Cleaner production eliminates pollution throughout the entire production process. It is a way of reducing pollution damage to both the environment and the human population by increasing the efficiency of resource use-- decreasing pollution discharge by improving management and technology. 

The key to cleaner production is preventing pollution at the source of raw materials and throughout the entire industrial process. The goal of cleaner production is to bring about environmental and economic improvement. Cleaner production is designed not only to prevent end-of-pipe environmental pollution as is often the case in developed countries but to provide both environmental and economic benefits and thus to promote voluntary pollution prevention in the factory. Foreign experience has demonstrated that cleaner production is the best model for pollution prevention, the best way to the promote economic benefits and the most effective way to implement sustainable development.

Starting with the second state industrial pollution prevention forum in 1993, all regions and government departments initiated awareness raising, policy research and demonstration projects, often seeking international cooperation. On the whole, awareness raising on cleaner production has proceeded slowly. 

In order to promote cleaner production throughout over the country, NDRC (formerly SETC) has decided to implement a demonstration site program.

1. The aims and missions of the demonstration sites are to:

1. Raise public awareness of cleaner production, particularly with government officials and sectoral industry managers, with particular attention to shifting the emphasis from end-of-pipe pollution treatment to pollution control throughout the entire industrial process.

2. Encourage factories to increase their economic benefits and their competence, rather than simply reducing effluent discharge to meet pollution standards. Also to improve the environmental and economic quality in the demonstration cities.

3. Establish demonstration projects and gain experience from their implementation. These demonstration sites will become the models for implementing cleaner production in China.

4. Explore and establish systems and mechanisms for the management, policy making and running by the government of CP promotions  which are suitable for a socialist market economy. To gradually establish an effective system for the factories to promote CP voluntarily.

2. The scope of the demonstration sites includes:

1. Ten cities were identified as national cleaner production demonstration sites. The ten cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Jinan, Kunming, Lanzhou and Fuyang.

2. Five industrial sectors have been designated demonstration industries. They are the petrochemical industry, metallurgical industry, chemical industry (nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, chlor-alkali and sulphuric acid), light industry (pulp and paper, fermentation and beer brewing) and ship building.

3. The criteria for the selection of demonstration sites are:

1. Cleaner production is implemented at the factory level. The factories get both economic and environmental benefits from implementing cleaner production. The factories should realize the importance of cleaner production and undertake cleaner production voluntarily.

2. Implementation of cleaner production will be within the relevant government guidelines.

3. The implementation of cleaner production involves a combination of reorganization, improved technology in the factories, power saving and decreasing consumption, improved management and competent resource use. System engineering enables cleaner production to be integrated into the entire production process.

4. Cleaner production implementation is combined with the establishment of environmental management systems. This ensures that factories implement cleaner production continuously. Cleaner production helps to promote a positive image of the factory.

5. The promotion of cleaner production is carried out by building demonstration sites at which efficiency is increased, and low cost/high return modifications are carried out first. CP is promoted throughout the whole process.

4. Requirement for demonstration sites

1. The cities should build management institutes to promote cleaner production under the direction of government, the local Economic and Trade Commission (ETC) and with the cooperation of the environmental and sector industry departments. All institutes in different industrial sectors should diligently promote cleaner production and cooperate with the industrial sector management and the cleaner production centers.

2. Prepare and publish a cleaner production plan. Based on the research. All relevant governmental offices and industrial management institutes should prepare a cleaner production plan which is suitable for the current situation. The cleaner production plan will include the following items.

1. A pollution analysis of the local area and local industries;

2. The objectives, the key issues and the methodology pertaining to implementation;

3. A list of factories which will be the demonstration sites for cleaner production.

3. The implementation of cleaner production requires careful organization by factory management before actual implementation is begun. The implementation of cleaner production is an exercise in systems engineering and requires good management.

4. Develop cleaner production policies and regulations at the local level. Find and solve problems during the promotion of cleaner production. The implementation of cleaner production in the factories must conform to the laws relating to building- finance policy, tax policy, investment policy and the pollution discharge fee return policy.

5. Awareness raising and training. Make government officials and the general public more aware of cleaner production. Change the concept of pollution prevention, and form a receptive social environment to promote cleaner production. At the same time enhance the training of factory managers, administrators, technicians, and workers in order to implement cleaner production efficiently.

5. Procedures for implementing cleaner production

1. All demonstration cities and departments will finish compiling a cleaner production plan before the end of July, 1999.

2. The first stage of implementation of cleaner production will be to provide the necessary support to cleaner production technology projects and demonstration sites from July, 1999 to November, 2000.

3. Draw conclusions based on the first phase of implementation in December, 2000.

4. The second stage of implementation of cleaner production is between January, 2001 and July, 2002 will emphasize the spread of the technology to all factories.

5. Draw conclusions from the first and second phase of implementation of cleaner production. Promote successful models throughout the whole country.

©NDRC 2000-2006