Cleaner Production- A Move Towards Sustainability

Abhilash VijayanCharanya Varadarajan

University of Toledo

Cleaner Production - Timeline

Late 1980’s Environmental managers in the U.S. and Europe realized

the importance of pollution prevention at the source Stress on reducing waste and pollution at source rather

than treating waste produced Combined effort of production, administration and

environmental specialist teams to reduce waste generation and improve efficiency

1990’s EPA decided on Pollution Prevention (P2) National Pollution Prevention Act passed by Congress P2 – the top priority for protecting the environment from

pollution Established that recycling is not P2 but finding use for

something that’s already waste New P2 programs established in many states The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in

Paris made similar observations about the need for Pollution Prevention

Cleaner Production

In Developing Countries Weak or no regulations regarding treatment of pollution UNEP - major resource for Environmental Policy Decided on cost effective prevention through improved

efficiency and business management as the means to reduce industrial pollution

UNEP called this “CLEANER PRODUCTION” Cleaner Production (CP) is the international term for

reducing environmental impacts from processes, products and services by using better management strategies, methods and tools

A global movement for improving business performance

and a profitable, cleaner, sustainable future

CP called Pollution Prevention (P2) in North America

Cleaner Production

is a Preventive Integrated Environmental Policy applied to the entire Production and Service cycle

Products:•Reduction of wastethrough better design•Use of waste for new products

Processes:•Conservation of raw materials, energy, water•Reduction of emission at source•Evaluation of technology option•Reduction of costs and risks

Services:•Efficient environmental management in designand delivery

Impacts:Improved efficiencyBetter environmental performanceIncreased competitive advantage

Critical CP Factors Management Systems

Ensures right tools are used properly Environmental Management Systems (EMS) most common tool for CP and

P2 Other Management systems such as Balanced Scorecard and Balridge

Quality Award are also in use

Assessments To identify CP and P2 opportunities Assessments get integrated with the management system as a continual

improvement process over time

Measurements To obtain data on what’s happening in an organization before applying CP

and P2 Performance indicators linked with the mission and strategy developed Accounting tools used for developing the right data CP and P2 projects evaluated financially and by risk and impact

assessments

Critical CP Factors (Contd.)

Design Product design - ultimate driver for CP and P2 process improvements

Process improvement follow proper Product Design

Purchasing Critical for CP and P2

Green Purchasing or Environmentally Preferred Procurement creates

demand for better products that in turn creates better supply

Reporting Public reporting of CP and P2 and social performances

CP Assessments in Industries

Cleaner Production assessment

methodology is used to

systematically identify and

evaluate the CP opportunities

and facilitate their

implementation in industries

Assessment methodology is

useful in organizing the CP

program in a company and

bringing together persons to be

involved with the development,

evaluation, and implementation

of Cleaner Production measures

Phase 1: Planning & Organization

Elements important for the successful start of a Cleaner

Production program: Management commitment Employee involvement Cost awareness Organize a project team Identify barriers and solutions Set plant-wide goals

Effective CP Planning Process ensures Selection & implementation of the most cost

effective CP options Broader business planning investment analysis and

decision-making (such as capital budgeting and purchasing)

Cleaner Production objectives and activities are consistent with those identified in the organization’s broader planning process

Phase 2: Assessment Procedure

Source Identification – material flow diagram with associated costs made to identify sources of waste and waste generation

Cause Diagnosis – investigation of factors that influence the volume and composition of waste and emissions generated

Option Generation – create a vision on how to

eliminate or control each of the causes of waste and emission generation

Option generation in turn considers the following elements

PROCESS

Technological Change

Good Operating Practices

Product ChangesChange in

Raw Materials

Onsite Reuse & Recycling

Phase 3: Feasibility Studies

Evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of options Preliminary Evaluation

Options are sorted to identify additional evaluation needs for complex processes

Technical Evaluation Availability and reliability of equipment Effects on product quality and productivity Expected maintenance and utility requirements Operating and supervising skills

Economic Evaluation Collection (regarding investments and operational costs, and benefits) Evaluation criteria (pay back period, Net Present Value (NPV) or Internal

Rate of Return) and feasibility options

Environmental Evaluation Determine the positive and negative impacts of the option for the

environment

Selection of Feasible options Elimination of technically non-feasible and environmentally insignificant

options Selection of the right option in case of competing options or limited funds

Phase 4: Implementation and Continuation

Evaluates the feasible prevention measures which are implemented and provisions taken to ensure the ongoing application of CP

Results of this phase include: Implementation of feasible CP measures Monitoring and Evaluation of the progress achieved

by the implementation of the feasible options Initiation of the ongoing CP activities

Case Study Company A is a Drycleaner which cleans over

2500 garments everyday Garments are loaded into an Ilsa dry-cleaning

machine, in which they are immersed in perchlorethylene (solvent)

Perchlorethylene and soaps dissolve grease and oil

Solvent is removed and recycled in a still, where most of it is recovered

Process produces liquid waste residue which has to be legally disposed off

Cleaner Production Initiatives

CP: Preventive Practices

First Tier: Source Reduction Product Modification Input Substitution Technology Modification Good Housekeeping

Second Tier: Recycling On Site Recovery

While a small business cannot apply product modification or input substitution, Company A introduced the other three CP practices:

Purchase of an advanced Dry-cleaning machine to replace two old machines

Installation of a Carbon Filter Variety of Good Housekeeping measures

Benefits of Cleaner Production Technology Modification – single dry

cleaning machine replace two machines 40% reduction in operating costs Electricity to clean each garment reduced

by 17% Negative pressure within the cage

prevents perc fumes from entering the work area

80% decrease in perc consumption

Better equipment = Improved Safety

Improved Worker Productivity due to decrease in perc emission in work area

Benefits of CP(contd.) On Site Recycling

Element Before(ppm)

After(ppm)

Perc 2 0.054

BOD 5000 136

Total Grease

50 21

TSS 200 15

Financial and Environmental Benefits

Old New % $

Perc Cons. (lt/yr) 1440 240 83 3960

Perc Waste (lt/yr)

480 240 50 1080

Per Contact Water

960 0 100 1440

Electricity unit/day

90 75 17 865

Gas (units/day) 250 220 12 540

Maintenance 400 100 75 3600Increased Productivity

33.5 30 15 13650

Total 23135

Issue Performance Annual Savings

Payback Period

Item Purchase Price

Savings(per year)

Payback period

Dry-cleaning Machine

62000 23695 2.6 years

Carbon Filter

800 1440 7 months