[ Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) | Public Environment Reporting ]
[ Environmental
Indicators | Industrial Ecology | Codes of Practice
]
[ Environmental Audits | Environmental
Management Systems (EMS) ]
[ Environmental Accounting
| Design for Environment ]
[ Environmental Labeling | Performance Based Contracting
]
[ Eco-Efficiency | Environmental Taxes
]
The classifications and summary descriptions on this page are based on the Government of Australia's Sustainable Industry / Corporate Sustainability web site at http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/corporate/index.html. A very short summary is given for each topic. The link will bring up a more detailed explanation and/or links to other sites which explore the topic in more depth.
For information about the Chinese implementation of various CP Tools, see The Cleaner Production Knowledge Series.
Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA)
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a systematic approach to
measuring the use of resources/inputs and the release of effluent to the
air water and soil during the lifetime of a product, from its manufacture
to its disposal.
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Public Environment Reporting
Public Environmental Reporting is the process by which businesses,
factories, governments and other organizations examine their environmental
performance and publish the information to the general public.
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Environmental Indicators
Environmental Indicators allow
the measurement of environmental impact caused over a defined time period.
They are essential to determine how well firms and other organizations are
improving their "eco-efficiency". Indicators may range from the
very simple to the very complex.
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Industrial Ecology
Industrial Ecology
involves the incorporation of cleaner production principles into the
planning of industrial developments and other projects to optimise
environmental protection and cost effectiveness.
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Codes of Practice
Codes of Practice are
standards, usually developed on a sectoral basis, to provide guidance on
environmental issues such as resource use, emissions, waste disposal, etc.
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Environmental Audits
Environmental audits
are carried out to identify all of the environmental impacts made by a
firm. They are normally carried out before the implementation of cleaner
production so that changes to practices and processes can be identified
and assessed.
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Environmental
Management Systems (EMS)
There are two main Environmental
Management Systems --
the ISO's ISO 14000 and the
European Union's Eco-Management and
Audit Scheme (EMAS). The ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
(
http://www.tc207.org/FAQ.asp ) defines an Environmental Management System (EMS) as
"a systematic approach to dealing with the environmental aspects of
an organization. It is a 'tool' that enables an organization of any size
or type to control the impact of its activities, products or
services." The EMS is not prescriptive
-- it doesn't specify how environmental targets should be met -- but
rather provides a framework in which organizations can examine their
practices and then determine how these can be managed.
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Environmental Accounting
Environmental Accounting involves the implementation of
accounting systems that take into account environmental costs such as
waste treatment and disposal costs and the costs of a poor environmental
reputation.
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Design for Environment
Design for environment
involves the redesign of products to minimize their environmental
impact.
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Environmental Labeling
Environmental
Labeling involves including labels on products which inform potential
purchasers of the product's environmental impact. These labels require a
standard for comparing products.
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Performance Based
Contracting (PBC)
Performance Based
Contracting has been used mainly in the energy sector. It
involves a third party contractor taking responsibility for running a
portion of the business. The contractor can get financial rewards for
making the business more efficient.
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Eco-Efficiency
Eco-Efficiency involves increasing
production while reducing the environmental pressure per unit produced.
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Environmental Taxes
Environmental Taxes
involve the
development of a tax system which increase the incentive for industry to
adopt cleaner production and eco-efficiency.
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ŠNDRC 2000-2006