Implementation of cleaner production in small and medium-sized enterprises

The aim of this article is to analyse whether it is possible for an external group to act as a catalyst when trying to make small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt a cleaner production concept. At Linköping University, Sweden, nine SMEs cooperated in a cleaner production project that uses the University and the County Administration as catalysts. This article is based on a survey that evaluated the project. The survey shows that the SMEs did modify their products and processes after taking part in the project. They were especially successful in changing their products. Why products were changed to a larger extent than processes is not fully understood. Maybe this was done as a part of introducing a preventive environmental care system. Most SMEs did, as a part of introducing an environmental care system, introduce an environmental policy and an educational programme. The SMEs also experienced lower costs and better cooperation with the authorities. A reason for this is the good cooperation between the three participants of the project. In general, the SMEs did not think that they had gained marketing benefits. This attitude could have been different if more SMEs from the same value chain (supplier-producer-wholesalers-customer) had been involved.     

Assessment of cleaner production uptake: method development and trial with small businesses in Western Australia

This paper reports on the development of an innovative semi-quantitative assessment method to estimate the level of uptake of cleaner production (CP) in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the basis of three component ratings: awareness of CP ideas and benefits; presence of management features and/or system components conducive to CP; and CP content of recent innovations and operational improvements. The assessment method was designed for application through a telephone survey and was deliberately structured to minimise intentional socially preferable responses. It was trialled on 140 SMEs in four sectors, mostly from Western Australia: printing and book making; dry-cleaning; food processing and metal products. The trial showed that the assessment tool can judge the business’ capacity to implement CP. The levels of CP uptake found in the trial reflect well on the experience of CP practitioners, albeit much lower than reported from previous mail surveys. In the trial the drycleaners performed significantly better than the other businesses, with food processing, metal processing and printing businesses being ranked second, third, and fourth respectively. The higher uptake by drycleaners was expected given that a sector specific CP program was conducted in that sector. Overall, the results suggest that generic (non-industry specific) semi-quantitative proxy indicators can be used for estimating the level of CP uptake in SMEs. Although further verification with quantitative environmental and economic performance data would in principle be desirable, this would be impractical due to the general lack of monitoring and recordkeeping of environmental data in many SMEs, and would also face the common conceptual, methodological and fundamental challenges for CP quantification. The tool may therefore be more useful to target CP promotion efforts, and measure their effectiveness.     

Benchmarking to trigger cleaner production in small businesses: drycleaning case study

This paper reports on research that investigated and implemented benchmarking as a trigger for cleaner production in the drycleaning industry in Western Australia and applies this knowledge to the small business sector. The critical success factors for environmental benchmarking are: identifying cleaner production gaps in areas important to the long-term future of the businesses, promoting the drivers to close the performance gaps, and ensuring managers possess the correct skills to close these gaps. The participants accepted the benchmarks as suitable targets and committed their businesses to achieving these targets in their action plans. Economic benefits and maintaining their licence to operate were found to be the important drivers. Program participants on average reduced hazardous waste generation by 48%, perchlorethylene consumption by 30% and improved their energy efficiency by 9%. Furthermore, managers involved in the program had a significantly higher uptake of cleaner production than the general small business community in Western Australia.     

From cleaner production to sustainable production and consumption in Australia and New Zealand: achievements,challenges, and opportunities

The objective of this special issue is to showcase what Cleaner Production (CP) practitioners and scholars in Australia and New Zealand have accomplished to date, and how they hope to progress in the coming decades. The contributions to this special issue have been grouped under three main categories: sectoral, regional, and CP methods and tools. These contributions suggest that the CP debate has moved on from anecdotal justification of CP through case studies to diffusing and broadening CP practices so that they fulfil their role as effective components of a viable, sustainable society. The continued evolution of CP methods and tools in Australia and New Zealand is a good indicator of such a trend. Papers in all three categories identify and present responses to the challenges faced in ensuring that CP activities are both linked to and informed by policy-making and that they support and enhance decisions made in pursuit of sustainable production.     

Design of policy mechanism to promote cleaner production in China

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣｌｅａｎｅｒｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ (ＣＰ)ｈｏｌｄｓｇｒｅａｔｐｒｏｍｉｓｅａｓａｎｅｆｆｅｃｔｉｖｅｓｔｒａｔｅｇｙｉｎｔｈｅｆａｃｅｏｆｄｏｕｂｌｅｃｈａｌｌｅｎｇｅｓｏｆｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌｐｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ.Ｉｎ 1993,ａｄｅｍｏｎｓｔｒａｔｉｏｎｐｒｏｊｅｃｔ (Ｂ 4ｐｒｏｊｅｃｔ) ,ｄｅｓｉｇｎｅｄａｎｄｅｘｅｃｕｔｅｄｂｙｔｈｅＳｔａｔｅＥｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌＰｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎＡｄｍｉｎｉｓｔｒａｔｉｏｎ (…     

