarrollo sustentable del sector industrial africano es imprescindible para resolver los prob-lemas socioeconómicos y socioecológicos que enfrenta la región. Este artículo revisa el aportedel sector industrial a las economías africanas y señala los principales desafíos del desarrolloindustrial sustentable. Se mencionan posibles contribuciones de instituciones promotoras deproducción más limpia para enfrentar los desafíos del desarrollo industrial en Africa.

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ited success;◆ complementary roles of the market andgovernments: experiences of successfulindustrialization in other regions over thelast few decades indicate that govern-ment intervention supportive of markettrends and competitive forces is vital topromote early stage industrial develop-ment;◆ industrial competitiveness as the key fac-tor: success in economic developmentdepends on a country’s ability to breakinto the virtuous circle of investment-economicgrowth-competitiveness-investment.

Development priorities in the 21st

centuryThe year 2001 was marked by a number of region-al and international activities aimed at preparingAfrica for the challenges of the 21st century. Theseactivities underlined that poverty reduction has toconsidered the number one development priorityfor African countries. Linkages between povertyreduction and industrial development were reflect-ed in all the major global and regional forums heldthat year. The third UN Conference on the LeastDeveloped Countries in May 2001 emphasizedthe contribution of industry to poverty alleviationin the context of the Draft Programme of Actionfor the Least Developed Countries for the Decade2001-2010.

At regional level, Africa took part in thepreparatory process for the World Summit onSustainable Development (WSSD) to be held inSeptember 2002 in Johannesburg. The RegionalPreparatory meeting jointly attended by AfricanMinisters of Environment and Ministers of Eco-nomic Planning in October 2001 adopted an“African Common Position” under the tripletheme “People-Planet-Prosperity”. This positionalso underlined the importance of “promotingindustrial growth, especially through small andmedium-sized enterprises for poverty reduction”.

The need to address the development challengeof African countries has received increasing recog-nition at the global level. This recognition isreflected by the inclusion of a separate section on“Sustainable Development for Africa” in the DraftPlan of Implementation for WSSD. That sectionstipulates the major actions that need to be takento promote sustainable development in Africa.

The WSSD implementation plan includesactions aimed at (IIED 2002):◆ enhancing African countries’ industrial produc-tivity, diversity and competitiveness; ◆ enhancing the contribution of the industrial sec-tor, in particular the mining, minerals and metalindustries;◆ providing financial and technical support tostrengthen African countries’ capacity to under-take environmental legislative, policy and institu-tional reforms for sustainable development;◆ achieving sound management of chemicals;◆ bridging the digital divide and creating digitalopportunities for access to infrastructure and tech-nology transfer;◆ supporting Africa’s effort to attain sustainable

tourism.Apart from the WSSD process, African leaders

have been actively engaged in developing anAfrican development agenda for the 21st centuryleading to the adoption of the New Partnershipfor Africa’s Development (NEPAD). NEPAD isbased on the determination of Africans to extri-cate themselves and the continent from themalaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in aglobalizing world. While a number of priorityissues are covered under NEPAD, development ofthe private sector, diversification of Africa’s indus-trial base, improvement of the efficiency and com-petitiveness of its industries and better access forAfrican products in the global market are some ofthe NEPAD priorities that have direct relevanceto African industries. Furthermore, NEPAD iden-tifies the development of business incubators asone of the key projects through which Africancountries can promote development of the privatesector and industrial growth.

Major constraints and challengesThere are a number of constraints and challengeswith respect to promoting sustainable industrialdevelopment in Africa. Some are related to globalsocio-economic trends, and others to regionalsocio-economic dynamics. The following can becited as the principal challenges having significantinfluence on the promotion of sustainable devel-opment in Africa:

The impact of globalizationGlobalization has been less favourable to Africathan to other developing regions. It has created adivergence in living standards compared withthose of developed countries and the fast-growingindustrializing countries of East and South-EastAsia. Africa’s failure to penetrate international

markets for manufactured goods high-lights the region’s vulnerability to global-ization. To make things worse, existingmanufacturing industries are increasing-ly going out of business (even on thenational market) due to their inability tocompete with imported industrial prod-ucts from other countries through theliberalized trade regimes. The Africanexperience shows that globalization – inthe form of trade and investment liberal-ization – without commensurate

enhancement of domestic manufacturing capaci-ty leads to marginalization.

Regional cooperation and integrationRegional integration has served as one of themajor vehicles for sustained economic growthover the last decades. Unfortunately, Africa’s“speed of integration index” was negative between1961 and 1990. In the 1990s it averaged 0.9annually, compared with 6.0 for low and middleincome regions as a whole (UNIDO 1999). Thelow level of regional integration could be furtheraggravated by the emerging knowledge economyand the digital divide reflecting the increasing roleof ICT in national and global economies.

Transfer of environmentally soundtechnologiesDevelopment of industrial skill and technologicalcapability is the basic prerequisite for Africancountries to advance their industries on a sustain-able basis and participate effectively in the globaleconomy. In recognition of this fact, the transferof environmentally sound technologies to thedeveloping world has been identified as one of themajor elements of the global agenda for the 21st

century (Agenda 21). However, the rate of tech-nology transfer to African countries is still laggingand most industrial production systems are stillbased on obsolete and inefficient production tech-nologies.

Linkages between trade, environment anddevelopmentProgress towards sustainable production and con-sumption will involve redefinition of the linkagesbetween trade, environment and development.The redefinition process, mainly driven by indus-trialized countries’ consumer preferences, has

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Table 1Average share of MVA in GDP

(economic groupings in Africa)

Developing 1985 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998countries

Low income 16.4 18.6 20.4 20.7 20.7 20.3

Middle income 20.2 22.1 22.8 23.0 23.5 22.9

High income 22.5 21.8 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.2

Africa 13.4 13.4 12.7 12.5 12.8 12.9 Source: UNIDO, International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, 2001.

Table 2Evolution of African industrial policy, 1960-2000

1960-79 1980-95 1995-2000

• intervention and regulation • market orientation and deregulation • industrial governance

• self-sufficiency and indigenization • foreign direct investment (FDI) • privatization and FDI

• public ownership • privatization • public-private sector cooperation

• import controls and tariff protection • trade and investment liberalization • promotion of clusters

• inward-driven industrialization • outward orientation • supply-side support from SMEs

• industrialization to achieve • promotion of efficient industries • global competitivenessstructural transformation

Source UNIDO, African Industry 2000: The Challenge of Going Global, 1999.

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already started. The shift towards sustainable pro-duction and consumption is considered to lead tomultiple socio-economic and socio-ecologicalbenefits. On the other hand, it could also be per-ceived as an instrument of “environmental pro-tectionism” by countries that lack the necessarycapacity to identify and exploit emerging oppor-tunities.

Possible contribution by cleaner productionpromotersIt has been almost a decade since the concept ofcleaner production was introduced in some of theAfrican countries. Cleaner production (or pollu-tion prevention) programmes supported throughbilateral funding agencies were the early promot-ers of the concept in the region. In some Africancountries professional societies and business asso-ciations have played a major role in promotingcleaner production. These efforts have been fur-ther strengthened by the establishment ofUNIDO/UNEP supported National CleanerProduction Centers (NCPCs) in eight Africancountries (UNEP 2002).

Today cleaner production has some form ofinstitutional base in most African countries andthe concept is incorporated in the curriculum ofsome African universities. Nevertheless, a lotremains to be done in terms of making cleanerproduction programmes and interventionsresponsive to the continent’s industrial develop-ment challenges.

Overcoming the industrial development chal-lenges discussed earlier would require reorientingdevelopment policy formulation and implemen-tation practices at the global, regional and nation-al levels. Institutions engaged in promotingcleaner production could be well-positioned toprovide targeted support services that enabledAfrican countries to meet the challenges of sup-

porting industrial development on a sustainablebasis. The following are among the major areasthat might be considered by those promotingcleaner production:◆ Enhance the industrial productivity and com-petitiveness of African manufacturing industriesthrough combining appropriate economic instru-ments and technological support services.◆ Develop national export promotion strategiesthrough eco-efficient production and assist theirimplementation by mobilizing targeted technicaland financial support to export industries.◆ Support industries in moving beyond the goodhousekeeping benefits of cleaner production byestablishing national financing mechanisms forthe transfer of cleaner and more energy efficienttechnologies.◆ Identify niche markets where African companiesmay have comparative advantages and promotethe development of products for the identifiedmarkets.◆ Develop and implement different national andregional labelling programmes based on strikinga dynamic balance between trade, environmentand development.◆ Promote the incorporation of eco-industrialplanning principles in the development of indus-trial estates and industrial zones by providingtraining on eco-industrial planning for industrialplanners, estate developers and industrial policy-makers.◆ Provide technical support services for the imple-mentation of multilateral environmental agree-ments (MEAs) and use them as a vehicle topromote sustainable industrial development.

ConclusionDespite the overwhelming challenges Africa faces,it has considerable potential that can be trans-formed into the fruits of sustainable development,

benefiting its people and the whole world. Thisdepends on African governments standing up tothe leadership challenges of creating an enablingenvironment, and on global partners providingthe necessary technical and financial support tointegrate Africa into the global economy. It ishoped that regional initiatives like NEPAD (as anexpression of the collective will and determinationof African governments) and the WSSD imple-mentation plan for promoting sustainable devel-opment in Africa will provide a useful frameworkfor promoting sustainable development in theregion. In this context, institutions involved in thepromotion of cleaner production in Africa couldmake a significant contribution to the regionaleffort by reorienting their activities towards tar-geted interventions that enhance the competi-tiveness of African industries in the global market.

ReferencesIIED (International Institute for Environment andDevelopment) (2002) Earth Negotiations Bulletin 22/41(www.iisd/ca/linkages/2002/pc4/).

Mebratu, D. (2000) Strategy for Sustainable IndustrialDevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lund University,Sweden.

UNECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa) (1996)Focus on African Industries: Africa in the 21st Century.Addis Ababa.

UNECA (1999) Growth Strategies for Africa: Lessons andProposals. Addis Ababa.

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)(2002) Cleaner Production – Global Status 2002 (www.uneptie.org/pc/cp).

UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization)(1999) African Industry 2000: The Challenges of GoingGlobal. Vienna.

UNIDO (2001) International Yearbook of Industrial Sta-tistics. Vienna.

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To move towards sustainable development,businesses – like all other actors in society –must rethink their behaviour. In this case,

companies start from various stages of develop-ment and corporate culture with respect to envi-ronmental and social issues (Figure 1).

The phases distinguished in the figure can besummarized as follows:1◆ In the output-oriented Phase 1, the manage-ment emphasis is on outputs rather than onprocesses. Here errors are noticeable after theyhave been made. Companies in this phase can belabelled reactive with respect to the environment. ◆ Process orientation is a characteristic element of

Phase 2, in which the focus has been placed on theproduction process and its management. Heremajor mistakes can be corrected based on mea-surements and knowledge of processes. ◆ During the system-oriented Phase 3, the entireorganization including support processes andtheir management are the focus of performanceimprovement measures. In this phase a system isestablished that controls production processes andaims at preventative measures, including correc-tive actions if mistakes occur.◆ In contrast to the previous phases, which arefocused internally, the emphasis of the chain-ori-ented Phase 4 is on external effects within the mar-

ket, whereby companies relate their whole orga-nization to other parties in the product system. Ina cooperative way, win-win situations are createdfor the entire chain. ◆ At the stakeholder-oriented stage (Phase 5) com-panies base their vision and policy on stakeholderexpectations, demonstrating a sense of responsi-bility towards society.

The order of the different phases – from greento (eco-)efficient and then to responsible entre-preneurship – seems to be the path followed bymost companies heading towards sustainabledevelopment. Often companies begin by address-ing internal environmental issues (and realizingcost-saving potentials through internal environ-mental management). Subsequently they startlooking beyond their companies’ boundaries toaddress environmental issues in the product chainand then, further along, to include stakeholderssuch as the community and NGOs.

Larger companies with potentially more stake-holders are likely to attain Phases 4 and 5 aftergoing through the first phases, especially if theyare in a mature and stable industry sector withobvious environmental, health and safety impacts.However, as explicitly stated in Klinkers et al.2 it isnot necessary to focus first on internal environ-mental management before taking steps into thechain. Companies can potentially bypass the firstphases and start directly with, for example, Phas-es 3 or 4.

Many SMEs remain at an early stage of envi-ronmental management. However, due toincreased pressure from customers (mainly pub-lic procurement agencies), central wholesale orga-nizations or industrial companies within theproduct chain and authorities, environmental andsocial concern is gradually increasing. In business-to-business customer relationships, informationdemand is heightened regarding general environ-mental and social management, use of environ-mentally and socially sound technologies, andproducts’ environmental and social impacts dur-ing their life cycle. Assisting SMEs in improvingtheir economic, environmental and social (ortriple bottom line – TBL) performance will be thechallenging task of information “gatekeepers” onthe international, national, regional and – espe-cially – local level.

Helping small and not-so-small businessesimprove their triple bottom lineperformance

Justus von Geibler, European Research Assistant, Wuppertal Institute, Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Enterprise Team; Doeppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany ([email protected])

Michael Kuhndt, European Senior Researcher, Wuppertal Institute, Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Enterprise Team Director, Triple-Innova; Doeppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany ([email protected])

SummaryTo sustain their market position, SMEs need to increase their efficiency. However, they oftenlack the time, money and information to carry out an adequate evaluation of their own activ-ities, set targets, and thus continuously improve products and services (economically, sociallyand environmentally). The complexity of existing international environmental managementschemes is frequently inappropriate for use by SMEs. Cooperation among information “gate-keepers” at various levels is necessary to raise awareness of environmentally and socially soundproduction patterns among SMEs, provide them with hands-on tools for integrating environ-mental and social concerns in day-to-day business, and establish economic conditions thatreward such efforts.

RésuméPour conserver leur position sur le marché, les PME doivent devenir plus efficaces. Or elles man-quent souvent de temps, d’argent et d’informations pour évaluer leurs propres activités, sefixer des objectifs et améliorer ainsi en permanence leurs produits et services (sur le planéconomique, social et environnemental). Les schémas internationaux actuels de gestion del’environnement sont la plupart du temps trop complexes pour que les PME puissent les appli-quer. Il faudrait une coopération à différents niveaux entre ceux qui contrôlent l’accès à l’infor-mation pour faire connaître aux PME les modes de production écologiquement et socialementacceptables, leur fournir des outils pratiques pour intégrer les préoccupations environnemen-tales et sociales dans leurs activités quotidiennes et créer des conditions économiques quirécompensent ces efforts.

ResumenLas PYMEs deben incrementar su eficiencia para mantener su posición de mercado. Sin embar-go, por lo general carecen de tiempo, dinero e información suficientes para evaluar sus propiasactividades, fijar metas, y en consecuencia trabajar para la mejora progresiva de productos yservicios (desde el punto de vista económico, social y ambiental). La complejidad de los pro-gramas internacionales de gestión ambiental existentes generalmente los vuelve inapropia-dos para las PYMEs. Se requiere colaboración entre “generadores” de información a distintosniveles a fin de promover un cierto grado de conciencia sobre la importancia de patrones deproducción ambientales y sociales sólidos entre las PYMEs, suministrar las herramientas nece-sarias para la integración de problemáticas ambientales y sociales durante el desarrollo delnegocio, y establecer incentivos económicos para recompensar dichos esfuerzos.

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Why target SMEs? The importance ofSMEs from the macro-perspectiveSMEs make up the most important sector of acountry’s economy. They provide employmentand opportunities for millions of individuals; theirwork is strongly customer-oriented; they are asource of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit;they create competition and are the seed for busi-nesses of the future.3 The world-wide contribu-tion of SMEs to economic development issignificant. In the EU, for example, about 90% ofall enterprises are SMEs and they account for 70%of all economic activities. In developing countriesthe economic importance of SMEs is similarlyhigh. The number of SMEs is growing due to theglobal trend of larger enterprises to reorganize,downsize and outsource, as well as to increasedfranchising and self-employment.

SMEs’ relative contribution to total industrialenvironmental impacts is unknown, but collec-tively their sheer numbers may mean that theseimpacts on the ecosystem could be substantial.SMEs commonly dominate resource and emis-sion intensive sectors such as metal finishing,leather tanning, dry cleaning, printing and dye-ing, brewing, food processing, fish farming, tex-tile manufacturing and chemical production.4

Some SMEs have already taken the lead inmanaging their environmental and social impactsin a well-structured way. They have environmen-tal management systems in place, report on theirenvironmental and social performance, train andqualify their staff with respect to environmentaland social impacts, and work in cooperation withother firms along the supply chain to reduce theenvironmental impacts of products and services.However, the majority of SMEs (especially thosein developing countries and countries in transi-tion) are still characterized by lack of awareness oftheir own environmental and social impacts andby their less structured management of suchissues. Current policy approaches appear not toaffect this majority, and support organizations failto reach them. For the benefit of the environment,and in a wider societal context, SMEs still need tobe engaged in the drive towards sustainability. Tocite a few examples, they are an essential contrib-utor to reaching reduction targets set in the KyotoProtocol to the UN Framework Convention onClimate Change or to reaching policy targets like

“Factor 4/10”.5 As they are often mobile, flexibleand extraordinarily innovative, they are criticallyimportant to the implementation of cleaner prod-ucts and services and to putting into practiceinstruments such as the International Declarationon Cleaner Production and Integrated ProductPolicy (IPP).6

Raising awareness in SMEs of environmentaland social impacts and related economic ineffi-ciencies, as well as encouraging them to becomeinvolved, means considering the conditions underwhich they operate, as will be examined below.

Why target SMEs? Taking care ofdifficulties on the micro-levelSMEs are highly important in defining productchains for future demands. Product chain actorsare interested in having reliable, flexible and inno-vative partners that produce high quality, envi-ronmentally sound products. An integratedmanagement system including TBL performancemeasures can help improve business-to-business

customer relationships along the chain, reducerisks resulting from external effects and ineffi-ciencies, and reduce costs. However, as describedabove, only a few SMEs have already taken vol-untary action towards TBL performanceimprovements. There has been considerable dis-cussion on the internal and external barriers SMEsface in doing so.7 Most SMEs perceive environ-mental improvement as a costly burden. As theyare primarily concerned with short-term eco-nomic survival, they are not motivated to ask for –or use – environmental information or support.8SMEs often lack the time, information andmoney they need to improve matters. In addition,smaller manufacturing companies often do nothave staff whose environmental knowledge andexpertise are adequate to address problems andopportunities in the environmental field. Inter-national environmental management schemes areoften too complex for them to handle. Once anSME has begun to implement an environmentalmanagement scheme, the process is frequentlyfound to be unexpectedly expensive and is there-fore often interrupted.

Generally, the number of EMS certified com-panies is still low. For example, in Germany (rank-ing second in certifications for ISO 14001 andfirst in EMAS registrations), less than 0.2 % of allcompanies are currently EMAS certified. Accord-ing to Keddie,9 the reasons for low acceptance ofEMS include the complexity of the certificationprocesses, a perception that systems are irrelevantor ill-suited to most companies’ needs, competi-tion with other demands on managers’ time andresources, and the lack of credibility of govern-ment campaigns to encourage adoption.

Incidentally, some studies identify disadvan-tages of implementing a certified EMS (Figure 2).These disadvantages can be grouped into threecategories: ◆ substantial human and financial resourcerequirements;◆ lack of rewards;◆ unexpected effects.

Internally, the human and financial resourcesrequired are major disadvantages (e.g. based onsuch aspects as the burden of formalized require-ments or the substantial costs of EMS mainte-nance). Moreover, lack of market or governmentalrewards, unexpected effects such as dependencyon external consultants, or problems with meet-ing various stakeholder demands can be disad-vantageous to a company.

Consequently, it becomes evident that SMEsneed more pragmatic and appropriate assistance.The specific conditions existing in SMEs need tobe taken into account. Effective informationexchange is crucial to providing SMEs withhands-on support tools that help to integrate envi-ronmental and social affairs in day-to-day busi-ness practices and establish economic frameworkconditions that reward these efforts.

Who can target SMEs? The networkingidea: users, partners and suppliersWhether large or small, environmentally orient-ed action does not happen in isolation. Networks

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Source: adapted from Klinkers, et al., 1999.

Figure 1Phases of sustainable business development

Green entrepreneurship

Efficiententrepreneurship

Responsibleentrepreneurship

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

Output-oriented

Process-oriented

System-oriented

Chain-oriented

Stakeholder-oriented

The EnvironmentalManagement Navigator

The Environmental Management Navigatorserves as a guide and decision support conceptto help corporate decision-makers cope withthe growing demand and expectations in thefield of environmental management.

The Navigator aims to:◆ empower corporations by giving them anunderstanding of the beneficial impact thatenvironmental management tools have on thebottom line;◆ present basic knowledge about such tools ina comprehensive and understandable fashion;◆ enable corporate decision-makers to applythese tools appropriately.

The Navigator was developed on behalf ofCarl Duisberg Gesellschaft by the Eco-Effi-ciency and Sustainable Enterprises Team atthe Wuppertal Institute, UNEP DTIE, andthe United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganisation (UNIDO).

For more information, see www.em-naviga-tor.net.

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concerned with TBL performance improvementare important for the different streams of infor-mation and support they provide the company.SMEs have to gain a balance of ideas, informa-tion, technological options and financial powerto move towards TBL performance improve-ments. Networks are essential for SMEs. Ownersand managers of small firms are less likely thantheir counterparts in larger firms to have formalmanagement training and may be less familiarwith the analytical techniques associated withstrategy formulation and decision-making thatunderpins TBL performance improvements.Therefore, the importance of disseminatingappropriate information as a primary strategy forencouraging the greening of SMEs is virtuallyunchallenged. In a meeting of experts specializedin communication of environmental informationto enterprises (particularly SMEs), the model inFigure 3 was compiled to explain how companiescurrently receive information.10 One conclusionhas been that information efforts t hat do not takethis flow into account are likely to be less effec-tive or influential.

Following this model, information campaignsare most effective in reaching SMEs when they usethe existing information routes through local levelinformation sources such as municipal authori-ties, business organizations, business partners ofSMEs, Rotary Clubs and local chambers of com-merce. Campaigns directed at industries, espe-cially SMEs, via other information routes at theinternational level, for example, do not have anequal chance of succeeding. To urge SMEs world-wide to invest in local and regional networkswhere no information routes exist, and to informexisting networks in which SMEs participate, adiverse set of information “gatekeepers” on theinternational, national, regional and especiallylocal level is required. Partners that need to getinvolved are trade associations, employer associa-tions, business associations, direct business part-ners of SMEs, chambers of commerce,authorities, training institutions, academia, insur-ance companies and banks.

The financial sector has a crucial role to play inTBL uptake. Banks and insurance companies thathave signed the UNEP Statement by FinancialInstitutions on the Environment and Sustainable

Development make a commitment to work coop-eratively, within the framework of market mecha-nisms, towards common environmental goals andto pursue best practice in environmental manage-ment, including energy efficiency, recycling andwaste reduction. Furthermore, they will seek toform business relations with partners, suppliers andsubcontractors that follow similarly high environ-mental standards. Stimulation of TBL improve-ments among SMEs can help implement theStatement. In return for companies’ efforts to workon their TBL, they could have a better standingwhen environmental risks are taken into account –especially in regard to loans and investments.

However, as SMEs (like industry in general)prefer to receive information business-to-business,the most effective way of disseminating TBLinformation is through existing information chan-nels such as local business organizations and sup-plier chains. The reputation of large companies,the success of international voluntary and busi-ness initiatives, and the commitment to continu-ous improvement in environmental managementsystems are closely related to SMEs. The poorenvironmental performance of SMEs within the

supply chain will negate the environmental suc-cess of large partners.

Using their influence, larger companies (as wellas governmental organizations) might promoteTBL improvements in SMEs through taking thefollowing measures:◆ developing purchasing policies that reward cor-porate performance improvements and collabora-tion (not only EMS certified). If an EMS isrequired (e.g. in the automotive industry mostenterprises are forced by the competitive marketto have EMS certification), SMEs’ implementa-tion of an EMS should be given support. In devel-oping an effective support mechanism for SMEs,cooperation all along the supply chain plays a fun-damental role.

These measures could be taken by larger com-panies to promote environmental improvementsin SMEs:◆ incremental approaches to implementation,with potential rewards;◆ incremental certification, with certificates issuedat every step;◆ joint EMS and group certifications;◆ mentoring by larger companies.

In broad terms, sustainable developmentdepends upon cooperation within a dynamicSME sector that is environmentally and sociallyaware.

ConclusionsThe information and tools provided to SMEsshould be designed specifically to meet theirneeds. The nature and extent of the TBL perfor-mance information needed by SMEs depends ontheir level of interest and the strategic level of thedecision. Broad distinctions can be made by tak-ing the following into account:◆ compliance with legislation and agreementsmade between parties (environmental legislation,covenants, international treaties);◆ market-oriented considerations (competitiveadvantage, pressure from customers);

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Figure 2Disadvantages for SMEs of implementing certified EMS

Source: adapted from Hillary, 1999.

High staff time requirements

Lack of employee involvement

Problems with complex language

Burden of formalized

requirements

Implementationis interrupted oris a long-lasting

process

Customers' ambivalenceabout environmentalperformance

Lack of rewardsfrom government

Lack of marketrewards

Problems meetingdifferent stakeholders'

demands

Disruption of quality system when linkingto the EMS

Demotivation byidentification ofnon-compliance

Dependency on external consultancy

More managementthan improvement

High costof EMS

maintenanceHigher thanexpectedstaff costs

High certicifation/verification fees

Human resources Financial resources

Lack of rewards Unexpected effects

The Efficient EntrepreneurUNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry andEnvironment (UNEP DTIE) and the Wup-pertal Institute’s Eco-efficiency and Sustain-able Enterprise Team in Germany have jointlydeveloped The Efficient Entrepreneur – A cal-endar for small and medium-sized enterprises toassist SMEs facing situations in which cus-tomers and authorities are increasingly becom-ing concerned about enterprises’ environmen-tal and social performance. In conjunctionwith an additional booklet (The Efficient Entre-preneur Assistant), the calendar enables busi-nesses to quantify consumption of energy,water and raw materials, production of pollu-

tion (such as waste, air and water emissionsand noise), as well as areas for cost-cutting andimproving customer satisfaction. The calendarcharts a “month-by-month” programme thatconcludes with a simple SME efficiencyreport. The Efficient Entrepreneur calendar isrelevant to any SME-type firm, and to anyfirm or department requiring an introductionto environmental performance measurementand communication (e.g. in preparation forISO 14001 or EMAS implementation).

For more information, see www.efficient-entre-preneur.net.

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◆ pro-active economic considerations (wastereduction, cost-effectiveness, anticipation offuture policy measures, environmental liability);◆ ecological/societal considerations (aiming at sus-tainable development).

Notes1.. For more details on the different phases, see L.Klinkers, W. van der Kooy and H. Wijen, Prod-uct-oriented environmental management pro-vides new opportunities and directions forspeeding up environmental performance, GreenerManagement International 26, 1999.2. Klinkers, van der Kooy and H. Wijen, op cit.3. R. Hillary (ed.) (2000) Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment – BusinessImperatives, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield, UK.4. J. Hobbs (2000) Promoting cleaner productionin small and medium-sized enterprises. In: R.Hillary (ed.) op. cit.5. Factor 4/ Factor 10: Sustainability objectives,introduced by E. Weizsäcker, A.B. Lovins and L.Hunter Lovins; Factor Four Doubling Wealth –Halving Resource Use, Earthscan Publications Ltd.,London, 1997; and The Factor Ten Club: TheCarnoules Declaration – Statement to Governmentand Business Leaders, Wuppertal Institute for Cli-mate, Environment and Energy, Wuppertal, Ger-many, 1997.6. European Commission (2001), Green paperfor the integrated product policy, Brussels.7. See, for example, R. Hillary (ed.), op cit.;KPMG Environmental Consulting, The Environ-mental Challenge and Small and Medium-sizedEnterprises in Europe, The Hague, 1997; J.Q.Merritt, EM into SME Won’t Go? Attitudes,

Awareness and Practices in the London Boroughof Croydon, Business Strategy and the Environment7, 1998, pp. 90-100.8. UNEP Division of Technology, Industry andEconomics (UNEP DTIE) (1997) Developingbetter systems for communicating environmental bestpractice in business – final report. Paris.

9. Keddie, A. (2000) Thinking and Communi-cating in Business Terms. Presentation at theInternational Workshop on Business, Eco-Effi-ciency and Sustainable Development: The Roleof Environmental Management Tools, Lisbon, 1-3 March 2000.10. UNEP DTIE, op. cit. ◆

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Figure 3Levels at which SMEs can be reached

Source: adapted from UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP DTIE), Developing better systems for communicating environmental best practice in business - final report, 1997.

International organizationse.g.UNEP, OECD, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC),

multinational companies

Regional organizationse.g. Asia-Pacif Economic Cooperation,

European Union, trade associations

National and regional organizationse.g. ministries, Cleaner Production Centres, industry associations,

large companies, banks, insurance companies

Local levele.g. municipal authorities, business organizations,

suppliers, social groups (e.g. Rotary Clubs)

SMEs

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The understanding of sustainable develop-ment that evolved from the 1992 Rio Con-ference assumes that environmental,

economic and social aims are equally important.At the beginning of the 21st century, putting sus-tainable development into action remains a for-midable challenge. It is important for companiesand sectors to know what kind of targets andactions will lead to sustainability.

Within that context, the aluminium industryregards sustainable development as an ongoingsearch process – with components derived from

the past, present and future. Committed to sus-tainable development, the industry has alreadytaken proactive steps. This commitment com-prises:◆ identification with the basic principles of sus-tainability;◆ contributions to environmental protection(combined with social and ethical behaviour) andto economic development; ◆ an open (internally and externally) informationpolicy to establish confidence in the way theindustry behaves, relying on maintaining a dia-

logue with all relevant societal groups and on car-rying out this dialogue intensively at companyand association level.

The industry’s commitment is being realizedthrough various activities, e.g. the design of pro-grammes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,establishment of environmental management sys-tems, intensification of stakeholder dialogue pro-grammes, investment in R&D for innovation,and employee training and education. Much hasbeen done, but questions are continuously beingasked within the aluminium industry itself with aview to understanding whether it is on a sustain-able development path (Table 1).

In 2001, to obtain answers to questions such asthese, the European aluminium industry commis-sioned the Wuppertal Institute to conduct the pro-ject “Towards a Sustainable Aluminium Industry:Stakeholder Expectations and Core Indicators”.

Responding to the questions:designing a set of sustainabilityindicators The Wuppertal Institute recognizes the need fordecision-makers in business to provide transpar-ent information on their sustainability perfor-mance to external stakeholders, as well as tomaintain an internal information base concern-ing economic, social and environmental issues forevaluation and continuous improvement of com-panies’ sustainability performance. A methodolo-gy called COMPASS (Companies’ and Sectors’Path to Sustainability) was developed by theWupppertal Institute’s Eco-Efficiency and Sus-tainable Enterprises Team (Kuhndt and Liedtke,1999). COMPASS, which helps companies andsectors manage their sustainability performance,was applied to a sector for the first time in the caseof the European aluminium industry.

COMPASS has five elements (Figure 1):◆ COMPASSprofile aims at describing the state ofknowledge on economic, social and environmen-tal performance issues within a company/sector,as well as the expectations of different stakehold-ers regarding that company/sector. ◆ COMPASSvision helps develop a sustainabilityvision for the company/sector and define goalsand targets.

Developing a system of sectoralsustainability indicators for the Europeanaluminium industry

Michael Kuhndt, European Senior Researcher, Wuppertal Institute, Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Enterprise Team Director, Triple-Innova; Doeppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany ([email protected])

Jörg Schäfer, German Aluminium Association, Am Bonneshof 5, 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany ([email protected])

Christa Liedtke, Head of Working Group on Eco-efficiency and Sustainable Enterprises, Wuppertal Institute, Doeppersberg 19, 42103 Wuppertal, Germany ([email protected])

SummaryIn 2001 the European aluminium industry commissioned the Wuppertal Institute to carry outa project called “Towards a Sustainable Aluminium Industry: Stakeholder Expectations andCore Indicators”. The project’s main purpose was to examine sustainability agendas andstakeholder expectations. A framework of indicators could then be established for use in mea-suring the industry’s sustainability performance. Participating stakeholders are able to see theuses to which their input is being put. Experience developing this set of sectoral sustainabilityindicators demonstrates that the approach presented in this article can address major sus-tainable development themes.

RésuméEn 2001, l’industrie européenne de l’aluminium a sollicité les services du Wuppertal Institutepour mener à bien un projet baptisé « Vers une industrie durable de l’aluminium : Attentes desparties prenantes et principaux indicateurs ». Le projet avait pour objet principal d’étudier lesprogrammes d’action en faveur du développement durable et les attentes des partiesprenantes. Il a permis d’établir un ensemble d’indicateurs pour mesurer les performances del’industrie en termes de développement durable. Les parties prenantes peuvent alors se rendrecompte des usages qui sont faits de leurs contributions. Le travail concret d’élaboration de cetensemble d’indicateurs sectoriels du développement durable a montré que la démarche décritedans cet article permet d’examiner les grands axes du développement durable.

ResumenEn 2001 la industria europea de aluminio encomendó al Instituto Wuppertal el desarrollo delproyecto “ Hacia una industria de aluminio sustentable: expectativas de sectores involucra-dos e indicadores centrales” (“Towards a Sustainable Aluminium Industry: Stakeholder Expec-tations and Core Indicators”). El objetivo principal del proyecto era examinar la sustentabilidadde las agendas y las expectativas de los sectores involucrados, a fin de establecer un marco deindicadores para medir el desempeño sustentable de la industria. Esto permite que los sec-tores participantes controlen la utilización de sus aportes. El proceso de desarrollo de este con-junto de indicadores de sustentabilidad sectorial demuestra que es posible aplicar esta mismapropuesta a los principales temas de desarrollo sustentable.

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◆ COMPASSanalysis assists in selectinga set of relevant indicators andexplores “distance to target” usingperformance measurement andbenchmarking. ◆ COMPASSmanagement ensures trans-lation of targets and indicators intodecision-making processes by provid-ing suitable management instru-ments.◆ In COMPASSreport a communica-tion plan is prepared to help report onperformance improvements andachievements to an internal or exter-nal audience, according to interna-tional standards and guidelines suchas those provided by the ISO and theGlobal Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Since theoretical concepts like sus-tainability are abstract and broadlyformulated, it is first necessary to spec-ify their content. To do so, COM-PASS uses “concept specification” or “dimensionalanalysis”. This method is applied to break the con-cept of sustainable development down into dimen-sions, categories and aspects.

Categories and aspects are defined according toGRI methodology (Table 2). Identification of rel-evant dimensions, categories and aspects helps oneunderstand a sector’s main sustainability issues by“drawing a picture” of the sector-specific sustain-ability context. This picture serves as a basis forselecting appropriate indicators in the next step.

COMPASS has three core tools for use in iden-tifying relevant categories and aspects of sustain-able development within a sector:◆ review of sustainability agendas;◆ analysis of sectoral focus areas;◆ consideration of stakeholder expectations.

Reviewing current sustainability agendas canprovide an overview of the broader sustainabilitydebate. Analyzing a focus area helps track sector-specific key issues. The results of agenda reviewsand focus area analyses serve as essential input for

considering the expectations of internal and exter-nal stakeholders.

Reviewing current sustainabilityagendas Various sustainability agendas have been created bystakeholders (e.g. political institutions, consumerassociations, NGOs, businesses) (Figure 2). Someof the main trends in policy and business agendasinclude:◆ expanded application of economic instrumentsto environmental management; ◆ measures to encourage eco-efficient productionpatterns and corporate social responsibility;◆ supply side and demand side managementstrategies; ◆ increasing public participation in business andpolicy development;◆ information and public awareness programmes;◆ product performance targets and policies, andguidelines for reporting.

