Model Program for National Cleaner Production Centers
Project / Programme Summary
I. Basic data - Model Programme for National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs)
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II. Project / full programme description
The National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPC) programme is a joint initiative by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Environment Programme Industry and Environment Programme Activity Centre in Paris (UNEP IEPAC, hereafter referred to as UNEP). UNIDO is the executing agency, with UNEP assisting in the provision of strategic environmental guidance and professional support. UNIDO and UNEP meet regularly to review the progress of the NCPC programme. Phase I of the NCPC programme started in 1994 with the start of eight national cleaner production centres. These eight centres are located in Brazil, China, Czech Republic, India, Mexico, Slovak Republic, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The eight centres were selected from solicitations received from 39 institutions in 25 countries. In 1996 Tunisia was included in the programme and in 1997 a centre was established in Hungary. Cleaner production projects, which are expected to lead to the establishment of NCPCs, have started in Uzbekistan, Croatia and Viet Nam.
The programme is funded from a number of sources. The Government of the Netherlands funds the centres in China, India, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mexico, and the Government of Austria funds the centres in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. UNEP also provided substantial funding for the programme in Phase I. The centre in Brazil is funded through a self-financed trust fund. The centre in Tunisia, initially established with assistance from USAID, is supported by Norway. The cleaner production projects are funded by the Czech Republic (Croatia), Japan (Uzbekistan) and Sweden (Viet Nam).
Based on the lessons learned during Phase I, Phase II of the programme is now being started. It foresees increased regional expansions in India and China and the establishment of at least 10 additional NCPCs. Countries which are being given high priority include Croatia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam, (where the cleaner production projects are expected to lead to the establishment of NCPCs) as well as Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Morocco, Philippines and Russia (where preparatory activities to establish an NCPC are on-going). For Africa new pipeline projects for the establishment of NCPCs in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ghana have been prepared. Other countries are invited to submit or resubmit applications. It should be noted that the ultimate decision to establish centres will depend on funding from donor and/or recipient countries.
Evaluation missions and project planning workshops will be undertaken to select host organizations that will best house the centres.
- Objectives
The objective of the NCPC programme is to build national capacity in the field of cleaner production (CP). The programme builds capacity to provide four services: in-plant assessments, training, information dissemination and policy advice. All these services are interrelated and strongly support each other. - Activities / contents
- In-plant Assessments
Through in-plant assessments, an NCPC shows that the CP concept can be applied to any industrial sector and that pollutant reduction can be financially attractive. In-plant assessments create examples of successful CP applications that have a direct positive impact on the environment and that can be copied by other enterprises. - Training
Through training, an NCPC develops a core of national CP consultants, ensures that plant personnel participating in assessments retain the ability to implement additional CP measures and informs other relevant parties, such as sub-sector organizations, governments, research institutes, financial institutions, universities and consultants, of the advantages of CP. - Information Dissemination
Through information dissemination, an NCPC provides technical information (e.g., available technologies for solving environmental problems in sector-specific processes), shares experience with interested partners through CP case studies and promotes its services. An effective information dissemination programme is essential for ensuring that CP consultants can provide SMIs with information about the most appropriate CP techniques and technologies. - Policy Advice
Through policy dialogue, an NCPC aims to modify national legislation and policies to assign priority to preventive environmental management and to support effective environmental regulation. The latter involves not only administrative measures, such as licencing, but also economic measures such as realistic disposal charges and market priced energy and water.
- In-plant Assessments
- (Expected) outcomes / impacts
The table on the next page summarizes the main achievements of all the NCPCs from the start of the programme in 1994 up to July 1998. At the time of the review, July 1998, the number of plants which participated in the in-plant assessments was 405, the number of trained consultants and participants in training totals 1,016; To date over 16,000 persons participated in seminars and more than 7,700 attended in workshops. So far 78 newsletters and 63 publications have been issued. In addition, the NCPCs received extensive attention and coverage by local and national TV, radio stations and the press. - Features in line with the Agenda for Action
The NCPC programme addresses industrial environmental concerns building national capacities within the framework of cleaner production concepts.
III. Contact point:
Team Leader: Mr. Igor Volodin
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