浅谈非重点企业的清洁生产审核验收工作

重点企业与非重点企业由于其参与清洁生产审核的背景及初衷方面的本质差别,使其与二者相对应的审核验收也存在着较大的不同。相对于重点企业,目前对非重点企业审核验收的相关管理制度建设方面尚存在一定的空白。探索性地通过对非重点企业清洁生产审核验收工作的特点、验收管理工作原则及验收形式的分析描述,为非重点企业的审核验收工作提供参考与借鉴。     

Barriers to the implementation of cleaner production in Chinese SMEs: government,industry and expert stakeholders' perspectives

This paper applies an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to examine and prioritize underlying barriers to adoption of cleaner production (CP) by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China from the perspectives of government, industry and expert stakeholder groups. First, on the basis of the findings of previous research and literature review, 20 barriers are identified and grouped into four categories: (1) policy and market barriers; (2) financial and economic barriers; (3) technical and information barriers; and (4) managerial and organizational barriers. Second, an AHP model is developed and a survey questionnaire was designed, tested, and refined. Third, the questionnaire was distributed to the representatives of three stakeholders of CP, i.e. enterprise managers, government officials, and experts. The returned questionnaires were validated in terms of consistency and in some cases followed up for verification. Fourth, the 20 barriers were rated by analyzing the valid questionnaires through the AHP model. The top three barriers to CP adoption by Chinese SMEs were found to be: (a) lack of economic incentive policies; (b) lax environmental enforcement, and (c) high initial capital cost. The researches conclude that current governmental policy should give higher priority to lessening those external policy and financial barriers rather than internal technical and managerial barriers. The findings shed some new light on readjusting public policy in order to help to facilitate widespread CP implementation in SMEs in China.     

The Toronto Region Sustainability Program: insights on the adoption of pollution prevention practices by small to medium-sized manufacturers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

The Toronto Region Sustainability Program (TRSP) is a multi-year action-and-results oriented program which provides small to medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SME) (defined as <500 employees at facility level) in the GTA with pollution prevention (P2) technical assistance, coupled with a financial incentive to address the root causes of their pollutants and waste streams and improve their environmental performance. The program has been successful in establishing partnerships with three orders (levels) of government and a third party delivery agent—the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA)—to achieve significant reductions in pollutants/waste generation and to promote the implementation of pollution prevention practices within SME manufacturing facilities. This paper shares insights on how the program works and uses case studies as illustrative examples to highlight the P2 methods adopted, the resulting environmental burden reductions, as well as the value-added benefits to the TRSP clients' business bottom line. Furthermore, this paper outlines the findings of a survey conducted by OCETA to identify TRSP clients' key drivers for program participation, their implementation status, and the challenges encountered in implementing P2 projects. It is hoped that the insights from this paper will expand the boundaries of P2 knowledge within the P2 community, and motivate SMEs in various sectors to incorporate P2 as a sustainable business strategy.     

The adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK: exploring the consumer attitude–action gap

This paper reports the initial findings of two research projects that identify attitudinal barriers inhibiting the adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK. The first, conducted for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership by Ecolane Transport Consultancy, reviews the evidence of consumer attitudes to low carbon cars. The study shows that car buyers have a poor knowledge of cleaner car technologies, the environmental impacts of road transport and car ownership costs. The second study, initiated within the Open University's Design Innovation Group, identifies key ‘hotspot’ factors that influence consumers' adoption of low carbon products. The study, which is ongoing, has concluded that identifying where and when these hotspot points of leverage occur could help inform initiatives to facilitate consumer adoption and effective use.     

市场为何如此怠慢"清洁"

从经济、社会、环境协调发展的诉求来看，清洁生产无疑是一剂良药。然而，从记者调查的市场反应看，清洁生产远没有真正走到让市场青睐的程度，因而其真正意义上的普及显然还需要一个过程。     

Introduction of cleaner production in the tank farm of the Pancevo Oil Refinery,Serbia

This work studies the introduction of cleaner production (CP) in the tank farm of the Pancevo Oil Refinery. From 2003 to 2008, substantial investments in storage technology and equipment were made in order to minimize the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This article analyzes the effects of the CP activities using a model of tank farm emissions before and after reconstruction. US EPA TANKS software was used in order to develop a comprehensive model of the tank farm emissions. The year 2006 was accepted as representative for the analyses and related technical and production data as well as meteorological information were employed in the development of the model. The results show that the total VOC emissions were 37.6% lower after reconstruction and that the emissions of the major pollutant benzene were decreased by 62.7%. The effects of the CP activities were analyzed through the reduction of ecological damage, elements related to the operating costs, liability issues and the company's image. Future tank farm reconstruction activities in the Oil Refinery, Pancevo were proposed and their environmental effects predicted. An indicator of the expected decrease in VOC pollution was developed and quantified, with the aim of its use for quick calculations in similar cases.     

Policy and operational constraints for the implementation of cleaner production in Zambia

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to identify the appropriate policy strategies for cleaner production in Zambia. Through direct consultation with industry and other stakeholders, it was observed that the major constraints that hindered implementation of cleaner production in the industry were financial problems, poor/weak enforcement of environmental laws, lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and lack of technical competence. Similarly, potential motivators for cleaner production in industry were identified and included the macro-economic climate, economic reforms and policies, economic incentives, regulation and environmental leadership. In conclusion, the low levels of cleaner production adoption were mainly due to the lack of environmental standards in some industries, low levels of cleaner production awareness, limited understanding of commercial and economic benefits of utilisation of cleaner production approaches, inadequate institutional arrangements for the promotion and implementation of cleaner production and the lacklustre enforcement of existing environmental laws.     