Examples of international initiatives considered

by this methodology are the UnitedNations Global Compact initiative,the OECD Guidelines for Multina-tional Enterprises, the Social Account-ability International Standard SA8000 (see www.cepaa. org), the ISO14031 Standard on EnvironmentalPerformance Evaluation (see www.iso/ch), and the GRI guidelines designedto help businesses prepare sustainabil-ity reports (see www.globalreporting.org). For a more detailed descriptionof the initiatives considered, also seeKuhndt, Geibler and Liedtke, 2002).

Focus area analysis of thealuminium sectorA focus area analysis is useful for com-pleting more general information fromthe agenda review. The focus areaanalysis of the aluminium sectorhelped identify key sector-specific

areas during the life cycle. The origin of specificfocus areas might be based on common processtechnologies and related impacts, common frame-work conditions, and past, current or planned sus-tainability activities within the sector. The focusarea analysis was part of the stakeholder survey, asdescribed in the following section. The outcomeof the survey is shown in Table 3. The aspects per-ceived by survey participants as the most impor-tant were considered in designing the sustainabilityindicators.

Consideration of stakeholderexpectations Considering stakeholder expectations can be aneffective way to integrate a wider range of relevantaspects, actors and expertise into managementdecisions, so as to settle (or at least clarify) contro-versial questions before intensive planning begins.

In the case of the aluminium industry, the stake-holder survey was used as a starting point for stake-holder involvement. The survey’s overall objectivewas to gather data on opinions and expectationsfrom internal and external stakeholders concern-ing sustainability issues in the industry. The sur-vey structure reflected this objective. It includedthree main areas: ◆ the importance of sustainability aspects, derivedfrom the agenda review;◆ the importance of sector-specific sustainabilityaspects, derived from the focus area analysis;◆ the importance of different stakeholders to thesector.

To derive a balanced view from a wide range ofstakeholder expectations, the survey addressedboth internal stakeholders (representatives of com-panies and associations) and external ones (e.g.representatives of research institutions, govern-mental organizations, financial institutions, con-sumer organizations, environmental and socialNGOs, the media and competitors). Survey par-ticipants were asked to evaluate, according to theirperceived importance, sustainability categories andaspects identified in the agenda review and focusarea analysis. Figure 3 compares the types of infor-

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Figure 1Elements of COMPASS

Source: Kuhndt and Liedtke, 1999

COMPASSprofile

COMPASSvision

COMPASSanalysis

COMPASSmanagement

COMPASSreport

COMPASS

as integration

Economy ◆ Environment ◆ Social

Table 1Types of questions related to sustainable development being asked

within the aluminium industry

◆ What are current trends in the international sustainability debate?

◆ Which of these trends are relevant to the aluminium industry?

◆ What does this mean for the industry in terms of actions?

◆ Does the industry’s strategy reflect these issues?

◆ What do stakeholders demand of companies and whole business sectors concerning sustainable development?

◆ Is it possible to transfer general sustainable development objectives to the aluminium industry?

◆ What are stakeholders’ expectations?

◆ Where do governments, NGOs and other organizations (e.g. research institutes, universities, trade unions), actors representing consumer needs (e.g. consumer organizations) and business (individual enterprises and business associations)address sustainability targets and indicators relevant to the industry?

◆ What are priority issues for the industry?

◆ How can environmental, social and economic sustainability be measured?

◆ Which set of indicators can be transferred to aluminium and the aluminium industry? Or how can aluminium and the aluminium industry be described using a set of indicators?

◆ What are indicators’ potential and limitations?

◆ Is it possible to give equal consideration to environmental, social and economic aspects while taking into account their interdependencies?

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mation internal and external stake-holders expect from the aluminiumindustry.

Analysis of the survey resultsshowed that so far there is greaterconsensus on environmental infor-mation and less consensus on socialand economic information. Thisfinding can be explained by the factthat environmental informationand indicators have long (for over20 years) been a subject of publicdiscussion and scientific reviews. Incontrast, economic and socialinformation/indicators have playeda less important role in stakeholderdiscussions until recently. This sit-uation is changing in the currentdebate. The situation has also beendescribed in the Global ReportingInitiative reporting guidelines, asshown in Figure 4.

Whereas the agenda review andthe focus area analysis serve to iden-tify a wide range of possibly relevantsustainability issues, consideration ofstakeholder expectations is used toestablish priorities and a list of rele-vant categories and aspects for thesector’s path to sustainability. Thislist has the character of an initialsketch of opinions; it can be used asa starting point for further integra-tion of information-sharing andimproved understanding amongstakeholders.

Selecting sectoral sustainabilityindicators One of the main challenges involved in selectingsustainability indicators for business is the varietyof different business characteristics. It is temptingto assume that one “universal” set of indicatorscould apply to all sectors, but in practice decision-making groups must distinguish between core and

specific sustainability indicators. Core indicators are generally internationally

agreed. They relate to a global sustainability con-cerns or values and are relevant and meaningful tovirtually all businesses. These indicators providedata that can be aggregated from micro- to meso-or macro-level. Specific indicators depend on thebusiness’s specific nature. Such indicators provideinformation at micro- or meso-level; aggregationto macro-level is often not possible.

Due to the indicators’ context-related nature, core elements of theindicator selection process can bederived from the context in whichsustainability indicators obtain theirrelevance. This context is referred toas the “framework of sustainabilityindicators” (Kuhndt, Geibler andEckermann, 2002). It has two com-ponents: content-related and use-related. As shown in Figure 5, eachcomponent consists of several ele-ments.

The content-related component ofthe framework describes current –rather traditional economic – targetsand goals formulated by the sector(e.g. by its associations) along withthe sector’s sustainability vision ifsuch a vision currently exists. Cate-gories and aspects derived using theapproaches described in the previ-ous section are also listed. The use-related component provides informa-tion concerning application of theindicators (purpose of use, user, areaof application) as well as the scope ofthe object inspected, including adefinition of its system boundaries.

Indicator selection finally takesplace based on content- and use-related information. To facilitatethis step, indicator selection criteriashould be defined. Such criteriahelp evaluate indicators and ensure

the selection of adequate indicators. For example,selection criteria could include reliability, validi-ty, relevance, comprehensibility, data availability,and reasonable cost. Besides these generally usedand accepted criteria, it is useful (according to theindicator development approach) for any deci-sion-making process to consider the relevance ofunderlying aspects of the stakeholders’ viewpointas related to the survey; this is in addition to therelevance of the agenda review, the internal rele-

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Source: adapted from Köhler, 1987

Figure 2Concept specification: splitting the sustainable development

concept into dimensions, categories and aspects

Theoreticalconcept

Content of the concept Indicatorse.g. dimensions categories aspects

SustainabledevelopmentSustainable

development

Interlinkages

Table 2Categories and aspects to be examined in sustainability reporting

Categories Broad areas or groupings of economic, environmental or socialissues of concern to stakeholders (e.g. air, energy, labourpractices, local economic impacts)

Aspects General types of information relevant to specific categories (e.g. GHG emissions, energy consumed according to source,child labour practices, donations to host communities); a given category may have several aspects

Source: GRI (see www.globalreporting.org)

Figure 3Survey results related to the question: what type of information do internal and external stakeholders

expect from the aluminium industry?

Source: Kuhndt, Geibler and Eckermann, 2002

Internal stakeholderExternal stakeholder

Management efforts

Competitiveness

Economicstability

Costs

Benefits

Innovation

Investments

Suppliers

Contractors

3

2

1

0

Energy

Transport

Productstewardship

Biodiversity

Land use

Waste

Emissions to air

Effluents to water

Water

Materials3

1

0

2

Index:0 = not relevant category3 = highly important category

Human health and safety

Communityinvolvement

Discrimination

Human rights

Employee rights

Wages, benefits, pensions

Disciplinarypractices

Forcedlabour

Child labour

Quality of work,satisfaction, education

3

2

1

0

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vance for the sector involved, and thepossible level of aggregation (e.g. onthe process, product, site, company orsector level).

The selection criteria applied andthe selection of indicators have beendiscussed in a dialogue process involv-ing potential users of the indicator setin the aluminium industry. Indicatorshave been designed for the categoriesand aspects listed in Table 4.

It is necessary that the indicator setdesigned be interpreted in its entirety.All categories, aspects and indicatorsshould be examined when the indica-tor system is used. For non-selectedcategories, aspects and indicators, anexplanation should be given (e.g. dataare currently not available, or the costof data collection for the indicator istoo high). With respect to the dataavailability and novelty of some indi-cators, it is reasonable to establish aspecific timeframe (priority) withinwhich an indicator should be available.To portray the complexity of sustain-able development, it is crucial to con-sider interlinkages within the indicatorsystem. The interlinkages have there-fore been highlighted in the indicatorset and need to be reflected when the indicator sys-tem is used. For example, human rights issues needto be included in the following categories: corpo-rate social performance; stakeholder dialogue onenvironmental, economic and social performance,and communication; social cost accounting; exter-nal effects; suppliers/contractors; and life-cycleaspects.

The indicator set designed is of a temporarynature. It needs to be revised from time to time toadapt the indicators to changing stakeholderdemands, significant modifications in the under-lying sector (e.g. technological innovation), andprogress made in research on sustainability indi-cators. Revision on a regular basis is a common

management practice aimed at continuousimprovement.

ConclusionsThe experiences gained through developing a setof sectoral sustainability indicators for the Euro-pean aluminium industry have demonstrated thatthe approach presented here addresses the majorcharacteristics of sustainable development (Kuh-ndt, Geibler and Eckermann, 2002), as shown inFigure 6.

The stakeholder approach considers the specif-ic context of the organization in focus. Thus, theinvolvement of stakeholders is an important ele-ment when a sustainability indicator set is devel-

oped. Once stakeholders are involvedeffectively, the development of anindicator set is more transparent andthe stakeholders build up trust for along-term relationship. In this waystakeholder involvement follows thetrend of recent initiatives promotingsustainable development (e.g. the UNGlobal Compact initiative, the GlobalReporting Initiative, the UK Round-table on Sustainable Development,and the German Council for Sustain-able Development) which have drawnon the stakeholder approach as a wayto create a broad consensus among dif-ferent societal groups

For the actors involved in develop-ing indicators, it is crucial to derive amore tangible view of the conceptualcharacter of sustainable development.This can be achieved through review-ing and understanding the current sus-tainability debate, identifying relevantfocus areas, and considering stakehold-er expectations. Instead of integratedindicators being developed directly forsustainability, they are developed foridentified aspects that are considered tobe relevant. One of the main challengeswith respect to achieving sustainable

development is the interrelation between numer-ous categories and aspects. This complex diversitycan, as a first step, be addressed through develop-ing a set of indicators. Within this set, interlink-ages between different aspects can be highlighted.The interlinkages should be considered whenusing the set.

Sustainable development relates to an unlimit-ed time horizon and is an on-going dynamicprocess. The dynamic character of sustainabilityhas been considered in the development of theindicator set when considering two issues. First,the COMPASS methodology outlines a dynamicdiscussion process through a sequence of work-shops. Second, the flexible timeframe, as suggest-

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Table 3Perceptions of the most important aspects of aluminium’s

life cycle phases (number of survey participants, n=23)

Life cycle phase Aspects perceived as most important

Bauxite mining • land use after mining• image of company/public image• protection of ecosystem• dialogue with community

Alumina production • image• community involvement• kind of energy carrier consumed • amount of thermal energy consumed

Primary smelting • CF4, C2F6 emissions• efficient electricity production• CO2 emissions• amount of electricity consumed

Aluminium processing • product developmentand manufacturing • design for recycling

• technological development• amount of energy consumed

Use phase • reduced fuel consumption in transport applications• reduced emissions due to light weight in transport applications• end-of-life value products• recycling systems

Recycling • improvement of recycling• improvement of collection system• emissions • reduced cost through design for recycling

Transport • competitiveness• accident prevention• reliability• employee training in risk prevention

Source: Kuhndt, Geibler and Liedtke, 2002

Figure 4Degree of international consensus on

sustainability indicators

Source: GRI, 2000 (see www.globalreporting.org)

Environmental indicators

Social indicators

Economic indicators

Integrated indicators

Deg

ree

of c

onse

nsus

High

Low

Figure 5Framework of sustainability indicators


Content-relatedinformation

Use-relatedinformation

SectorSD-vision

Purposeof use

User

Area ofapplication

Systemboundaries

Scope

Aspects

Categories

SectorSD-vision

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ed for implementation of the indica-tor set, makes adaptations possible fora specific organizational context.Over time, single aspects might beadded if stakeholders demand infor-mation on additional issues. Experi-ence with environmental reportingshows that more aspects tend to beadded than are dropped.

As highlighted above, developingan indicator set for a sector dependson the context. Here, the regionalcontext might be very influential. Theimportance of some aspects (e.g.drinking water consumption oremployment) is likely to vary amonggeographical regions. Regional differ-ences might be taken into account byconsidering specific national orregional agendas and/or stakeholders.However, once the set of sustainabili-ty indicators has been established, it issuggested that they be integrated into the man-agement accounting system. Next, informationthat might be presented in a sectoral sustainabili-ty report could be collected; this can be seen as animportant tool in a continuous improvementprocess supporting progress towards more sus-tainable development (Kuhndt, Geibler andLiedtke, 2002).

To harmonize measurement of this indicatorset, data sheets that consider international andnational measurement approaches have to bedeveloped as the next step. The information col-lected could then be presented in a sectoral alu-minium sustainability report. As emphasizedabove, the indicator set developed depends on thespecific context (the aluminium industry projecthas been based mainly on the views of European

stakeholders) and has a dynamic character. More-over, to express the continuous character of thestakeholders, further consultations are necessary.This approach allows participating stakeholdersto see the effects of their input and the authentic-ity of stakeholder consultations by the aluminiumindustry.

Furthermore, to support continuous use anddevelopment of the indicator set, a managementstructure and an interdisciplinary sustainabilityteam supporting decision-making aimed at thepromotion of sustainability might be set up at thesectoral and company level. Such a structure andteam could also help develop sector-wide sustain-ability visions and targets. With these visions andtargets, the sustainability indicator set can be builtinto a long-term framework.

Acknowledgements For specific questions concerning thealuminium industry and discussionsof sustainability issues, this projectwas accompanied by an expert groupconsisting of Hydro (chair), the Ger-man Aluminium Association (GDA)(coordination), Alcan, and the Euro-pean Aluminium Association (EAA).The project was conducted within theframework of the “Aluminium forFuture Generations” activities. AndréEckermann, Justus von Geibler,Michael Kuhndt and Christa Liedtkewere members of the project team atthe Wuppertal Institute.

References Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (2000)Sustainability Reporting Guidelines on Eco-nomic, Environmental and Social Perfor-mance. Boston.

Köhler, R. (1987) Informationen für die strategische Pla-nung von Produktinnovationen [Information for strategicplanning of product innovations]. In: F. Klein-Blenkers(ed.), Distributionspolitik [Distribution Politics]. Cologne.

Kuhndt, M., J. v. Geibler and C. Liedtke (2002) Towardsa Sustainable Aluminium Industry: Stakeholder Expecta-tions and Core Indicators. Final Report for the GDA(Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie) and the Euro-pean Aluminium Industry. Wuppertal Institute. (Thisreport is downloadable from the Wuppertal Institute’sGerman/English web site, www.eco-efficiency.de).

Kuhndt, M., and C. Liedtke (1999) COMPASS – Com-panies’ and Sectors’ Path to Sustainability – The Methodol-ogy. Wuppertal Paper No. 97. Wuppertal Institute.

Kuhndt, M., J. v. Geibler and A. Eckermann (2002)Developing a Sectoral Sustainability Indicator Set Takinga Stakeholder Approach. Paper presented at the 10th

International Conference of the Greening of IndustryNetwork, 23-26 June 2002, Göteborg, Sweden. ◆

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Table 4List of sustainability categories and related aspects

Figure 6Key elements of the sustainable development concept

and resulting demands on its realization


Key elements of the Sustainable Development concept are...

...resulting demands on the realization of sustainable development...

conceptualcharacter

conceptspecificationand indirect

measurementby indicators

dependencyon the context

stakeholderprocesses

complexity

establishmentof a multi-

dimensionalmonitoring

system

dynamic character

continuousimprovementand felxibility

1. Management efforts 1.1 Sustainability policy and strategy1.2 Corporate economic performance 1.3 Corporate social performance 1.4 Corporate environmental performance 1.5 Stakeholder dialogue on environmental,

economic and social performance 1.6 Communication 2. Costs 2.1 Environmental cost accounting 2.2 Social cost accounting 2.3 External effects 3. Investments and innovation 3.1 Investments in R&D 3.2 R&D to improve sustainability performance,

best available technology (BAT) 3.3 Cooperation with science (external) 4. Economic stability 4.1 Financial performance 4.2 Risk management 5. Competitiveness 5.1 Long-term profit

5.2 International competitiveness 6. Human health and safety (H&S) 6.1 Corporate H&S programmes 6.2 Corporate H&S performance 7. Wages, benefits, pensions 7.1 Level of wages 7.2 Benefits provided to employees 8. Quality of work, satisfaction, education 8.1 Quality of management 8.2 Types of work organization

(e.g. teamwork, job rotation) 8.3 Worker participation in decision-making 8.4 Education, qualification, training 9. Discrimination10. Human rights 11. Employee rights 12. Forced labour 13. Child labour 14. Community involvement 14.1 Efforts to understand community concerns 14.2 Corporate role in community/region/country 15. Energy

15.1 Amount of energy consumed 15.2 Energy generation16. Water 16.1 Water use 16.2 Effluents to water 16.3 Types of effluents17. Air emissions 17.1 Emission types and amounts 18. Waste 18.1 Amount of waste generated19. Material use 20. Land use 21. Raw material availability 22. Suppliers/contractors23. Product stewardship23.1 Customers 23.2 Use phase aspects23.3 After-use phase aspects23.4 Life cycle aspect 24. Transport

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The first generation of environmental tech-nologies typically involved additions toexisting production systems that treated

waste. Generally the pollution burden was trans-ferred from one location or medium to another,incurring additional treatment costs and doingnothing overall to reduce waste generation or rawmaterial and energy consumption.

The second generation of environmental tech-nologies consisted of cleaner production systemswhich emphasize pollution prevention throughreduced consumption of raw materials and energyand no or reduced waste generation, therebyincreasing productivity and bringing environ-mental, financial and other benefits to the enter-prise and the community.

In the third (current) generation of technologiesand systems environmental performance consider-ations are fully integrated with economic and otheroperational issues and the system as a whole is sus-tainable. Sustainable production and consumptionrequires planning, design and management prac-tices that facilitate innovative approaches to thereuse, remanufacturing and recycling of the limitedamounts of “waste” that cannot be avoided.

Decision support tools for site- and application-specific technologyassessmentsTechnology assessment is a broad concept thatrefers to the process of endeavouring to under-stand the likely impacts of the use of new orupgraded processes and technologies by an indus-try, municipality, country or society.

Environmentally focused technologyassessment (EnTA)EnTA minimizes the need for detailed technicaldata and facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogues,leading to consensus decision-making related toselecting a technology that will be the most envi-ronmentally sound, socially acceptable and eco-nomically viable. EnTA thus overcomes many ofthe acknowledged shortcomings of environmentalimpact assessment (EIA). Through early recogni-tion of key issues, possible alternatives, potentialsolutions and areas of consensus, EnTA allows fur-ther effort to focus on points of major conflict anddispute.

EnTA focuses on characterizing the potentialimpacts associated with the outcome categories.

The outcome categories are:◆ human health impacts; ◆ local natural environment impacts;◆ social and cultural impacts;◆ global impacts;◆ resource sustainability; and ◆ economic viability.

The performance of each technology option isevaluated using these broad categories.

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)SEA is a tool designed to ensure that the environ-mental consequences of policies, plans, pro-grammes or proposals are considered early in thedecision-making process and are addressed alongwith economic and social considerations.

Since cleaner production is a critical element ofenvironmentally sound design, the use of SEA atthe policy, planning and initial design stage willhelp ensure identification of processes that mini-mize environmental degradation and contributeto sustainability.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA)As a decision support tool for environmental man-agement, LCA involves the evaluation of the envi-ronmental aspects of a product system through allstages of its life cycle. A product’s life cycle em-braces all of the activities that go into making,transporting, using and disposing of that product.

LCA can be used to give greater depth andrigour to the guidance coming from an EnTAthrough a more formalized analysis of the tech-nology investment over its entire life cycle. Bothtools complement the SEA, thereby ensuring thatdecisions made at the pre-investment stage of thetechnology intervention will help ensure identifi-cation of technology options that minimize envi-ronmental degradation and contribute to sustain-ability.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA)EIA is a decision support tool designed to helpensure that development and investment propos-als, activities, projects and programmes are envi-ronmentally sound and sustainable. It facilitatesidentification, analysis and evaluation of the sig-nificance of potential environmental impacts andthe identification and elaboration of measures thatwill avoid, remedy or mitigate any adverse impacts.EIA allows informed decision-making as to

Facilitating uptake of cleaner productionwith decision support tools, learningopportunities and information technologies

John E. Hay,* Director of Professional Training, International Global Change Institute, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand ([email protected]).

SummaryThis article provides an overview of decision support tools that can facilitate uptake of cleanerproduction systems at the national to enterprise level. It addresses the challenge of how to reachand equip individuals participating in cleaner production education and outreach programmes,while providing relevant content and learning opportunities that reflect each person’s capaci-ty, capabilities and context. Electronic learning systems can vastly enhance access to existinginformation.

RésuméCet article fait le point sur les outils d’aide à la décision pouvant faciliter la pénétration des sys-tèmes de production plus propre à tous les niveaux, des organisations nationales à l’entreprise.Il traite de la question suivante : comment atteindre et préparer les personnes participant auxprogrammes d’éducation et de vulgarisation sur la production plus propre et offrir un contenuet des possibilités d’apprentissage adaptés aux aptitudes, aux moyens et au contexte de chaqueindividu. Les systèmes d’enseignement électroniques peuvent améliorer considérablementl’accès aux informations existantes.

ResumenEste artículo presenta una serie de herramientas de gestión y toma de decisiones que facilitan laincorporación de sistemas de producción más limpia a distintos niveles, de gubernamentales aempresariales. Se refiere al desafío de identificar y equipar a participantes en programas de edu-cación y difusión de producción más limpia y aportar los contenidos relevantes brindando opor-tunidades de aprendizaje que permitan ampliar las capacidades y habilidades personales segúnel contexto individual. Los sistemas de enseñanza electrónicos amplían significativamente elacceso a la información existente.

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Cleaner Production

whether a proposal should proceed and, if so,under what conditions. It also establishes a moni-toring and environmental management regime forimplementing mitigation measures, monitoringimpacts for compliance and ascertaining if impactsare as predicted.

Above all else, an EIA should foster public dis-cussion about project proposals and technologies.This is important for ensuring an open and bal-anced approach and for encouraging considera-tion of those environmental effects, costs andbenefits which cannot always be identified ormeasured by scientific or technological means.

Environmental risk assessment (EnRA)All decisions and actions have environmental con-sequences, many of which are unintended. Risk isthe likelihood that a harmful consequence willoccur as a result of an action. EnRA is the deter-mination of the potential impact of a chemical orphysical agent on ecosystems, habitats and otherecological resources and on human health andwell-being.

Risk assessment provides a relatively objectiveway to rank the hazards associated with the optionsunder consideration, in terms of both humanhealth and ecological effects, and to decide whichare acceptable or manageable in the local context.

Social impact assessment (SIA)SIA can be used if there is a need for more com-prehensive, in-depth and rigorous determinationof the impacts a given policy, plan, programme,project, activity or action may have on the socialaspects of the environment.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)CBA is one way to organize, evaluate and presentinformation about actions governments take toimprove public well-being. The technique isintended to improve the quality of public policydecisions, using as a metric a monetary measureof the aggregate change in individual well-beingresulting from a policy decision. Because of thisneed to place monetary values on attributes ofhuman well-being for which no market pricesexist, CBA is often complicated, expensive andsomewhat controversial.

The advantages of CBA include:◆ transparency and potential for engenderingaccountability; ◆ provision of a framework for consistent data col-lection and identification of gaps and uncertaintyin knowledge; and◆ with the use of a money metric, the ability toaggregate dissimilar effects (such as those onhealth, visibility and crops) into one measure ofnet benefits.

Criticisms of CBA include the assumptionsthat individual well-being can be characterized interms of preference satisfaction, and that aggre-gate social well-being can be expressed as an aggre-gation of individual social welfare, as well as theempirical problems encountered in quantifyingeconomic value and aggregating measures of indi-vidual welfare.

Environmental management system(EMS)An EMS can help maintain environmentally soundoperations. It ensures that environmental issues aremanaged consistently and systematically through-out an organization. An EMS can also assist anorganization in comprehensively addressing envi-ronmental issues and obtaining greater credibilitywith regulatory agencies and clients. It sets out envi-ronmental policies, objectives and targets for anorganization, with predetermined indicators thatprovide measurable goals and a means of deter-mining if the performance level has been reached.

For organizations, an EMS is an excellentmechanism for promoting positive change, suchas increased uptake and continuing effectiveimplementation of cleaner production systems.Successful implementation of an EMS can lead toincreased environmental awareness, continuousimprovement, and the adoption and use of envi-ronmentally sound technologies.

New approaches to fostering learningEnvironmental training and education equips indi-viduals with the motivation, knowledge, skills andcommitment to identify and implement commer-cial and life-style decisions and civic actions thatfavour ecologically sustainable and socially just waysfor people to interact with nature and with eachother, and to relate to future generations. Yet thefundamental challenge is how to reach and equipthe large numbers of people seeking environmentaltraining and education, while at the same time pro-viding relevant content and learning opportunitiesfor each individual. This dichotomy has been along-term dilemma for environmental trainers andeducators. The increasing globalization of environ-mental training and education has enhanced theschism between generic, global approaches on theone hand and, on the other, locally based approach-es that reflect specific needs attuned to local culture,environment and socio-economic circumstances.

An example of a generic environmental trainingpackage is the Urban Environmental Management:Environmental Management System TrainingResource Kit, a result of collaboration betweenUNEP, the International Council for Local Envi-ronmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the Internation-al Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).

The kit consists of a modular “Train the Trainer”package which uses an EMS to provide the contextfor the tools that will integrate sustainable develop-ment into the various aspects and priorities of urbanmanagement. The kit is largely generic, designed tobe suitable in all conditions and circumstances.Adaptation of the kit to various cultural and politi-cal situations is aided by its modular constructionand by the use of case studies.

UNEP and the UNESCO have developed a pro-fessional development workshop manual, Teachingfor a Sustainable World.1 It provides training mod-ules to facilitate pre-service and in-service teachereducation on curricular themes and learning expe-riences that promote education for sustainability.

The increasing importance of global trainingapproaches has been expedited by exponentialgrowth in the availability of, and access to, infor-

mation technologies. The growing dominance ofcontent and delivery methods designed and mar-keted for a global audience contravenes the princi-ple that environmental training and educationmust be needs-driven, relevant, and pedagogicallysound. The changes threaten the quality, relevance,correctness and access of environmental educationand training because they enlarge the gap betweenlearning theory and practice, general knowledgeand useful, local application, cultural indifferenceand sensitivity, and available and unattainable tech-nologies. Moreover, global education and trainingare vulnerable to underestimating the socio-eco-nomic and cultural factors in the construction andreceipt of education.

A myriad of other factors impact environmentalpractices, including the economic and political con-texts. The efficacy of generic environmental educa-tion and training programmes may be fatally flawedif participants in different cultures engage with thelearning material when they have fundamentallydifferent world views, philosophies, and under-standings of the term “environment” and of the cul-ture and perspectives on the environment held byothers. Thus knowledge of the various perspectiveson the environment, and an understanding of thecultural basis for their similarities and differences,are a prerequisite to achieving good learning out-comes when dealing with environmental topics.

Building and enhancing the capacity to plan andmanage the environment in ways that produce sus-tainable outcomes involves regional and interna-tional cooperation to share best practice guidelinesand technologies. Even when there is agreement atan international level to cooperate and overcomeenvironmental problems, the translation of ideasinto action by different communities can be mod-ified by their cultural identity and context.

Environmental training and education have aspecial role in informing attitudes, building knowl-edge and strengthening motivation, especially ofyoung people. Moreover, in each country and cul-ture there is likely to be a wealth of local environ-mental knowledge that can be used wisely to bothprevent and solve local environmental problems.Traditional knowledge and practices can be sup-plemented by contemporary environmental assess-ments and solutions.

This can be achieved by following “good prac-tice strategies” in teaching and learning that addvalue to the contemporary generic approaches, byacknowledging the importance of individual andcollective values, aspirations and local capacity,capability and context, and by accommodatingwidely varying perspectives of and attitudes towardsthe environment. The following “good practicestrategies” for the design and delivery of environ-mental education and training are proposed inorder to optimize the learning outcomes of genericenvironmental training and education initiativesusing modern information technologies.

LanguageFor a range of reasons including the high costs ofproduction, English has become the lingua francaused for the hard-copy paper resources that sup-port generic environmental education and train-

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Cleaner Production

ing programmes. Yet learning in a second (or thirdor fourth) language can be a major obstacle to aparticipants’ willingness to engage, persevere andgain from a learning experience, and incorrectlyassumes that all English terms can be translatedinto the native tongue of all potential users.

Culturally appropriate pedagogyInteractive teaching/learning strategies with on-line discussions and “bulletin boards” can offerparticipants the capacity to schedule their learn-ing so that it “fits in” with family organization,gender roles, local cultural obligations and socialvalues. Similar outcomes can be achieved in con-ventional delivery using group work to evaluatealternative models/approaches; undertake SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats) analyses; generate local action plans, etc.that enable participants to draw on their ownexperiences, and relate their learning to their owncultural, social and economic contexts.

Different social, cultural and religious valuesmediate the importance participants and commu-nities attach to particular environmental issues.The global relevance of generic environmentaleducation programmes and training has to beexplicitly connected with local issues and action.Information technologies can help generate data-bases of hypothetical and real-life case studiesaround specific local environmental problems thatalso have potential relevance to other locales wheredifferent constraints, opportunities and capacitiesgive rise to possibilities for different solutions.

EvaluationEvaluation provides an important opportunity toassess the effectiveness of adapting and applyingglobal packages in a local context. However, exist-ing instruments and evaluation practices oftenlack meaningful substance to inform and improvefuture delivery and better meet the needs of par-ticipants.

Yet the general field of programme evaluationoffers a rich spectrum of formative and summa-tive evaluation approaches, ranging from simpleauditing of learning outcomes to extensive natu-ralistic enquiry conducted in situ. Environmen-tal education and training programmes wouldbenefit from using more structured, multi-method approaches to evaluation, drawing on theexpertise of professional evaluators to gathermeaningful feedback about the cultural appro-priateness of the training programme and its rela-tionship to participants’ learning and programmeobjectives.

As an example, local level capability in EnTAis being promoted through an integratedapproach based around the use of a generic com-puter-based learning package (EnTA OnLine)and conventional training at national or sub-national level.

In terms of local delivery of training, group sim-ulation exercises involving role-playing are used.They provide an opportunity for participants to“learn by doing” and to share relevant knowledgeand expertise that they have already accumulatedin their own work environments.

E-learningThe growing recognition in recent years of theimportance of learning, particularly lifelong learn-ing, for the envisioned knowledge-based economiesof the present century has made headway for on-line distance education such as web-based trainingand other forms of e-learning. To date, most initia-tives have not included adequate provision of theguidance that is required to design such learningenvironments. Concerns exist that many learningmaterials currently available electronically are notpurpose designed.

A process of analysis and application is required,to ensure that e-learning environments includequality teaching and learning approaches andmaterials that will engage the user in meaningfulteaching and learning activities.

Good practice guidelines for e-learningTo date, there has been relatively little experience ofdelivering learning materials electronically andthere are no commonly accepted e-learning designstandards. The use of e-learning tools in the devel-opment, deployment and delivery of outreach andprofessional development programmes facilitatesthe operation of an approach that is flexible,dynamic, and adaptable to include relevant con-tent. The approach should also be iterative andpersonalized, in order to assist in improvements,and networked and integrated into a total e-learn-ing solution.

Key elements of the product developmentand deployment cycleKey elements of this cycle are:◆ a coherent and integrated approach, aided bycontent development and operational protocols;◆ continuous quality improvement: assessments willbe used to identify areas for further development;◆ adoption of and adherence to good practiceguidelines for e-learning: e-learning enhancesaccess to existing information and developmentof new e-learning tools and products in accor-dance with good practice guidelines;◆ design of computer-based outreach and profes-sional development packages covering a series ofdecision support tools: state of the art packages(e.g. EnTA, EMS, EnRA, CBA) prepared cooper-atively by product development partners;◆ testing of prototypes: to assess the extent towhich the training has the potential to producethe desired outcomes in the performances of boththe individual participants and the agencies towhich they belong;◆ adaptation of a generic package to meet theneeds of specific user groups: e-learning contentdevelopment and management tools provide amethod for developing e-learning with relativeease, as the resulting environment is easy to main-tain and update; the ease with which the e-learn-ing environment can be altered supports coursetransfer, translation and adaptation for specificcultural and local contexts;◆ maximum deployment of the packages, usingthe flexibility offered by information managementtechnologies;

◆ promotion to ensure that target groups are fullyaware of the opportunities for professional devel-opment.

Key elements of the cycle for delivery of theoutreach and professional developmentservicesKey elements of this cycle are:◆ a coherent and integrated approach, aided bylearner management tools, knowledge sharingtools and operational protocols;◆ continuous quality improvement: assessmentswill identify areas for further development;◆ adherence to good practice guidelines for e-learning: both hypothetical and real-life case stud-ies and on-line discussion groups are applicable tothe specific context of the learner;◆ establishment of centres of competency to pro-vide technical, pedagogic and other support: the e-learning initiatives need to be supported byconventional learning approaches, e.g. small-group activities (discussions/activities, evaluatingalternative models/approaches; SWOT analyses;generating local action plans, etc.) that enable par-ticipants to draw on their own and others’ experi-ences and relate learning to their own cultural,social and economic contexts; ◆ evaluation of operational packages and learningoutcomes, to assess the performances of both theindividual participants and their agencies.

Key elements of the software architectureThe components of the e-learning toolbox arecontent collaboration and management tools,learner management tools and communication,collaboration and knowledge sharing tools. Thesetools can stand alone or are offered as part of anintegrated suite or learning platform, e.g. Aspen.

Content development andmanagement toolsContent development tools are those tools usedto develop content of all kinds (i.e. informational,presentational and instructional) in any format(e.g. text, graphics, animation and video).

A learning content management system (LCMS)creates, stores and retrieves reusable content. Con-tent is typically maintained in a centralized contentrepository in the form of small self-describing,uniquely identifiable objects or learning objects,each of which satisfies one or more well-definedlearning objective. An advanced LCMS has theability to track the user’s interactions with eachlearning object and use this detailed information todeliver highly personalized learning experienceswhile providing authors with rich reports for ana-lyzing clarity, relevance and effectiveness of contentso it can be improved on an ongoing basis.

Learner management toolsLearning management systems (LMS) can helpmanage an organization’s learning activities andcompetencies. From an end-user point of view, anLMS provides an effective way to keep track ofindividual skills and competencies, and to providea means of easily locating and registering for rele-vant learning activities to further improve the

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Cleaner production has long been alignedwith the development of new technologies.In rejecting the earlier tradition of end-of-

pipe, pollution control, and waste treatment tech-nologies, cleaner production opened up opportu-nities for innovation and application of newproduction technologies. These cleaner produc-tion technologies were to be adjuncts of thebroader search for management strategies that

would result in less waste, less water and energyconsumption, and less use of toxic and hazardouschemicals.

