Cleaner production: an economical option for ISO certification in developing countries

Since its conception in early 1990s, cleaner production has helped thousands of businesses around the world in improving environmental performance and reducing risks to their staff. Developing countries, due to their economic, social and cultural limitations are slow to adapt to new ideas. Stresses of WTO and ISO certification are hitting the developing economies hard especially the export businesses. This article re-introduces the concept of cleaner production as a self-help tool as well as an economical pathway towards ISO certification. The objective is to motivate businesses anywhere to join the sustainable development trail. A simple step-by-step procedure to develop a cleaner production program is delineated. Cleaner production opportunities and how their exploration will lead to covering many requirements of the ISO14001:2004 certification is discussed. Cleaner production opportunities in the most common automotive industry are presented along with five case studies from Australia. Special attention is given to energy efficiency. A full section is devoted to equipment-specific cleaner production opportunities.