Assessment of the potential of cleaner production implementation in Polish enterprises

The goal of this research was to learn about the level of knowledge in Polish industrial organizations about the principles of cleaner production and also to identify some barriers to implementation of cleaner production strategies. In order to gain this information, a special questionnaire with fundamental questions related to environmental attitudes was distributed to various Polish enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to characterize the state of cleaner production in Poland based on the results of this survey.     

用"一厂一年一环保"活动推进清洁生产——粤港联手推进清洁生产侧记

近年来，粤港双方清洁生产领域内的合作取得了实质性进展，其中突出的成果之一是“一厂一年一环保”活动的顺利推进。据悉，11月中旬，“一厂一年一环保”活动的发起组织——香港工业总会将召开专门的评选会议，届时将揭晓“绿色计划公司”、“绿色奖章公司”和“绿色工业家大奖”三个奖项的获奖名单，全面展示该活动的成果。     

Environmental issues in Nepal and solving them using the cleaner production approach

Owing to rapid industrialisation, environmental problems in sectors such as water, air, waste, energy and forestry in Nepal are reaching a crisis point. Although the Nepalese government has been trying to solve these problems by various means, the main emphasis has been on end-of-pipe solutions. This paper investigates why Nepal needs to implement Cleaner Production concepts as a matter of urgency and provides several recommendations to the government as well as sectors such as waste, industry, energy and pesticide regarding the implementation of such concepts.     

New findings on the generation of waste and emissions, and a modified cleaner production assessment approach-illustrated by leather production

New findings on the causes of waste and emissions, which were obtained from analysing numerous material streams in various sectors of industry, are presented in this article. It describes the implications of these findings for the vision of clean production, for formulating environmental policy concerning cleaner production targets, for the opportunities to assess to what extent the cleaner production targets have been met, and for the cleaner production assessment. A modified cleaner production assessment approach is presented, and illustrated using leather production as an example. The consequent implications for the diffusion of cleaner production are discussed.     

阜新地区铁矿清洁生产水平分析及改进措施

根据阜新地区铁矿特点,从工艺装备水平、资源能源利用指标、废物回收利用指标、环境管理等方面分析得出该地区铁矿清洁生产水平较低,尚未达至国内清洁生产基本水平,并有针对性地提出了清洁生产改进措施。     

Age-related decline in metabolic competence of small and medium-sized synaptic mitochondria

A computer-assisted morphometric investigation of cytochrome oxidase (COX) activity, selectively evidenced by preferential diaminobenzidine cytochemistry, has been carried out on synaptic mitochondria in the cerebellar cortex of adult and old rats. The ratio (R) of the area of the cytochemical precipitate (CPA) to the overall area of each mitochondrion (MA) was calculated. R refers to the fraction of the inner mitochondrial membrane actively involved in cellular respiration, thus its quantitative estimation constitutes a reliable index of the mitochondrial metabolic competence (MMC). In adult rats a significant negative correlation between MA and R values was found, while in old animals there was just a positive trend. Paired-quartile comparisons of R values showed a significant age-related decrease in small and medium-sized mitochondria, whereas the lowest and not significant age-related reduction was found in oversized organelles. A paired decrease in number and increase in size is reported to be a general trend for mitochondria during aging, but oversized organelles, according to their low R value, constitute a scanty, though functional, compensating reaction. Thus, the present findings support the argument that the currently reported age-related cellular metabolic decay appears to rely both on the decline in MMC of the small and medium-sized mitochondria, and on their specific reduction in number. This novel result is of biological relevance since it is largely the small and medium-sized mitochondria that are required for the provision of adequate amounts of ATP for actual cellular performance, while the significantly enlarged organelles are thought to represent an intermediate ultrastructural feature in mitochondrial genesis and/or remodelling.     

Improving cleaner production through the application of environmental management tools in China

Cleaner Production (CP) as a strategy for reducing negative environmental impacts throughout the production processes avoids and decreases pollution at its source and increases the competitiveness of enterprises. Since the establishment of China's goal for quadrupling its gross domestic product between 2000 and 2020, while improving its environmental performance and maintaining social stability, ‘win-win’ concepts such as CP are playing an increasingly prominent role in the country's development plans. Consequently, China's efforts to create a favourable policy and institutional framework for the promotion of CP that includes its unique national “CP Promotion Law” which governs the implementation of all CP activities in the country are encouraging. However, China has encountered significant challenges in improving, on a large scale, the environmental performance of its industries. Factors such as the difficulty in mainstreaming CP in industries, limited institutional resources as well as constraints in financial and technical resources of small and medium-sized enterprises have hindered the widespread adoption of CP. In addition, due to local peculiarities and disparities, different regional approaches for its implementation have evolved. This paper describes and analyses how the application of an environmental management tool in Zhejiang Province has enhanced the environmental, economic and organisational benefits of CP in enterprises.