Some of the early national and regional pro-grammes organized special initiatives to promoteso-called “clean technologies”, and some in thenational cleaner production programmes came tosee that the development and commercializationof clean (low- and no-waste) technologies could

advance national economic development as wellas environmental quality objectives. Althoughsome considered “clean-up” technologies withinthis concept, most settled for a narrower defini-tion focused on the technologies of production,assembly and product management. Thus theconcept of clean or cleaner technologies becameembedded in the idea of cleaner production. Evenwhere these cleaner production programmes pro-moted clean production technologies, early pro-ponents remained sceptical that too heavy anemphasis on technologies might lead to a kind oftechnology obsession. They feared that too muchattention to technology would undervalue theimportance of changing production techniques,practices and values in business management andwould neglect what was often referred to as“changing attitudes and improving know-how”.

Today we have a more balanced view. A centralfocus on the technical aspects of cleaner produc-tion technologies can promote efficiencies, func-tional optimization and waste avoidance inindustries and government facilities, but it is oftenthe management and use of production technolo-gies that is a central objective in striving towardsenvironmentally superior performance. Today, werecognize that cleaner production is much morethan changing the materials and equipment ofproduction. However, as we think about the cur-rent challenges of achieving sustainable systems ofproduction and consumption, it is clear that wehave not yet integrated broader social and workquality values into our conception of cleaner pro-duction.

Drivers and developers of cleanerproduction technologyCleaner production solutions often involve a com-bination of new behaviours and new technologies.


Cleaner Production

learner’s skill levels. Administratively, an LMSmakes it easy to track, manage and report on learn-ing activities and competencies. An LMS primar-ily focuses on competencies, learning activities andthe logistics of delivering learning activities.

Communication, collaboration andknowledge sharing toolsThese tools include both asynchronous (e.g. dis-cussion board) and synchronous (e.g. chat and

instant messaging) tools, meeting and conferenc-ing tools, and collaborative learning and knowl-edge sharing tools. Given that learning isinherently a social, dialogical process, technolo-gies that support this conversational process byconnecting learners are essential components ofoutreach and professional development services.

*John Hay is also Senior Adviser at the Internation-al Environmental Technology Centre, Division of

Technology, Industry and Economics, UnitedNations Environment Programme, 2-110 Ryokuchikoen, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka, 538-0036, Japan([email protected]).

1. Fien, J. (1996) Teaching for a Sustainable World.United Nations Environment Programme andUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-tural Organization (UNESCO). Nairobi, Kenya.

◆

What next in cleaner productiontechnologies?

Ken Geiser, Professor of Work Environment and Director, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts, One University Avenue, Lowell MA 01854-2866,USA ([email protected])

SummaryFocusing on the technical aspects of cleaner production technologies can promote efficiencies,functional optimization and waste avoidance in industries and governments. In view of currentchallenges related to the achievement of sustainable production and consumption systems,broader social and work quality values must be integrated in the present day cleaner produc-tion concept. To make sustainability possible, challenges such as the integration of cleanerproduction and life-cycle approaches in emerging production technologies need to beaddressed, along with occupational safety, environmental and social responsibility concerns.

RésuméMettre en évidence les aspects techniques des technologies de production plus propre peutcontribuer à promouvoir auprès des industriels et des pouvoirs publics diverses formes d’effi-cacité, l’optimisation fonctionnelle et la réduction des déchets. Compte tenu du défi que con-stitue la mise en place de systèmes durables de production et de consommation, il estindispensable d’intégrer des valeurs plus larges de responsabilité sociale et de qualité du tra-vail dans le concept actuel de production plus propre. Pour que le développement durable soitpossible, il faut relever des défis comme l’intégration dans les technologies de production émer-gentes de démarches basées sur la production plus propre et le cycle de vie, et prendre encompte les questions de sécurité au travail, de responsabilité environnementale et sociale.

ResumenEl desarrollo tecnológico de procesos de producción más limpia puede resultar en mayor efi-ciencia, optimización operativa y disminución de residuos tanto en sectores industriales ygubernamentales. En virtud de los desafíos actuales relacionados con el logro de sistemas deproducción y consumo sustentables, el concepto actual de producción más limpia debe inte-grar valores sociales y de calidad del trabajo. A fin de alcanzar la sustentabilidad, las tec-nologías de producción emergentes deben promover la integración de propuestas deproducción más limpia y procesos de ciclo de vida con cuestiones de seguridad ocupacional,ambientales y de responsabilidad social.

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The motivation for these initiativesoften involves a combination of fac-tors. A report from the Organisationfor Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) identifiedthree factors which often act in paral-lel to promote the adoption of cleanerproduction programmes: marketforces, advances in science and tech-nology, and government policy. Gov-ernment policies can be particularlyimportant, in that strong environ-mental regulations typically play animportant role particularly whereenforcement is effective. The costs ofappropriate waste management andthe treatment of hazardous wastes arealso a significant force, but only whereregulatory enforcement prevents lessprotective waste management options.The same can be said for liability andthe costs of environmental insurance.The opportunity to achieve processefficiencies that improve productyields and decrease wastes can be a sig-nificant incentive, as well as the oppor-tunity to derive economic returnsfrom recycling wastes. In addition, thedesire to maintain a good public imageor restore a tarnished image may be animportant driver.1

Within this context, technical agents from gov-ernment programmes or private consulting firmsmay promote retrofitting and adaptation of exist-ing equipment or replacement of conventionaltechnologies and materials with new technologiesand materials. In other words, technologies arenot drivers of cleaner production, but rather facil-itators for those who for reasons of cost, regula-tion, liability, market advantage, or image wish toconvert to cleaner forms of production.

Typically, these initiatives have resulted in theadoption of currently available technologies and,for the most part, the technology advances madein adopting cleaner production have been incre-mental and cautious. Yet the markets made possi-ble by cleaner production initiatives have alsooffered opportunities for some technology inno-vation. Thus powder coatings, aqueous cleaningsystems, fluxless soldering, counter-current rins-ing, mechanical paint stripping and water-basedinks have all been developed and promoted ascleaner alternatives to conventional process tech-nologies. Some of these innovations have beendeveloped by conventional production equipmentor materials suppliers, but the majority haveemerged from innovators in the production indus-tries themselves or from undercapitalized entre-preneurs that have simply seen an opportunity inan otherwise unrecognized market.2

Conventional cleaner productiontechnologiesIn 1979 the Commission of the European Eco-nomic Community developed the concept ofclean technology as “any technical measure...toreduce or even eliminate at source the production

of any nuisance, pollution or waste, and to helpsave raw materials and other natural resources andenergy.”3 In establishing this definition the Com-mission went on to identify three criteria for iden-tifying clean technologies:◆ less pollution discharged to the environment;◆ less waste (low- and non-waste technology);◆ less demand for natural resources (water, ener-gy and raw materials).

These criteria still serve fairly well to character-ize conventional cleaner production technologies.Over the past decade of work a wide array ofcleaner production technologies have been iden-tified.4 Some have quite broad application acrossmany production processes, while others are quitetailored and specific to unique processes. Con-ventionally, these technologies can be divided intoseveral categories (Table 1).

Even a brief look at the past decade reveals thatmany of these technologies have been tried andhave proven effective, but the pace of adoption hasbeen slow and unsteady. Government pressureshave been mixed and uneven. A few countrieshave offered robust and well-conceived policies ofencouragement, but most countries’ programmeshave been underfunded, understaffed and fairlyad hoc. Wealthier countries have fared better, withstate-of-the-art technologies appearing from sev-eral vendors, but poorer countries and thosewhich are now industrializing have often had todo with second-hand production technologiesthat are being replaced in more industrializedareas. Indeed, social factors such as occupationalhazards or working conditions have seldomreceived the same level of attention as environ-mental effects.

The industries that traditionally produced the

pollution control and waste treatmenttechnologies have not disappeared.Through heavy promotion of pollu-tion control and waste treatmentequipment (particularly waste inciner-ators), they tend to divert and weakenthe potential market for cleaner pro-duction technologies. In the shortterm, the production, sales and servic-ing of pollution control and wastetreatment equipment provides sub-stantial economic returns to a widerange of private consultants and equip-ment manufacturers, particularly inmajor exporting countries such asJapan, Germany and the United States.With tightening economic conditionsin the industrialized countries, theseoften short-term benefits are difficultto pass up for the more emergent mar-kets in technologies for retooling andconverting existing industrial process-es to cleaner production.

New directions intechnologies of productionThe history of production is continu-ously affected by the ongoing devel-opment of science and technology.Technology innovation and enhance-

ment are important factors in advancing cleanerproduction. Thus while it has been important tolook first for simple, off-the-shelf technologiesthat are readily available for improving environ-mental performance, it is also useful to look forthe new developments in technologies that maypromote – or inhibit – cleaner production. Cur-rently there are several rapidly developing areas oftechnology that offer opportunities for cleanerproduction (Table 2).5

Yet to recognize that these technologies offeropportunities to improve environmental perfor-mance is not to assume that this is necessary oreven likely. These technologies are not being devel-oped specifically to improve environmental per-formance, and because this is not a design objectivethey often offer new hazards. The new compositesand light-weight polymers that reduce energy useraise concerns about occupational hazards duringmanufacturing. The final products may be quitedifficult to recycle or dispose safely. Informationtechnologies may increase the amount of work perunit of energy or materials consumed, but theycould as easily make increasing amounts of workavailable and thus overwhelm their own savings.Indeed, office computers have raised new occupa-tional concerns around job stress and repetitivemotion. Biotechnologies that depend on geneticmodification of organisms offer opportunities forinadvertent hazards where those organisms arereleased to the environment. It remains too earlyto judge the possible hazards associated withmanipulating matter at the nano-scale.

One area that is developing with a specific focuson environmental performance is green chemistry(also called sustainable chemistry). This new per-spective has emerged within the field of conven-

Table 1Conventional cleaner production technologies

Waste reduction technologiesThis involves various operation improvement technologies that reduce the likelihoodof spills, leaks, accidents, contamination and unwanted volatilization. Thesetechnologies range from simple devices such as lids and covers to more complexcouplings, connectors and valves and to sophisticated single-vat batch processingequipment.

Energy efficiency technologiesThis includes energy-efficient pumps, fans and blowers, reduced friction surfaces,energy-conserving conveyors and materials transport vehicles, and energy-efficientheating and cooling systems.

Processing efficiency technologiesThese technologies involve various physical, electrical or chemical sensors and processcontrol devices that permit more effective monitoring and process management.

Cleaner material technologiesChemical substitutions may include simple “drop-in” replacements or more complextoxic substance replacements that involve alternative catalysts and reagents, as well asconversions from liquid to solid material processing and solvent-based to water-basedcleaning or processing.

Recycling and loop-closing process technologiesThis often involves various separation technologies that permit materials to be cleanedor treated so as to permit recycling and reuse. This includes distillation, filtration andextraction technologies.

Cleaner productsLonger life, adaptable, materials- and energy-conserving, easily recycled, and non-hazardous products reduce waste and environmental burdens throughout a product’s life cycle.

Cleaner product management technologiesMaterials separation technologies enhance product recycling and returnable packaging, containers and shipping cartons permit product take-back and reuse or re-manufacturing.

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tional chemistry and is defined as“...the utilization of a set of principlesthat reduces or eliminates the use orgeneration of hazardous substances inthe design, manufacture and applica-tion of chemical products.”6 Greenchemistry has demonstrated a broadrange of new directions for chemicalsynthesis, catalysis, reactions and degra-dation. In the United States this newthinking about chemistry has been pro-moted by a well-regarded Presidentialawards programme while in Europe thefield has already developed its ownjournal and academic research centres.Because this approach directly address-es the chemistry of materials and pro-duction processes, it offers significantopportunities to advance cleaner pro-duction at a rather fundamental level.

Challenges for cleanerproduction technologiesCleaner production has been formallypromoted as one of the importantstrategies for achieving a more sustain-able economy. Since the United Nations Confer-ence on Environment and Development ten yearsago, the UN has promoted the idea of cleaner pro-duction as a step towards sustainable productionand consumption. But sustainable forms of pro-duction and consumption are driven as much bysocial values as by economic and environmentalobjectives. This broader set of values has not beenwell-integrated into cleaner production promotionand efforts need to be made to better inform futurethinking about cleaner production technologies.

Thinking about the social as well as the envi-ronmental aspects of production raises manyunaddressed questions. One immediate questioninvolves the world-wide distribution of cleanerproduction technologies. Have the benefits of gov-ernment environmental protection programmesresulted in a fair distribution of pollution preven-tion, waste reduction practices, and cleaner pro-duction technologies regionally or world-wide?Indeed, can those who promote cleaner produc-tion programmes address the social conditions ofwork as enthusiastically as they have embraced theenvironmental results? In terms of the technolo-gies themselves this raises new opportunities toconsider environmental and public health hazardsfrom a life-cycle perspective and from the point ofview of those who work near and with cleaner pro-duction technologies.

Future developments with cleaner productionwill continue to encourage innovation and devel-opment of new technologies. However, if thesedevelopments are to significantly enhance sustain-able forms of production and consumption, thesedevelopments present a series of social challenges.There are at least five such challenges that need tobe addressed to assure that cleaner productiontechnologies meet the expectations of those whopromote a sustainable form of development.

First, the cleaner production perspective mustbe better integrated into the emerging technolo-

gies of the future. In the above section some ofthose opportunities are identified. However, ifthese technologies are permitted to develop in theircurrent form, there is no guiding principle that canassure that they will lead to cleaner and safer formsof production. Those who advocate cleaner pro-duction could simply wait and select those tech-nologies that are appropriate as they emerge orthey could take a more pro-active approach. Thiscould mean that cleaner production programmesshould work directly with chemical and technolo-gy suppliers to encourage the development andcommercialization of cleaner technologies.

Second, the technologies of clean productionmust be considered from a life-cycle perspective.Production equipment is a product of a productionprocess and, thus, needs to be subject to a full analy-sis over their life cycle. Energy efficient heaters andpumps and re-circulating water systems are assem-bled from processed materials, distributed to cus-tomers, used on site, and eventually disposed asthey wear out or are replaced by higher performingequipment. The same type of analyses that are usedto assess the life cycle of production materials andprocesses should be used to assess the life-cycleaspects of cleaner production technologies them-selves.

Third, special attention needs to be paid to therecycling of production equipment. If new clean-er technologies result in the replacement of existingequipment, it is important to consider where andhow that equipment is recycled or disposed.Among countries in the industrializing world thereis a ready market for used production equipmenteven when, and especially where, such equipmentis priced low because it is not state-of-the-art and itmay no longer be permitted in industrialized coun-tries. This down-cycling may originate from goodintentions to improve the environmental perfor-mance in industrialized countries, but, if this addsnew or continues existing hazards in production

within industrializing countries, thisneeds to be addressed in consideringcleaner production policies world-wide.

Fourth, cleaner production tech-nologies must be occupationally safe aswell as environmentally sound. Recentstudies have shown that cleaner pro-duction programmes that are not sen-sitive to workplace issues can result inthe adoption of technologies thatincrease hazards for workers. Recentevents have also raised that importanceof chemical process safety and security.Cleaner production technologiesshould be designed to promote theprinciples of inherent safety in order toprevent accidents or intentional abuseat production facilities.

Fifth, cleaner production technolo-gies must respect the lives of those whowork with them. The technologiesshould be human-centred and offeropportunities for flexibility and tailor-ing, skill development and human cre-ativity. Closer attention to the

organization of work and so-called “human fac-tors” has been shown to offer physical, psycholog-ical and social benefits to those who usetechnologies. This can result in lower work stressand a higher sense of worker self-worth, a morepositive attitude, and a more engaged workforce.

Cleaner production remains a major strategy forachieving improvements in the environmental per-formance of industries and governments. Cleanerproduction technologies are often central to imple-menting cleaner production programmes, but ifthese technologies are to advance the vision of amore sustainable economy, the range of underly-ing values and design goals must be expanded anddeepened.

Notes1. Organisation for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD) (1995) Technology forCleaner Production and Products. Paris.2. For examples, see Ken Geiser and Tim Griener,Innovation and Adoption of Cleaner ProductionTechnologies, in: Robert Forrant, Jean Pyle,William Lazonick and Charles Levenstein (eds.),Approaches to Sustainable Development. Universityof Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 2001.3. Official Journal of the European Communities,C100/2-20.4. Brussels, Belgium, 1985.4. For a good review of many cleaner productiontechnologies, see Harry M. Freeman (ed.), Indus-trial Pollution Prevention Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1995.5. A quick overview of these new directions andtheir potential limitations can be found in JohnJaworski and David Minns, Technology Innova-tions and Cleaner Production: Possibilities andLimitations, Industry and Environment 24/1-2,January-June 2001, pp. 60-64.6. Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner (1998)Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice. OxfordUniversity Press, New York, p. 11. ◆

Table 2Developing technologies providing cleaner production

opportunities

Sustainable energy technologiesNew technologies provide opportunities for processing at ambient temperaturesand pressures, reducing the need for heating and cooling, and increasing theoptions for renewable and self-generating energy sources. Photovoltaic and windenergies are developing rapidly; so are fuel cells and hydrogen-based sources.

Chemical processing technologiesInnovations in chemical synthesis and processing technologies involve new (non-metallic) catalysts and reagents, processing in supercritical fluids, new means ofenhancing selectivity and new “zero-waste” processes that close water andmaterials cycles so as to reduce or eliminate wastes and material inputs.

Information technologiesAdvanced information technologies provide new opportunities for monitoring,measuring, managing data, and communicating information that can improveprocessing technologies performance. New information technologies also offer newdirections for reducing product consumption and increasing service substitutionand servicing.

BiotechnologiesThe life sciences offer many new opportunities for the use of renewable materialsand for bio-processing and biodegradation. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions andharvesting materials from microbial processes offer new routes to chemicalsynthesis, particularly in the production of acids, bases and polymers.

NanotechnologiesRecent advances in nano-scale technologies offer opportunities for more selective,finer scale, and more tailored production, with the potential for low and no wasteprocesses.

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Hooked on growth…” We’ve heard the mes-sage for the past 15 years. Yet on the wholeit seems we’ve moved in the wrong direc-

tion. We continue to have a pattern of develop-ment that uses more natural resources and createsmore waste than it should – now and in the longrun.

According to the most simplistic description,our economy is a process that, on the supply side,uses natural resources to produce infrastructures,consumer goods and wastes. On the demand sideconsumers use these goods, accumulating or dis-posing them. They also need energy and waterand natural space on that side of the process. Thisphysical process is concurrent with a financialprocess worth about $29 trillion in added value(1998 World GNP): producers stretch the natur-al inputs to create value that is used for reinvest-ment in more productive capacity, for payment oftaxes levied by the state, and for distribution toconsumers, whether they are shareholders oremployees.

This process is hooked on growth for threemain reasons: ◆ The world population continues to increase. ◆ The need for financial security also increases aswe continue to live longer, with a larger propor-tion of our time in education or retirement rela-tive to our time in earning a living and saving.

◆ Our aspirations to a better quality of life and ourdreams of who we would like to be are mainlyexpressed through the rituals of shopping, giving,and collecting material goods.

Tomorrow’s marketsSome key statistics will help assess the directiontaken by this process. The World Business Coun-cil for Sustainable Development, the WorldResources Institute and UNEP selected 19 keytrends that will shape the global business environ-ment.1

Here is a sample:◆ In the last ten years the average annual popula-tion growth rate was 1.6%. The Earth’s popula-tion reached 6 billion in 2000 and is projected tobe 7.9 billion by 2025 and 9.3 billion by 2050, anearly stable state thanks to declining fertilityrates. 98% of the projected growth will be incountries defined today as developing countries. ◆ World average life expectancy increased from 47years in 1950 to 66 years in 2000 and will near 70years in 2010. ◆ Rich countries whose population is already near-ly stable will have a bulge of people aged 50-90 in2020. The working age population in developingcountries will reach 5.2 billion in 2020. ◆ 78% of the world population lives below thepoverty threshold and the richest 1% receives as

much income as the entire bottom 57%. ◆ World economic output has averaged 2.9% peryear since 1975. At this rate it more than doublesevery 25 years. ◆ World energy production rose by 42% from1980 to 2000, an average 2% per year, demon-strating a small efficiency gain relative to eco-nomic output. At this rate it would only doublein 35 years.◆ Water consumption is estimated to increasetwice as fast as population growth. 2.3 billion peo-ple are exposed to water stress affecting sanitation,agriculture and freshwater fishing.◆ In the last decade the world lost 2% of its forest-ed area. ◆ Estimates of the total material throughput ofvarious economies indicate efficiency gains inNorth America and Europe, while most othereconomies become more material intense to sat-isfy the needs of a growing population.

What do those broad indicators tell us aboutthe health and future of the system?

Getting better? getting worse?Many things are indeed “getting better”, to para-phrase the title of a chapter in The Skeptical Envi-ronmentalist.2 The author is a statistician whotakes issue with doom and gloom predictions ofenvironmentalists and, in particular, his bête noirethe Worldwatch Institute. We live healthier andlonger, wealth is up, energy and material efficien-cy are up, with their effect on air quality improve-ment and waste reduction.

But this is the world seen from the perspectiveof the richest OECD countries. If “things are get-ting better” they are not even getting good enoughby a long stretch. In absolute terms most environ-mental impacts continue to grow.

In the rest of the world, and for the large major-ity of its population, things are hardly getting bet-ter. Consumption and demographics increase thepressure on water and forestry resources, yet manyare left below the poverty and hunger line.

While “getting better” can be statistically veri-fied, “good or not good enough” are harder toestablish. With all the attention it gets, it is stilldifficult to agree on the real state of the planet andthe risks of running our economy at the currentmaterial and energy intensity. According to theWorld Wide Fund for Nature’s Living PlanetReport 2000,3 we already crossed the threshold ofavailable biocapacity in the mid 1970s. Our econ-omy’s ecological footprint now exceeds the capac-ity of natural systems to regenerate resources at therate we use them and to absorb wastes at the rate

Eco-efficiency and beyond: the next sourcesof innovation

Claude Fussler, Coordinator of WSSD preparations for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, WBCSD, 4 chemin des Conches, 1231 Conches, Geneva, Switzerland ([email protected])

SummaryTo make development sustainable, we need to design an economy that works for all and for-ever within the limitations of the planet. The most important contribution business can maketo this common undertaking is innovation – not innovation for the sake of novelty alone, orinnovation only in the business sphere. Innovations in technology, consumer behaviour,social relations and policy frameworks must be combined if we are to succeed.

RésuméPour que le développement soit durable, il faut instaurer une économie qui fonctionne pourle bien de tous et pour toujours, dans les limites imposées par la planète. La principale con-tribution que le milieu des affaires peut apporter à cette œuvre commune est l’innovation,mais pas l’innovation pour le seul attrait de la nouveauté, ni l’innovation limitée à la sphèrede l’entreprise. Pour réussir, il faut combiner les innovations dans plusieurs domaines : tech-nologie, comportement du consommateur, relations sociales et politiques générales.

ResumenPara impulsar el desarrollo sustentable, es necesario diseñar un sistema económico per-durable a favor de todos conforme a las limitaciones del planeta. La principal contribucióndel mundo empresarial en dirección a este objetivo común es la innovación – no la inno-vación por la novedad en sí misma, o innovación restringida al ámbito empresarial. Paraalcanzar el desarrollo sustentable es importante promover la integración de innovación tec-nológica, comportamiento del consumidor, relaciones sociales e implementación de políti-cas ambientales.

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we generate them. And we are moving furtheraway from the equilibrium. A majority of envi-ronmental scientists broadly agree with this out-look.

A factor 10 challengeThings got somewhat better because of the inex-haustible creativity of people who through visionand foresight (but also lessons from accidents andpublic pressure) improved the efficiency and safe-ty of the production-consumption cycle. Even themost sceptical environmentalists would agree thatwe need more change to maintain what they seeas improving conditions. Another doubling ofeconomic output also needs a doubling of effi-ciency in resources use. But that would leave pol-lution levels where they are. We also need anotherefficiency gain of at least 30% to reduce whatWWF estimates as a current overshoot of our bio-capacity. This would still leave about 80% of thepopulation in poverty. Taking all the world’s pop-ulation into a similar quality of life range wouldrequire the most significant boost to physical effi-ciency: a factor 5. The most demanding perspec-tive on a sustainable future therefore creates anefficiency challenge of a full order of magnitude.

Whether one is a proponent of factor 10 or 2will continue to be a matter of debate and of howwe look at the world we want to have in the nextgeneration. But there is no denying that innova-tion will be at the core of all the strategies that havea chance to cope with the trends enumeratedabove. Incremental change alone will not get uswhere we should be in 2025.

Eco-efficiency triggers innovationInnovation cuts through paradoxes. It is the cre-ation of solutions to conflicting demands. Flyingin a vacuum gave us rockets and satellites; switch-ing electrons through insulators gave us SiliconValley and the digital age. Sustainable develop-ment presents a similar field of paradoxical inno-vation forces. To provide affordable products andservices for the growing unmet needs of the worldpopulation while reducing environmental impacts– this is what eco-efficiency is about, an approachdefined by the WBCSD in the early 1990s.4 Thedesigner Craig Frazier once said that “discomfortis almost a prerequisite for a great idea”.5

If factor 10 is not an innovation challenge,nothing is. But how does one turn the challengeinto a business opportunity?

Successful business innovation depends on fourcritical elements:◆ creative people;◆ a stimulating work environment;◆ the competence to deliver cost-efficient solu-tions that exceed customers’ expectations andcompetitors’ solutions; and◆ a compelling purpose or vision.

When competent companies adopt the princi-ple of eco-efficiency, they turn out importantinnovations. Take the line of polymers fromCargill Dow that sets a new benchmark for costperformance for fibres and plastics from corn-derived natural sugars. Or Toyota’s hybrid tech-nology engines for the Prius, a car that doubled

energy efficiency in no more than three years fromconcept to commercial launch. Or Aventis Pas-teur’s commitment to create affordable vaccinesfor immunization in poor countries.6

Harvard Professor Michael Porter sums it up:“Innovative corporate practices in the area of theenvironment, then, will often enhance interna-tional competitiveness. Products that address envi-ronmental scarcities will also have enormousmarket potential.”7 Not all business people see thisopportunity. The majority of all managers aim fortheir business objectives at the lowest cost. They are“denominator” managers, a majority. Their prideis in achieving results at or below budget. They tendto realistic objectives, proven approaches and incre-mental improvement. They are devoted to cost-benefit evaluation, they are trade-off believers and,yes, sceptical environmentalists. But the innovatorsdrive for the highest business impact from a giveninvestment. They are “numerator managers”, aminority of leaders in their sectors. They oftenexceed their goals and sometimes their budget.They are not afraid of extreme goals, “going to zero”waste, accidents, defects or house gas emissions.They are masters of paradox who see a creative con-nection between conflicting demands.

The two types of managers confront the samebusiness situations with similar budgets. Yet theirdifferent worldviews bring large differences inresults and competitive strength. The challenge ofsustainable development (this concept itself oftenlabelled an oxymoron) needs the worldview of theinnovators.

DuPont: “zero” targets drivinginnovationFounded in 1802, DuPont is a science companydelivering science-based solutions from operationsin 70 countries with 83,000 employees. TheDuPont mission is to achieve “sustainable growth”,which is defined as creating shareholder and soci-etal value while reducing footprint throughout thevalue chain. Paul Tebo, Vice President for safety,health and environment, has been a driving forcebehind implementing sustainable growth withinDuPont. Tebo has been spreading the vision toDuPont businesses world-wide, setting challeng-ing targets based on elimination of all injuries, ill-nesses, incidents, wastes and emissions throughoutthe value chain. In short, “The Goal is Zero”. Thecritical aspect of this goal is that businesses muststill grow while driving towards zero.

The Goal is Zero impacts each of DuPont’s corestrategies, from improving productivity to increas-ing knowledge intensity, and finally to deliveringnew products through integrated science. Themission of sustainable growth is creating align-ment between business strategies and societalexpectations, and the Goal of Zero is driving newinnovations within the company.

Innovations include progress on reducing wasteand emissions at DuPont sites. A global teamdeveloped new technology for the manufacture ofTerathane® brand PTMEG, a key raw material forLycra®. The innovation increased yields, resultingin additional revenues of $4 million while elimi-nating two million kilos of waste per year.

Another team developed and implementedmethods to reduce approximately three millionpounds of annual releases of HFC-23 throughprocess optimization. This innovation saved $20million in capital investment and reduced green-house gas emissions on a CO2 equivalent basis by18 million tonnes. In Asturias, Spain, the Sonto-ra® business determined that second qualitymaterial could be used productively rather thanbe waste. With the assistance of Dupont and someother local organizations, a group of unemployedwomen formed Novatex S.A. to take the secondquality Sontora® and produce one-time use prod-ucts for medical and laboratory applications.Novatex is now a stable business with 13 directand stable jobs for women who previously had dif-ficulties being hired in the local economy, whilematerial that was formerly waste is now a valuableproduct.8

Innovators move before they have to, throughforesight or vision. They assume that events, cus-tomer preferences and public policy will erodetheir current product portfolio. Where then are thenext sources of growth? Bet on dematerialization,energy and fresh water conservation, safe andhealthy food, all at no price premium. Bet onmeeting the needs of the billion poorest for sani-tation, health and housing. Bet on mobility withlittle or no carbon combustion, on agriculturewithout nitrates run-off. Bet on knowledge, designskills and new partnerships rather than mines, oilfields or smelters.

Where is the market share?Before getting carried away, let’s also realize thatgreat market potential is not yet great marketshare. Today we have today the 3-litre car (Volk-swagen Polo) and the cleaner hybrid engine (Toy-ota Prius). We have mobility services thatsubstitute car ownership with elegant rental solu-tions. We have compact fluorescent light bulbs.Rapid innovation has brought those products andservices to the market with energy efficiency gainsranging from factor 2 to 5. Yet large market suc-cess is still wanting.

Although many claim that energy is expensive,its price is not sufficient to move consumers mas-sively towards technologies that would save themcosts and energy. Hybrid powered cars or compactfluorescent light bulbs include a price premiumthat is soon recovered after some months of use.Mobility services or 3-litre cars even present a cashflow advantage from day one, but require a signif-icant adjustment in the driver’s habits and self-image. At the current price level of energy or roadand parking access (if any) the majority of con-sumers do not feel an incentive for change. Inmost cases eco-efficient products and servicesmeet an early-adopters, fringe market situationrather than storming the market to establish dom-inant eco-efficient patterns of consumption.

Beyond eco-efficiencyEco-efficiency gains are critical to sustainabledevelopment. But they are not sufficient. Theymust also take over the behaviour of a majority ofproducers and consumers. For this they must out-

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compete less efficient solutions in the market-place. But markets are human arrangements.They reflect human conventions and preferences.For ages, through times of war and peace, oursocieties have ignored the value of water, space,clean air. They have channelled state subsidiestowards fossil fuels, agriculture and transportintensity. In a study by the International Institutefor Sustainable Development, Myers and Kentestimated the world’s total subsidies towardsunsustainable practices to reach $1895 million,with the lion’s share going to road transport.9 Inthis situation the market signals point us in thewrong direction; it is affordable to overuse water,energy or natural space.

The economic consequences of waste and pollu-tion are underestimated and detached from thosewho cause them. Likewise many common goods –clean air, stable climate, fresh water security, abun-dant fish stocks and marine life, pollinating insectsor the stratospheric ozone shield – send no directprice signals. Their value remains unnoticed inmonetary terms. They remain silent market exter-nalities as long as there are no system breakdowns ornot enough defenders of their integrity. Meanwhileconsumers and suppliers will use and misuse com-mon goods without an economic penalty. This ischanging through science, breakdowns, and regu-lation and the use of economic steering instru-ments. But we have become complacent about ourcurrent arrangements. In a “free” albeit distortedmarket, attempts by governments to provide acompetitive premium for eco-efficient solutions

would necessarily shake the status quo. They aretherefore slow and prudent in the face of the resis-tance from consumers and business.

All-out innovationYet the challenge of sustainable development willnot be solved in slow motion. While we needinnovation in product and services design fromthe business side, we also need innovation in pol-icy-making to tackle the sticky challenge of get-ting the market to reward this innovation seriouslyand efficiently. We need innovation in the socialand political dialogue to create transition scenar-ios where change does not create losers and socialstress. On the contrary, they must create incen-tives for those companies, regions and states thatinvest in the knowledge, skills and technologies tocreate eco-efficient products and services.

We also need to start on the right footing in thepoorest regions of the world. The challenge ofeco-efficiency there is exacerbated by the challengeto jump-start economic development and func-tioning governance. This requires significantbreakthroughs in the affordability of eco-efficientsolutions. Consumers with $2 a day or on micro-credit are an opportunity for innovators who canthink about new pricing schemes and cost struc-tures.

When business people and politicians embracethe goals of sustainable development to contributeto an economy that works for all within the limitsof our ecological base, they indeed embrace inno-vation as a way of life. It will not just be about

technology and economics, but also about fram-ing the market and about creating new partner-ships across the traditional boundaries of businessand politics.

Adapted from a chapter written by the author for thebook Eco-Efficiency and Beyond: Toward the Sus-tainable Enterprise, edited by E.U. von Weizsaecker,C. Liedtke and J.D Seiler-Hausmann, GreenleafPublishing, Sheffield, UK (forthcoming, 2003).

Notes1. WRI, WBCSD and UNEP (2002) Tomorrow’sMarkets – Global trends and their implications forbusiness (may be downloaded from www.wbcsd.org/newscenter).2. Lomborg, Bjørn (2001) The Skeptical Environ-mentalist. Cambridge University Press, UK.3. See www.panda.org.4. Eco-efficiency. Creating more value with lessimpact, 2000 (see www.wbcsd.org/newscenter).5. Chronicle Art Department, Everything Rever-berates: Thoughts on Design, Chronicle Art Books,Hong Kong, 1998.6. For more details and more cases, see C.O. Hol-liday, S. Schmidheiny and P. Watts, Walking theTalk, Greenleaf Publishers, Sheffield, UK, 2002.(Reviewed on page 105).7. Tomorrow’s markets, p. 4.8. From Walking the Talk.9. Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent (2001) Per-verse Subsidies: How Misused Tax Dollars Harm theEnvironment and the Economy. Island Press. ◆

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The objective of this paper is to convey the fol-lowing points:◆ Despite increasing awareness by business deci-sion-makers and asset managers of the importanceof socially responsible investment, understandingof the economic merits of preventive approachesand efficient resource management remains lim-ited;◆ Cleaner production1 is a part of the develop-ment agenda for the business community, not anitem of overhead;◆ There are examples of initiatives and mecha-nisms to overcome barriers to financing cleanerproduction investments; ◆ Mainstreaming and integrating cleaner produc-tion into decision-making processes makes busi-ness sense;◆ cleaner production helps increase companies’shareholder value (or companies’ value);◆ cleaner production fosters the development ofnew knowledge that applies to the whole prod-uct/service process life cycle as well as value chains;◆ As cleaner production triggers the creation ofknowledge, it indirectly contributes to job cre-ation, enhanced competitiveness and, to someextent, innovation.

IntroductionPrevention is better business than allowing pro-duction cycle inefficiencies to create losses. Thecleaner production community knows andbelieves in this. Indeed, cleaner production hasmade tremendous headway in the engineeringcommunity in the last ten years. However, mostproviders of investment and financing remainunaware, or unconvinced. As a result, financing is

still seen as one of the main constraints for widerpollution prevention practice.

This does not mean that there has not been aflurry of activity and progress in this field.Research initiatives in issues related to sustainablefinance have multiplied, donor agencies havelaunched demonstration projects, and specialcleaner production financial mechanisms contin-ue to emerge in a number of countries as they havedone over the last few years.

At the same time, financial markets are becom-ing more sensitive to issues related to sustainabil-ity, particularly environment. Sustainability issuesinfluence both risk and return. Recent evidenceshows that institutional investors are also increas-ingly supporting sustainability.

