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CP OVERVIEW

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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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What is CP?

Cleaner Production (CP) is a management strategy for industrial, agricultural or commercial processes, using a number of techniques aimed at improving production efficiency and resulting in economic savings as well as significantly improved environmental performance.

The concept of CP was introduced in the early eighties, brought up in the United Nations (UN) in 1987, and was defined internationally by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1991 as follows:

Cleaner Production is the continuous application of a preventative strategy to processes and products to increase efficiency, prevent the pollution of air, water and land, reduce wastes at source and minimise risks to humans and the environment.

For production processes, CP includes:

	More efficient use of raw materials, water and energy

	Elimination of toxic or dangerous process input materials

	Minimising the volume and toxicity of all emissions and waste at the point of generation

For products, CP focuses on:

	Reducing environmental, health and safety impacts along the products life cycle

	Ensuring more eco- and cost-efficient design, raw material extraction, manufacturing, use, and disposal

For services, CP implies:

Incorporating a preventive environmental strategy into the design and delivery of services e.g. as part of the companies procurement policy.
CP is not simply about changing technology. More importantly, it is about focusing on changing attitudes and behaviour. Often, significant and low/no cost CP improvements are achieved through simple changes in housekeeping and internal management practices.

Terminology

"Pollution Prevention" and "Waste Minimisation" are common terms sometimes used in place of "Cleaner Production", though they are actually only part of the Cleaner Production approach. Terms such as "industrial ecology", "green business" and "eco-efficiency" similarly describe aspects of the CP approach to business.

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