The
key roles of continual cleaner production are enterprise
willingness and government recognition and promotion
By Wang
hanchen, Lao Changchun
Several years of
cleaner production practices implemented by diverse industries
demonstrate that cleaner production is the only way to realize the
sustainable development of economical growth and environmental
protection. Cleaner production focuses on pollution prevention,
technological process control, “The three waste” recycle and
utilization, and also reducing unit material and energy
consumption, enhancing the efficiency of resource and energy
usage, reducing production cost and lessening the production and
emission of pollutants. Via tracking the experiences and lessons
of diverse industries that implemented cleaner productions, we
find the key roles of continual cleaner production. Firstly,
enterprises have the willingness and consciousness to implement
cleaner production. And secondly, cleaner production need the
recognition and support given by governments of all levels and
relative economical departments, which can construct favorable
circumstance for industries and enterprises to implement cleaner
production.
1. Enterprise
is the main body of implementing cleaner production. Whether the
leader, especially the decision-maker has the willingness to
implement cleaner production is an important inner drive to deeply
promote continual cleaner production.
Cleaner production has
achieved delectable progress since Chinese government advocated it
throughout the country in 1993. But the developments of cleaner
production among enterprises did not balanced enough as a whole.
From the investigation of implementing instances, it can be seen
that there are three types of attitudes for implementing cleaner
production among enterprises. A part of enterprises realize the
necessity and significance of cleaner production from practices
and can continually summarize the experiences and lessons to
consummate the management of cleaner production. They have higher
passion for continually and deeply boost cleaner production. A
relative larger part of enterprises is limited by capital shortage
when encounter high fee substitute and thus lead clean production
to run aground. A majority of enterprises or regions lacked
consciousness of necessity and significance of cleaner production
and did not begin cleaner production.
Case Analysis
HeNan Lotus Monosodium
Glutamate Group Limited is one of the instances where China-Canada
Cleaner Production Policy Organization implemented cleaner
production. Upon investigation, we find out that the enterprise
set foot in cleaner production from conventional end treatment.
Then gradually combined with “The three waste” recycle,
technology improvement and material substitution. The enterprise
experienced with arduous course, explored harmonious way to
develop both industry and environment and realize win-win goal of
economical and environmental benefit.
1.1 Great Changes
HeNan Lotus Monosodium
Glutamate Group Limited developed from a civil enterprise in 1983.
With the rapid development of enterprise, environmental issues
became more poignant. In order to control pollution, the
enterprise invested almost 100 millions to treat wastewater. This
action did some effects on water pollution control but raised the
production costs. Unfortunately, because the disposed water did
not reach the national discharging standard, the enterprise was
listed on the discharging-limit and production-limit by the state
and regional government. Under the inner and outer pressure, the
company leaders realized drawbacks of end treatment. They changed
conventional treatment ways and combined end treatment with wastes
recycles, technological improvement and material substitution.
Thus they carried on integrative measures and achieved the goals
of pollution control and economical benefit. Through several years
of making efforts, great changes have appeared. Compared the year
of 2000 with the year of 1995, the discharge capacity and
pollutant concentration of wastewater reduced with the increasing
of yield.
Here are some referent
statistics: with the increase of yield and production value by 47%
and 61% respectively, wastewater discharge capacity decreased from
12500 tons per day to 7560 tons per day, falling approximately
40%. The discharging weight of COD decreased from 177 tons per day
to 5 tons per day, falling about 97%. The unit treatment costs
(including pretreatment) decreased from RMB 9.92 yuan to 2.02 yuan,
falling about 80%. The discharged water reached the national
standard level 2, saved cost of exceeding pollution charge RMB
4,800,000 yuan per year.
1.2 Successful
experiences
HeNan Lotus Monosodium
Glutamate Group Limited is a state-own enterprise that is
developed from a civil company. The technological procedure and
equipment techniques lie in the middle level in homeland. It
changed from an enterprise, which was difficult to survive because
of heavy pollution, to an enterprise of reaching national
discharging standard.
(1) Conceptions
transformation
The enterprise had
always focused on developing production while ignoring
environmental protection. During polluting control, they paid much
attention on end treatment with neglecting of pollution
production. The conception led to the malign cycle of “pollute--dispose—pollute
again—dispose again” and increased the disposal costs, damaged
the enterprise images. The enterprise recognized that the
conception of purely pursuing development and enhancing production
value would result in neglecting the principal of pollution
control and cleaner production. They should organically combine
developing production with environmental protection as
integration, systematically adjust technological procedure,
optimize resource distribution, lower production costs, reduce
environmental risks and realize the sustainable development of
production and environment. According to this conception, the
enterprise gradually adjusted the conventional pollution control
methods.
-
About pollution
control methods, according to the principal of pollution
prevention, the enterprise persists in reducing production
both from pollution control in technological process, and the
pollution discharge. And it lower the disposal costs.
-
About pursuing
goals, according to harmonious development of economical
benefit and environmental benefit, realize the win-win goal of
economical and environmental benefits.
Using inner or outer
technological procedure to recycle the non-product wastes, which
are produced during process, and reduce disposal load and lower
disposal costs.