The key challenge is to mainstream and inte-grate preventive approaches and efficient resourcemanagement into the investment decision-mak-ing process in government policy, company prac-tice and financial institutions’ due diligenceprocess.

UNEP/DTIE has been implementing the pro-ject “Strategies and Mechanisms for Promotingcleaner production Investments in DevelopingCountries” 2 since 1999. The lessons learned inthe five project demonstration countries andthrough the greatly intensified global debate onthis topic form the basis of the issues in this article.The article summarizes these lessons and the maindeliverables available from the project to globalapplication and use, including training modulesand checklists. It also attempts to highlight themost recent trends in the global debate related tocleaner production financing and its relevance tothe financial community.

StakeholdersThe number of stakeholders in activities relatedto the promotion of cleaner production invest-ment financing has expanded considerably dur-ing the last few years. Some stakeholders have animportant role in raising awareness, providingtechnical advice, disseminating information,training, etc. Others provide a policy and regula-tory framework and financial resources. Potentialstakeholders include:◆ International financial institutions (private andpublic);◆ Multilateral financial institutions (World Bank,IFC, regional development banks, national devel-opment finance institutions in OECD countries,etc.);◆ Export Credit Agencies (ECAs);◆ foundations;◆ Ministries of economy and finance;◆ Chambers of industry and other representativesof the business community;◆ Cleaner production service providers; ◆ Academic and educational institutions special-ized in finance , business planning and adminis-tration, accounting, engineering;◆ the media.

UNEP project outputsThe immediate objective of the UNEP/DTIEproject (see Introduction above) was to facilitatethe financing of cleaner production investmentsin developing countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua,Tanzania, Vietnam and Zimbabwe) by:◆ demonstrating how to initiate and facilitate thefinancing of cleaner production investmentsthrough the case of the five developing countries; ◆ developing financing instruments for effective-ly promoting cleaner production investments indeveloping countries and designing enablingstrategies for supporting public and private finan-cial institutions and the industrial community toadopt these financing instruments;◆ motivating key decision-makers in the interna-tional community and the public and privatefinancial sectors to pursue cleaner productioninvestments in developing countries.

The first activity was a study on past investmentpractices in eight countries, and the outcome ofthis study was reviewed in the background paperfor the parallel session on financing at the SixthInternational cleaner production High-level Sem-inar (CP6) in Montreal in October 2000.

Core teams of national experts (financial ana-lysts and cleaner production promoters) have beenbuilt in the five demonstration countries, withnew skills to assist the industrial community inincreasing the demand for cleaner productioninvestments (e.g. preparation of bank loan appli-

Making it happen: investing in sustainability

SummaryMainstreaming and integrating cleaner production into decision-making processes makes busi-ness sense. The main challenge is to mainstream and integrate preventive approaches andefficient resource management into the investment decision-making process – in governmentpolicy, company practice and the due diligence process of financial institutions.

RésuméPrendre en compte et intégrer la production plus propre dans l’entreprise et dans les processusdécisionnels présente un intérêt économique incontestable. Le principal défi est d’intégrer lesdémarches préventives et une gestion efficace des ressources dans le processus décisionnelrelatif aux investissements : dans la politique des gouvernements, dans la pratique des entre-prises et dans le processus d’obligation de diligence des institutions financières.

ResumenDesde el punto de vista empresarial es importante integrar conceptos de producción máslimpia en los procesos de toma de decisiones. El mayor desafío consiste en la integración depropuestas preventivas y sistemas de gestión ambiental efectivos en los procesos de evalu-ación de inversiones – en políticas gubernamentales, prácticas empresariales y políticas deinversión de companías financieras.

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cations) and the financial sector in assessing themerits of these proposals.

Portfolios of cleaner production loan applica-tions have been prepared in each country withselected local industries,3 amounting to some 50projects with investment unitary value rangingfrom US $5,000 to US $4 million. These invest-ment proposals have also served as valuable casesfor local capacity building and the teams ofnational experts have promoted them amongpotential sources of financing. So far, five havebeen financed and implemented (in Zimbabwe).

Based on the results of training needs assess-ments conducted in the five countries, and inpartnership with several international institutions,the UNEP project developed a menu of fourtraining courses:CP1 – Introduction to cleaner production con-cept and practice (1-day awareness course)CP2 – Introduction to capital budgeting andfinancing of capital projects (1-day awarenesscourse)CP3 – Profiting from cleaner production (2-dayskill course)CP4 – Cleaner production investment process (2-day skill course)

These were adapted to local conditions andimplemented in all the five demonstration coun-tries (in English, Spanish and Vietnamese). Over100 courses have been delivered with more than2,000 participants. The target audiences haveincluded political decision-makers in national andlocal government authorities, company managers,engineers, accountants, bank loan assessors, acad-emia, and the media. As a result, active cleaner pro-duction promotion networks have emerged insome of the countries with a much broader rangeof stakeholders than before. Many of the partnerinstitutions hosting the courses are in the processof adapting some of the material to their own cur-ricula, thus contributing to mainstreaming clean-er production into courses on business manage-ment, accounting and financial analysis.

Components of these courses have also beenused in global and regional training events for thebenefit of, for example, the Directors of UNEP/UNIDO National cleaner production Centres(NCPCs) and bankers from developing countriesand economies in transition.

As a result of the project field experience andbased on the recommendations of an Expert GroupMeeting on UNEP Capacity Building Material toPromote cleaner production Investments (held inParis 27-28 November 2001), UNEP/DTIE pub-lished the following in September 2002:◆ a booklet “Profiting from Cleaner Production –Journey to Efficient Resource Management” forsenior and middle management in government,finance and business;◆ executive awareness-raising slide presentationson”Profiting from Cleaner Production” for indus-try, financiers and government;◆ checklists to facilitate decision-making relatedto cleaner production investments;◆ generic training modules (see four coursesabove); ◆ a trainer’s guide.

In addition to training, the project has also car-ried out missions and organized workshops oninnovative financing schemes in all five demon-stration countries. In the long run, cleaner pro-duction investments should not normally needsubsidized financing. They can have incrementaleffects on the cash flow and net income of enter-prises, but often do not provide much in terms ofcollateral. Following fact-finding missions, con-crete proposals for a cleaner production dedicat-ed financial mechanism have been made for theconsideration of the government (policies and reg-ulations), local financial community (financing)and potential donors (support to promotionalprojects) in each demonstration country.

Lessons learnedWork carried out under the UNEP/DTIE pro-ject, particularly through workshops and contri-bution to various regional cleaner productionRoundtables and draft articles compiled byUNEP/DTIE for the special issue on financing ofthe Journal of Cleaner Production, has resulted in anumber of conclusions and recommendationswhich are presented below. To put these elementsinto a functional context, it is important to firstrecall a number of basic facts concerning cleanerproduction. Commonly held misconceptionshave often prevented the adoption of useful pre-ventive measures in the past:◆ cleaner production is frequently an investmentwith a return. Spending money on repairs or onenvironment control is more properly a capital cost.This makes cleaner production an opportunity, partof the development agenda, not an item of cost. ◆ Prevention of loss – whether of materials, prod-ucts or money – is a matter for mainstream busi-ness managers, including financial controllers. Asa loss prevention strategy, cleaner productionincreases productivity and business security, there-by justifying the extra expenditures.◆ cleaner production is concerned with long-termprofitability. Current financial policy, particularlyin developing countries, is often short-term.cleaner production financing aims to overcomethis barrier.◆ cleaner production is a strategy that requires achange in attitude and behaviour for dissemina-tion across the entire spectrum of stakeholdersfrom production engineers to accountants, finan-cial analysts and managers, government policymakers and academia.

Mainstreaming – the companyperspectiveCleaner production requires thinking about thelife-cycle assessment of consumption, productionand distribution, using the analytical results ofdesign and operation. This behaviour of lookingbeyond the immediate necessities of a projectmust be promoted as an element of good man-agement, risk reduction, social responsibility andcompetitive advantage.

Cleaner production investments can strengthenthe financial situation of a banker’s client andreduce risks of loan default caused by fines, non-compliance, clean-up costs, etc. The challenge

ahead is to create added value by integrating pre-ventive approaches and efficient resource man-agement into the strategic and managementprocesses of a company. It is the Chief ExecutiveOfficer who has the prime responsibility for envi-ronmental management of an enterprise, not theenvironmental engineer.

Role of cost accountingThere is a need for increased emphasis on costingand on environmental management accounting(EMA) as tools to promote cleaner production andimprove cash-generating capacity at the enterpriselevel because “what you can measure, you can man-age”. Currently, several institutions promotingcleaner production are also involved in the UN-ledExpert Working Group on “Improving the role ofgovernment in the promotion of EMA”. TheUNEP/DTIE cleaner production Financing Pro-ject has forged close links with the Working Groupand EMA, and costing is a key component in oneof the two skill courses (CP3 “Profiting fromCleaner Production”) developed under the project.

There are several examples in developing coun-tries and economies in transition. The currentNCPC in Zimbabwe (SIRDC-ERSI) used dem-onstration companies from the recent DANIDA-funded cleaner production project to illustrate theconcept of EMA to the Trust Bank, as well as theeconomic benefits accrued by the companyimplementing cleaner production. As a result, thebank’s credit line for export-oriented SMEs pro-motes investments with an environmental man-agement component. In the Philippines, EMA isa key instrument in promoting the cleaner pro-duction concept among the business community.The cleaner production Centres in Hungary andSlovakia are active participants in the UN-ledglobal dialogue to advance EMA. The recent UN-DESA publication “Environmental ManagementAccounting Procedures and Principles” was intro-duced to the Directors of the UNEP/UNIDONCPCs at their annual meeting in Seoul inNovember 2001.

Role of public policiesTransparent and effective governance is crucial inmobilizing domestic resources and averting invest-ment flight. Government commitment is equallyessential in creating a market reality that will inter-est financial institutions in preventive approaches.Stable macroeconomic conditions and specific pol-icy measures aimed at creating or fostering aneffective institutional framework (e.g. removal oftrade and investment barriers, tax concessions,loan guarantees, realistic pricing of utilities)together with an efficient enforcement system, areall conducive to sustainable investment patterns.In this sense, more institutional support to gov-ernments of less developed countries would benecessary to enable them to develop effective legis-lation, market-based policies and instruments forsustained investments, particularly private ones.

Asset managers’ perspectiveThe Institute of Environmental Management andBusiness Administration at the European Business

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School (Johannes Schmidt) has carried out re-search on sustainability and shareholder value.The summary concludes that:◆ The market for environmental and sustainableinvestment can be an important driver for the pro-motion of sustainable development. ◆ Transparency of criteria, methods and productsis a basic precondition for the further develop-ment of the market, especially for the so-calledbest-in-class funds. ◆ By maximizing on the potential to economisethe process of gathering and processing of infor-mation, efficiency can be enhanced and transac-tion costs reduced.◆ Among the “top-five” environmental criteria forvalue drive from the sustainability analysts’ pointof view, three relate directly to cleaner production:“reduction of resource input in processes”, “reduc-tion of resource input in products” and “mini-mizing the probability of accidents”. The othertwo are: “environmental standards” and “riskmanagement systems”.

Innovative financing programmesAlthough regular commercial sources should be themain methods of financing new and retrofit clean-er production investments, revolving funds, ener-gy efficiency windows, loan guarantee schemes forSMEs and innovative schemes have proven to beuseful in jump-starting the process and introduc-ing the concept to banks and industries, particular-ly in developing countries and economies intransition.

Several such examples can be cited. The revolv-ing fund for cleaner production investments forthe Baltic States and North-West Russia byNEFCO is now well established and very success-ful. Similar donor-sponsored initiatives haveemerged in various regions, for instance, the AsianDevelopment Bank, KfW and the EBRD operat-ed schemes. Perhaps less known are initiatives dri-ven by private sector banks. The Trust Bank inZimbabwe has concluded an alliance with the newNCPC (SIRDC-ERSI) to bring various industri-al clients and the bank together to continue topromote cleaner production financing. Under theUNEP/DTIE project, a cleaner production Cred-it Programme has been proposed for considera-tion by several countries in Latin America. Thescheme foresees that funds providers (e.g. inter-national green funds) channel resources to a localcommercial bank or financial institution (includ-ing micro-financiers) for the benefit of particular-ly small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Localbusiness providers (most notably the local cleanerproduction Centre) will be the key link betweencompanies and fund providers, assisting the bor-rowers in performing investment analyses andpreparing loan applications.

Introducing cleaner production into an enter-prise often improves cash flow, but normally doesnot increase collateral. So, in some countries, pro-moting cleaner production investment in SMEswould require loan guarantee schemes rather thanrevolving funds. Combinations of the two mayneed to be considered. Such facilities may providefunds at rates that are slightly below the prevailing

commercial ones in the same country. However,the approved investment projects should alwaysmeet strict commercial criteria and the fund beadministered and channelled through profession-al financial institutions, preferably local. As theunderstanding of the economic merits of cleanerproduction and efficient resource managementspreads in the country and the demand for invest-ment increases, such special credit facilities shouldgradually be accompanied by funding through theregular financial products available on the market.

New investment and SMEsRetrofitting factories will be insufficient in the longrun. The greatest challenge will be influencing newinvestment, particularly among SMEs, to incorpo-rate cleaner production principles. New approach-es must be developed to find and work withintervention points so that investors and designerscan learn about cleaner production methods andresources, and be rewarded for their efforts to incor-porate cleaner production principles.

SMEs play a crucial role in the growth andindustrialization of most developing countries.SMEs that are actively pursuing cleaner produc-tion have unusually strong and visionary manage-ment that pays attention to all aspects ofproduction. These are good signals for futurebusiness performance and should be promoted tofinancial institutions. Local governments shouldintroduce measures to favour SME investmentsinto cleaner production solutions.

Assuming that business providers of specialcleaner production services, such as investmentappraisals and expert advice, will be set up innational investment co-ordination boards or workin co-operation with them, furthering cleaner pro-duction should deal with the following issues andprovide the following benefits:◆ minimizing inefficiencies in industrial produc-tion (e.g. by limiting the demand for public utili-ty services, which are often subsidised);◆ ensuring that long-term sustainability is alsoconsidered in terms of competitiveness andemployment generation;◆ providing a means of checking officially thatinvestments do not take the form of environmen-tal dumping;◆ giving relevant investment bodies the authorityand capacity to provide certification as the fol-lowing:• certificates stating that planned new investmentscomply with the standards that may be requiredby foreign lenders and guarantors, thus increasingthe accessibility of foreign financing for newinvestments or securing such financing at morecompetitive costs.• certificates for individual investments and glob-al agreements with foreign export credit andexport credit guarantee agencies to attract theirparticipation.• certification of new investments to ensure thatthese get access to international markets, includ-ing such environmentally conscious markets asthose related to green procurement.

Measures should also be encouraged both bygovernment and industry to integrate cleaner pro-

duction in supply chain decisions involving SMEs,whereby corporations could play an importantrole. In the same light, more effort should be putinto building a group of public and private pro-curement professionals conversant with cleanerproduction and eco-efficiency.

Capacity building – the path aheadWell-functioning advisory services are needed toassist companies in preparing project proposalsand loan applications, which can also be of greatvalue to financiers in securing solid baselines,supervizing project implementation and moni-toring project results. cleaner production Centresshould focus on catalyzing behavioural change inpolicy and investment decision-makers.

The UNEP cleaner production Financing Pro-ject generated a number of checklists and trainingpackages (see “UNEP project outputs” above).There is a clear demand to disseminate this mate-rial to countries and regions not covered by thefour-year pilot project. In addition, core teams oftrainers need to be trained to be able to deliversuch knowledge, through business schools andother educational institutions operating at thenational level. UNEP/DTIE has prepared projectconcepts and started a dialogue with a number ofpotential partners to:◆ translate the capacity building material intoChinese, French and Russian and train coregroups of experts in those language areas;◆ identify national institutions to host trainingactivities; ◆ prepare loan applications with business;◆ carry out extensive training programmes inselected countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europeand Latin America;◆ continue contributing to environmentally relat-ed training workshops for financial intermediariesorganized by development finance institutions;and ◆ integrate preventive principles in the trainingprogrammes of the UNEP Financing Initiatives.

OutcomesThe panel consisted on representatives from anasset management company, development financeinstitution with a focus on the private sector, acommercial bank in Europe, and a governmentministry, micro finance institution and a consult-ing company in a developing country. The sessioncommented and generally endorsed the back-ground paper.

The conclusions emphasized the need for, interalia:◆ addressing the value systems of decision makers;◆ internal cost management in enterprises to sup-port assessment of CP projects by financial insti-tutions; ◆ benchmarking and monitoring of customers’environmental performance by loan managers inmicro finance institutions; and◆ commercial banks to focus in their environmen-tal risk assessment, emerging regulation and antic-ipated pressures coming through the supply chain.

The recommendations of the session highlight-ed the importance of:

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Most chemical production involves “trans-formation” processes, which are inher-ently complex and tightly coupled.

“Normal accidents” are an unavoidable risk of sys-tems with these characteristics (Perrow, 1984).Alternative chemical processes exist that almostcompletely eliminate the use of highly toxic,volatile, or flammable chemicals. Accidents inthese systems result in significantly less harmfulchemical reactions or releases. Inherent Safetymakes chemical plants also less vulnerable to sab-otage and terrorism.

The concept of Inherent Safety is now wellknown among chemical engineers as a sound setof principles for the design of new facilities and isdeveloped into a vital part of the curricula of engi-neering schools in several parts of the world. ButInherent Safety is only seldom used to improveexisting plants and plays a minor role (if any) inthe dominant approaches to safety management.

Inherent Safety can and should be used in exist-ing facilities. However, implementation is limitedsince it is perceived as an engineering function anddue to conceptual and institutional barriers ofInherently Safer Technologies (Kletz, 1998). Stim-ulated by the successful development and dissem-ination of the concept of cleaner production, afeasibility study has been conducted for a similardevelopment towards Inherently Safer Production.

Inherently Safer Production departs from theconventional notion of safety management. Thetraditional approach entails identification of haz-ards of the existing situation in existing produc-tion processes, assessment of the associated risksand minimization of these risks. By contrast, the

Inherently Safer Production, a naturalcomplement to cleaner production

Gerard I.J.M. Zwetsloot, Senior Researcher and Consultant, TNO Work & Employment, and Professor at Erasmus Centre for Sustainable Development and Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam; TNO Work & Employment, P.O. Box 718, NL 2130 AS Hoofddorp The Netherlands ([email protected])

Nicholas Askounes Ashford, Senior Researcher, Ergonomia Ltd., Athens, Greece, and Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Law Program, E-40-239, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ([email protected])

SummaryInherent Safety – an approach involving the use of processes and materials with little or notoxicity, flammability or instability – is generally recognized as an important concept in thedesign of chemical plants. Inspired by the successful development of cleaner production, afeasibility study was conducted for a similar development towards Inherently Safer Produc-tion. In four pilot cases carried out in 1997-98, a methodology to generate Inherently Safertechnological options was developed and tested. The study indicated that the majority ofoptions had payback times of less than two years, and that Inherently Safer Production wasa feasible concept with great potential for simultaneous improvement of safety and economicperformance and for integration into cleaner production programmes.

RésuméLa sûreté intrinsèque (qui consiste à utiliser des procédés et matériaux peu ou pas toxiques,inflammables ou instables) est généralement considérée comme un concept important pourla conception des usines de produits chimiques. Devant le succès de la production plus pro-pre, une étude de faisabilité a été menée sur une évolution semblable vers une productionintrinsèquement plus sûre. Une méthodologie pour produire des options technologiquesintrinsèquement plus sûres a été élaborée et testée dans quatre expérimentations piloteseffectuées en 1997-1998. L’étude montre que la majorité des options étaient amorties enmoins de deux ans et que la production intrinsèquement plus sûre était un concept faisable,qui offre un fort potentiel d’amélioration simultanée de la sûreté et des performanceséconomiques, mais aussi d’intégration dans les programmes de production plus propre.

ResumenLa seguridad intrinseca – un concepto que se refiere al uso de procesos y materiales de bajatoxicidad, no inflamables o inestables – generalmente es un elemento importante en el dis-eño de plantas químicas. Alentados por la evolución exitosa del concepto de producción máslimpia, se realizó un estudio de factibilidad para desarrollar de manera similar el concepto deProducción Inherentemente más Segura. En 1997-98 se efectuaron cuatro experiencias pilo-to donde se desarrolló y evaluó una metodología para generar opciones tecnológicas Inher-entemente más Seguras. El estudio demostró que la mayoría de las opciones tenía períodosde retorno de inversión de menos de dos años, y que Producción Inherentemente más Segu-ra era un concepto factible con gran potencial para mejorar simultáneamente la seguridady el rendimiento económico y para la integración con programas de producción más limpia.

◆ evaluation of macro conditions before movingto micro ones;◆ improvement of company accounting practicesto reflect the true cost of waste and its manage-ment, environmental compliance and risk;◆ awareness raising and capacity building, partic-ularly at decision-making levels and media;◆ targeted funds and customised decision-makingin banks towards CP; and◆ focus on cash flow implications instead of col-lateral.

Notes1. For the purposes of this article , cleaner pro-duction, pollution prevention, preventiveapproach, efficient resource management and eco-efficiency are used as parallel concepts. 2. Referred to as the “Cleaner Production Financ-ing Project”.3. Most of these cases come from the textile, pulpand paper, metal mechanics, food-processing andtannery sectors.

For more information, contact: Ari Huhtala, ProjectManager, cleaner production Financing, Productionand Consumption Branch, UNEP DTIE, 39-43quai André-Citroën, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France([email protected]) or Elena Ciccozzi, cleanerproduction Financing, Production and Consump-tion Branch, UNEP DTIE ([email protected])

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Inherently Safer Production approach involves theidentification of hazards and risks, the search forand evaluation of alternative technologicaloptions, and elimination or reduction of hazardsby implementing Inherently Safer TechnologicalOptions. In both safety management approaches,organizational and human aspects are just asimportant as technological factors. The Inherent-ly Safer Production approach is, however, morefuture-oriented and deals more proactively withtechnological options, while traditional safetymanagement tends to focus on management ofthe present technology.

Inspiration from cleaner productionapproachesWhile replacement of existing production systemswith benign chemical or non-chemical processeshas conventionally focused on cleaner production,the focus can be expanded to include InherentSafety.

Inherent Safety is similar to – or a natural exten-sion of – cleaner production. Both address tech-nological aspects and organizational and humanfactors and attempt to prevent the possibility ofharm from accidents or pollution by eliminatingthe problem at its source. Both typically involvefundamental changes in production technology:substitution of inputs, process redesign and re-engineering, and/or final product reformulation.In order to investigate whether similar approach-es used in cleaner production programmes canhelp identify Inherently Safer TechnologicalOptions and whether such options would be eco-nomically attractive, a feasibility study has beenundertaken.

The approachThe methodology comprises a safety analogue ofthe methodologies in cleaner production demon-stration projects and knowledge of Inherent Safe-ty principles. The underlying concept was toencourage firms to prevent accidents and acci-dental releases by identifying: 1) what changes inthe production process to inherently safer inputs,processes, final products and equipment could bemade, i.e. Inherent Safety Opportunity Audits(ISOAs), and 2) the specific inherently safer tech-nologies that could be used, i.e. TechnologyOptions Analysis (TOAs). Unlike a hazard, risk,or technology assessment, these techniques seekto identify which Inherently Safer Technologiescould be implemented.

The basic design principles to generate Inher-ently Safer Technological Options can be clus-tered in several ways (e.g. Bollinger et al., 1996;Kletz, 1998). The four categories adopted fromthe American Center for Chemical Process Safety(Bollinger et al., 1996) are: Minimize, Substitute,Moderate, and Simplify. A fifth principle of Opti-mal Plant Layout has been added for the InherentSafety of logistical activities.

The present approach consists of three phases,each comprising several steps and the use of somespecific tools. The present aim is not to prove thevalue of a blueprint methodology, but rather todevelop a methodology that enables a change

towards Inherently Safer Production while meet-ing the needs of industry. Thus, the approach canbe customized to suit the needs of the respectivepilot companies. Two phases that have been addedfor evaluation purposes are described brieflybelow.

The first phase consists of the following: 1) ini-tiation and obtaining commitment from the firm;2) initial design and preparation; 3) conducting asafety audit; and 4) selecting specific candidateprocesses or operations within the firm.

The second phase consists of the following: 1)carrying out a functional review; 2) developing aspecific set of search questions; 3) brainstormingfor Inherently Safer Options; 4) constructing aninformation search process on Inherently SaferOptions; 5) identifying prospective InherentlySafer Options; 6) designing a consistent set of sys-tem changes; 7) carrying out a feasibility study; 8)obtaining commitment from the project team;and 9) providing recommendations to manage-ment. The possibility of introducing new hazards(by the adoption of an alternative technology) hasbeen explicitly considered and evaluated in 6).

Stage three aims at implementation and con-sists of three steps: facilitating decision-making,preparing implementation, and carrying out theimplementation.

The two additional stages (solely for researchpurposes) are: monitoring and evaluating imple-mentation (monitoring actual design changes andprogress in implementation), and case evaluation.

Inherent Safety is broadly defined as compris-ing the hazards relevant for Process Safety (fire,explosion, runaway reaction, etc.), OccupationalSafety, Environmental Safety, Product Safety,Acute Effects on Occupational Health, AcuteEffects on Community Health or Nuisance, andvarious types of sudden and accidental releases.

Case studiesAfter considerable effort, partner firms wereengaged to explore the usefulness of the approachin a case study format. In the Netherlands, part-nerships were forged with Hoogovens Steel StripMill Products (HSSP, today part of Corus) for a

pilot in their Hydrochloric Acid Regenerationplant, and with DSM, the logistics department ofthe Hydro Carbon Unit. In Greece, a partnershipwas created with ELAIS (Edible Fats and Oils,part of the Unilever Group) for two pilots: onefocusing on its present installations in Athens andthe other involving the design of a new plant forrefining edible oils. Between 1997-1998, re-searchers from TNO and Ergonomia Ltd. carriedout the pilots in the Netherlands and Greece,respectively. The full case studies are published inthe projects final report (Zwetsloot & Askounes-Ashford, 1999, pp. 64-120) and were verified bythe respective firms. The case findings regardingthe methodological impact on the capacity of thefirms to adopt an Inherent Safety approach arepresented in more detail in the Journal of Haz-ardous Materials (Ashford & Zwetsloot, 2000), asopposed to the concise analysis presented here(Zwetsloot & and Ashford, 2002, in press).

Overall findingsDoes the approach lead to the identification ofinherently safer (technological) options that areeconomically feasible?

Several Inherently Safer Technological Optionswere identified in all four cases, as well as more tra-ditional safety options (Table 1). The expert roleof technologically oriented consultants and anextensive external data search were important forthe identification of (especially the more funda-mental) options. Three factors seem to have a pos-itive influence: 1) being early in the life cycle (i.e.at the design stage); 2) an on-site cross-functionalworkshop on the principles of Inherent Safety thatincludes a brainstorming session for InherentlySafer Technological Options; and 3) consultantsas facilitators in the brainstorming process. ManyInherently Safer Options are shown to have shortpayback periods. In a time of ever-increasing com-petition, potential economic incentives for Inher-ent Safety are evident: greater reliability ofproduction, and economic optimization of oper-ability and maintenance of existing installations.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of theapproach?Although the method has been useful in all fourcases, specific considerations required somechanges in the approach, which depended main-ly on the life-cycle stage of the installation. Theenormous effort involved in the (re)engineeringand construction of a plant is repaid over thecourse of the project. While commitment of allparties involved is essential for project success, thecommitment of the plant operation “owner” isespecially crucial. In current installations, themanagement is primarily interested in improve-ments that give a return on investment within oneto two years.

The company’s capacity for generating, adopt-ing and implementing Inherently Safer Optionsvaried considerably in the four cases. Capacityimprovement during the course of the researchers’intervention was even more varied. In the Dutchcases, capacity was increased by the intensivecooperation between the company’s personnel

Table 1Summary of results in terms of

(technological) options

Number of pilots 4

Locations Netherlands and Greece

Total number of options identified 35

Options implemented during the project (number, percentage) 9 26%

Options implemented in the Dutch cases (number, percentage, n = 21) 8 38%

Options implemented in the Greek cases (number, percentage, n = 14) 1 7%

Average number of options identified per pilot 9

Economically feasible options(number, percentage) 26 72%

Options where feasibility was not (yet) fully assessed (number, percentage) 7 19%

Options that were not economically feasible (number, percentage) 3 8%

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and the consultants/researchers in the pilotprocesses, especially during the workshops heldon Inherently Safer Production and InherentlySafer Technology Options. Several initiatives ofthe respective action plans specifically addressedthe plant’s capacity to identify, adopt, and imple-ment (future) Inherently Safer Options, althoughthe options generated in workshops with thefirm’s personnel were not dramatic examples ofInherently Safer Technologies. Many useful sec-ondary prevention options were also identified.

In the Greek cases, the consultants played animportant expert role, which had a very positiveinfluence on the creation of far-reaching Inherent-ly Safer Options. However, the consultants werenot able to influence the firm to adopt and imple-ment these options or to involve the firm’s person-nel. External expertise contributes most to themethodology for the initial audit, brainstormingfor improvement options and providing externaldata for more Inherently Safer TechnologicalOptions.

Are demonstration projects to stimulateInherently Safer Production feasible?This study demonstrates in all four cases that,through application of the approach, substantialprogress towards Inherent Safety and a better safe-ty performance can be realized in economicallyattractive ways, as shown by the numerous Inher-ently Safer Technological Options identified.

Many options identified were not only economi-cally feasible; the majority had payback times ofabout one or two years.

Participation of the management and personnelis important in implementing the approach inexisting plants. However, a company unaccus-tomed to analysis and process-related problemsolving on Inherent Safety needs a two-stepapproach. First, the problem solving methods areraised so that employees have an opportunity todiscuss previous concerns. As participants betterunderstand the framework, a group is formed thatcan start working on Inherently Safer options.When the improvement projects are defined andthe action plan is approved, the employees engagedin brainstorming options should also be involvedin the implementation process. This facilitatesunderstanding of the approach and upholding ofthe commitment to Inherently Safer Production.Overall, it may be concluded that demonstrationprojects to stimulate Inherently Safer Productionare feasible, in existing plants.

Unexpected early improvements in safety and environmentalperformanceIn the HSSP case, the company struggled prior tothe project with several persistent issues of safety,environmental and quality, which made improve-ments in these performances easily identifiable.The greatest progress was realized before the iden-

tified options were implemented.Thirteen of the 14 environmental incidents in

1997 happened in the first half of the year beforethe plant personnel became involved in the pro-ject. One accidental release took place in the halfyear directly thereafter. In the same period similarprogress was made in related areas such as prod-uct quality.

What accounted for the dramatic improvementin safety soon after the project began, and beforethe implementation of the identified InherentlySafer Options? Although there is no scientific evi-dence, it was apparent to the plant’s personnel andmanagers that the first two phases of the method-ology were beneficial. This helped them to betterunderstand the process control and related safetyproblems and to set clear maintenance prioritiesand to guide investments for incremental techno-logical improvements. Without additional helpfrom the researchers, they adapted several stepsfrom the first phases of the methodology and usedthem – successfully – to better understand otherprocess control, environmental and quality prob-lems.

These findings indicate that the interdisciplinaryand participatory components in the approach, asdeveloped in the Dutch cases, strengthened thecommitment to safety of those involved. It alsoindicates that the first two phases of our methodol-ogy can lead to better communication, cooperationand more fruitful decision-making.

Norway’s Environmental Home GuardTerje Torkildsen, Project Leader, Breitorget, 4006 Stavanger, Norway ([email protected])

Miljøheimevernet, or the Environmental Home Guard, was launched inNorway in October 1991. It is a network of individuals (over 100,000 todate), groups, organizations and institutions committed to changing theirdaily activities in ways that reduce use of natural resources, energy and envi-ronmentally harmful substances, minimize waste generation, and protectbiodiversity.

EHG activities, targeted towards people aged 25 to 50, concentrate onfour main areas:◆ providing simple, precise and easily understood information on how tomake more environmentally friendly choices in everyday situations as indi-viduals, groups and organizations;◆ producing tools for voluntary organizations so as to assist them in involv-ing their members and local clubs in environmental protection;◆ recruiting individuals and families in a network made up of people whopledge to start changing their habits;◆ helping voluntary associations, institutions, schools, companies, kinder-gartens and housing cooperatives improve their environmental profile.

The movement aims to mobilize those who have the will to contribute toa better environment but do not feel they have the knowledge or skills tobecome activists.

Tools for changeThe key tool is the Action Plan, a list of suggestions that individuals can fol-low in everyday life. Prospective participants are asked to choose points fortheir own personal or family Action Plan. Beginners may start with a fewsimpler tasks; not everyone wants or has the time to hunt down barrels oftoxic waste or study local waste disposal plans in depth.

Other EHG materials and activities that help individuals and collectiveschange to more environmentally friendly consumption patterns include:

◆ Green Living, a comprehensive programme for households and con-sumers that identifies a broad spectrum of practical tasks that can be car-ried out, with factors such as extent of involvement and method ofinformation access established individually;◆ MORE&less, a quarterly magazine providing up-to-date information ongreen alternatives, product analyses, activity reports, and innovative ideasand challenges;◆ Greenback, an environmental profile test for households (available onlineat www.gronnguide.no), based on questions relating to nine different areas andresulting in a green score, with brief comments on the household’s profile;◆ the Action Team, a support network of households that meet frequentlyto examine their everyday habits and to motivate each other towards agreener life;◆ Action at Home, an alternative for households that wish to explore green-er solutions without joining groups;◆ The Green Guide (www.gronnguide.no), a web site with basic informa-tion on typical environmental issues and over 500 green solutions (in Nor-wegian) for households and consumers;◆ The Green Line, a national hotline for consumers who seek informationabout green solutions.

One-off publications are also produced. Examples include The GreenOffice (published with the Norwegian Society for the Conservation ofNature); Think Locally!, on how organizations can influence local authori-ties to improve planning and zoning (published with the Norwegian Asso-ciation of Local Welfare Societies); and Leaving No Trace Behind, a guidefor fishing, hunting and hiking (published with the Norwegian Associationof Hunters and Anglers).

Around half the municipalities in Norway have used EHG materials andprogrammes to mobilize citizens for greener living. Businesses also use mate-

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For the researchers, the successes in these earlystages were somewhat unexpected. This indicatesthat the first two phases of our methodology canbe used as a tool for safety management, and canhave considerable value separately, apart from theimplementation of the (technological) optionsidentified.

Combining cleaner production withInherently Safer Production activitiesThe Inherently Safer Production approach pre-sented here is closely related to cleaner productionapproaches and may be considered the preventivecomplement of UNEP IE’s Emergency Prepared-ness and Response Programme. For NationalCleaner Production Centres it seems a logicalextension of their activities, as the methodologyfor ISP is similar to that of cleaner production.

While National Cleaner Production Centresalready have many capabilities that are useful forstimulating Inherently Safer Production, someadditional competencies and tools are required.Representatives of the Cleaner Production Centresshould undergo training in Inherent Safety princi-ples, safety management and the evaluation of thesafety impact of technological options. As the lat-ter may require specialized know-how, networkingwith some relevant information centres is crucial.

Finally, Inherent Safety is not only relevant inimproving environmental safety and preventingsudden and accidental releases, but also in

improving occupational safety. In this way ISPmay be a direct link between environmental activ-ities and a specific set of social preventive activi-ties. This could be regarded as a step furthertowards sustainable development as it is increas-ingly acknowledged that policies for sustainabledevelopment should integrate environmental,social and economic aspects.

