C

Cleaner Production and (IVAM 2008). Applying specific methods to facil-

Sustainable Development itate the inclusion of environmental practices in
different types of businesses, Cleaner Production
Karin Tschiggerl and Milan Topic (CP) represents a proactive approach to reduce
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Leoben, Austria environmental deterioration (Silva et al. 2017).

Definition Industrial Action on Sustainable

Development
Cleaner Production can be defined as an inte-
grated, preventive environmental strategy towards
There exist various concepts for industrial envi-
processes, products, and services. The overall aim
ronmental management (Nilsson 2007) and
of the approach is to increase the efficiency and to
toward a transition to a green economy (Loiseau
reduce the damage and risks for humans and the
et al. 2016) related to different system levels.
environment (UNEP 1990).
These concepts build each of the steps of a stair-
case (Fig. 1), where the lower terms are part of the
upper terms and thus build a system of subsets and
Introduction supersets. The highest term “sustainable develop-
ment” (SD) includes all lower steps, including
One of the major recognized challenges facing our
waste disposal, pollution control, recycling,
world is the one of sustainable development. It
waste minimization, pollution prevention,
becomes obvious that the challenge is not being
Cleaner Production, and industrial ecology
met (Ballard 2005) as too many sustainability
(Hammer 1996; Nilsson 2007).
related problems are still unsolved and negative
In general the staircase consists of three types
impacts keep increasing (Baumgartner 2011).
of concepts:
A key driver for growing numbers in resource
use and environmental degradation can be seen
1. Macro-scale concepts represent relationships
in current production and consumption patterns.
between industry, social institutions, the pub-
Industrialized countries used different strate-
lic, and the environment with all its aspects.
gies to respond to environmental challenges over
2. Microscale concepts refer to activities along
the last decades, which can be related to maturity
the value chains of industrial organizations.
levels: from passive attitudes to reactive over con-
structive to proactive environmental strategies
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
W. Leal Filho (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_258-1
2 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development

Cleaner Production and

Sustainable
Development,
Fig. 1 Staircase of
concepts in industrial
environmental
management. (Source:
Hammer (1996) and
Nilsson (2007))

3. Operational concepts address the material flow

management and related activities in specific
functional areas of a business (Hammer 1996;
Nilsson 2007).

