[ Cleaner Production/Pollution Prevention | Responsible Care® | Circular Economy ]

The terms Cleaner Production, Pollution Prevention and Responsible Care ® are often used interchangeably. In the case of Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention, the distinction between the two tends to be geographic  -- the term Pollution Prevention tends to be used in North America, while Cleaner Production is used in other parts of the world.  The term Responsible Care® is a trade mark within the chemical industry and refers to a specific program -- the term is used universally.

Cleaner production and pollution prevention will be defined together, while Responsible Care will be treated separately.  There is a wealth of information on Cleaner Production, Pollution Prevention and Responsible Care® on the web and no effort is made to create new material. A brief introduction of each topic is given below, these rely on existing material. Links are given for a large number of sites for those who wish to research these concepts in more detail.

Cleaner Production/Pollution Prevention

Cleaner Production (CP) and Pollution Prevention (P2) focus on a strategy of continuously reducing pollution and environmental impact through source reduction  -- that is eliminating waste within the process rather than at the end-of-pipe. Waste treatment does not fall under the definition of CP or P2 because it does not prevent the creation of waste.

UNEP defines Cleaner Production as "the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services to increase overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment."  http://www.uneptie.org/pc/cp/understanding_cp/home.htm 

Environment Canada defines Pollution Prevention as "the use of processes, practices, materials, products or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste, and reduce the overall risk to human health or the environment." http://www.ec.gc.ca/pollution/strategy/en/p4.cfm

Environment Australia defines Cleaner Production as "a strategy to continuously improve products, services and processes to reduce environmental impact, and to work towards ecologically and economically sustainable development."  http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/corporate/eecp/index.html

The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) defines Pollution Prevention as the "source reduction-- preventing or reducing waste where it originates, at the source -- including practices that conserve natural resources by reducing or eliminating pollutants through increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water and land."  Under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, pollution prevention is the national environmental policy of the United States. http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/p2home/

The Environmental Protection Authority, Victoria, Australia (http://www.environment.vic.gov.au) identifies six activities for achieving Cleaner Production at the production level:

• Improved operation and good housekeeping 
• Process modifications 
• Changes in plant and equipment 
• Raw or toxic material substitution 
• Redesign and/or reformulation of product 
• Management systems to avoid and minimise waste 

Environment Australia lists the following benefits of Cleaner Production:

• Reduce production costs through greater efficiency 
• Decrease waste of material inputs 
• Increase productivity and often improve products 
• Reduce energy consumption 
• Recover valuable by-products 
• Minimise waste disposal problems, including charges for waste treatment

On June 29, 2002, the Chinese National People's Congress approved  new and comprehensive cleaner production legislation, the Cleaner Production Promotion Law. This new law is the most significant of a number of initiatives the Chinese government has taken to establish Cleaner Production nationwide as one of China's key strategies for sustainable development. It is unprecedented, being the first national law in the world to establish Cleaner Production as a national policy, and to lay out a strategy for its promotion and implementation. This law became effective January 1, 2003. See also China's CP Policy and Guidelines and the Cleaner Production Knowledge Series.

Much more information about CP/PP is available in Cleaner Production/Pollution Prevention Links collection.

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Responsible Care®

Responsible Care® is a program carried out by the chemical industry in approximately 45 countries. Responsible Care® is a voluntary chemical industry action programme to achieve and demonstrate continual improvement with regard to safety, health and the environment.. 

The following information is drawn from the web site of the European Chemistry Council at (http://www.cefic.be/activities/hse/rc/rc.htm)  The Responsible Care® programme represents the industry's "commitment to continual improvement in all aspects of health, safety and environment performance and to openness in communication about its activities and achievements." 

"National chemical industry associations are responsible for the implementation of responsible care in their respective countries, however each programme must incorporate the following eight fundamental features:

• A formal commitment on behalf of each company to a set of Guiding Principles signed, in the majority of cases, by the Chief Executive Officer
•  A series of codes, guidance notes, and checklists to assist companies to implement the commitment;
• The progressive development of indicators against which improvements in performance can be measured;
• An ongoing process of communications on Health, Safety and Environment matters with interested parties inside and outside the industry; 
• Provision of forums in which companies can share views and exchange experiences on implementation of the commitment; 
• Adoption of a title and a logo which clearly identify national programmes as being consistent with and part of the concept of Responsible Care; 
• Consideration of how best to encourage all member companies to commit and participate in Responsible Care; 
• Systematic procedures to verify the implementation of the measurable (or practical) elements of Responsible Care by the member companies." 

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