RecommendationsBased on the results of this research, we would liketo take the opportunity to make the following rec-ommendations to UNEP DTIE and the Nation-al Cleaner Production Centres:◆ In the present era of rapid technological inno-vations, safety can no longer be guaranteed onlythrough risk management in existing installations.Especially with a view towards sustainable growth,it is vital that more proactive and future-orientedsafety approaches are developed.◆ The Inherently Safer Production approach pro-vides new perspectives for more innovative safetyinitiatives. It opens the way for stimulation pro-grammes to help companies or sectors to volun-tarily direct Safety Management towards theidentification and implementation of InherentlySafer technological options. Such stimulation pro-grammes could be set up separately, but also as anextension of or integrated with stimulation pro-grammes for cleaner production.◆ In major accident hazards policies, e.g. the post-

Seveso guidance on the preparation of the safetyreport, associated with the Post Seveso II Directive(EU 1996a), it is often suggested that firms shouldadopt Inherent Safety approaches as the preferredstrategy over traditional safety measures. This studyunderlines the need to evaluate whether such poli-cies are successful in developing Inherently Saferindustries. The research demonstrates that theInherently Safer Production approach can be usefulin this respect. For UNEP DTIE the approach pre-sented may form the bridge between its activities tostimulate cleaner production, and its policies topromote emergency preparedness and response.Today UNEP DTIE has no policy to promote pre-ventive approaches to safety, and Inherently SaferProduction seems a logical way to do so. In termsof company practice, the approach presented offersa practical and economically attractive tool thatmay be integrated in the company’s SHE (SafetyHealth and Environment) Management system.◆ From the perspective of environmental policies(such as the EU IPPC directive, EU1996b), thepresent study is relevant in two ways. First, InherentSafety includes environmental Inherent Safety. Wesee Inherent Safety as directly complementary tothe traditional cleaner production/pollution pre-vention approaches, which usually neglect suddenand accidental releases. Secondly, the solutionsdatabases that are available or are presently beingdeveloped to support the implementation of clean-er production should preferentially promote tech-

rials and advisers from the EHG to improve their green profile. Companiesincreasingly see staff awareness-raising concerning the environmentalimpact of their everyday lives as a valuable contribution to their overallgreening strategies.

The EHG does not mean to imply that all environmental problems canbe solved by ”shopping green”. Many issues require politicians and indus-try to make the right decisions on behalf of the community, e.g. via legisla-tion, taxation and development of better products.

In Norwegian the activities of the EHG are called a dugnad – a conceptwith roots going back many centuries. It means a collective effort, a work-sharing activity in which people contribute as volunteers. The EHG has nolocal branches, annual meetings, minutes or any of the usual trappings oforganizations. The focus is on ad hoc activities and local action.

The EHG is an attempt to combine the know-how of the environmen-tal movement with the vast networks of traditional voluntary organizationsinvolved in humanitarian, social and cultural issues, of which Norway hasmany. The country consists largely of many small communities, spread overa large geographical area with low population density. Voluntary work inclubs and associations is a vital cultural factor in such communities.

In general, the EHG’s information and activities are characterized by:◆ an optimistic approach, pointing towards solutions and better alterna-tives; ◆ a touch of humour;◆ simple, direct language;◆ use of cultural activities and modes of expression (theatre, music, etc.); ◆ establishment of personal relations with the target population – whenpeople contact the EHG, they should be met by individuals, not imper-sonal bureaucrats.

To achieve sustainable consumption through consumer power, the EHGhas outlined a strategy based on six coordinated principles:1. Facilitate greener choices for consumers by providing simple, practicalinformation related to consumption; demand better labelling of products,

both general information on contents as well as more specific, independenteco-labelling; and work for a larger choice of greener products at reasonableprices and of acceptable quality.2. Organize consumers by making them feel they are many individualsthinking and choosing in similar ways; give them the opportunity to com-mit themselves to start changing their habits and consumption patterns;and ensure that issues for concentrated and joint action are chosen so as tomaximize campaigns’ effectiveness.3. Exert pressure from below and from above. For example, large supermar-ket chains dominate the market for groceries in most western countries. Thismeans a few individuals decide what choice of products is offered in storesand define desirable product qualities for producers and wholesalers. In sucha situation, it is most effective to apply pressure to supermarkets from two dif-ferent directions: from ”below” through individual customers and citizensgroups, and from ”above” through political pressure and lobbying.4. Open several fronts. Do not rely only on individuals and families to gen-erate pressure for sustainable consumption. The impact on the market ismuch greater when many different types of institutions (schools, compa-nies, etc.) make similar demands.5. Build alliances. Environmental organizations have high levels of expertiseon ecological issues, while other voluntary organizations have broad net-works and contacts with individuals who may not yet be involved in envi-ronmental activities. Through alliances between the green movement andother types of voluntary organizations, many more individuals and fami-lies can by mobilized for a greener lifestyle.6. Follow up with political action (campaigns, lobbying, etc.) to improvethe collective systems that can facilitate changes in consumption patterns.Examples are taxation, legislation, bans on toxic products, waste sortingsystems, improved recycling systems and new recycling industries, and bet-ter public transport. Appeals and information to individuals can be coun-terproductive if poor collective systems prevent people from effectingchange.

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La publicité, cette grande méconnueLa publicité est la forme la plus visible del’ensemble des techniques de communicationcommerciale. Elle n’en est pas moins l’objet denombreux malentendus et d’une forte dosed’incompréhension.

Il nous paraît donc utile de définir brièvementla communication commerciale, son rôle, cequ’elle sait faire et ce qu’elle ne peut faire.

La publicité est un processus par lequel desentreprises, mais aussi des individus ou des insti-tutions, dépensent de l’argent pour acheter de

l’espace (dans des journaux ou magazines) ou dutemps (à la télévision ou à la radio) pour commu-niquer à un certain public des informations et desidées sur leurs produits et services.

Au fil de l’histoire de la publicité moderne quicouvre moins de cent ans, les spécialistes se sontassez rapidement rendu compte que pour être effi-cace il ne suffisait pas de dépenser beaucoupd’argent ou de préparer des annonces plus oumoins créatives. On a pu constater à de multiplesreprises que des campagnes utililisant des moyensfinanciers modestes ont prouvé leur efficacité. Lesecret de la réussite semble bien résider dans uneapproche basée sur la manière dont les consom-mateurs perçoivent les messages qui leur sontadressés.

La communication commerciale doit rendreservice au consommateur et elle ne peut réussirque si elle place celui-ci au centre de l’idée publi-citaire. Comment le produit ou le service rendra-t-il service au consommateur ? Quels problèmespourra-t-il résoudre ? Quelle difficulté aidera-t-il àaplanir ? Où le client trouvera-t-il le produit ouservice ? Quel en sera le prix ? Quel autre consom-mateur utilise déjà le produit et pourquoi ? Et sur-tout, quels sont les mérites particuliers du produitou du service en comparaison avec les concur-rents ? Une entreprise qui apporte des réponses

La publicité face aux défis dudéveloppement durable

Bernhard Adriaensens, Professeur de Marketing, Université de Bruxelles et Administrateur-Délégué de la Fédération Mondiale des Annonceurs1, 120 Avenue Louise; 1050 Bruxelles, Belgique ([email protected])

SummarySome companies use marketing and communications strategies based on consumers’ existingand potential needs. Others, more interested in efforts to make a better world, anticipate trendsand are experimenting with new methods. Companies in the latter category have adoptedseveral basic rules, described below, that reflect their adherence to sustainable development cri-teria.

RésuméCertaines entreprises choisissent un marketing et une communication fondés sur les besoinsexistants ou latents du consommateur. D’autres, désireuses de façonner un monde nouveau,anticipent ces tendances et lancent des initiatives nouvelles. Les entreprises qui ont choisi la voiela plus hardie ont formulé quelques règles de base, résumées ci-après, qui reflètent leur adhé-sion aux critères du développement durable.

ResumenAlgunas companías aplican estrategias de comercialización y comunicación en virtud de lasnecesidades existentes o potenciales de los consumidores. Otras empresas, interesadas en laconstrucción de un mundo mejor, anticipan tendencias y experimentan iniciativas novedosas.Estas empresas han adoptado ciertas normas básicas, que se describen a continuación, y quereflejan su adhesión a los criterios de desarrollo sustentable.

nologies that both prevent gradual pollution andare inherently safer. As a second best strategy, simi-lar databases of Inherently Safer Technologies couldbe developed.

AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank Frank Nijman and CyrilMoonen from TNO Work & Employment andIlias Banoutsos, Christos Filandros, and DimitriNathaniel from Ergonomia Ltd for their contri-butions to the individual case studies. We greatlyappreciate the contributions made by the partnerfirms to this innovative project. The EuropeanCommission, DG XII, is acknowledged for theco-funding of the project as part of the Pro-

gramme on Environment and Climate, Sub-itemInherent Safety of the EU’s Fourth Frame WworkProgramme.

ReferencesAshford, N. Askounes- and G.I.J.M. Zwetsloot (2000)Encouraging Inherently Safer Production in EuropeanFirms: A Report from the Field, Journal of HazardousMaterials, special issue on risk assessment and environ-mental decision-making (A. Amendola and D. Wilkin-son, eds.), 78/1-3, pp. 123-144.

Bollinger, R.E. and D.G. Clarck, A.M. Dowel III, R.M.Ewbank, D.C. Henderschot, W.K. Lutz, S.I. Meszaros,D.E. Park and E.D. Wixom (1996) Inherently SaferChemical Processes; A Life Cycle Approach, Center forChemical Process Safety (CCPS) of The American Insti-tute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), New York.

Kletz, T.A. (1978) What you don’t have, can’t leak,Chemistry and Industry, 6 May 1978, pp. 287-292.

Kletz, T.A. (1998) Process Plants: A handbook for Inher-ently Safer Design. Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia.

Perrow, C. (1984) Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies. Basic Books, New York.

Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M. and N. Askounes-Ashford (1999)Towards Inherently Safer Production; A Feasibility Studyon Implementation of an Inherent Safety Opportunity Auditand Technology Options Analysis in European Firms, TNOReport R990341, TNO Work & Employment, Hoofd-dorp.

Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M. and N. Askounes-Ashford (in press,2002) The Feasibility of Encouraging Inherently SaferProduction in Industrial Firms, Safety Science, specialissue on Safety and Design (E. Fadier, Guest Editor). ◆

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claires à ces questions aura de fortes chances decommuniquer efficacement.

La publicité, élément du processus demarketing des entreprisesLa publicité ne trouve son espace de travail quedans le cadre d’une activité complète d’entrepriseet plus précisément dans le processus du marke-ting. Le marketing est aussi un concept d’entre-prise qui a pour but de satisfaire les besoins duconsommateur en lui offrant des biens et servicesqui répondent à ses aspirations plus efficacementque ceux des concurrents.

« Le marketing est une manière de voirl’entreprise du point de vue de son résultat final,

soit du point de vue du consommateur »Peter Drucker

Un bon marketing – un marketing efficace –exige que tous les collaborateurs de l’entreprisesoient convaincus de l’importance :◆ du service au client,◆ de la qualité constante du produit,◆ des bénéfices apportés au consommateur par leproduit ou le service,◆ des améliorations technologiques chaque foisqu’elles sont possibles,◆ d’une tarification qui reflète la qualité réelle duproduit,◆ d’une communication ciblée vers les clientspotentiels du produit,◆ de la conscience de l’existence de la concurrenceet de la volonté exprimée ou latente du marché.

La communication publicitaire ne sera efficaceque si la réflexion marketing a été bien faite enamont. Si tout le monde a bien fait son travail, lecycle de vie du produit commencera et dans 5 à10 % des cas, le produit trouvera une place stableet profitable dans le marché. Le taux d’échec resteimmense puisque plus de 90 % des nouveautés nesurvivent pas à la première année d’existence.

Selon le type de marketing choisi, les entreprisessont guidées par le marché ou guident elles-mêmes lemarché. Celles qui servent le marché donnentnaissance à des améliorations graduelles de pro-

duits et de services, mais ne sont pas à la base devéritables innovations. Celles qui guident le mar-ché modifient les vues des consommateurs etchangent notre civilisation en donnant naissanceà de nouvelles catégories de produit et en trans-formant les règles du jeu.

Les limites du pouvoir de la publicitéCette introduction montre que de croire que lapublicité suffit à faire adopter un produit nouveau,une manière différente de faire ou une révolutionsociale est une erreur fondamentale partagée parun grand nombre de citoyens de la planète. Eneffet, nombreux sont ceux qui imaginent que lapublicité agit comme un interrupteur électriquequ’il suffit de tourner ou de pousser pour quel’objectif souhaité se réalise. Toutes les facettes de lapublicité concernent des êtres humains qui, parnature, sont imprévisibles, et des idées qui sontsouvent nouvelles ou simplement non familières.Il n’est donc pas étonnant que la question la pluscommunément posée par les responsables d’entre-prises au moment du démarrage d’une campagnepublicitaire est très semblable à celle-ci : « Est-ceque ma publicité va donner des résultats ou lesconsommateurs vont-ils la rejeter ? ». Dans lemeilleur des cas, un certain nombre de consom-mateurs seront attirés et passeront à l’achat d’essai,mais jamais la campagne de communication nesera capable de convaincre une très large portionde population. Intéresser tout un chacun est unemission impossible.

Que penser alors des campagnes d’intérêtpublic ? On a très souvent accordé à la publicitédes pouvoirs plus importants qu’elle ne possèderéellement et, assez logiquement, on a penséqu’elle serait utile pour promouvoir des compor-tements sociaux et combattre la vitesse en auto-mobile, l’ivresse au volant, la tabagie, etc.

Les études ont montré très régulièrement que sile message était compris, il n’était pas nécessaire-ment adopté, la réaction de nombreuses per-sonnes étant du style « Oui, l’excès de vitesse estdangereux, sauf pour moi qui suis un excellentconducteur ! ». Si l’individu ne se sent pas concer-né personnellement, le message perd sa réelle effi-cacité.

C’est ainsi que la publicité ne peut pas faireacheter continuellement un produit non désiré,voire détesté. La publicité peut faire acheter unepremière fois et puis le produit devra faire sespreuves.

La publicité ne peut forcer quelqu’un à lire ou àregarder des messages pas clairs ou non pertinents,mais elle peut associer des idées pratiques ou desémotions à un produit que les consommateurs serappelleront peut être lorsqu’ils seront dans unmagasin.

La publicité ne peut faire acheter aux gens desquantités de produits supérieures à ce qu’ils utili-sent usuellement, mais elle peut les informerd’offres promotionnelles à des prix intéressants.

La publicité n’empêchera pas vos concurrentsde vendre, mais elle pourra rendre votre marqueplus connue et plus respectée que celles de vosconcurrents.

La publicité ne détermine pas le choix du

consommateur ni son comportement, mais ellepeut influencer ce choix ou ce comportement. Lapublicité apporte une aide au choix et ne se sub-stitue pas à celui-ci.

Le défi du développement durableDepuis quelques années, des études de plus enplus nombreuses ont montré que les consomma-teurs ont des exigences qui dépassent le niveaud’usage des produits qu’ils achètent. Il ne suffitplus que le produit réponde à leurs exigences enterme d’efficacité et de rapport coût/satisfaction.De plus en plus, les consommateurs veulentconnaître le rôle joué par le fabricant sur le plansocial et environnemental. Durant les années1970, les inquiétudes étaient concentrées sur lesphénomènes de pollution, de disparition de cer-taines ressources et de croissance de la populationmondiale. Les années 1980 ajoutèrent à ces troisquestions fondamentales des réflexions en matiè-re d’utilisation des aérosols, des voitures et desdétergents. C’est à cette époque que le « consom-mateur vert » commença à être considéré commeun groupe cible potentiel pour les entreprises.Après le Sommet de Rio de Janeiro de 1992, lesannées 1990 virent pointer le concept de dévelop-pement durable qui considère l’avenir de notreplanète du triple point de vue économique, socialet environnemental. Dix ans après Rio de Janeiro,de plus en plus d’entreprises ont compris que pourêtre perçu comme un « bon business » il ne suffitplus de mettre sur le marché des produits et ser-vices répondant le plus précisément possible auxsouhaits des consommateurs, mais que l’ensembledes opérations de l’entreprise doit se dérouler dansle respect d’une éthique forte, prenant en compteles aspects sociaux et l’impact du produit surl’environnement durant la totalité de son cycle devie.

« Il est devenu de plus en plus évident que lesconsommateurs sont intéressés de manière deplus en plus forte au monde qui existe au-delà du produit qu’ils achètent. En plus du prix et de

la qualité, ils veulent savoir comment, où et par qui le produit a été fabriqué.

Cette prise de conscience croissante de l’environ-nement et des critères sociaux est un signed’espoir. Les gouvernements et l’industrie

doivent bâtir sur ces fondations. »Klaus Toepfer,

Directeur exécutif, Programme des Nations Unies

pour l’environnement

Cette approche constitue un défi majeur pourle marketing car elle remet en cause certains prin-cipes fondamentaux de celui-ci. Qu’on le veuilleou non, il reste de très nombreux habitants denotre planète qui ne se soucient pas du tout dutriple objectif mis en avant par le concept de déve-loppement durable. Ils ne sont pas prêts à écouterdes arguments visant à faire préférer des produits« durables » à ceux qui le seraient moins ou pas dutout. Pour peu que les produits « durables » soientun peu plus chers, moins disponibles ou simple-ment différents de ceux qu’ils utilisent habituelle-ment, ils ne les adopteront pas. Ceci veut direqu’en tentant de leur vendre des produits

Les trois types de marketing

Selon Philip Kotler, l’un des plus illustres théoriciens dumarketing, les entreprises ont le choix entre trois types demarketing : le marketing réactif, le marketing anticipatif oucelui du besoin. Soulignons rapidement les caractéristiquesessentielles de ceux-ci :

Le marketing réactif est basé sur le concept “ identifieret satisfaire les besoins ”. Cela peut fonctionner à conditionque le besoin soit préexistant et que la solution existe.

Le marketing anticipatif est censé répondre auxbesoins latents. C’est ainsi que l’accroissement du stress enmilieu urbain à poussé les laboratoires pharmaceutiques àproposer des antidépresseurs. Le marketing anticipatif estclairement plus risqué que le marketing réactif car on peutarriver top tôt sur le marché ou même se trompertotalement sur l’évolution réelle de celui-ci.

Le marketing du besoin intervient lorsque l’entreprisedécide de lancer un produit ou un service que personne n’ademandé ni même imaginé. Akio Morita, fondateur deSony, a été l’un des plus fervents adeptes de ce type deraisonnement : “ Je ne sers pas les marchés, je les crée ”était sa devise favorite. Source : Kotler, Philip, Kotler on Marketing, Free Press, a division of Simon andSchuster Inc. New York, 1999.

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« durables » on ne répondrait pas à leurs besoinsou attentes.

Un autre paradoxe qu’il faudra vaincre est celuiqui a été rencontré par les entreprises pionnièresen matière de promotion de produits « durables »Elles ont très souvent été accusées de récupérationet de profiter de la « vague verte » pour vendre.

Le « marketing vert » a poussé vers les rayons dessupermarchés des produits plus « verts » : des pilessans cadmium, des cosmétiques non testés sur desanimaux, etc. Des initiatives ont été prises par denombreux secteurs industriels en matière de recy-clage et de récupération, parfois sous la menace detaxes écologiques. De nombreuses controversessont nées de ces initiatives et ont rendu prudentsles responsables de marketing. Certaines entre-prises ont vu leurs gammes de produits « verts »délaissés par les clients et ont été forcées de lesabandonner. D’autres ont maintenu le cap malgréles premiers échecs, mais attendent encore trèssouvent un modeste retour sur les investissementsconsentis. Pour que le système fonctionne, il fautdes produits réellement « durables » ; ils sont sou-vent plus chers à fabriquer, ils sont vendus en rela-tivement petites quantités car trop peu deconsommateurs sont intéressés et les produitscontribuent très peu aux profits de l’entreprise.Cela ressemble plus à un cercle vicieux qu’à quoique ce soit d’autre.

La fonction marketing est traditionnellementplacée à la charnière entre l’entreprise et sa clien-tèle. Son rôle est de trouver un cercle vertueux enessayant de convaincre l’entreprise de prendre encompte dans le développement de nouveaux pro-duits les nouvelles contraintes éthiques, sociales etenvironnementales tout en trouvant des argu-ments susceptibles de faire préférer aux consom-mateurs les produits « durables » plutôt que ceuxqui le sont moins.

Les questions à résoudre d’urgence pour rendrele marketing « durable » et apporter ainsi unecontribution majeure aux progrès de la planète etde sa population actuelle et future et aux profitsdes entreprises sont nombreuses :◆ Comment l’industrie peut-elle participer à cettenouvelle quête et en profiter ?◆ Quels sont les bénéfices que l’industrie peutespérer tirer du respect des nouvelles normeséthiques, sociales et environnementales sur le plande la réputation, la compétitivité, la reconnaissan-ce sociale et politique ?◆ Comment être à l’avant-garde sans être accuséd’opportunisme et de superficialité ?◆ L’entreprise a-t-elle le droit (ou le devoir) de ten-ter de modifier les comportements de consomma-tion de ses clients ?◆ Quel rôle la communication commerciale peut-elle jouer pour faire préférer des produits« durables » et, éventuellement, faire rejeter desproduits non durables en repositionnant les pro-duits des concurrents comme étant nuisibles dansl’esprit du consommateur ? ◆ La publicité peut-elle, même pour la bonnecause, déterminer de nouveaux choix de consom-mation ?

Comme on le voit, répondre à ces questionsnécessite de modifier profondément les processus

de décision, de fabrication, et de vente des entre-prises, mais impose également d’importantesréflexions déontologiques et éthiques.

L’approche de la consommation durable tellequ’avancée par le Programme des Nations Uniespour l’environnement annonce assez clairementla couleur :

La consommation durable ne signifie pasconsommer moins.Cela peut vouloir dire,

consommer différemment et plus intelligemment– plutôt que de réduire la consommation de

produits et services – mais cela peut exiger desmodifications substantielles dans la manière

dont le consommateur se comportera ainsi quedes changements dans l’activité

des entreprises.

Qui décidera de ce que doit être le nouveaucomportement du consommateur ? Qu’est-cequ’un bon nouveau comportement ? Voilà deuxquestions qui seront beaucoup plus difficiles àrésoudre que de convaincre les entreprises des’adapter au contexte nouveau. En effet, depuis queles entreprises existent, elles ont été forcées des’adapter à un environnement changeant. Cellesqui l’on fait trop tard ne sont plus là. La seule ques-tion qui se pose réellement à l’entreprise est desavoir avec quelle rapidité évoluer. Et celle-ci esttoujours fonction du degré d’implication desclients dans le processus de changement de société.

Pour parvenir à ce changement, il faudra unealliance extrêmement forte et unidirectionnelledes gouvernements, des entreprises, des adminis-trations, des institutions et des citoyens. Lespesanteurs à vaincre sont importantes.

Publicité et développement durableNous avons déjà souligné que la publicité ne peutcréer de nouveaux comportements. Au contraire,la publicité utilise des comportements de consom-mation existants pour proposer des solutionsallant dans le même sens que ces comportements.

« Il est irréaliste de croire que la publicité valancer une révolution. La publicité n’a pas pour

rôle de définir une politique sociale. Mais, lapublicité est très efficace pour écouter et réagir àla volonté du public. Et le public semble se rendre

compte des coûts de nos comportementsextrêmes de consommation. »

Jelly Helm, Co-Président de l’agence Barden & Jelly

A l’instar de ce qui est prôné par Philip Kotler(voir encadré), les entreprises auront à choisirentre un marketing et une communication pui-sant leurs racines dans les besoins existants oulatents du consommateur et elles utiliseront leséléments du développement durable au fur et àmesure qu’un nombre croissant de consomma-teurs sera demandeur de la triple dimension socia-le, éthique et environnementale. D’autres, plushardies et désireuses de façonner un monde nou-veau, anticiperont ces tendances et lanceront desinitiatives nouvelles non encore demandées ouexigées par les consommateurs.

De très nombreux exemples existent déjà. Nousciterons le cas de la Société Kellogg’s en Australie.Une ligne téléphonique d’appel à l’aide créée pourles enfants sous le nom de « Kids Line » ne pou-

vait répondre utilement qu’à la moitié des 1,5 mil-lions d’appels annuels. Un partenariat entre KidsLine et Kellogg’s permit de recueillir 500.000 $australiens qui ouvrirent la possibilité de répondreà 150.000 appels supplémentaires. La campagnepublicitaire comprenait des annonces dans lesmedias traditionnels, des activités grand publicainsi qu’un message sur sept millions de boîtes decéréales2.

Quelques pistes à suivreLes entreprises qui ont choisi la voie la plus activeont énoncé quelques règles de base qui pourrontutilement inspirer ceux qui désirent montrer leuradhésion aux critères du développement durableen utilisant leurs dépenses en communicationpour accélérer la prise de conscience des consom-mateurs. Nous les avons résumées ci-après.

Les actions à entreprendre :◆ utilisez vos marques pour communiquer sur desthèmes sociaux et environnementaux ;◆ assurez la promotion de vos marques en liant lesventes à des contributions financières au bénéficed’initiatives concernant ces mêmes thèmes ;◆ forgez un partenariat avec une O.N.G. recon-nue pour son efficacité sur le terrain et créez unesynergie avec votre marque ;◆ n’oubliez pas de communiquer au sujet de cesinitiatives avec tous les départements de l’entre-prise. Ce doit être l’affaire de tous et pas unique-ment l’affaire du département marketing ;◆ confiez l’audit social et environnemental devotre marque à un spécialiste externe pour chaqueétape du cycle de vie de vos produits ;◆ songez à utiliser des marques de conformité éco-logiques ou sociologiques (ecolabel et label social)tout en restant conscient que de fausses allégationsen ce domaine peuvent être extrêmement dange-reuses pour la réputation de votre marque.

Si votre travail est bien fait, vous pourrez espé-rer obtenir de bons résultats au profit de :

Votre marque :◆ augmentation des ventes ;◆ différenciation de votre marque sur un marchésaturé ;◆ ouverture de nouvelles pistes de marketing.

Vos clients :◆ ceux-ci préféreront acheter une marque qui sou-tient des projets proches de leur sensibilité et deleurs objectifs personnels.

Les causes sociales et environnementales :◆ publicité et association avec des grandes marquesréputées ;◆ accès aux ressources et réseaux des grandes entre-prises ;◆ rentrées financières en provenance des opéra-tions de marketing en faveur des grandes causes.

La voie des partenariats est également riche depossibilités. Les défis à relever sont tels que degrandes alliances seront nécessaires pour arriver àdes résultats significatifs. Ces alliances seront demultiples sortes : alliances entre concurrents poursolutionner ensemble de grands problèmes, par-tenariat avec des organisations non gouverne-mentales, voire avec des « activistes », pour enta-mer un dialogue constructif et positif et trouverde nouvelles solutions aux problèmes anciens,

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avec les clients pour encourager les comporte-ments respectueux de l’environnement (recycla-ge, par exemple), avec les fournisseurs pour rédui-re l’impact des systèmes de production, etc.

Les partenariats devront aussi favoriser l’aban-don des stratégies de confrontation pour mettreen œuvre une collaboration active. Quel intérêt y-a-t-il à rechercher des coupables si cela doit acca-parer les énergies qui seraient plus utiles dans laquête de solutions ?

Nous croyons fermement que les entreprisesqui feront savoir qu’elles ont réellement choisicomme priorité le développement durable serontfinalement récompensées car jamais la jeunesse –les clients de demain – n’a été autant sensibiliséeaux enjeux du futur. Ce groupe constituera dans

les 10 à 20 ans à venir le fer de lance du change-ment car les jeunes sont les consommateurs, lesemployés, les investisseurs, les responsables poli-tiques et sociaux de l’avenir. Il n’est pas présomp-tueux de penser que leurs critères de consomma-tion et de choix de société seront très différents dece que nous connaissons aujourd’hui. Ignorer cela,c’est hypothéquer, voire condamner, le futur denos entreprises.

« Les gens voudront et seront capables detrouver de nombreuses informations quant aurôle de bon citoyen d’une marque. Ils voudrontsavoir si elle fait les bonnes choses du point devue social, économique et environnemental. »

Mike Clasper, Président Global Home Care & New Business

Development, Procter & Gamble, Europe

Notes1. La Fédération Mondiale des Annonceurs estune organisation chargée de défendre et de prépa-rer le futur des actions de communication desentreprises. La Fédération représente des milliersd’entreprises au travers des 46 associations natio-nales d’anonceurs et de 30 multinationales clas-sées dans le TOP 50 des annonceurs mondiaux.

2. Adkins, S. (1999) Cause Related Marketing, WhoCares Wins. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

◆

Selling sustainabilityMike Longhurst, Senior Vice President, Business Development, McCann-Erickson Europe,

McCann-Erickson House, 36 Howland Street, London W1A 1AT, United Kingdom([email protected])

We have all seen research from many sources show-ing that consumers in general are supportive of sus-tainable ideals and want to be reassured thatmanufacturers are responsible. Yet the lack of obvi-ous reflection of this attitude in actual consump-tion and lifestyle has raised many questions.Research has shown that consumers don’t see a per-sonal benefit, and that they don’t feel threatened orrewarded. They believe they have to pay more forproducts which do less and are inconvenient, if notimpossible to find.

This resistance leads to a vicious circle, in whichlow consumer uptake leads to less research anddevelopment aimed at achieving product perfor-mance breakthroughs, as well as low advertisingemphasis on sustainable product attributes of prod-ucts which are launched. The circle can only bebroken at the point of consumer attractiveness.Selling sustainability is a matter of leadership fromthe top down.

In most countries, governments are one of thelargest spenders on advertising - but not, it seems,with respect to sustainability issues. It is clear thatmore government campaigns are needed. In the

absence of this, brands are the key. Consumers needthem and follow them, and close examination ofwhat many brands are doing in socially responsibleareas shows impressive initiatives. But apart fromon websites, few of these brands are telling anyone.

We need advertisers to build social responsibilityinto corporate and even brand advertising and pub-lic relations platforms, to take the message to thepeople rather than waiting for them to go huntingon websites. We need advertisers to become“Champions for Sustainability”.

For this to happen, both clients and agenciesneed to recognize the potential for brand and prod-uct differentiation, and to actively look for oppor-tunities to apply sustainability principles. We alsoneed to create an atmosphere in which they will notfeel threatened, or accused of exploitation, if theydo so.

In a conducive atmosphere we have a betterchance to build sustainable attributes into massadvertising. This will help move social responsibil-ity from being a comforting bit of added value tobrands towards a “must have” feature for con-sumers.

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Over the last 50 years global GDP has risenby a factor of six. At the same time, therehas been a 14-fold increase in trade. The

world economy has become more integrated:growth of world merchandise trade has exceededthe growth of merchandise output almost everyyear. The volume of world trade in goods grew byan average 7% per year in the 1990s, reachingUS$ 6.2 trillion in 2001 (Figure 1). This growthhas been accompanied by international econom-ic integration and by major changes in the com-position and geographical distribution ofeconomic activities.

The globalization of manufacturing in particu-lar is reflected by the strong growth of intra-indus-try trade, which points to two key aspects ofglobalization: specialization and exchange basedon product differentiation and economies of scale,and production chains extending across nationalborders.

The huge increase in world trade has been madepossible by major advances in transport, commu-nication and information technologies that havesubstantially reduced the transaction costs ofinternational commerce, stimulating trade direct-ly (by allowing countries to specialize production)and indirectly (by allowing production processesto be located in specialized units around the

world). At the same time, the political will toreduce trade barriers has been evident at all levels:at national level, with an explosion of unilateraltrade liberalization (often as part of a shift fromimport substitution to export promotion), atregional level with some 114 regional trade agree-ments, and internationally through the multilat-eral trade system, the complex set of tradeagreements now managed by the World TradeOrganization (WTO).

Most environmental consequences of tradeare the result of an expansion of world eco-nomic output (scale effects), a reallocation ofproduction and consumption world-wide andbetween sectors (structural effects), and tech-nological development and diffusion (technol-ogy effects). In practice, each economic activityis affected by a combination of these some-times conflicting effects.

The links between trade and the environ-ment are complex. The positive and negativeenvironmental effects of economic globaliza-tion and trade liberalization have major impli-cations for both trade and environmentalpolicies. A growing understanding of theseeffects, in theory and in practice, is leading tofresh approaches to the design of both envi-ronmental protection and trade instruments.

Environmental impact of trade-induced specialization and industrialrelocationA major structural effect of trade is that it inducesspecialization. According to the theory of com-parative advantage, trade allows countries to spe-cialize in the goods and services they producemost efficiently. While standard economic theo-ry acknowledges the economic benefits of tradespecialization through increased efficiencies andeconomies of scale, the environmental benefits aremore uncertain.

Even assuming that allocative efficiency is opti-mized, the net effect of trade specialization on thelocal environment will be positive only if expand-ing export sectors are less polluting than contract-ing import sectors. From a regional or globalenvironmental perspective, positive structuraleffects can result from maximizing allocative effi-ciency among nations according to environmentalcarrying capacities and the efficient use of naturalresources. For trade specialization to be a movetowards environmental sustainability, environ-mental assets need to be correctly valued andinternalized into market prices. Otherwise, con-sumers will be attracted to underpriced, environ-mentally harmful products, and firms thatspecialize in polluting, resource intensive activi-ties will prosper.

The structural effects of trade on the environ-ment can also theoretically lead polluting indus-tries to move from countries that apply stringentenvironmental controls to “pollution havens” withlower environmental standards and costs. Thoughthe costing of environmental regulation has beencompleted for only a few countries, empirical evi-dence points to standards having too small a costimpact on production to provide an incentive forindustries to migrate. Many other factors, includ-ing political stability, the size of domestic markets,labour costs and ease of repatriation of profits aregenerally considered more important in locationchoice.

A recent WTO study1 reviewed a number ofempirical studies and found little evidence thatdifferences in environmental standards affectglobal trade patterns to any significant degree,though capital, labour and natural resourceendowments were major factors. These findingsare similar to those of a World Bank study2 whichfound that, contrary to common perception,developing countries do not specialize in highlypolluting industries. These countries tend toimport more pollution-intensive goods than theyproduce, while the opposite is true for developed

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The impact of trade on the environment:main issues and challenges

Genevieve McInnes, consultant, 15 rue du Conseiller Collignon, 75016 Paris, France ([email protected])

SummaryGreater understanding of interactions between trade and the environment is producing freshapproaches to the design of environmental protection instruments and trade instruments. Thisarticle reviews theoretical and empirical work on links between trade and environment. It focus-es on the environmental effects (positive and negative) of economic globalization and trade lib-eralization. It also looks at their implications for policies concerning trade and environment.

RésuméLa meilleure compréhension des interactions entre commerce et environnement entraîne unrenouvellement des approches dans la conception des instruments de protection de l’environ-nement et des mécanismes commerciaux. L’article fait le tour des travaux théoriques etempiriques qui étudient les liens entre commerce et environnement. Il examine plus partic-ulièrement les conséquences positives et négatives de la mondialisation de l’économie et de lalibéralisation du commerce sur l’environnement. Leur incidence sur les politiques commercialeset environnementales est également abordée.

ResumenLa mejor comprensión de las interacciones entre comercio y medio ambiente esta intro-duciendo innovaciones en el desarrollo de los instrumentos para la protección ambiental y delos mecanismos de promoción del comercio. El artículo analiza trabajos teóricos y prácticos queinvestigan las relaciones entre comercio y medio ambiente. En particular, presenta los efectosambientales (positivos y negativos) resultantes de la globalización económica y de la liberal-ización del comercio. Finalmente, el artículo aborda las implicaciones que estos dos aspectospueden tener sobre el comercio y el medio ambiente.

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countries. Data for the 1980s and 1990s indicatethat pollution intensive industrial activity isincreasingly located in countries with more strin-gent environmental regulations, suggesting thatthe classic comparative advantage factors pre-dominate over the differential environmentalstandards.