The different concepts and approaches can be

used to support the transition toward sustainabil-
ity, where ones show greater potential to support
sustainable development than others. This can be
deduced from the hierarchical structure shown in
Fig. 1 and the explanations in the frame of eco-
nomics theories, distinguishing two different
visions of sustainability: weak sustainability and
strong sustainability (Dietz and Neumayer 2007;
Loiseau et al. 2016). Weak sustainability argues
that “anthropogenic capital” and “natural capital”
can be substituted while there is no need to change Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development,
the current economic system radically. In contrast, Fig. 2 CP and sustainability visions. (Source: adapted
from Loiseau et al. (2016))
strong sustainability considers the two forms of
capital as complementary, but not unlimitedly
interconvertible. From this viewpoint, deep struc- Despite its importance as an effective concept
tural changes in human behavior involving long- for sustainable industry actions, it is limited in
term and substantial modifications of production its ability to prevent the shortage of resources
and consumption patterns are required (Neumayer and environmental pollution by changing econo-
2010). Figure 2 classifies some of the concepts mies and societies systemically and substantially
including CP related to the substitution between (Loiseau et al. 2016).
natural (environmental) and man-made
(economic) capital.
In its scope, CP strategies apply to companies The Concept of Cleaner Production
and are therefore concerning a microeconomic
scope, with actions on operative levels aiming at Historically, programs related to Cleaner Produc-
environmental sustainability (Kalili 2015). tion started in the 1980s with campaigns from
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
Greenpeace and the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO) with the
aim to transform unsustainable production pat-
terns (Silva et al. 2017).
According to Geiser (2001), Cleaner Produc-
tion can help the industrial sector implementing
SD goals as it allows them to define procedures
and develop adequate measures to conduct those
procedures. Therefore, the CP concept connects
the production sector with sustainability and helps
industrial decision-makers to evaluate alternative
approaches aiming at the reduction of negative
environmental and health impacts more effec-
tively. As stated by the World Business Council
on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Cleaner
Production represents a proactive environmental
strategy that enables the delivery of competitively
priced goods and services that satisfy human
needs and bring quality of life. At the same time,
ecological impacts and resource intensity can be
reduced progressively throughout the life cycle to
a level that is at least in line with the Earth’s
estimated carrying capacity (IVAM 2008).
Cleaner production can be explained by its three
guiding principles, which are precaution, preven-
tion, and integration, and that distinguishes the
concept from other environmental strategies
(Jackson 2002).
Cleaner Production and Its Definitions
As a response of the industry to the call for sus-
tainable development as launched in “Our Com-
mon Future” (WCED 1987), the concept of
Cleaner Production was defined by UNEP
(United Nations Environment Programme) in
1990, as follows:
Cleaner Production is the continuous application of
an integrated, preventive environmental strategy
towards processes, products and services in order
to increase overall efficiency and reduce damage
and risks for humans and the environment. Cleaner
Production can be applied to the processes used in
any industry, to products themselves and to various
services provided in society.
The concept of Cleaner Production addresses
all aspects of transforming inputs to outputs
within an organization. Related to production
3
processes, CP is realized by various (single or
combined) measures that help in (a) preserving
raw materials, water, and energy, (b) eliminating
substances that are harmful to the health and the
environment, and (c) reducing the quantity and
harmfulness of emissions and waste at their
source. For products, CP aims to reduce the
impacts (environmental, health, safety) of prod-
ucts over their entire life cycle, from raw materials
extraction to the end-of-life phase. Related to
services, CP involves the consideration of envi-
ronmental aspects in the design and provision of
services (El Kholy 2003).
In this definition, CP is specified as a strategy
going beyond technical fixes. Further, the
approach of CP is to handle the causes rather
than the effects of waste and emissions. This
meant a paradigm shift against conventional mea-
sures to protect the environment which often use
so-called “end-of-pipe” technologies to dispose
existing waste and emissions. In contrast CP
aims at preventive and production-integrated
environmental protection by reducing the amount
and harmfulness of waste and emissions.
Although not clearly stated in the definition, CP
has to consider the whole life cycle, including the
downstreams and upstreams of processes, prod-
ucts, and services as fields of application (Hens
et al. 2018).
In 2016 UNEP broadened the definition of CP
to include resource efficiency, which is a key
element toward sustainable development (UNEP
2016): “Resource Efficient and Cleaner Produc-
tion continuously applies integrated and preven-
tive strategies to processes, products and services.
This increases efficiency and reduces risks to
humans and the environment. RECP specifically
works to advance
– Production Efficiency – through optimization
of productive use of natural resources
(materials, energy, water) at all stages of the
production cycle;
– Environmental Management – through mini-
mization of the adverse impacts of industrial
production systems on nature and the
environment;
4 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
– Human development – through minimization
of risks to people and communities, and sup-
port to their development.”
With this definition the focus is placed on the
development of cleaner technologies that generate
less pollution and waste by using resources more
efficiently (Loiseau et al. 2016).
Cleaner Production Strategies
An organization that wants to operate sustainably
has to change fundamentally. Therefore, it
requires changed objectives through a long-term
vision toward sustainability and adequate strate-
gies that implement those goals. With a focus on
environmental sustainability, such strategies
apply to “increasing eco-efficiency” and “increas-
ing eco-effectiveness.” Cleaner Production repre-
sents the most important approach to improve
eco-efficiency (Yaacoub and Fresner 2006;
Nussbaumer 2007; Tschiggerl and Wolf 2012),
which can be defined as the ratio of the economic
value of a product/service and its environmental
impacts over the entire life cycle (WBCSD 2000).
In the context of Cleaner Production, the strat-
egy of increasing eco-efficiency seeks to reduce
the consumption of natural resources by using
them in a more efficient way – which connects it
to the aims of sustainable development (Silva
et al. 2017). This is to say that companies will be
enabled to improve their operational efficiency of
processes, products, and services and generate
monetary savings while reducing their resource
consumption and emissions by following CP
strategies on a voluntary basis. For industry, CP
presents thus an attractive economic and environ-
mental “win-win” situation. At the same time, the
awareness and the involvement of management
and employees regarding their contribution to
sustainable development can be raised (Ashton
et al. 2017).
The range of strategic applications within the
CP concept refers generally to changes in applied
technologies and manufacturing practices,
changes in raw material and resource inputs, prod-
uct changes, and internal and external recycling
programs (Yaacoub and Fresner 2006; Van Hoof
and Lyon 2013; Fresner et al. 2014). Figure 3
gives an overview for CP strategies on different
levels.
According to Fresner et al. (2014), measures
are the most effective if they tackle the origin of an
inefficiency and if cycles (material and energy)
are kept as short as possible. In this sense the
highest priority should be given to measures – as
well product and process change – to avoid and
reduce waste and emissions at their source. Prod-
uct changes can include the substitution of the
production, expanding the life span, changing
the materials, or changing the product design.
All these activities are summarized under the
term “eco-design.” Process changes include the
careful handling or substitution of raw materials
and the changing of the technology. Waste that
cannot be avoided by these measures can possibly
be recycled in internal cycles. This can be realized
by the reuse for the same or another application,
including downcycling and partly resource recov-
ery. Not before those strategies can be applied,
measure to external recycling or the recirculation
to biogenic cycles will be employed.
In the following, the CP strategies are
explained in detail.
Good Housekeeping
Good housekeeping requires a positive attitude at
every level of an organization and contributes to
sound management principles at a facility. A good
housekeeping program can be defined by the
terms “clean and orderly,” whereby in general
such measures can be implemented simply and
easily. Possible activities can refer to facilitated
materials and equipment positioning, improved
manufacturing and production efficiency, reduced
product losses due to dissipation, improvements
regarding health and safety aspects arising from
poor materials and equipment management,
etc. Starting point for good housekeeping is the
clear definition of processes and proceedings
regarding those practices (Shammas and Wang
2009).
Replacing Materials
The substitution of input materials aims at the
avoidance and/or reduction of hazardous raw-,
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development, Fig. 3 Cleaner production strategies. (Source: adapted from
Fresner et al. (2014) and Silva et al. (2017))
auxiliary or operating materials. Further it
includes using operating materials with a longer
lifetime (Nilsson et al. 2007). This strategy is
directly linked to the organization’s procurement,
where clear guidelines can help to hinder the use
of toxic and complicated material. This requires
adequate assessment techniques and the availabil-
ity of safety data sheets (Fresner et al. 2014).
Technological Change
Technological changes include mainly process
and equipment modifications aiming at waste
reductions in a production setting whereby mea-
sures can range from small modifications at low
cost to comprehensive process replacements.
Technological changes involve altered production
processes, equipment, process conditions (i.e.,
temperatures, flow rates, etc.), or the implementa-
tion of automation (UNEP 1996).
Internal Recycling
According to the guiding principles of CP, pollut-
ants which cannot be avoided should be
reintegrated into the production process of the
company (Dias Pimenta et al. 2012). The option
of internal recycling refers to on-site recycling or
on-site recovery and reuse of wasted materials in
the same process or for another useful application
within the organization (Jain et al. 2017).
5
External Recycling
External recycling aims at transforming previ-
ously discarded wastes into useful materials that
can be used outside the organization, whether to
be reused or recycled (Jain et al. 2017). This
option has no influence on the amounts of mate-
rials purchased and requires a well-functioning
waste logistics system to collect and distribute
the materials (Nilsson et al. 2007; Fresner
et al. 2014).
Biogenic Cycles
This strategy relates to the removal, detoxifica-
tion, and compatibility with biogenic cycles.
Waste that is inevitable should be kept free of
toxins, heavy metals, and carcinogen substances
to make the waste streams easy to handle and to
avoid potential problems with their disposal. After
an adequate separation of waste as a preparation
for external recycling, the left amounts to be dis-
posed can be surprisingly low (Fresner
et al. 2014).
Product Change
The modification of the product characteristics
aims at the minimization of the environmental
impacts of the product during or after its use
(disposal) and during its production. Measures
within this strategy include eco-design, where
potential environmental impacts in later phases
6 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development

