UN Clean Production Programmes

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have partnered together to promote Cleaner Production.

UNEP Defines Cleaner Production as Follows:

Cleaner Production means the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes and products to reduce risks to humans and the environment.

For Production processes, cleaner production includes conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials, and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes before they leave a process.

For Products, the strategy focuses on reducing impacts along the entire life cycle of the product, from raw material extraction to the ultimate disposal of the product.

Cleaner production is achieved by applying know-how, by improving technology, and by changing attitudes. How is cleaner production different? Much of the current thinking on environmental protection focuses on what to do with wastes and emissions after they have been created. The goal of cleaner production is to avoid generating waste in the first place, and to minimize the use of raw materials and energy."

UNEP has produced a series of reports on Government Strategies and Policies for Cleaner Production, as well as case studies of Cleaner Production Worldwide.

UNIDO has also established a network of National Cleaner Production Centers. There have been 24 centers established in the following countries, since late 1994: Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. The centers in Korea, Sri Lanka, and Uganda were opened in 2001. The newest centers are located in Lebanon and South Africa.

Visit the UNEP website to download reports and information about the national cleaner production centers and their work.