This is explained by the fact that pollutingindustries (oil refining, chemical industries, pulpand paper manufacturing and primary metalsindustries) tend to be capital intensive, and thatabatement costs, even in countries with the moststringent regulations, represent only a small per-centage of production costs. Comparison of devel-oped and developing countries between 1960 and1990 indicates that any tendency towards the for-mation of pollution havens was self-limiting. Pol-lution havens have been as transient as low-wagehavens: consumption/production ratios for pol-luting sector products in the developing worldhave remained close to unity, suggesting that mostpolluting sector growth is domestic. At the sametime, a significant part of the increase in pollutingsector production in developing countries seemsdue to a highly income-elastic demand for basicindustry products; with income growth, this elas-ticity has declined.

Environmental impact oftrade-induced economicgrowthAssuming that increased trade fosterseconomic growth (due to more opti-mal resource allocation and use), thescale effect of trade on the environ-ment gives rise to the concern thatthese expanding outputs may exacer-bate environmental problems. Thisconcern is central to the arguments ofenvironmental NGOs that opposeeconomic globalization. Reference ismade in this respect to post-warindustrialization in OECD coun-tries, as well as more recent export-ledeconomic growth in South-East Asiain the 1980s and early 1990s, whentrade-induced growth took place without ade-quate investment in environmental management.Profits from trade were generally ploughed backinto directly productive activities, while environ-mental regulation and enforcement remained lax,monitoring inadequate and infrastructure(notably waste and water treatment) almost non-existent.

Considerable work has been done on the rela-tionship between economic growth, income levelsand environmental quality. While many indica-tors of environmental quality deteriorate withgrowth at lower levels of income and thenimprove, the results vary significantly, with themost localized environmental effects (local waterand air pollution) showing the most evident“inverted U” relationship, and others that aremore diffuse (e.g. CO2 emissions) not exhibitingsuch a relationship at all. The positive effects ofincome growth on environmental quality tend tobe weaker the more “public” is the environmental

good. Furthermore, environmental degradation(e.g. climate change) may be irreversible wellbefore the hump in the U-curve has been reached.

A study of 145 countries3 found that, startingat the lowest level of development, economicdevelopment increases environmental policycapacity, the characteristic progression being fromnatural resource protection through to the regu-lation of water pollution and air pollution. Nev-ertheless, though there is evidence that, as incomesrise, economic growth provides the financialresources and willingness to pay for a cleaner envi-ronment, this positive effect may not be sufficientto counterbalance the negative environmentalimpact of trade induced economic growth. Con-trolling economic growth need not be a require-ment for a sustainable society, however, as there isstill vast scope for decoupling the relationshipbetween economic growth and environmentalimpacts through the implementation of sustain-able development policies.

Some of the scale effect of trade is attributed tothe environmental impact of the transport activi-ties it involves. International trade will result inmore long-distance transport than production fordomestic markets and will therefore increase both

local and international freight flows. Internation-al transport is responsible for about one-eighth ofworld oil consumption, thereby contributing sub-stantially to environmental damage, notably airpollution. In theory, this negative scale effectshould be weighed against the overall energy sav-ings derived from more efficient resource alloca-tion world-wide, and compared with theenvironmental impact of less trade intensive mod-els of development, a task that has yet to be com-pleted. Nevertheless, to the extent that transportcosts do not fully capture the environmental exter-nalities involved, the welfare gains from trade arein fact likely to be overstated.

Technology and product effectsTrade can facilitate the diffusion of environmen-tally beneficial goods and services, thereby con-tributing to limiting the scale effect of increasedtrade. This product effect may be enhanced byinvestment liberalization, assuming foreign

investment brings more modern, cleaner tech-nologies. On the other hand, increased trade indangerous chemicals, hazardous waste, diseasebearing pests or endangered species could harmthe environment without appropriate controls.Such controls can be exercised through multilat-eral environmental agreements (MEAs) orthrough non-discriminatory border measuresenforcing domestic regulations and taxes. Tech-nology effects stem from the impact of trade ontechnology transfers and on the productionprocesses used to make traded goods. They can bepositive, as trade induced growth and competitivemarket pressures can hasten technological mod-ernization and help the introduction of cleanertechnologies. On the other hand, increased tradeand growing markets may harm environmentallyfriendly traditional production methods and pro-mote the use of environmentally harmful tech-nologies.

Equilibrium effects: modelling thecomplexity of trade-environment linksA sector-by-sector analysis of the environmentalimpact of trade would overlook important inter-actions between the different economic sectors

and countries, so-called “equilibriumeffects”. The overall environmentalimpact of increased trade is the com-bined result of structural, scale, prod-uct and technology effects. Generalequilibrium modelling has attemptedto bring these elements together toexamine the effects of trade on localand transboundary environmentalproblems and natural resource use.These models assume that compara-tive advantages are determined by dif-ferences in environmental policies(notably regulations and propertyrights over natural resources).4 As aconsequence, the most robust resultproduced is almost definitional: tradewill mitigate local pollution problemsin countries with a comparativeadvantage in cleaner industries, and

magnify pollution problems elsewhere. Globalenvironmental conditions will deteriorate if dif-ferences in environmental standards dominateover classical factors of comparative advantage(capital abundance in developed countries, labourabundance in developing countries).

The validity of these models currently rests onwhether differences in environmental protectioncan reverse the classic pattern of comparativeadvantage. They are therefore inadequate to allowfor the complexity of the relationship betweentrade and environmental damage. Future modelsthat account for other production factors shapingcomparative advantage (such as the distinctionbetween skilled and non-skilled labour) may arriveat different conclusions. Nevertheless, despite theircurrent limitations, general equilibrium modelscan help explore trade and environment linkagesbecause such linkages are so complex that policymakers relying on intuition alone are not likely toachieve optimality.

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Source: International Trade Statistics 2002, WTO.

Figure 1World trade, 1953-2001

1953 1963 1973 1983 1993 2001

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billion US$

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Environmental assessments of tradeliberalizationApplied models that simulate the environmentaleffects of trade liberalization have been used toevaluate the economic effects of the UruguayRound, focusing on whether trade liberalizationwould generate sufficient economic resources topay for the cost of improving environmental pro-tection. Other efforts have examined the impact oftrade liberalization on the emission of conven-tional atmospheric pollutants and CO2 .5 Thesemodels have often suffered from inadequate envi-ronmental data (notably industry specific emissiondata), though some country case studies are basedon more extensive and reliable data. A study of theimpact of the North American Free Trade Agree-ment (NAFTA) on the Mexican environmentshows the composition of the economy changingslightly towards more labour intensive goods thatuse less polluting inputs between 1990 and 2010.At the same time, because of trade-induced eco-nomic activity (particularly the expansion of oiland gas production and energy use), the overallenvironmental impact is negative for most pollu-tants. This negative impact could be reversed with-out giving up much of the economic gain providedmarket based policies were used to combat thedegradation. Other case studies also suggest thattrade liberalization without environmental policymeasures may dampen or even reverse any positivestructural, scale or technology and product effectsfrom increased trade.

A more extreme criticism is that standard eco-nomic analysis of the environmental gains of tradeis fundamentally flawed because of internationalfactor mobility and imperfect markets, and that inpractice international specialization of productionand trade flows involve large inefficiencies andenvironmental costs. Estimates for environmentaldegradation and natural resource depletion suggestthat costs could be as much as 4-5% of GDP peryear, compared to efficiency gains from trade lib-eralization estimated at 1-2% of GDP, rising to 3-4% in countries suffering from extreme economicdistortions. Failure to take full account of envi-ronmental externalities can lead to exaggeratedclaims of the real gains from trade liberalization.

Impact of trade liberalization onenvironmental policiesThe effect of trade liberalization on environmentalpolicies is the key question underlying much of thetrade and environment debate. While internation-al competition for investments and jobs can playout in many ways, the particular concern of envi-ronmentalists is that governments will sell out theirenvironment in a “race to the bottom”. As notedabove, there is evidence that environmental regula-tions are not of primary importance for competi-tiveness or location decisions. Nevertheless, publicconcern that trade liberalization will undermineefforts to protect the environment remains becauseof the “regulatory chill” effect: clear instances ofnew environmental regulations defeated in thepolitical arena on the grounds that they wouldharm national competitiveness. Furthermore, tradeagreements can affect environmental policies by

promoting harmonization of national regulationsas a means of trade facilitation, which can result inapplying the lowest common denominator. Insome cases harmonization has been environmen-tally beneficial in setting minimum levels of pro-tection that could later be upgraded (for instance,EU emission standards for cars). Nevertheless, tradeagreements between countries with differing levelsof development and industrialization still posemajor regulatory problems. In the case of NAFTA,this issue is being addressed by linking increasedmarket access with funding for environmental pol-icy capacity building.

The positive effect of environmental regula-tions on international competitiveness has beenacknowledged only recently. Environmental reg-ulations lead to innovation and adaptation to dealwith the cost implications of regulations. Whilethis adaptation may be costly initially, the argu-ment is that the firms that make this investmentgain a comparative advantage from introducednew technologies at an early stage. Examples ofthis so-called “Porter hypothesis” includeDuPont’s strategy to be in the forefront of thedevelopment of CFC substitutes (which later gavethe company an advantage over its competitors)and German industries being forced by regulationto invest in emission control technology andprocesses, putting them in a strong position whensimilar regulations were adopted elsewhere inEurope. The Porter hypothesis has been the sub-ject of a great deal of empirical research, mostlysupportive. Some leading environmental econo-mists caution against drawing too far-reachingconclusions. While they agree that early estimatesof regulatory compliance costs may have been toohigh because of unforeseen technological or costsaving advances in pollution control, they pointto such offsets being quite small.

Trade and environment policyimplicationsIt is widely recognized that trade liberalization canhave positive environmental impacts by correct-ing trade policy intervention failures, notably byremoving trade distorting policies which exacer-bate environmental problems as well as negativeeffects related to trade expansion in the absence ofenvironmental protection measures, which maylead to environmental degradation: environmen-tal value may not be fully reflected in the price oftraded goods, appropriate pollution control poli-

cies or sustainable management practices may notbe in place, and environmental and economicpolicies may be poorly integrated.

For example, agricultural trade liberalizationshould benefit the environment to the extent thatit removes distortive measures such as productionsupports, export subsidies and quantitative restric-tions that have resulted in over-specialization,intensive farming operations and poor land usepractices. On the other hand, the expansion ofagricultural export markets may lead to greater spe-cialization with environmentally damaging conse-quences, and increased competition may favourintensive farming operations.

Empirical studies have confirmed the theoreticalfinding that trade liberalization can harm the localenvironment in countries with a comparativeadvantage in polluting industries and improve thelocal environment elsewhere. At the same time,simulations indicate that the income gains of tradecould, in principle, pay for additional abatementcosts in order to counter negative environmentaleffects and still leave a surplus. In other words, bycombining trade and environment reformsincomes could rise without compromising envi-ronmental quality.

In this sense at least there is no inherent conflictbetween trade and the environment. Rather, theconflict arises from a failure to address environ-mental problems, especially those of a globalnature that require a concerted effort.

Though there is little evidence of industriesresponding to higher environmental standards bymoving elsewhere, some economic sectors areclearly more affected by environmental regulation.In addition to these specific situations, becausepolitical decision-makers tend to behave as thoughthey believe environmental regulation does invari-ably raise costs, competitiveness concerns are like-ly to remain an important part of the trade andenvironment debate. Many observers point to thefact that this debate is built on little or no empiri-cal evidence and that, as a result, competitive con-cerns can be somewhat overstated. Such concerns,justified or not, have important implications forenvironmental protection in a free trade context.

The scope of the multilateral trading system isnow so wide that it interacts with many areas ofpublic policy, including environmental policy. Theperception that efforts to reduce trade barriersthreaten the freedom of national governments topursue stringent environmental policies con-tributed to the collapse of the 1999 WTO meet-ing in Seattle. Initiatives to integrate environmen-tal issues with trade policy are still often perceivedby the South as originating from and reflecting theeconomic priorities of the North. (North-Southtrade has expanded in recent years, but tradebetween OECD countries still accounts for two-thirds of world trade and five developing countriesaccount for over 60% of developing countries’manufactured goods exports.)

Over the last decade, a series of environment-related trade disputes have drawn attention to thehierarchical and often conflicting relationshipbetween free trade and environmental protec-tion.6 Nevertheless, the list of WTO members

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Table 1Major MEAs incorporating

trade measures

1973 Convention on International Trade inEndangered Species (CITES)

1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone-depletingsubstances

1989 Basel Convention on hazardous waste

1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change

1998 Rotterdam Convention on the prior informedconsent (PIC) procedure for certain hazardouschemicals and pesticides in international trade

2001 Stockholm Convention on persistent organicpollutants (POPs)

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mirrors closely that of the signatories of a range ofmultilateral environmental agreements. The dis-mantling of economic borders reinforces the needto cooperate on environmental protection andadopt common approaches and instruments, par-ticularly in the case of transboundary concerns.There are already some 200 MEAs, of whichabout 20 incorporate trade measures. Theseinclude six of the most important agreements(Table 1). These agreements restrict trade eitherbecause the trade itself is leading to the environ-mental damage (e.g. CITES) or as an enforcementmeasure, to ensure that the agreement’s objectivesare not undermined by non-participation (e.g. theKyoto Protocol).

Much work is needed to understand how inno-vative instruments such as carbon emission trad-ing or compensation payments to control tropicalforest deforestation can be applied in MEAs. Inthe absence of any comprehensive framework ofglobal environmental law, the negotiation of fur-ther MEAs containing trade measures that can beseen to contravene trade rules will form an increas-ingly prominent part of the international agenda.The Montreal Protocol, for instance, permits par-ties to ban imports of chlorofluorocarbons and

other controlled substances from non-parties,which breaches the “most favoured nation” and“national treatment” clauses of GATT. It is wide-ly accepted, however, that the inclusion of thismeasure in the Protocol has contributed signifi-cantly to its success and future MEAs may simi-larly benefit from the inclusion of traderestrictions.

At the WTO ministerial meeting of November2001, the WTO was for the first time instructed toexamine the effect of trade measures in multilater-al environmental agreements. Beyond these efforts,there is a broad consensus among proponents andopponents of economic globalization that the inte-gration of trade and environmental policies remainslargely the responsibility of national governmentsrather than supranational organizations. There isalso widespread agreement on the need for furtherknowledge and understanding of the linkagesbetween trade and environment to ensure thattrade rules are sustainable in the long term.

Notes1. Nordstrom, H. and S. Vaughan (1999) Tradeand the Environment. Special Studies 4. WTO,Geneva.

2. World Bank (1999) Trade and the Environment:A View from the World Bank. Washington, D.C.3. Dasguspta, P.S., A. Mody, S. Roy and D.Wheeler (1995) Environmental Regulation andDevelopment: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis.Policy Research Working Paper No. 1448. WorldBank.4. See, for instance, G. Chilchilnisky (1994)North-South Trade and the Global Environment,American Economic Review, September; and B.Copeland and S. Taylor (1994) North-SouthTrade and the Environment, Quarterly Journal ofEconomics, August.5. See, for instance, WTO (1995) EnvironmentalBenefits of Removing Trade Restrictions and Distor-tions, Geneva; and M.A. Cole, A.J. Rayner andJ.M. Bates (1998) Trade Liberalisation and theEnvironment: The Case of the Uruguay Round,World Economy, Vol. 3, October.6. See, for instance, the six cases documented byG.P. Sampson (2000), Trade, the Environment andWTO: The Post-Seattle Agenda, Policy Essay No.27, Overseas Development Council, Johns Hop-kins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

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Current water policy: a threatto global supply

If current trends in water policy and water invest-ment stay the same or become worse, the worldwill soon experience more environmental damage,threats to global food supply, and increasinghealth risks for the hundreds of millions of peoplewho lack access to clean water. This is the sub-stance of a report by the International Food Poli-cy Research Institute and the International WaterManagement Institute, which was made public onWorld Food Day, 16 October.

“Unless we change policies and priorities, in 20years there won’t be enough water for cities,households, the environment, or growing food,”said the lead author of the report, Mark Roseg-rant. “Water is not like oil. There is no substitute.If we continue to take it for granted, much of theEarth is going to run short of water or food – orboth.”

Citing rapid population growth and urbaniza-tion in developing countries, among other factors,the report predicts that water use by households,industry and agriculture will increase by at least50% in the next 20 years. Rising water competi-tion would severely limit the availability of waterfor irrigation, which in turn would seriously con-strain food production.

Joachim von Braun, Director General of thefood institute, noted that “Lack of clean water andsanitation is a major cause of disease and childmortality. While world leaders recently agreed atthe World Summit on Sustainable Developmentto cut in half the number of people without accessto clean water by 2015, this goal will not becomea reality unless governments redirect their waterpolicies to meet the needs of poor people.”

The report recommends pricing water to reflectits cost and value, and increasing investment incrop research, technology and rural infrastructureto boost water productivity. Such investmentwould also increase crop yields from rain-fed farm-ing, which is expected to account for half theincrease in food production between 1995 and2025.

“If countries continue to underinvest in build-ing strong institutions and policies to supportwater governance and approaches to give betteraccess to water to poor communities,” adds FrankRijsberman, director general of the water institute,“growth rates for crop yields will fall world-wide.... We need to invest in water conservation, forexample, using innovative low-cost, small-scaleirrigation technologies – such as a five dollar buck-et and drip kit or manually operated treadle

pumps – that allow smallholder farmers to irrigatecrops using less water, and deliver water to cropswhen it is needed.”

For more information, contact: Mark Rosegrant,International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA,Tel: +1 202 862 5600, Fax: +1 202 467 4439; E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.ifpri.cgiar.org. ◆

Climate declarationemphasizes sustainabledevelopment

Senior officials from 170 countries met in NewDelhi in late October for the eighth Conferenceof the Parties to the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The ministerial declaration they adopted stressessustainable development and adaptation to cli-mate change.

The Delhi Declaration urges parties to meet alltheir international commitments under the Con-vention on Climate Change. It calls for rapid rat-ification of the Kyoto Protocol and states thatparties which have already ratified should strong-ly urge parties that have not already done so to fol-low suit as soon as possible.

An earlier draft contained no reference to theKyoto Protocol. Many countries saw this omissionas a sign of US pressure. Another bone of con-tention during the conference was whether thebetter-off developing countries should have a larg-er role in the struggle against global warming.Steady opposition from China, India and othercountries finally led the developed countries todrop this demand.

The Delhi Declaration also backs cleaner formsof energy and innovative technology and calls foran increase in technology transfer.

The Kyoto Protocol is expected to enter intoforce in early 2003 (90 days after its ratification by55 governments, including those of developedcountries representing at least 55% of rich coun-tries’ 1990 CO2 emissions). Poland and the Repub-lic of Korea announced at the conference that theywould ratify the Protocol. As of the meeting’s close,the 96 parties that had ratified included developedcountries accounting for 37.4% of 1990 rich-world emissions. The European Union ratified inmid-summer. Several other countries announcedratification at the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment.

“Now the spotlight must focus on action to

accelerate the transition to climate-friendly economies,” said Joke Waller-

Hunter, UNFCCC Executive Secretary.“Industrialized countries have only ten years tomeet their Kyoto emissions targets – and the evi-dence today is that most of them still have a greatdeal of work to do to reduce their greenhousegases.”

For more information contact: UNFCCC Infor-mation Services, PO Box 260 124, 53153 Bonn,Germany, Tel: +49 228 815 1005, Fax: +49 228815 1999, E-mail: [email protected], Internet:www.unfccc.int. ◆

Other climate change news:◆ The World Bank reports that trading of CO2emission credits is expected to have more thantripled world-wide in 2002 compared with 2001.Trading is growing especially active in the Euro-pean Union – notably UK and Denmark – andJapan. Strong demand in the UK market, forinstance, led prices to more than double in thefirst six months of the voluntary trading system.(www.prototypecarbonfund.org)◆ New Zealand says its government will impose acarbon tax of as much as NZ$ 25 (US$ 12) pertonne if the Kyoto Protocol comes into force inorder to help the country meet its targets. The taxwould be levied after 2007, raising retail gasolineprices by up to 6% and those of diesel by 12%. Gasand electricity prices would increase by 8-9%,while coal users’ costs would jump 19%. (www.niwa.co.nz)◆ The United States says its energy-related CO2emissions will have fallen by 1.1% by the end of2002, the first drop in a decade, reflecting themanufacturing slowdown and warm weather.(www.epa.gov/globalwarming)◆ Zero-emission fuel cell buses will begin operat-ing in 2003 as part of a two-year, EU-backed pilotproject involving Amsterdam, Barcelona, Ham-burg, London, Madrid, Porto, Reykjavik, Stock-holm, Stuttgart and Luxembourg. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index.html)◆ Researchers from Ohio State University say ris-ing CO2levels may reduce the amount of protein-building nitrogen in plants. CO2 helps crops growand reproduce. However, OSU Professor PeterCurtis says increases in growth and reproductionimply loss of nutritional value as there is “a trade-off between quantity and quality”. For the study,reported in New Phytologist, researchers ran whatCurtis said was the first ever meta-analysis of theeffects of climate change on plant reproduction.They summarized data from 159 studies pub-lished between 1983 and 2000 (www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/research)◆ Colorado State University researchers suggestchanges in land use may have even more impacton climate than greenhouse gas emissions. Differ-ent land surfaces influence how the sun’s energy isdistributed back to the atmosphere, explainsRoger Pielke, an atmospheric scientist at CSU.Urban sprawl, deforestation and some farmingpractices, for instance, affect regional surface tem-peratures, rainfall patterns and atmospheric cir-culation. (www.atmos.colostate.edu) ◆

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IEA foresees plentiful energybut also problems ahead

In a new energy scenario extending to 2030, theInternational Energy Agency sees supplies holdingup but also predicts supply security, investment,environment and poverty problems as well as con-tinued growth in CO2 emissions. Developingcountries are expected to replace the industrializedworld as the largest group of energy consumers.

“The world has abundant energy resources forthe coming 30 years,” says Robert Priddle, Execu-tive Director of the Paris-based IEA. He present-ed the 2002 World Energy Outlook at theInternational Energy Forum in Osaka. The IEA’sflagship publication also presents what he called“formidable challenges”, including the fact that noend to the “energy poverty” of a large proportionof the world population is in sight. “Despite seri-ous efforts by many countries, energy-related car-bon dioxide emissions, which threaten to changethe earth’s climate decisively, continue to grow.”

The Outlook, which is published every twoyears, projects trends in energy supply anddemand, prices, trade and carbon emissions.These projections are widely seen as authoritative.In the 2002 version its projection horizon hasbeen extended from 2020 to 2030, a chapter on“Energy and Poverty” and an in-depth study ofChina have been added, and there is an Alterna-tive Policy Scenario projecting the results of adop-tion by OECD countries of all energy efficiencyand climate-friendly policies and measures nowunder discussion.

The Reference Scenario (business as usual)shows fossil fuels remaining the dominant sourceof energy, nuclear power use declining, renewableenergy forms responsible for a rising share ofpower generation, energy trade expanding veryrapidly, and oil and gas production increasinglyconcentrated in a few countries.

In the Alternative Policy Scenario, OECDcountries cut carbon emissions, particularly byusing renewables in electricity generation, butmeeting the Kyoto targets will still not be easy andenergy poverty will persist.

For more information, contact: Fiona Davies,International Energy Agency, 9 rue de la Fédération,75739 Paris Cedex 15, France, Tel: 33 1 40 57 6550, Fax: 33 1 40 57 65 59, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.iea.org. ◆

EU ratification raisesCartagena Protocol hopesThe European Union has ratified the CartagenaProtocol, raising hopes that the agreement willcome into force in 2003. The EU EnvironmentCouncil has also reached a political agreement onthe cross-border movement of genetically modi-fied organisms (GMOs).

The Cartagena Protocol, which provides aframework for international trade in GMOs byassuring their safe transfer, handling and use, was

adopted in January 2000 and must be ratified by50 countries to come into force. By mid-October,when the Environment Council met, indicationswere that enough countries would ratify by theend of 2002 for the Protocol to come into force in2003.

For more information, contact: Nick Nuttall,Head of UNEP Media, Tel: +254 2 623 084,Mobile: +254 733 632 755, E-mail: nick.nut-tall@unep. org. ◆

High mercury levels detectedby Arctic monitoringToxins in the food chain, especially mercury, arethreatening humans and wildlife in the far north,according to the Arctic Monitoring and Assess-ment Programme’s second assessment of the arcticenvironment. The problems it reports includehigh blood pressure in newborn babies, and lowfertility and infant mortality in polar bears.

Arctic Pollution 2002 says the amount of mer-cury detected was “much higher than anyonebelieved before,” with effects as far south as theFaeroe Islands (62° north). The report notes thatmercury emissions, largely from coal power plantsand waste incinerators, are increasing in Chinaand elsewhere in Asia.

This report was the focus of AMAP’s secondInternational Symposium on Environmental Pol-lution in the Arctic, held in Finland in October.(Also see report from the UNEP experts’ meetingon mercury, page 103).

For more information, contact: AMAP Secretari-at, Strømsveien 96, PO Box 8100 Dep., N-0032

Oslo, Norway, Tel: +47 22 57 34 00, Fax: +47 2267 67 06, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.amap.no. ◆

Related news:◆ The European Parliament and European Coun-cil have agreed on proposals to introduce manda-tory collection, reuse and recycling of wasteelectrical and electronic equipment and to restrictthe use of mercury and other hazardous sub-stances in new equipment. Manufacturers willhave to pay for the recycling. Such equipment isthe fastest growing part of the waste stream inEurope (amounting on average to 14 kg per per-son per year) and 90% of it is landfilled or incin-erated without pretreatment. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/docum/00347_en.htm)

◆ The United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) has proposed changing its wasteregulations for computers, televisions and othermercury-containing equipment to discouragelandfilling and incineration of such material andto promote its safe reuse and recycling. (www.epa.gov/ebtpages/wastes.html)

◆ The EPA also says more than one-fourth of USlakes are on state warning lists for fish contami-nated with mercury, dioxins and other hazardoussubstances. Almost 75% of these state advisoriesconcern mercury contamination. (www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish)

◆ In separate studies reported by several sources,researchers in Hong Kong found that higher thannormal blood levels of mercury are linked to infer-tility, and that as many as 10% of high school stu-

Warnings and disputes on Asian Brown Haze

A blanket of pollution across South Asia threekilometres deep is damaging agriculture, mod-ifying rainfall patterns and putting hundredsof thousands of people at risk, according to sci-entists working with UNEP. They also warnedthat economic growth in the region could falterbecause of the “Asian Brown Haze.”

Preliminary observations gathered by 200scientists working on the Indian Ocean Exper-iment (INDOEX), supplemented by newsatellite readings and computer modelling,indicate that the mass of ash, acids, aerosolsand other particles is disrupting weather sys-tems. There are concerns that the regional andglobal impact of the haze will intensify as thepopulation of Asia rises.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP,said when the assessment report was launched:“The haze is the result of forest fires, the burn-ing of agricultural wastes, dramatic increases inthe burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, industriesand power stations and emissions from mil-lions of inefficient cookers burning wood, cowdung and other ‘bio fuels’.” He added that sucha “pollution parcel” could “travel halfway

round the globe in a week.”While this study focused on South Asia, the

haze problem is comparable, if not more severe,in South-East and East Asia. The scientistscalled for an action plan to address the threatsacross Asia as a whole.

Many Indian scientists, and some in the US,disputed certain of the findings, especiallyregarding the geographic sources of the pollu-tion and whether the haze is a new phenome-non. A month later, however, NASA’s GoddardInstitute appeared to lend support to the reportwith a climate study finding that large amountsof soot and other pollutants were causingchanges in precipitation and temperatures overChina, and that they could be at least partlyresponsible for increased floods and droughts inthe last several decades.For more information, contact Nick Nuttall (see above) or Internet: www.rrcap.unep.org/abc/impactstudy; and Goddard Newsroom, Ed Cam-pion, Tel: +1 301 286 8955, Fax: +1 301286 1707, E-mail: [email protected]. gov, Internet: www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020822blackcarbon.html.

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Chemical regulations faultedin US study

A two-year study in the United States reveals seri-ous deficiencies in federal regulations designed toprevent chemical fires, explosions, toxic gas emis-sions and other accidents involving reactive prop-erties, the US Chemical Safety and HazardInvestigation Board (CSB) says.

In Hazard Investigation: Improving ReactiveHazard Management, the CSB analyzes 167 inci-dents of “uncontrolled chemical reactivity” fromJanuary 1980 to June 2001. More than halfinvolved chemicals not covered by existing processsafety regulations. The incidents, involving sub-stances in more than 40 chemical classes, causedan average of six injuries and five deaths per year.

Though considerable information on chemicalreactivity is available, the CSB said, the industry is

not using the information enough.For more information, contact: CSB Office of

External Relations, 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 400,Washington, DC 20037-1809, USA, Tel: +1 202261 7600, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.chemsafety.gov. ◆

Dell to recycle all homecomputers The computer maker Dell is letting US homecomputer users recycle desktop and notebookcomputers from any manufacturer through a newprogramme called Dell Exchange. Participants getshipping instructions on line, pay the shippingcharges to the nearest recycling centre, thenreceive a certificate – also on line – indicating theprocess is complete.

The recycled computers are separatedinto components – primarily plastic, metal

and glass – of which nearly 98% are reused, thecompany said. Dell has offered US business cus-tomers take-back services since 1991 and esti-mates it has recovered more than 2 millioncomputers world-wide in that time.

For more information, contact: Dell ComputerCorporation, One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas78682, USA, Internet: www.dellexchange.com. ◆

Negative effects of high-techoperations in developingcountries

Despite voluntary efforts, semiconductor compa-nies’ production and assembly operations contin-ue to have many negative environmental andsocial effects, especially in developing countries,the Nautilus Institute for Security and SustainableDevelopment reports.

Citing case studies from Taiwan, Malaysia,India, Thailand and Costa Rica, the think tankreported that the main problems were hazardousmaterials used in production and assembly andcontained in the products; high water and energyintensity; inadequate protection of workers’ healthand labour rights; and poor oversight by globalsupply chains. The report focused particularly onoverseas operations of California-based high-techcompanies.

The Nautilus Institute, which aims to use“strategic tools of cooperative engagement to solvefundamental problems undermining global secu-rity and sustainability,” produced the report aspart of its California Global Corporate Account-ability Project.

For more information, contact: Lyuba Zarsky,Nautilus Institute, 125 University Ave., Berkeley,CA 94710-1616 USA, Tel: +1 510 295 6100,Fax: +1 510 295 6130, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.nautilus.org. ◆

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dents are ingesting too much mercury becausetheir diet is high in predatory fish such as shark,tuna and swordfish, which tend to contain higherconcentrations. ◆

Study cites gaps in USenvironmental dataA study by some 150 experts for the Heinz Centerfor Science, Economics and the Environment crit-icizes what it calls major gaps in data about US

land, water and living resources. It proposes peri-odic reporting of key indicators.

William Clark, professor at Harvard Universi-ty’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, whochaired the project, said: “Just as economic poli-cies are informed through a set of key indicatorssuch as gross domestic product, inflation, unem-ployment, and the balance of trade, we as a nationmust have clear indicators of the condition of ourecosystems as a basis for shaping public policiesand private sector initiatives.”

The report proposes ten indicators: ecosystemextent; fragmentation and landscape pattern;

building blocks of life; contaminants; physicalconditions; plants and animals; biological com-munities; plant growth and productivity; produc-tion of food and fibre and use of water; andrecreation and other services.

For more information, contact: Robin O’Malley,The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Econom-ics and the Environment, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave,NW, Suite 735 South, Washington, DC 20004,USA, Tel: +1 202 737 6307, Fax: +1 202 7376410, E-mail: [email protected], Internet:www.heinzctr.org.

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Industry Updates

Putting coal mine methane to good useAt a former coal mine in West Yorkshire, theUK energy group Alkane has started turningpolluting methane gas into electricity.

Wheldale Green Energy Park opened inOctober next to a mine that was closed in 1987and had been emitting methane ever since.Alkane engineered a seal that allows the mineto capture the gas for on-site power generation.The site, with capacity of 10.6 MW, producesenough electricity to supply 8000 homes, and isexpected to reduce methane emissions from themine by 85%.

The UK Department of Trade and Industrysays that more than 1000 abandoned coalmines dot the country and that estimates sug-gest they are leaking as much as 13.8 milliontonnes a year of greenhouse gases. Coal minemethane has 23 times the global warmingpotential of CO2, Alkane noted.

For more information, contact: Alkane plc,Edwinstowe House, High Street, Edwinstowe,Nottinghamshire NG21 9PR, UK, Tel: +441623 827927, Fax: +44 1623 827930, E-mail:[email protected], Internet: www.alkane.co.uk.

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Red Cross Red Crescent towork with UNEP on naturaldisasters in AfricaThe International Federation of Red Cross andRed Crescent Societies has joined forces withUNEP to reduce the impact of natural disasterson the lives of Africans. The two bodies signed amemorandum of understanding on a three-year,US$ .7 million project to help local and nationalexperts review current policies and early warningsystems in ten countries. The project will alsoresult in seasonal emergency contingency plansbased on vulnerability studies.

“Environmental degradation is a major factorin the acute food crisis currently being faced byover 20 million people across the African conti-nent,” said Didier Cherpitel, secretary-general ofthe International Federation, which has 53national Red Cross and Red Crescent membersocieties in Africa. The countries involved in theinitiative are Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozam-bique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Zambiaand Zimbabwe.

“Specific initiatives and interventions developedso far, mainly at national level, have not alwaysbeen able to reverse the impact of natural disastersin Africa,” commented UNEP Executive DirectorKlaus Toepfer. “It is high time to unite our effortsand provide understanding through increasedawareness of risks associated with floods anddrought.”

For more information, contact: Roy Probert,Information Officer, International Federation ofRed Cross and Red Crescent Societies, PO Box 372,CH-1211, Geneva 19, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22730 4296, Mobile: +41 79 217 3386, Fax: +41 22733 0395, Internet: www.ifrc.org. ◆

UNEP rainwater project helpsKenyan womenMasai women have joined a pioneering initiativethat promises to dramatically reduce the time theyspend finding and collecting clean water.“Empowering Women in Rainwater Harvestingin Kenya,” in which rainwater is harvested usingspecial low-cost containers and mini-reservoirs,allows women to collect unpolluted water on theirdoorsteps rather than trekking for miles.

EarthCare Africa developed the project onbehalf of UNEP and then handed over the rain-water harvesting facilities to women of the Masaipastoralist group. Similar facilities were developedearlier at another rural Kenya location and one site

in Nairobi, the capital. So far the three locations’total capacity is over 520,000 litres of harvestedrainwater.

The project is part of an international initiative,funded by Sweden, that includes similar facilitiesdeveloped or under way in Nepal, India andBhutan and on the Pacific island of Tonga. Thetwo-year project in Kenya has received US$110,000 in Swedish funding.

For more information, contact: Angele Luh,UNEP Regional Information Officer for Africa, POBox 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +254 2 624294,Fax: +254 2 623928, E-Mail: angele.luh@ unep.org. ◆

A new UN day: protecting theenvironment from warThe United Nations observed 6 November 2002as the first International Day for Preventing theExploitation of the Environment in War andArmed Conflict.

Calling the environment “the unpublicized vic-tim of war,” the international body noted thatsuch environmental damage – for example, pol-luted air, water and land, unregulated plunder ofnatural resources and the impact of mass popula-tion movements on water, biodiversity and ecosys-tems – is often reversible only in the long term.

In 1999, UN Member States requested UNEPand its sister agency, UN-Habitat, to establish aBalkans Task Force to analyze how militaryactions in the Balkans had affected the environ-ment and human settlements. Since then UNEPhas participated in several monitoring and assess-ment missions and projects. The task force,renamed the Balkans Unit and later the Post-Con-flict Assessment Unit, is now a permanent part ofUNEP’s Division for Environmental PolicyImplementation and has a global mandate.