(2) Technological
innovation
The enterprise
decision-makers changed their conceptions and promoted the
technological innovation. They combined end disposal with material
substitution and wastes recycle. Aiming at different
concentrations of wastewater that was produces from different
process, they adopted diverse cleaner production projects. For
example, choosing wheat to replace corn as material in
starch-process, using consecutive crystallization to substitute
intermittent crystallization, adopting “spraying slurry and
making granule” technology to dispose high concentration
wastewater and produce solid fertilizer, using anaerobic
technology to produce methane and reclaim energy, etc. Here are
some examples.
The technology of
spraying slurry and making granule
The fermenting
procedure produces wastewater 2707 m3 per day, which contains COD
30,000~40,000 mg/l. The discharge capacity of wastewater and COD
in this procedure occupies 25% and 75% of total discharge capacity
respectively. This was a big problem puzzled the enterprise. Via
the technology of “spraying slurry and making granule”, the
enterprise dealt with wastewater of high concentration and
produced solid fertilizer, thus obtained evident economical and
environmental benefits.
Economical benefits
The enterprise produces
solid fertilizer about 140,000 tons per year. It is sold RMB 530
yuan per ton. When deducting operation costs for about RMB 330
yuan, the profit is RMB 200 yuan per ton of fertilizer. Annual
profit is RMB 280,000,000 yuan and it becomes the new economical
growth point.
Environmental
benefits
The procedure produces
2702 m3 wastewater and 117 tons of organic substance, which occupy
25% of totally discharged wastewater (10552 tons) and 75% of total
COD (157 tons). Via the technology of “spraying slurry and
making granule”, the enterprise turned wastewater into market
demanding organic fertilizer and realize zero-emission.
Social benefits
Compared common-used
fertilizers with the organic fertilizer, the latter can increase
production about 10% and 15%. Technological innovation also
provides more than 500 occupations.
(3) Management
deepening
Conception
transformation and technological innovation promote the management
deepening. Through cleaner productions, the enterprise integrates
environmental and economical management into one entity and solves
the long separation of environment management and production
management.
-
Put the outcomes of
cleaner production into enterprise management procedures. The
no-waste and low-waste plans developed from cleaner production
auditing should be implemented gradually and check the results
in time. The enterprise should make the cleaner production
measures systems. Measures of duty operation improvement,
which is brought forward by cleaner production auditing should
be treated as regulations and abode by strictly. Also measures
of technological process control should be treated as
technological criterions for the enterprise.
-
Establish and
consummate exhortation-punishment mechanism for cleaner
production. It is prescribed that bonus should be distributed
according to conditions of cleaner productions. Establish
exhortation-punishment mechanism and assess the conditions by
economical and environmental criterions. For outstanding
achievements, the staff bonuses can be elevated by 5%. While
on the contrary, the staff bonuses are cut down by 1% and
leader bonuses are cut down by 5%. If the wrong-doers did not
put things straight in time they would be fined by
RMB1000~10000 yuan according to the damage extent. By all the
measures above, the enterprise activated everyone to
participate cleaner production.
-
Do well in
employee-training, fully augment staff-character-education.
Whether the cleaner production goals can be achieved smoothly
depends on the staff characters. So educational department of
ministry of personnel seriously did the cleaner production
training for the staff. According to the Group’s
requirements, the department set reasonable training plans for
the trainees. They trained the staffs of all level, including
workers, administrators of all levels, engineers, etc.
Everyone had responsibility to control pollution. There are
also persons specially assigned for the tasks.
2. Recognition and
promotion by governments of all levels and well circumstance are
important conditions for deeply pursuing cleaner productions.
It is demonstrated by
the investigation that by the comprehensive policies, governments
of all levels can promote society and enterprises to transfer to
cleaner production. The functions of governments are instruction
(service), compulsion, encouragement and supervision. All of these
functions have been demonstrated in diverse cleaner production
projects. HeNan Lotus Monosodium Glutamate Group Limited sets a
good example for us.
(1) Function of
service
The state and regional
government attached much importance on enterprise environmental
protection. Member of State Department, comrade Songjian, and
director general of National Environmental Protection Department,
Xie Zhenhua, surveyed the enterprise on environmental protection
for several times. In order to solve the problem of high
concentration wastewater treatment, National Environmental
Protection Department has organized experts from domestic
well-known universities, academic institutes and municipal design
institutes to discuss the treatment methods. Also National
Environmental Protection Department asked industry experts to
provide consulting for the enterprise to develop cleaner
production.
(2) Function of
compulsion
According to the
national and regional discharge standard, the government
restricted the discharge capacity and concentration from the
enterprise. According to Wastewater Pollution Prevention
Regulations in Huai River, National Environmental Protection
Department punished the enterprise by the decision of limiting
discharge. The enterprise was ordered to reach the standard before
the year of 1997.
(3) Function of
encouragement
In the interest of
promoting enterprise to control water pollution, the governments
of all levels and relative economical departments adopted
encouraging policies. National economy and trade committee and
national, regional financial departments gave supports to several
projects, such as material replacement, conventional technological
process innovation, solid fertilizer production and methane
utilization. In order to encourage the recycle of “The three
Waster”, national and regional revenue delivered profits to the
enterprise by cutting down tax.
(4) Function of
supervision
Municipal environmental
department appointed person specially for the supervision, except
for the supervision by enterprise environmental institute itself.
When relative society and public found heavy pollution, they can
prosecute the government. Institutions in the lower reaches of the
river can monitor the water quality of outlet regularly or
irregularly. If there is something abnormal, they can also
prosecute the enterprise. |
