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CP OVERVIEW

CLEANER PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

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	CP OVERVIEW: 1. CP CONCEPT / 2. WHAT IS CP? / 3. WHY CP? / 4. HISTORY OF CP / 5. WHO IS INVOLVED? / 6. BENEFITS OF CP

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Benefits of CP

Apart from the benefit to the environment, there are numerous other benefits for businesses implementing CP. These include:

	An important step in achieving accreditation to Environmental Management Systems such as ISO14000 series;

	Risk reduction due to a better understanding, control and management of present risks and future liabilities;

	CP focuses on occupational health and safety and also positive effects on worker productivity and decrease in accidents;

	Improved communication within the company as CP requires team effort;

	A competitive advantage through an improvement in the company image;

	Eliminating, or reducing, the need for effluent treatment as there is less waste that will require treatment prior to disposal. In addition, the size of an effluent treatment plant will be significantly reduced due to the lower volumes requiring treatment.

	Cost savings due to increased operating efficiency and reduced production costs.

	Reduced operating costs over the lifetime of process as well as maximum efficiency of resource use.

	CP leads to savings in resources, raw materials, waste treatment and disposal costs, and these mean money which goes straight to the bottom line.

"Cleaner Production makes business sense"

Experience in local companies has shown that by implementing Cleaner Production a company can typically save between 2-7% of its annual turnover.

Implementing CP
Systematically implementing CP in an operation typically involves:

	Conducting a CP Assessment (or audit) to identify opportunities for improvement.

	Undertaking a technical, financial and environmental feasibility study.

	Implementing the CP measures and monitoring performance.

CP Audits

The CP Assessment or Audit is a systematic procedure for identifying areas of inefficient resource consumption and poor waste management, and for developing CP options. During the Assessment Phase the input and use of raw materials and resources is compared with the output of products and waste, and appropriate measures are proposed to reduce or prevent waste generation or excess use of materials.

CP Opportunities

CP relates to all inputs and outputs from an industry, business, site or process. It applies to:

The principles of implementing Cleaner Production are therefore to:

	Improve housekeeping by making changes to procedures and management in order to eliminate waste, e.g. spill prevention, improved worker education and training.

	Effect source control by changing raw materials (i.e. change to non-toxic or purer materials, use renewable raw materials or materials with a long service lifetime) or using resources more efficiently (i.e. water reuse, energy savings, optimum chemical use, etc.)

	On site recycling: i.e. useful application of waste material produced by the company, e.g. reuse as raw material, recovery etc. Only on-site recycling is considered to be a source reduction technique. Off-site recycling is seen as pollution control measure.

	Redesign or reformulate products by changing the product characteristics such as shape or composition. The product life may be extended or it is made easier to repair. The manufacturing process may become less polluting. This also includes changes in packaging. Changes to product design often requires a life cycle assessment approach.

	Change production technology and equipment, e.g. improved process automation, process optimization, equipment re-design and process substitution. This can create less hazardous wastes and emissions.

The low- or no-cost investments usually include simple and rapidly remunerative solutions. The reason why these solutions are often so hardly recognizable is that they are so evident.
In most cases, over 50% of the savings can be made from the low- or no-cost housekeeping issues

CP OVERVIEW: 1. CP CONCEPT / 2. WHAT IS CP? / 3. WHY CP? / 4. HISTORY OF CP / 5. WHO IS INVOLVED? / 6. BNEFITS OF CP