Among the unit’s missions have been:◆ environmental clean-up feasibility studies inSerbia;◆ visits to Albania and Macedonia to assess theenvironmental damage caused by the Kosovo con-flict;◆ analysis of the environmental impact of refugeesin Guinea;◆ a visit to Afghanistan to pinpoint areas where envi-ronmental degradation has occurred and to deter-mine where a more in-depth assessment is needed.

Environmental consequences identified byUNEP missions include pollution and other dam-age such as oil spills and chemical leaks from bomb-ing of factories, oil refineries and storage facilities;deliberate acts of environmental sabotage such as

the draining of Mesopotamian wetlands, thetorching of Kuwaiti oilfields and widespread

use of defoliants; destruction of habitats (thegorilla population of Kahuzi Biega destroyedthrough unregulated coltan extraction); and theruin of arable land by landmines, unexplodedmunitions and other debris of war.

For more information, contact: Nick Nuttall,UNEP Head of Media (see above). ◆

Wastewater targets for threatto coastsUNEP has called on governments to back waste-water emission targets after a report by UNEP’sGlobal Programme of Action for the Protectionof the Marine Environment from Land-BasedActivities (GPA), prepared in response to a targeton sanitation agreed at the World Summit on Sus-tainable Development, detailed threats to coastalpopulations and the environment from untreatedsewage discharges.

The report says the coastal habitats, fisheries,marine wildlife and the people of the Asian, NorthWest Pacific and West African sea regions were themost threatened from untreated discharges intocoastal waters. The WSSD target is to halve thenumber of people without access to basic sanitationby 2015. Almost 40% of the world population livesless than 60 kilometres from the ocean shore.

The report also points out that many developingcountries have increased levels of sanitation cover-age and wastewater treatment services, but these arebeing overwhelmed by population growth.

Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, saidefforts to deal with the problem should include“realistic but ambitious wastewater emission tar-gets” like those for toxic chemical discharges fromfactories and air pollution from power plants.

For more information, contact: Cees van deGuchte, UNEP/GPA Coordination Office, PO Box16227, 2500 BE, The Hague, The Netherlands,Tel: +31 70 311 4464, Fax: +31 70 345 6648, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.gpa.unep.org. ◆

World’s top judges proposeenvironmental action planMore than 100 of the world’s most senior judges,meeting in Johannesburg right before the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development, drew up anaction plan to strengthen the development, useand enforcement of environment-related laws, amove seen as vital for efforts to deliver sustainabledevelopment.

The Johannesburg Principles on the Role ofLaw and Sustainable Development were adoptedat the Global Judges Symposium, organized byUNEP, and delivered to UN Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan at the summit.

The High Court and Supreme Court judgessaid two keys to improve the adoption and imple-

U N E P F o c u s

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mentation of environment-related laws wereincreasing training, education, funding andcapacity building for legal experts, particularly indeveloping nations, and giving the public moreaccess to public information on environment- anddevelopment-related issues as well as access to thelegal system.

In many developing countries and independentstates formerly part of the Soviet Union, it is hardfor environmental cases to succeed in (or evenreach) the courts owing to lack of resources, diffi-culties in turning international treaties intonational law, and lack of awareness if not apathy asa result of economic hardship.

“This is an issue affecting billions of people whoare effectively being denied their rights,” saidKlaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP. Jus-tice Arthur Chaskalson, Chief Justice of SouthAfrica, who co-hosted the symposium, conclud-ed: “Our declaration and proposed programme ofwork are, I believe, a crucial development in thequest to deliver development that respects peopleand that respects the planet for current and futuregenerations and for all living things.”

For more information, contact: Nick Nuttall (seeabove). ◆

First meeting of Dams andDevelopment Forum The Dams and Development Forum, part ofUNEP’s recently established Dams and Develop-ment Project (DDP), has met for the first timeand discussed drawing up a DDP work pro-gramme and developing guidelines for the forum’ssteering committee. The event in Nairobi broughttogether some 80 representatives of governments,affected populations, indigenous peoples, utilities,NGOs, the private sector, finance institutions,professional associations, researchers, and groupsworking on alternatives to dams.

UNEP set up the DDP in 2001 to promotedialogue on improving decision making, planningand management of dams and their alternatives.It is a follow-up to the November 2000 report bythe World Commission on Dams, in which 12independent experts from all sides of the damsdebate gave their views.

For more information, contact: UNEP Dams andDevelopment Project, PO Box 16002 Vlaeberg,Cape Town 8018, South Africa, Tel: +27 21 4264000, Fax: +27 21 426 0036, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.unep-dams.org; or NickNuttall (see above). ◆

Canada and Norway increaseUNEP funding Canada has more than doubled its contribution toUNEP, and Norway has donated around US$ 2million for a new United Nations University branchhosted at the UNEP GRID-Arendal centre.

Canada said that its UNEP funding would rise

by $5.7 million over four years to influence envi-ronmental governance, and that it would increaseits support for UNEP’s Global EnvironmentMonitoring System Water Program in Burling-ton, Ontario, by $1.5 million over three years.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saidits donation of NOK 15 million would supportthe new Global Virtual University in a partner-ship involving GRID-Arendal, Agder UniversityCollege and the UNU. The GVU will offer on-line, decentralized studies via courseware to bedeveloped by a global network of academic insti-tutions, with a focus on the developing countries.

For further information, contact: Suzanne Meu-nier, Environment Canada, +1 819 953 4016; andDeputy Director Harald Holt, UNEP/GRID-Aren-dal, Tel: +47 3703 5701, E-mail: [email protected],Internet: www.grida.no. ◆

32 countries give GEF itsgreatest replenishment everThe Global Environment Facility (GEF) hasreceived pledges from 32 donor governments for aUS$ 2.92 billion replenishment for 2002-06 – thehighest ever for the fund, which in the past tenyears has committed more than US$ 4 billion andmobilized some US$ 11 billion for more than1000 projects in 160 countries.

Thanks to the GEF, set up in 1991 to helpdeveloping countries fund projects and pro-grammes that protect the global environment,countries have been able to work on the impactsof global warming, conserving wildlife, monitor-ing and improving the health of internationalwaters and overcoming land degradation, amongother projects. UNEP runs a portfolio of GEFprojects and other activities valued at aboutUS$ 500 million.

In October the GEF Assembly voted in Beijingto add land degradation and persistent organicpollutants as focal areas.

Mohamed T. El-Ashry, the fund’s founding

chairman, recently announced that he would leavethe GEF at the conclusion of his third term in July2003

For more information, contact: Hutton G. Archer,External Relations, Global Environment FacilitySecretariat, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC20433, USA, Tel: +1 202 458 7117, Fax: +1 202522 3240, E-mail: [email protected], Inter-net: http://gefweb.org. ◆

Business partnershipshonoured, new partnershipswith UNEP DTIE announced

UNEP and the International Chamber of Com-merce (ICC) held a ceremony in Johannesburg tohonor ten business partnerships for their contri-butions to sustainable development. Winners ofthe World Summit Business Awards for Sustain-able Development came from four continents andrepresented innovative projects involving compa-nies, environmental groups, local communitiesand governments.

The lead partners of the ten projects were:◆ Alcan Inc. (Canada) for a school-based recyclingprogramme in Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Thailandand the US;◆ Shell (Philippines) for a gas exploration project;◆ Axel Springer Verlag (Germany) for promotinggreater accountability in newsprint production;◆ Kesko (Finland) for reducing packaging wastein retail stores;◆ E7 Network of power generation companies(several countries) for a project providing renew-able electricity to Indonesian villages;◆ ForesTrade (USA) for building up an interna-tional market in organic spices grown in Indone-sia and Guatemala;◆ Municipality of Calvia (Spain) for working withlocal hotels to reduce waste from the tourism industry;◆ BioRe and Coop (Switzerland) for building up amarket in organic cotton clothing involving farm-ers in India and Tanzania;◆ Migros (Switzerland) for promoting sustainableproduction of palm oil in Ghana for its consumerproducts;◆ Business Trust South Africa (a coalition of SouthAfrican companies and local government) for aninitiative to build the tourism industry and createjobs.

In addition, UNEP DTIE is lead partner in sev-eral partnerships announced at the summit,including:◆ Capacity Building for Sustainable Consump-tion and Production Patterns (with contributionsfrom UNIDO and UNESCO, and with Con-sumers International as key partner), aiming toimprove decision makers’ abilities to implementsustainable consumption and production policies;◆ Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Envi-ronment and Development – 2nd phase (co-ledby UNCTAD, in close liaison with the WTO),aiming to enhance developing countries’ human

New Sustainability ReportingGuidelines from GRI

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), aUNEP Collaborating Centre based in Ams-terdam, has launched the 2002 version of itsSustainability Reporting Guidelines. Theaim of the guidelines is to help companiesand organizations prepare comparable “triplebottom line” reports (on economic, environ-mental and social performance). The newversion is available in paper form or can bedownloaded at no charge from the GRI Website (see below).For more information, contact: Global Report-ing Initiative, Keizersgracht 209, PO Box10039, 1001 EA Amsterdam, The Nether-lands, Tel: +31 20 531 00 00, Fax: +31 20531 00 31, E-mail: [email protected],Internet: www.globalreporting.org.

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and institutional capacities for dealing with issuesarising from the relationship between trade liber-alization, environmental protection and econom-ic development;◆ an integrated approach to prevention, pre-paredness for and response to environmentalemergencies in support of sustainable develop-ment (co-led by the Office for the Co-ordinationof Humanitarian Affairs), aiming to advance inte-grated approaches to environmental emergenciesso as to ensure that all aspects of emergency man-agement, including risk reduction and emergencyprevention, are properly and systematicallyaddressed.◆ The Global Network on Energy for SustainableDevelopment (see the following article).

For more information, contact: (awards) BryceCorbett, Director of Communications, Internation-al Chamber of Commerce, 38 Cours Albert 1er,75008 Paris, France, Tel: +33 1 49 53 28 22, Fax:+33 1 49 53 29 24, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.iccwbo.org; (UNEP DTIEpartnerships) Janet Hallows, Division Office,UNEP DTIE (see address above), Tel: +33 1 44 3714 69, Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd. ◆

Energy Day: discussions,partnerships and a newnetwork

UNEP, the International Energy Agency and theSouth African electric utility Eskom conducted adaylong side event at the summit on energy forsustainable development. Sessions dealt with ener-gy security, energy access and energy and the envi-ronment, and potential partnership initiativeswere presented. The day culminated in a paneldiscussion involving ministers, CEOs and headsof intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations.

In addition, UNEP launched a global networkof “sustainable energy” centres at the summit. TheGlobal Network on Energy for Sustainable Devel-opment, made up initially of ten centres in tendeveloped and developing countries, will helppromote the research, transfer and take-up ofgreen and cleaner energy technologies for thedeveloping world, where more than 2 billion peo-ple lack access to reliable forms of energy.

The new network, which is a partnership, willstrengthen collaboration between existing “cen-

tres of excellence” that work on energy, develop-ment and environment issues, and, through thesecentres, influence sustainable energy policies,strategies and programmes. UNEP will host asmall secretariat for the network while a steeringcommittee representing the energy centres andother partners will provide strategic direction.

Core partners include the Tata Energy ReseachInstitute (India), the African Energy PolicyResearch Network (Kenya), the Bariloche Foun-dation (Argentina), ENDA Tiers Monde (Sene-gal) and the Energy Research and DevelopmentCentre (South Africa). Other partners includeinternational organizations, governments, finan-cial institutions, private-sector representatives andfoundations.

UNEP developed the network in cooperationwith the UNDP, UNIDO, UN DESA and theWorld Bank, drawing on input from the energycentres. Initial funding comes from the govern-ments of Germany, France, the United Kingdomand Denmark, and the UN Foundation.

Also at the summit, UNEP and the UnitedNations Foundation released a report on the RuralEnergy Enterprise Development (REED) initia-tive, which is bringing affordable, clean, efficientenergy technology to rural communities in Africa,

WSSD/“Workmanlike” agreements on water, chemicals, energy

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johan-nesburg in late August and early September, ended with agreements thatKlaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, described as satisfactory and“workmanlike”.

“At various moments during [the summit] we were facing a much weak-er prospect for the environment and thus for sustainable development,” Mr.Toepfer said. “I am satisfied that what has been delivered is a step forward.”

During the summit Mr. Toepfer served as a special adviser to UN Sec-retary-General Kofi Annan, who said at the event’s conclusion: “This sum-mit will put us on a path that reduces poverty while protecting theenvironment, a path that works for all peoples, rich and poor, today andtomorrow. ... Governments have agreed here on an impressive range ofconcrete commitments and action that will make a real difference for peo-ple in all regions of the world.”

The major agreement resulting from WSSD, the Plan of Implementa-tion, contains targets and timetables on issues ranging from halving theproportion of people who lack access to clean water or proper sanitationby 2015 and restoring depleted fisheries by 2015 to reducing biodiversityloss by 2010 and using and producing chemicals in ways that do not harmhuman health and the environment by 2020. Governments also acceptedthe need for a new international approach to chemical management andthe harmonization of labelling and classification of chemicals by 2008.

Countries pledged for the first time to increase the use of renewableenergy, though only “with a sense of urgency” rather than with a targetand timetable. The summit also generated concrete partnerships by andbetween governments, citizen groups and businesses in areas such as cor-porate responsibility and environmental standards.

Other achievements that Mr. Toepfer listed were the development of aten-year programme for sustainable consumption and production pat-terns, “based on science-based approaches and life-cycle analysis,” and anew initiative to encourage industry to improve its social and environ-mental performance, taking into account ISO standards and the GlobalReporting Initiative.

Mr. Toepfer noted that the context of the 1992 Rio summit was “the fall

of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War,” whereas “today we havea new realism as a result of globalization. So the action plan agreed here inJohannesburg is less visionary and more workmanlike, reflecting perhapsthe feeling among many nations that they no longer want to promise theEarth and fail, that they would rather step forward than run too fast.”

For more information, contact: Eric Falt, UNEP Spokesperson and Direc-tor, Division of Communications and Public Information, Tel: +254 2623292, E-mail: [email protected].

Under thisMemorandum ofUnderstanding,the ILO willintroduce, incooperation with a variety of otherpartners, includinglocal employers’organizations,UNIDO, UNEP anddonors, labourrelated servicesthrough theNCPCs. The SwissGovernment willprovide pilotphase support.The introductionof labour servicesthrough the NCPCnetwork will targetawarenesss-raising, training,technicalassistance andpolicy advice toenterprises, insupport of theILO's core labourstandards as wellas national labourlegislation.

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Brazil and China. Open for Business: Entrepreneurs,Clean Energy and Sustainable Developmentdescribes how the REED programmes work local-ly to provide business development services, help-ing entrepreneurs start companies offeringenergy-efficient cookers, wind-pump repair ser-vices, supply and service of solar home systems,energy efficiency services and the like. REED is aUS$ 8.6 million partnership of the foundation,UNEP and a US non-profit clean energy investor,E+Co.

For more information, contact: Mark Radka,Energy Unit, UNEP DTIE, Tour Mirabeau, 39-43quai André -Citroen, 75739 Paris, France, Tel: +331 44 37 14 27, Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail:[email protected], Internet: www.uneptie.org/energy. ◆

Summit side events: industry,trade, financeAmong the many events going on before and dur-ing the summit were several concerned withindustry, trade and related areas, especially thefinance industry and sustainable-developmentfinancing.

These included the launch of the publicationFinancing for Sustainable Development by UNEP,the World Bank and the International MonetaryFund (see book review, page 105); presentationsby the UNEP Finance Initiatives on “A new Asia& Europe strategy for enhanced partnership” and“Finance, sustainability and Africa”; and a panelevent on activities of the finance community relat-ed to sustainability.

In addition, the UNEP/UNESCO YouthX-change programme launched a partnership withYomag, an on-line magazine for young con-sumers; and UNEP’s Economy and Trade branchheld an event on “Capacity Building in Trade andSustainable Development” to showcase pro-grammes and projects helping governments indeveloping countries identify and respond to linksbetween trade, environment and development.

For more information, see www.uneptie.org/out-reach/wssd/contributions/events.htm. ◆

A big bill for climate change

Members of the UNEP Finance Initiatives (FI)warn that too few banks, pension funds and insur-ance companies are taking seriously the risks andopportunities posed by climate change, and theyestimate that the bill for natural disasters in 2002could be over US$ 70 billion.

In findings published in early October and for-mally presented at the latest climate change talksin New Delhi towards the end of that month, the

UNEP FI members state: “The increasing fre-quency of severe climatic events ... has the poten-tial to stress insurers, reinsurers and banks to thepoint of impaired viability or even insolvency.”

Climate Change and the Financial ServicesIndustry (see book review, page 108) says losses asa result of natural disasters appear to be doublingevery decade and have totalled US$ 1 trillion overthe past 15 years. Annual losses in the next tenyears will reach close to $150 billion if currenttrends continue.

Munich Re, an FI member that has been com-piling annual records on natural catastrophes andtheir costs since the 1970s, told the eighth Con-ference of the Parties to the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change inNew Delhi that such catastrophes – mostly weath-er related – cost countries and communities someUS$ 56 billion from January through September2002 and thus could reach over US$ 70 billion forthe year.

The Finance Initiatives constitute a partnershipbetween UNEP and 295 banks, insurance andinvestment companies. The report from the FIClimate Change Working Group warns that cli-mate change-driven natural disasters could wreakhavoc in the world’s stock markets and financialcentres, with the property market being deemedparticularly vulnerable. Asset managers (e.g. pen-sion funds) that are slow to appreciate the climatechange threat may see the value of power compa-ny and other energy holdings decline as investorsbecome more aware of the liabilities linked withcarbon-intensive industries, the report finds.

Yet it adds that opportunities are emerging thatshould allow the financial services sector to reduceor hedge against the risks and even help curb emis-sions of the greenhouse gases linked with thedestabilization of the Earth’s climate and weathersystems. The annual market in trading greenhousegases, emerging as a result of international agree-ments to reduce emissions, could be worth asmuch as US$ 2 trillion by 2012, it notes, and themarket for clean energy could stand at US$ 1.9trillion in 2020, by some estimates.

A survey of mainstream financial institutionscarried out for the report indicates that most areunaware of the climate change issue or, largelybecause of uncertainty over the fate of the KyotoProtocol, have adopted a “wait and see” attitude.

For more information, contact: Ken Maguire,UNEP Finance Initiatives, International Environ-ment House, 15 Chemin des Anémones, CH-1219Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 9178178/8116, Fax:+41 22 976 9240, E-mail:[email protected], Internet: www.unepfi.net. ◆

Ozone Day marked bycautiously hopeful reportA new report by the world’s leading ozone scientistswarns that, despite good signs of recovery, theozone layer will remain particularly vulnerable dur-ing the next decade or so even if countries complywith international agreements to protect it.

New data in the report from UNEP and WorldMeteorological Organization (WMO) show thatlevels of ozone-depleting gases in the upper atmos-phere are at or near their peak. Thus, the scientistsbelieve, human-influenced disturbances to Earth’sprotective shield are “at or near their largest,” andthe report clearly shows steady progress towardsrecovery of the ozone layer, with the amount ofozone depleting chemicals lower atmosphere con-tinuing to decline, if slowly.

Presenting the executive summary of the reportin Paris on the International Day for the Preserva-tion of the Ozone Layer (16 September), ProfessorGérard Mégie, co-chair of the Montreal Protocol’sScientific Assessment Panel and one of the report’sauthors, said: “These results confirm that theMontreal Protocol is achieving its objectives. Dur-ing the next decades, we should see a recovery ofthe ozone layer.”

Experts said the findings underline the need forstrengthened political commitment to assure con-tinued compliance with the Montreal Protocol bydeveloped and developing countries alike, alongwith a need for greater awareness of the reasons forthe ozone layer’s vulnerability and improved sci-entific understanding of the links between ozonelayer depletion and climate change.

Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2002involved 250 scientists from 37 countries. Itfocuses on scientific results since 1998 but also hasa section on implications for policy formulation.The concern expressed in the report stems fromtwo main findings: first, that failure meet Mon-treal Protocol targets would delay or perhaps evenprevent recovery of the ozone layer; and, second,the number of scientific unknowns relating toissues like the complex link between ozone pro-tection and climate change.

Professor Mégie, who is also the President of theFrench Centre National de la Recherche Scien-

UNEP Division of Technology,Industry and Economics (DTIE)

HIGHLIGHTS

An excerpt from the UN Secretary-General’sOzone Day statement

The success achieved so far in reducing theproduction and consumption of ozone-depleting substances in industrial countriesshould give us hope that we will complete thistask in developed and developing countriesalike.

I urge all countries to meet their commit-ments under the [Montreal] Protocol, and inparticular the industrialized countries tocontinue providing the financial and otherassistance that will help the developing coun-tries to do so.

This year’s observance of the InternationalDay for the Preservation of the Ozone Layerfalls immediately after the World Summit onSustainable Development. As the world nowturns to implementing the agreementsreached in Johannesburg, let us not lose sightof the need to remain vigilant in protectingthe ozone layer.

Kofi A. Annan

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tifique, noted that the concentration of chlorine,the main ozone-depleting substance, in the upperatmosphere “has now reached a maximum andthe ozone layer is still quite vulnerable.”

The Montreal Protocol has been ratified by 183countries. The executive summary of the assess-ment report was presented to the parties to theMontreal Protocol at a meeting in Rome in lateNovember and the full report is to be made avail-able in 2003.

For more information, contact: Rajendra Shende,Chief of Energy and OzonAction Unit, UNEPDTIE (see address above), Tel: +33 1 44 37 14 59,Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.uneptie.org/ozonaction. The executive summary of the assessment report isavailable on line at www.unep.org/ozone/pdf/execsumm-sap2002.pdf and background informa-tion may be found at www.unep.org/ozone/docs/bkgnd-execsumm-sap2002.doc.0. ◆

Annual industry consultativemeeting: summit follow-upForty representatives of national and internation-al industry associations joined representatives of11 NGOs and officials from UNEP, the UnitedNations Department of Economic and SocialAffairs (UN-DESA), the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Human Rightsand the International Labour Organization atUNEP’s 19th annual Consultative Meeting withIndustry Associations.

Much of the meeting in Paris in early Octoberwas devoted to follow-up to the World Summiton Sustainable Development (WSSD) and to thesector reporting process that UNEP developed inpreparation for WSSD. Speakers addressedWSSD in retrospect from the points of view of theUN, business, labour, NGOs and human rights.

Participants also discussed how quality manage-ment and stakeholder engagement could improvebusiness practices, with a focus on tools for puttingthe Global Compact principles into action.

UNEP and UN-DESA invite industry associa-tion representatives to Paris every year to discussthe world environment and provide an opportu-nity for UN officials and industry representativesto review progress in environmental management,exchange information, discuss production andconsumption issues and assess implementation ofAgenda 21.

This year a key topic of discussion was the pro-posal for a ten-year framework of programmes topromote sustainable consumption and produc-tion patterns, adopted at WSSD. Participants alsoheard presentations on multi-stakeholder dia-logue, consultation and development of successfulpartnerships. A special session was devoted to theClimate Legacy project at WSSD, in whichinvestments were invited to offset the greenhousegas emissions resulting from the summit itself, andtravel to and from it.

For more information, contact: Daniel Puig,UNEP DTIE (see address above), Tel: +33 1 44 37

76 29, Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.uneptie.org/outreach.◆

UNEP working group urgesaction on mercurySome 150 experts meeting in Geneva in Septem-ber under UNEP auspices to consider the envi-ronmental and health impacts of mercuryconcluded there was enough evidence of signifi-cant impacts world-wide to warrant internationalaction.

The Global Mercury Assessment WorkingGroup finalized a report to be sent to UNEP’sGoverning Council in February 2003 that thuscould lead to consideration of an internationaltreaty to reduce the risks that releases of mercuryinto the environment pose for both the environ-ment and human health.

The working group also agreed on other possi-ble options to address the problem, including anon-binding programme to reduce or eliminatethe use of mercury in products and industrialprocesses and to cut mercury emissions and releas-es, and improved international cooperation andinformation sharing.

Mercury, a heavy metal, gets into the environ-ment from both natural and human sources.Once released, it cycles among soil, water systemsand the atmosphere and can travel thousands ofkilometres, contaminating even such remoteregions as the Arctic. It also persists in the envi-ronment for a long time. Through biologicalactivity in aquatic environments, mercury changesinto methyl mercury, a highly toxic compoundthat can be absorbed by humans and animals andthat accumulates in the food chain, so that preda-tory fish such as tuna and swordfish, freshwaterfish such as pike and bass, and mammals such asotters, seals and whales can have large quantitiesof it in their tissues.

Human activities have roughly tripled theatmospheric levels of mercury since the industrialrevolution. Estimates vary widely, but some 5000to 10,000 tonnes of mercury are thought to enterthe atmosphere every year, with half or three-quar-ters coming from human activities. (See relatednews, page 97.)

For more information, contact: MichaelWilliams, UNEP Head of Information Unit forConventions, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland,Tel: +41 22 917 8244/196/242 or +41 79 4091528 (cellular), Fax: +41 22 797 3464, E-mail:[email protected], Internet: www.chem.unep.ch/mercury. ◆

Broader remit for SWERAenergy projectAn international effort to pinpoint the mostpromising wind and solar power sites in develop-ing countries has received a boost with theannouncement of a new agreement between

UNEP and the National Renewable Energy Lab-oratory in Colorado, one of the world’s leading“green energy” research centres, to expand thepilot Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assess-ment (SWERA).

The existing project has involved surveys andpreparation of high-quality solar and wind mapsfor 13 developing countries. The new memoran-dum of understanding increases the number to 14by including the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean,and expanding the plan for mapping inBangladesh and geospatial analysis in Sri Lanka.

For more information, contact: Tom Hamlin,UNEP DTIE (see address above), Tel: +33 1 44 3714 72, Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://swera.unep.net. ◆

UNEP and automotive industrypromote “greener driving”UNEP and several sponsors from the automotiveindustry have launched a drive to help promotewhat some experts call “sustainable mobility”. The“Greener Driving” campaign combines videos,comic strips and simple driving tips to help cardrivers change their behaviour in ways that bene-fit them as well as the environment.

Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director,welcomed the campaign as encouraging “a smartand effective driving style” that can “decreasestress, increase road safety and reduce fuel con-sumed per litre driven by up to 25%” while help-ing cut emissions of local air pollutants and CO2.

The industry sponsors are BMW, DeutscherVerkehrssicherheitsrat, Ford, Renault and Miche-lin. The first segment of the campaign, about“mobility mix,” encourages use of the most effi-cient mode of transport for specific traffic situa-tions and personal needs, including publictransport and non-motorized transport.

For more information, contact: Martina Otto,UNEP DTIE (see address above), Tel: +33 1 44 3776 15, Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.uneptie.org/ener-gy/greener-driving. ◆

Funding boost for reef actionnetwork The US Agency for International Developmentand the United Nations Foundation are giving atotal of US$ 3 million to support the Internation-al Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) in a pro-ject for the Mesoamerican reef, the largest barrierreef system in the Atlantic Ocean and secondlargest in the world.

The reef system, which stretches from thenorthern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula to the BayIslands, Honduras, is home to more than 70species of stony coral and over 500 species of fish,including the endangered whale shark, the world’slargest fish.

It was also announced that ICRAN’s efforts to

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General

Vital Signs 2002-2003: The trendsthat are shaping our futureA companion volume to Worldwatch’s annualState of the World series, Vital Signs aims to high-light trends that Worldwatch feels may largely beescaping the notice of the public, the media,politicians and economists. The 45 indicators itoffers this year range from global warming, popu-lation growth, transgenic crops, HIV/AIDS andInternet use to international trade, charitable giv-ing, soft drink consumption, asthma and urbansprawl.

Worldwatch Institute (2002). Earthscan Publi-

cations Ltd., 120 Pentonville Road, Lon-don, N1 9JN, UK, Tel: +44 20 7278 0433,

Fax: +44 20 7278 1142, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.earthscan.co.uk.Pbk., 212p. ISBN 1-85383-918-3.

Voluntary EnvironmentalAgreements: Process, Practice and Future UseVoluntary agreements, usually made between gov-ernment and business, are seen by some as animportant new way to meet environmental objec-tives and by others as a way for business to avoidtaking any real action. The 30 articles in this vol-ume, by authors from around the world, examineboth viewpoints and come down by and large infavour of using agreements as one part of a mix ofpolicies and instruments. The editor concludesthat for agreements to play this role, however, sig-nificant action is needed to make sure they areeffective, efficient and equitable.

P. ten Brink, ed. (2002). Greenleaf Publishing,Aizlewood Business Centre, Aislewood’s Mill, Nurs-ery Street, Sheffield S38GG, UK, Tel: +44 114 2824375, Fax: +44 114 282 3476, E-mail: info@green-

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conserve reefs and develop less environmentallydamaging livelihoods for those who depend onthem was being expanded into South Asia and theArabian seas, and that UNEP DTIE wouldhenceforth play a larger role addressing linksbetween coral reefs and tourism. ICRAN is fund-ed through UNEP by the United Nations Foun-dation.

ICRAN and the WorldFish Center recentlyannounced that their new ReefBase databaseshowed 2002 would likely be the second worstyear on record for coral reef bleaching. (See WebSite Highlights.)

For more information, contact: Eric Falt (seeabove). ◆

Conference on aviation andthe environmentAround 150 representatives of airlines, airportoperators, airport authorities, national and localgovernments, NGOs and citizen groups took partwhen UNEP DTIE, a local government body anda federation of NGOs sponsored the largest Inter-national Conference on Aviation and the Envi-ronment in recent memory.

At the daylong event in Cergy, a suburb of Paris,participants agreed to hold workshops on aviationand the environment in a developing country con-text, produce a guide on good environmental prac-

tice and a paper on economic instruments regard-ing aviation noise emissions, and meet annually.

“Experiences in the oil sector show that sus-tainability can provide new business opportuni-ties,” Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, Director ofUNEP DTIE, told those attending. “In fact, ifcompanies want to be sound businesses in the

long run, they need to listen to NGOs and takeenvironmental challenges seriously.”

Co-sponsors of the meeting were the ConseilGeneral du Val d’Oise and Transport and Envi-ronment, an umbrella group of NGOs.

For more information, contact: Martina Otto (seeabove). ◆

Editorial board member honored with Sasakawa PrizeA longtime member of Industry and Environ-ment’s Editorial Board has won the prestigiousUNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize. The Prize,worth US$ 200,000 and considered one of themost prestigious environmental awards in theworld, was presented at the American Folk ArtMuseum in New York on 19 November 2002.

Ashok Khosla has worked to demonstrateboth the theory and practice of sustainabledevelopment both as a teacher and by fosteringof environment-friendly and commerciallyviable technologies. These range from villagepower plants which use agricultural wastes asfuel to mini factories that recycle paper and localenterprises that make low cost roofing tiles.

Much of his recent work has been achievedthrough Development Alternatives, a group oforganizations headquartered in New Delhi,which he founded in 1983, to help bring peopleand nature directly into the design and imple-mentation of his nation’s development strategies.

Mr. Khosla said: “We set out to improve lifein the villages of India and the journey led us tonew ways for creating sustainable livelihoods –jobs that use local resources to produce goodsand services for the local market, thus generat-ing purchasing power, satisfying basic needs andregenerating the ecosystem, all at the same time.Mini enterprise was the means we found mosteffective to create these livelihoods and good sci-ence, technology and management support sys-tems the best instruments for helping theseenterprises meet their triple bottom line imper-atives: financial, social and environmental sus-tainability.”For more information, contact: Elisabeth Guil-baud-Cox, Secretary, UNEP Sasakawa Environ-ment Prize, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel:+254 20 62 3401, Fax: +254 20 62 3692, E-mail: [email protected], Internet:www.unep.org.

Books & Reports

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leaf-publishing.com, Internet: www. greenleaf-pub-lishing.com. Hbk., 563p. ISBN 1-874719-41-1.

Walking the Talk: The BusinessCase for Sustainable DevelopmentGoing beyond the idea that sustainable develop-ment is good for business, the authors maintainthat addressing environmental and social prob-lems is essential for future growth. StephanSchmidheiny, author of 1992’s Changing Course,joins two other leading participants in the WorldBusiness Council for Sustainable Development toargue for a global partnership involving govern-ments, business and civil society in favour of envi-ronmental and social initiatives that improve bothprofits and the planet. Their core message is thatbusiness cannot succeed in failing societies; ifpoorer nations are to raise their standards of liv-ing, eco-efficient and socially equitable approach-es to development are needed.

C.O. Holliday, S. Schmidheiny and P. Watts(2002). Greenleaf Publishing (see above). Hbk.,288p. ISBN 1-874719-50-0.

A Thousand Shades of Green:Sustainable Strategies forCompetitive AdvantageDirected at business leaders, this book is intendedto help managers understand what the spread anddeepening of environmental awareness means tothem and their companies. Managers who viewenvironment as separate from the company’s corebusiness will miss out on important opportuni-ties, the authors argue. They see the challenge asessentially one of change management, and hopetheir book will help business leaders, first, decidewhat kind of change is most appropriate for theircompanies; and, second, effect that change. Thebook aims at allowing managers to tailor strategiesto their own circumstances, with a focus on whatthe authors call “integrated” and “proactive” envi-ronmental management responses. Only in thelatter does the book really live up to its title andtreat sustainability rather than just environment.

P. Winsemius and Ulrich Guntram (2002).Earthscan Publications Ltd. (see above). Hbk.,251p. ISBN 1-85383-846-2.

Product-Service Systems andSustainability: Opportunitiesfor Sustainable Solutions

In industrialized countries, marketing strategies areincreasingly moving in the direction of selling notjust a physical product but rather a system of prod-ucts and services that together can be tailored toclient needs. This booklet, a joint effort of UNEP’sProduction and Consumption Branch and theInterdepartmental Research Centre on Innovationfor Environmental Sustainability at the Politecni-co di Milano University, examines the potential forsustainability in product-service systems (PSS),particularly in terms of life-cycle approaches.About one-third of the booklet is case studies ofcompanies offering PSS, such as AutoShare of

Toronto, which, rather than selling or renting cars,sells memberships in a car-usage system andcharges members for the time they use a car.

(2002). UNEP, Politecnico di Milano Universi-ty. Available from EarthPrint Ltd., PO Box 119,Stevenage, SG14TP, UK, Tel:+44 1438 748 111,Fax: +44 1438 748 844, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.earthprint.com. Pbk.,32p. ISBN 92-807-2206-9.

Developing Value: The BusinessCase for Sustainability in EmergingMarketsThe British consultancy SustainAbility has madeits first large-scale study specifically gearedtowards developing countries and transitioneconomies. Working with the World Bank’s Inter-national Finance Corporation and Brazil’s EthosInstitute, it looked at companies in more than 60countries, examining opportunities for businessesto benefit from practices that contribute to sus-tainable development. Refuting the assumptionthat sustainability is a luxury emerging economiescannot afford, the study finds that companies ofall types in all regions can increase commercialreturn by investing in social and environmentalimprovements. It reports “interesting differences”between regions, however, and between types andsizes of companies.

(2002). SustainAbility, IFC, Ethos Institute.Available from SustainAbility, 11-13 Knightsbridge,London SW1X 7LY, UK, Tel: +44 207 245 1116,Fax: +44 207 245 1117, Internet: www.sustain-ability.co.uk. Pbk., 60p. ISBN 1-903168-05-8.

World Atlas of Biodiversity:Earth’s Living Resources in the21st Century

At current extinction ratesthe Earth loses one majordrug every two years. Lessthan 1% of the world’s250,000 tropical plantshave been screened for theirpharmaceutical potential.Those are just a sample ofthe findings in the firstcomprehensive map-basedview of global biodiversity.Prepared by UNEP’s WorldConservation MonitoringCentre, the atlas draws upon – but significantlygoes beyond – the WCMC’s Global Biodiversityand other earlier work from over the past decade.The authors, additional contributors and mapmakers cover not only global biodiversity butexamine terrestrial, marine and inland water bio-diversity in detail, along with the relationshipbetween biodiversity and humans.

B. Groombridge and M.D. Jenkins (2002).UNEP/WCMC. University of California Press,order from University Presses of California, Colum-bia, & Princeton, Ltd., 1 Oldlands Way, BognorRegis, West Sussex PO22 9SA, UK, Tel: +44 1243842165, Fax: +44 1243 842167, E-mail: lois

@upccp.demon.co.uk, Internet: www.ucpress.edu.Hbk., 340p. ISBN 0-520-23668-8.

World Atlas of SustainableDevelopment: Economic, Socialand Environmental DataThe concept of sustainable development came tothe forefront of global debate at the Rio EarthSummit in 1992 on the realization that currentgrowth patterns were exhausting the Earth’sresources and dooming too many people to pover-ty. Ten years on, the World Atlas of SustainableDevelopment asks whether the situation haschanged and what the important issues now are.Like a series of X-rays taken from various angles,the atlas integrates socio-economic, geopoliticaland environmental data in 40 maps examiningaround 30 themes, bridging topics ranging fromaccess to education and the lifestyle gap betweenNorth and South to women’s rights and climatechange. Conceived as a teaching tool, the atlasaims to help make the concept of sustainble devel-opment more comprehensible, both to decisionmakers and the general public. Also available inFrench (see below).

A-M. Sacquet (2002). Comité 21. EditionsAutrement, 77 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine,75011 Paris, France, Tel: + 33 1 44 73 80 00, Fax:+33 1 44 73 00 12, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.autrement.com. Pbk., 80p.,ISBN 2-7467-0234-7.

Strategic EnvironmentalAssessment in Transport and LandUse PlanningWith increasing emphasis being placed on envi-ronmental assessment not just at project level butin the formation of policies, plans and programmes,

this study is timely. Claiming to be the firstsystematic comparative analysis of environ-mental assessment practice in strategic deci-sion making at all levels, the book looks atselected regions of the UK, Germany andthe Netherlands. Based on analysis of 80assessments in transport and land use plan-ning, it considers not only procedures andmethods but also the political and planningsystems in which the assessments tookplace. The author argues for systematicapplication of a form of comprehensivestrategic environmental assessment derived

from the major current approaches.T.B. Fischer (2002). Earthscan Publications Ltd.

(see above). Pbk., 284p. ISBN 1-85383-812-8.

Financing for SustainableDevelopment

This report, part of the input to WSSD, discuss-es how developing countries can generateresources for sustainable development and seeksto identify innovative approaches involving thepublic and private sectors both separately andcombined. The e-discussion from March-April2002 that resulted in the first draft of the report is


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accessible at www.worldbank.org/devforum/forum_financing.html.

(2002). UNEP, World Bank, International Mon-etary Fund. Available from the World Bank, 1818H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 200433, USA,Tel: +1 202 473 1000, Fax: +1 202 477 6391, E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.worldbank.org. Pbk., 42p. No ISBN.

The Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety: Reconciling Trade inBiotechnology with Environment & Development?

The manipulation ofgenes in living organ-isms has far-reachingimplications in a num-ber of areas, not leastenvironment. In coop-eration with the RoyalInstitute of Internation-al Affairs, the publish-ing house Earthscan hascollected contributionsfrom many of the key

figures involved in the negotiation and adoptionof the Cartagena Protocol, and sets them in thecontext of the agreement’s key elements and itsimplications for environment, trade and develop-ment. The full text of the protocol is included,along with selected other documents. There is aForeword by Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director ofUNEP (which administers the Convention onBiological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol).

C. Bail, R. Falkner and H. Marquard, eds.(2002). Earthscan Publications Ltd. (see above).Hbk., 578p. ISBN 1-85383-836-5.

Sustainable DevelopmentStrategies: A Resource BookCompiled by the International Institute for Envi-ronment and Development at the request of, andwith collaboration from OECD’s DevelopmentAssistance Committee and UNDP, this bookdraws together information from a wide varietyof sources on the country-level sustainable devel-opment strategies called for in Agenda 21. As acompanion to the policy guidance documentproduced by OECD DAC in 2001, it discussesprocesses and methodologies in depth, analyzingpast and current practice in both developed anddeveloping countries. The focus is on tried andtested approaches actually used in strategic plan-ning, with coverage of measurement and analysis,communications, and financial requirements andresources, among other topics.

(2002). UNDP, OECD. Earthscan PublicationsLtd. (see above). Pbk., 358p. ISBN 1-85383-946-9.

Intellectual Property Rights, Tradeand BiodiversityThis study of the links between intellectual prop-erty protection and biodiversity conservation hasbeen called an invaluable resource for those inter-

ested in the trade-environment relationship. Nowout in paperback, it covers the main multilateralagreements in the field, including the Conventionon Biological Diversity and the TRIPS Agree-ment, and discusses how the requirements of thebiodiversity convention could be integrated intoan equitable global regime of intellectual proper-ty rights.

G. Dutfield (2000). IUCN and Earthscan Pub-lications Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 238p. ISBN 1-85383-903-5.

Human Development Report 2002:Deepening Democracy in aFragmented WorldThe key publication of the United Nations Devel-opment Programme focuses this year on politicalparticipation as a dimension of human develop-ment. Reducing poverty, the report concludes,depends as much on whether the poor have politi-cal power as on their chances for economicprogress. While dozens of countries have embracedthe idea of democracy in the past 15 years or so, inmany the enthusiasm is turning into frustration, itwarns. In addition to tackling such topics as“Democratizing security” and “Deepening democ-racy at the global level,” the report features specialcontributions by writers as diverse as Bono (on debtrelief) and Aung San Suu Kyi (on development andhuman dignity).

(2002). UNDP, Oxford University Press. Avail-able from UNDP Human Development ReportOffice, 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017,USA, Tel: +1 212 906 3674, Fax: +1 212 9065161, E-mail: [email protected], Inter-net: http://hdr.undp.org. Pbk., 277p. ISBN 0-19-521915-5.

Implementing SustainableConsumption and ProductionPolicies: North-South, South-South and East-WestPartnerships

In May 2002, CP7, UNEP and Consumers Inter-national hosted an informal meeting of 70 expertsfrom 44 countries to promote an international10-year programme on sustainable productionand consumption, later adopted at WSSD inJohannesburg. This report on the meeting formedpart of the input to WSSD.

(2002). UNEP, CI. Available from EarthPrintLtd. (see above). Pbk., 40p. No ISBN.

Training Resource Pack forHazardous Waste Managementin Developing Countries

A joint publication of UNEP and the Interna-tional Solid Waste Association, with collaborationby the Basel Convention Secretariat, this resourcepack for trainers and communicators sums up ear-lier material and adds visual aids intended to putthe message across in a more structured and per-suasive way. It includes a CD-ROM that containsnot only all the slides and explanatory material inthe ring binder but also earlier training manualson hazardous waste and cleaner production, mate-rial related to the Basel Convention and other ref-erence documents. The slides cover regulatoryapproaches, cleaner production and waste mini-mization, management practices and treatmentprocesses, in addition to introductory materialand basics.

(2002). UNEP, ISWA. Available from Earth-Print Ltd. (see above). Ring binder, 794p. ISBN 92-807-2235-2.

Introduction to EnvironmentalAnalysisAimed at students of environmental science andanalytical chemistry, Introduction to Environmen-tal Analysis covers the latest techniques in sampleextraction and analysis, in situ sampling and mon-itoring, automated techniques and the latest alter-native methods. Although intended mainly as atextbook, it is also structured as a self-study aid,and features such as the chapter on ultra-traceanalysis would make it useful to working envi-ronmental analysts as well.

R. Reeve (2002). John Wiley & Sons Ltd., BaffinsLane, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1UD, UK, Tel:+44 1243 779 777, E-mail: [email protected],Internet: www.wiley.com. Pbk., 301p. ISBN 0-471-49295-7.

Greening the Supply Chain:Enhancing CompetitivenessThrough Green ProductivityThe Asian Productivity Organization, whichintroduced the cleaner production approachcalled “green productivity” in 1996, has here com-piled papers presented at a 2000 conference onsupply chain management. The value of incorpo-rating environmental criteria into purchasingdecisions and relationships with suppliers variesaccording to the type of organization involved, thepapers show. Current initiatives described by theauthors generally involve either improving coor-dination with suppliers or requiring them to meeta certain standard, such as ISO 14000. Among theconclusions of the conference was that greeningthe supply chain will increasingly be a key com-ponent of both government and business sustain-ability and competition strategies.

(2001). Asian Productivity Organization,Hirakawa-cho Dai-ichi Seimei Bldg; 2F, 1-2-10,Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093,Japan, Tel: +81 3 5226 3920, Fax: +81 3 5226

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3950, E-mail: [email protected], Internet:www.apo-tokyo.org. Pbk., 220p. ISBN 92-833-2290-8.

International Law & theEnvironment

The first edition of thisbook came out the yearof the Rio Earth Sum-mit; the second editionhas been expanded andupdated with develop-ments between 1992and December 2000.There is now a chapteron international tradelaw and the environ-ment, and treatment of

key issues such as climate change, biodiversity, theglobal environment and human rights has beenadded or enlarged. Though intended chiefly as atextbook, it would be useful to anyone needingcoverage of the main international issues in a sin-gle volume.

P. Birnie and A. Boyle (2002). Oxford UniversityPress, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP,UK, Tel: +44 1865 556767, Internet: www.oup.co.uk. Pbk., 798p. ISBN 0-19-876553-3.

Changing Production Patterns:Learning from the Experience ofNational Cleaner ProductionCentresUNEP and the United Nations Industrial Devel-opment Organization began establishing Nation-al Cleaner Production Centres in 1994. Todaymore than 20 NCPCs are operating around theworld. This report, drawing on lessons from thefirst eight years of the programme, offers guide-lines to those wishing to establish such centres intheir own countries. Using both individual-coun-try case studies and cross-country data, it coversthe whole process from finding a host institutionto achieving financial independence (as theNCPCs in Brazil, China, the Czech Republic,Hungary, India, Mexico, Slovakia, Tanzania,Tunisia and Zimbabwe have done).

(2002). UNEP, UNIDO. Available from Earth-Print Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 61p. ISBN 92-807-2073-2.

Creating Better Cities withChildren and Youth: A Manual forParticipationProduced in cooperation with UNESCO’s Grow-ing Up in Cites project, this manual is aimed atanyone involved in community development whowants to involve young people in the process. Themethods it recommends have been field tested invarying types of urban settings in both the indus-trialized and developing worlds. A large part of thebook is devoted to a “Participation Toolkit” con-taining detailed descriptions of methods for devel-oping projects with and for young people.

D. Driskell (2002). UNESCO and EarthscanPublications Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 208p. ISBN 92-3-103815-X (UNESCO) or 1-85383-853-5(Earthscan).

Making Science for SustainableDevelopment More PolicyRelevant: New Tools for Analysis

The International Council for Science (ISCU)series on science for sustainable development waspart of the input to WSSD. This report, number 8in the series, presents papers on the latest tools forstate of environment reporting and related infor-mation gathering. The papers, originally preparedfor a workshop convened by UNEP and theISCU’s Scientific Committee on the Problems ofthe Environment, cover reporting frameworks,indicators and indices, and geospatial-based ana-lyis. The report can be downloaded from the ICSUWeb site (below)

(2002). ISCU, UNEP. Available from ICSU, 51bd de Montmorency, 75016 Paris, France; Tel: +331 45 25 03 29, Fax: +33 1 42 88 94 31, E-mail:[email protected], Internet: www.icsu.org. Pbk.,28p. ISSN 1683-3686.

Poverty-Environment-GenderLinkagesIn an effort to clarify issues in the debate over thelinks among poverty, environmental degradationand gender disparities, the OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee (DAC) has produced anoverview of the relationships between poverty andenvironment in urban and rural contexts. Thereport pays particular attention to the “genderdimension” where it is specifically relevant. Orig-inally published in The DAC Journal, the reportalso examines the policy implications of linksamong these three areas.

(2002). OECD-DAC. Available from OECDPublications, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 ParisCedex 16, France, Tel: +33 1 45 24 82 00, Internet:www.sourceoecd.org. Pbk., 91p. No ISBN.

Energy

The Solar Economy: RenewableEnergy for a Sustainable GlobalFutureOne of the world’s best-known champions of solarenergy unrolls his blueprint for a non-fossil, non-nuclear future in this timely translation of the1999 book Solare Weltwirtschaft. Switching fromfossil energy to energy from renewable sources –especially solar – would require a new industrialrevolution, the author concedes, but he argues thatthis would provide an unprecedented chance torestructure the international order and give newlife to regional economies, in addition to haltingmuch of today’s environmental degradation.

H. Scheer (2002). Earthscan Publications Ltd.(see above). Hbk., 347p. ISBN 1-85383-835-7.

Reforming Energy Subsidies

UNEP and the Interna-tional Energy Agencyhave pooled much of theiranalysis of energy subsidyissues in recent years for aseries of regional work-shops and a synthesis re-port submitted in 2001 tothe United Nations Com-mission on Sustainable

Development. Reforming Energy Subsidies sum-marizes, in non-technical language, the findingsand central message of this collaboration. Thefocus is on issues related to ending or changingsubsidies that undermine the goal of sustainabledevelopment, but the booklet also examines caseswhere subsidies can make sense, notably to en-courage sustainable energy use.

(2002). UNEP, OECD-IEA. Available fromEarthPrint Ltd. (see above.) Pbk., 31p. ISBN 92-807-2208-5.

Policy Interventions to Promote Energy Efficient andEnvironmentally SoundTechnologies in SMIThis report from Asia is based on research gearedtowards developing strategies and policy instru-ments to promote energy efficiency in small andmedium-scale industries (SMI). It focuses on fivebranches: brick/ceramics, desiccated coconut,foundries, tea and textiles. The countries coveredare China, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka andVietnam. The report, part of a programme initi-ated by the Swedish International DevelopmentCooperation Agency, discusses the role of SMIs inAsian economies and compares existing nationalpolicies affecting energy and environment. It con-cludes that energy efficient and environmentallysound technologies are a suitable option for SMIs,and recommends ways to increase their use.

(2002). Asian Institute of Technology, RegionalEnergy Resources Information Centre, PO Box 4,Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand, Tel:+66 2 524 5866, Fax: +66 2 524 5875 or 5439,E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.ait.ac.th.Pbk., 59p. ISBN 974-8209-01-6.

The Oil and Gas Industry From Rioto Johannesburg and Beyond:Contributing to SustainableDevelopmentThis report by the International Association of Oil& Gas Producers (OGP) and International Petro-leum Industry Environmental ConservationAssociation is an expanded version of the oilindustry document that UNEP presented, with21 other sector reports, at WSSD (see p. 101 andIndustry and Environment Vol. 25, No. 2). Itincludes more than 70 case studies aimed at show-ing how the industry applies the concept of sus-tainability.

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(2002). IPIECA, OGP. Available from IPIECA,209/215 Blackfriars Road, 5th Floor, London SE18EN, UK, Internet: www.ipieca.org. Pbk., 80p. NoISBN.

Climate change/air pollution

Climate Change and theFinancial Services Industry

The Climate Change Working Group of theUNEP Financial Initiatives (UNEP FI) commis-sioned a major two-phase study of how climatechange is likely to affect banks, insurance compa-nies, pension funds and other players in thefinance sector – and what the sector can do aboutit. The first part, “Threats and Opportunities”,gives the background, stresses the expected finan-cial burden for the sector and explains the need fora long-term (“beyond Kyoto”) market-basedframework to involve financial institutions in aneventual low-emission economy. The second part,“A Blueprint for Action”, examines in detail thepossible future role of financial services compa-nies. There is also an eight-page “CEO Briefing”summarizing the findings and recommendationsof the study.

(2002). UNEP FI. Available from EarthPrintLtd. (see above) or in electronic form for download-ing at www.unepfi.net. Pbk., 84p. No ISBN.

Climate Change and Power:Economic Instruments forEuropean Electricity

The electricity industry,one of the largest emit-ters of CO2, is beingaffected by market liber-alization, technologicalchange and sustainabili-ty issues, among otherchallenges. This bookexamines the Europeanpower sector in the lightof such challenges anddiscusses the industry’s

options for making the emission cuts that will beneeded if international targets are to be reached.Using case studies, an international group ofauthors describes the main European electricityregimes and the potential of available instruments,with a special focus on economic instruments(including emission trading) and voluntary agree-ments.

C. Vrolijk, ed. (2002). Royal Institute of Interna-tional Affairs with Earthscan Publications Ltd. (seeabove). Pbk., 310p. ISBN 1-85383-822-5.

Climate Change and SustainableDevelopment: Prospects forDeveloping CountriesAlthough developing countries’ policies will havean increasingly significant effect on climate

change, for most of the individual countries con-cerned the issue is secondary compared with prob-lems like poverty and lack of food security. Thisbook offers a pragmatic framework for develop-ing countries to use in evaluating their climatechange options in the context of general sustain-able development policies.

A. Markandya and K. Halsnaes, eds. (2002).Earthscan Publications Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 291p.ISBN 1-85383-910-8.

Industry sectors

Fisheries and the EnvironmentThis two-part report from UNEP DTIE’s

Economics and Trade Branch is intended to meetdemand for increased analysis of the relationshipsbetween subsidies, overfishing and other aspectsof fishery management. Vol. 1 examines the eco-nomic, environmental and social effects of subsi-dies and explores approaches to developing policyreforms for the sustainable fishery management.Vol. 2 presents results drawn from two countryprojects aimed at assessing the effects of trade lib-eralization and trade-related policies and at devel-oping policy packages that could help mitigatenegative impacts and enhance positive ones.

(2002). UNEP. Available from EarthPrint Ltd.(see above) or download from www.unep.ch/etu/etp.Pbk. ISSN 1020-0751.Vol. 1, Fisheries Subsidies and Overfishing:Towards a Structured Discussion

G. Porter. 46p. ISBN 92-807-2126-7.Vol. 2, Fisheries Subsidies and Marine Re-source Management: Lessons Learned fromStudies in Argentina and Senegal

54p. ISBN 92-807-2127-5.

Science, Agriculture and Research:A Compromised Participation?Written by agricultural researchers, and spurred bythe controversies surrounding biotechnology,“mad cow” disease and other concerns, this reportexamines how funding and political contexts affectthe agricultural research agenda and its results. Theauthors describe what they do and why, what dri-ves research methods and programmes, who fundsresearch and how the system functions. They alsocompare the ways in which agricultural researchhas evolved in the developed and developingworlds, using a historical analysis based on twomain case studies (the UK and Nigeria).

W. Buhler et al. (2002). Earthscan PublicationsLtd. (see above). Pbk., 163p. ISBN 1-85383-691-5.

The Role of FinancialInstitutions in Sustainable

Mineral DevelopmentInvestors in exploration, development and pro-duction of minerals have become increasinglyaware of related environmental and social risks, inpart because of the financial impact of largely

avoidable mining accidents in recent years. Thisreport is intended to help financiers better under-stand the entire mineral development cycle – fromexploration and development to closure and landreclamation – and to encourage them to take allrelated risks into account. Some of the report’sfindings were published in Industry and Environ-ment Vol. 25, No. 1.

(2002). UNEP. Available from EarthPrint Ltd.(see above) or download at www.mineralresources-form.org. Pbk., 86p. ISBN 92-807-2145-3.

Green Productivity Practices inSelect Industry SectorsThe Asian Productivity Association began researchin late 1998 on how, and to what degree, the con-cept of “green productivity” (cleaner production)was being implemented in six of its 18 membercountries: Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand,the Philippines and Japan. Which industry sectorswere selected varied by country, but the research asa whole focused particularly on small and medi-um-sized enterprises. The country experts doingthe research found that perceived costs, lack offinancing and technical expertise, and a need fornew regulatory approaches were the main obsta-cles to SMEs’ applying green productivity.

(2001). Asian Productivity Organization (seeabove). Pbk., 244p. ISBN 92-833-2289-4.

Sustainable Tourism inProtected Areas: Guidelines forPlanning and Management

Tourism, frequently called the world’s largest indus-try, has always had a strong if sometimes adversari-al relationship with protected areas. This volume isNo. 8 in the Best Practice Protected Area Guide-lines series of the World Commission on ProtectedAreas, a network of experts affiliated with IUCN –The World Conservation Union. UNEP’s TourismUnit and the World Tourism Organization wereclosely involved in the production of the book,which is aimed at managers of protected areas. Itfocuses particularly on ways that tourism can con-tribute to the sustainability of protected area man-agement.

P.F.J. Eagles, S.F. McCool and C.D. Haynes(2002). IUCN, UNEP, WTO. Available fromEarthPrint Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 183p. ISBN 2-8317-0648-3.

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International Yearbook ofIndustrial Statistics 2002The eighth issue of the United Nations IndustrialDevelopment Organization’s annual compendi-um of statistics on current performance andtrends in the manufacturing sector (it covers theindustry groups listed in division 3 of Interna-tional Standard Industrial Classification Revision2 or, for countries who switched to ISIC Revision3, table category D).

(2002). UNIDO. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.Available from Marston Book Services Ltd., POBox 269, Abingdon, OX14 4YN, UK, Fax: +44-1235-465 555, E-mail: [email protected], or Edward Elgar Publishing Inc., PO Box574, Williston, VT 05495-0080, USA, Fax: +1802 864 7626, E-mail: [email protected]., 724p. ISBN 1-84064-937-2.

Regulatory Approaches for the 21st Century:

How Government RegulationsInterface with Voluntary Initiativesto Improve the EnvironmentalPerformance of the Mining SectorThe second international workshop of miningregulators, organized by UNEP and the WorldMines Ministries Forum, took place in Toronto,Canada, in March 2002 as part of UNEP’sresponse to the January 2000 cyanide tailings acci-dent at Baia Mare, Romania. This workshopreport covers the issues and discussions, and pre-sents the International Cyanide ManagementCode for gold mining, launched on the occasionof the workshop.

(2002). UNEP. Available from UNEP DTIE,39-43 quai André-Citroën, 75739 Paris Cedex 15,France, Tel: +33 1 44 37 14 50, Fax: +33 1 44 3714 74, E-mail: [email protected], Internet:www.mineralresourcesforum.org. Pbk., 32p. NoISBN.

The Ecology of the New Economy:Sustainable Transformation ofGlobal Information,Communications and ElectronicsIndustriesGrowth in Internet use and other new informa-tion and communication technologies has been sorapid that little research or analysis has been doneon the impact this phenomenon has had, and islikely to have, on businesses’ ability to deal withthe global sustainability challenge. The editors setout to explore sustainability concerns arising fromthe “information economy,” particularly the riskthat issues concerning technology, research andelectronic commerce will be examined in isolationfrom corporate sustainability objectives. Includescase studies from industrialized and developingcountries.

J. Park and N. Roome, eds. (2002). GreenleafPublishing (see above). Hbk., 284p. ISBN 1-874719-47-0.

National/regional

Africa Environment Outlook:Past, Present and FuturePerspectives

Africa faces sharp increases in air and water pollu-tion, land degradation, drought and wildlife lossunless urgent action is taken, according to the firstcomprehensive regional analysis ever made of thecontinent’s environment. At the request of theAfrican Ministerial Conference on the Environ-ment, UNEP examined the state of Africa’s envi-ronment from 1972 to 2002, the main forcesbehind environmental change and the effects onthe region’s social and economic development. Ina format similar to that of the recent Global Envi-ronment Outlook 3, the book discusses environ-mental themes such as atmosphere, forests andurban areas, and looks at different scenarios fordevelopments up to 2032. Also available in French(see below).

(2002). UNEP, AMCEN. Available from Earth-Print Ltd. (see above). Pbk., 422p. ISBN 92-807-2101-1.

Integrated Assessment ofTrade Liberalization and Trade-Related Policies

In six country studies and a synthesis report,UNEP DTIE’s Economics and Trade Branch(ETB) presents results from the second round ofits country projects on trade liberalization.National teams carried out the country studies,which were monitored by national steering com-mittees. The synthesis report and its summarystudies were done by ETB in collaboration withthe United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment.

(2002). UNEP. Available from EarthPrint Ltd.(see above). Pbk. ISSN 1683-8157.Country Studies:Argentina Fisheries Sector, 118p. ISBN 92-807-2216-6.Cotton Sector in China, 66p. ISBN 92-807-2217-4.Ecuador Banana Sector, 78p. ISBN 92-807-2218-2.Export Crop Sector in Nigeria, 128p. ISBN 92-807-2219-0.

Fisheries Sector in Senegal, 81p. ISBN 92-807-2220-2.Forestry Sector in Tanzania, 55p. ISBN 92-807-2215-8.Synthesis Report:UNEP Country Projects – Round II, 132p.ISBN 92-807-2246-8.

Workshop on SustainableConsumption for Latin America

& CaribbeanHeld in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 2001, thisworkshop gathered professionals from academia,government, NGOs, the media and other busi-ness to develop input for WSSD on sustainableconsumption issues in the region. Findings fromthe workshop were included in the Global StatusReport on Sustainable Consumption submittedto WSSD. Participants drew up an action plan,included here along with the background paperprepared by UNEP’s Regional Office for LatinAmerican and the Caribbean (ROLAC), whichorganized the event along with UNEP DTIE,Brazilian authorities and the Brazilian unit of CarlDuisberg Gesellschaft.

(2002). UNEP. Available from UNEP DTIE(see above) or ROLAC, Boulevard de los Virreyes155, Lomas de Virreyes, CP 11000, Mexico City,Mexico, Tel: +52 55 5 202 6394 or 4841, Fax: +5255 5 202 0950, E-mail: [email protected].,Internet: www.rolac.unep.mx. Pbk., 80p. No ISBN.

Hazardous Waste Management:Policies and Practices in AsianCountriesHazardous waste is an issue that, as this studypoints out, has only begun to be dealt with inmost developing countries, including those ofAsia. The Asian Productivity Organization beganstudying the situation in eight of its membercountries in 2000, and this report is based on itsfindings. The study includes national reports forChina, India, Iran, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Thailand and Vietnam, a synthesis report, and theaction plans that were formulated as a result of theproject.

(2001). Asian Productivity Organization (seeabove). Pbk., 383p. ISBN 92-833-2302-5.

Editions françaises

Mettre en pratique le développe-ment durable – Quels processuspour l’entrepriseLorsqu’on est dirigeant d’entreprise, commentsatisfaire les actionnaires, les clients et le person-nel tout en répondant aux exigences de la sociétécivile ? Comment devenir socialement et environ-nementalement responsable tout en créant davan-tage de valeur ? Telles sont les deux principalesquestions auxquelles ce livre tente de répondre.Gouvernance, intégration du développement


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durable dans les systèmes de management, mesu-re et évaluation de la performance globale, dia-logue avec les parties prenantes, rendre compteaux parties prenantes, toutes ces questions sontpassées en revue pour donner au dirigeant d’entre-prise un guide opérationnel, une méthodologied’action pour engager l’entreprise dans unedémarche de développement durable.

Olivier Dubigeon (2002). Editions VillageMondia/Pearson Education, 13 rue de La GrandeChaumière, 75006 Paris, France, Tél. : +33 144 32 08 00, Fax : +33 1 43 25 43 37. 319p.ISBN 2-84211-206-7.

Atlas mondial du développementdurable – Concilier économie,social, environnementLe concept du développement durable est né auSommet de la Terre, en 1992 à Rio, sur le constatde l’échec d’un mode de croissance épuisant la pla-nète et reléguant la grande majorité des peuplesdans la pauvreté. Quel est le constat en 2002 ?Quelles questions se poser ? C’est l’objet de cetAtlas mondial du développement durable qui propo-se une radioscopie du monde, à travers des anglesde vue indissociables, croisant des données socio-économiques, géopolitiques, environnementales.Trente planches et quarante cartes jettent des pas-serelles entre l’accès à l’éducation, les écarts deniveaux de vie au Nord et au Sud, les droitsciviques des femmes, les changements climatiques

ou la solidarité internationale. Conçu comme unoutil pédagogique, L’atlas contribue à rendre leconcept du développement durable accessible àtous, décideurs et grand public.

Il existe également une édition anglaise del’atlas (voir plus haut).

Anne-Marie Sacquet (2002).Editions Autrement,77 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75011 Paris,France, Tél. : + 33 1 44 73 80 00, Fax : + 33 1 4473 00 12. 80 p. ISBN 2-7467-0234-7.

L’Avenir de l’environnement enAfrique

Selon la première analyse régionale détailléejamais réalisée sur l’état de l’environnement enAfrique, on observera sur ce continent de fortesaugmentations de la pollution de l’air et de l’eau,un accroissement significatif de la dégradation dessols et de la sécheresse et une diminution impor-

tante des ressources fauniques si des mesuresd’urgence ne sont pas prises. A la demande de laConférence des ministres africains de l’environ-nement , le Programme des Nations Unies pourl’environnement a dressé un état de l’environne-ment en Afrique de 1972 à 2002, analysé les forcesà l’œuvre dans les changements qui se produisentdans l’environnement et étudié leurs répercussionssur le développement social et économique de larégion. Semblable par sa structure à L’avenir del’environnement mondial 3, le rapport traite de

sujets tels que l’atmosphère, les forêts, les centresurbains, et il présente plusieurs scénarios décrivantles évolutions possibles d’ici 2032.

Il existe également une édition anglaise de cerapport (voir plus haut).

(2002). PNUE, AMCEN. Distribué parEarthPrint Ltd., PO Box 119, Stevenage,SG14TP, UK, Tél. : +44 1438 748 111, Fax :+44 1438 748 844, Mél : [email protected],Internet : www. earthprint.com. 422p. ISBN 92-807-2101-1.

Environment news out of Africawww.earthwire.org/africa

UNEP/GRID-Arendal has launched an envi-ronmental news portal covering 14 southernAfrican countries. EarthWire Africa musters ateam of African journalists to review more than40 newspapers for environment-related stories,providing a free daily overview of environmen-tal news from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,Republic of Congo, Seychelles, Swaziland,South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbab-we. The stories can be viewed by country, topicor time period, and a search engine allows usersto search for issues and keywords in the archive.Press releases and news from research organiza-tions, the public sector and environmentalorganizations will eventually be included.

For more information, contact: Svein Tveit-dal, Managing Director, GRID-Arendal, Tel:+47 90 58 90 32 (mobile), E-mail: [email protected].

AFP launches CSR news servicewww.globalethicsmonitor.com

The news agency Agence France-Presse andAFX News, its global business wire, havelaunched AFX Global Ethics Monitor, a mediaservice designed for professionals in the fields ofcorporate risk management, social responsibili-ty, corporate governance and socially responsi-ble investing. The service features news, researchand data to support decision-making on man-agement of screened investment portfolios andparticular aspects of social, environmental andreputational risk. Believed to be the first profes-sional-grade service of its kind, it draws on a spe-

cial team of journalists in New York, plus theAFP and AFX networks of journalists in 165countries. The secure, password-protected Website allows highly specific searches and for toolsfor organizing news and research content alonguser-defined themes.

For more information, contact: Graham Parry(UK/EU), Tel: +44 20 7422 4812, or BrianBaloga (North America), Tel: +1 212 735 9280,E-mail: [email protected].

ReefBase shows rise in coral bleachingwww.reefbase.org

A global coral reef information system calledReefBase, with data on bleaching events datingback to 1963, shows that the phenomenon ison the rise, and scientists link it to climatechange. Over 430 cases of bleaching, a phe-nomenon caused by (among other stresses)higher seawater temperatures that can damageor even kill a reef, were documented in the firstten months of 2002, the majority of themaffecting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Thefindings were released by the WorldFish Centerand the International Coral Reef Action Net-work (ICRAN), sponsors of the site. ReefBaseholds over 3,800 records, including informa-tion on the severity of bleaching.

For more information, contact: Eric Falt,UNEP Spokesperson and Director, Division ofCommunications and Public Information, Tel:+254 2 623292, E-mail: [email protected].

maESTro’s new incarnationwww.unep.or.jp/maestro2

maESTro, the free searchable directory onenvironmentally sound technology (EST) runby UNEP’s International EnvironmentalTechnology Centre in Japan, has been rebornas maESTro II. Aimed chiefly at decision mak-ers in local and national governments, maE-STro is a global repository of EST information,facilitating decisions about selection, transfer,adoption and use of such technologies.

For more information, contact: InternationalEnvironmental Technology Centre, 2-110Ryokuchi Koen, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka 538-0036,Japan, Tel: +81 6 6915 4581, Fax: +81 6 69150304, E-mail: [email protected].

Web SiteHighlights

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THE UNEP DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY AND ECONOMICS

Current uses and development of natural resources, technolo-gies and production processes, as well as urbanization patterns,have negative effects on human health and the environment.This is illustrated by unsustainable use of water, land and ener-gy, air and water pollution, persistent and toxic bio-accumu-lative chemicals in the food chain, and other industry-relatedproblems.

To have a healthy environment, we need to change how weproduce and consume goods and services. This changeinvolves revising and developing economic policies and tradepractices, so as to integrate environmental issues in the plan-ning and assessment processes.

UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEPDTIE) was created in 1998 to help decision-makers in govern-ments, local authorities and industry develop and adopt poli-cies and practices that:

• are cleaner and safer; • use natural resources efficiently; • ensure adequate management of chemicals; • incorporate environmental costs; • reduce pollution and risks for humans and the environment.

UNEP DTIE, whose main office is in Paris, is composed of:

◆ The International Environmental Technology Centre(Osaka), which promotes the adoption and use of environ-mentally sound technologies, with a focus on the environ-mental management of cities and freshwater basins, indeveloping countries and countries in transition.

◆ The Production and Consumption Branch (Paris), whichfosters the development of cleaner and safer production andconsumption patterns that lead to increased efficiency in theuse of natural resources and reductions in pollution.

◆ The Chemicals Branch (Geneva), which promotes sustain-able development by catalyzing global actions and buildingnational capacities for the sound management of chemicalsand the improvement of chemical safety world-wide, with apriority on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and PriorInformed Consent (PIC, jointly with FAO).

◆ The Energy and OzonAction Branch (Paris), which sup-ports the phase-out of ozone depleting substances in devel-oping countries and countries with economies in transition,and promotes good management practices and use of ener-gy, with a focus on atmospheric impacts. The UNEP/RISØ Col-laborating Centre on Energy and Environment supports thework of this Branch.

◆ The Economics and Trade Branch (Geneva), which pro-motes the use and application of assessment and incentivetools for environmental policy, and helps improve the under-standing of linkages between trade and environment and therole of financial institutions in promoting sustainable develop-ment.

FEEDBACKIf you would like to respond to something you’ve read here – to agree or disagree with a point of view, clarify a fact, or provide additional information – write to us. If you would like to air your views on any other subject relevant to Industry andEnvironment, we also hope to hear from you. As space is limited, we cannot guarantee to publish all letters, or to publish longones in full.


UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY AND ECONOMICS

39-43, QUAI ANDRE-CITROËN75739 PARIS CEDEX 15, FRANCETEL: (33) 1 44 37 14 50FAX: (33) 1 44 37 14 74E-MAIL: [email protected]://www.uneptie.org

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For over 20 years, the quarterly Industry and Environment has provided a forum for exchanginginformation and experience. Articles are contributed by industry managers, government offi-cials, researchers and others active in the field of sustainable industrial development. Besidesreporting on developments of broad international interest, each issue focuses on a particulartheme. The themes of recent issues have included the agri-food industry, consumption pat-terns, urban environmental management, sustainable energy, and mining and sustainable devel-opment. Recent issues and archives are available on-line at www.uneptie.org/media/review/ie_home.htm.

The next issue of Industry and Environment will focus on the retail industry.

Industry and Environment is an English language publication, but it often includes articles inFrench and Spanish. All contributed articles are accompanied by summaries in English,French and Spanish.

The review is also published in Chinese. For further details, please contact: Professor Liu Xiaogwang Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China

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