of the lifecycle can be avoided or reduced in the Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development,
design phase. Other activities are related to the Table 1 Cleaner Production assessment methodologies
(Source: adapted from Nilsson et al. 2007)
extension of the product life or the intensification
of its utilization, as well as environmental-friendly CP assessment
Organization (year) methodology
packaging (IVAM 2008).
UNEP (1991) 1. Pre-assessment
2. Material balance
Cleaner Production Assessment 3. Synthesis
Methodologies Dutch Ministry of 1. Planning and
Basis for the identification and implementation of Economic Affairs (1991) organization
2. Assessment
CP options is an assessment which focuses on the
3. Feasibility
following questions to identify inefficient use of
4. Implementation
resources and weak management practices
US EPA (1992) 1. Development of pollution
(Vietnam Cleaner Production Center 2000): prevention program
2. Preliminary assessment
– Where are the wastes and emissions generated? UNEP (1996) 1. Planning and
– Why are wastes and emissions generated? organization
– How can wastes and emissions be minimized? 2. Pre-assessment
3. Assessment
Precondition for a successful CP assessment is 4. Evaluation and feasibility
study
the interest and commitment of the company’s
5. Implementation and
management to implement the CP concept and Continuation
thus improving the eco-efficiency, with the overall sba/FHNW (2007) 1. Approach
goal to contribute to a sustainable development 2. Deployment
(UNIDO 2017a). 3. Assessment and review
Literature provides a wide range of documents 4. Results
describing CP assessment methodologies with the
same underlying strategies. Table 1 gives an over-
view of the most common methodologies and the
to catch “low-hanging fruits.” An important factor
corresponding source of origin.
for the success of CP projects is the establishment
According to the UNEP methodology, which
of a project team consisting of people from differ-
offers the most comprehensive and practicable
ent departments with responsibilities for the vari-
procedure to apply, the assessment itself is carried
ous business functions, i.e., production,
out in five consecutive steps, as shown in Fig. 4.
controlling, facility management, and research
In the following, the steps of UNEP’s method-
and development. It is also recommended to
ology will be described in detail.
include expert consultants to facilitate team activ-
ities, as well as incorporating expert knowledge to
Planning and Organization specific technical aspects, like energy and
The first step serves to obtain the commitment of resource efficiency, maintenance, environmental
the management, to allocate resources, and to accounting, etc. (UNIDO 2017a).
provide detailed plans for the following steps. A further task within the first step is the devel-
A good way to gain the management’s com- opment of an environmental policy including the
mitment is to highlight the benefits of CP by guiding principles for all CP projects. It contains
improving the environmental performance while the organization’s vision and mission for contin-
increasing economic performance. This can be uous environmental improvement and legislative
done by illustrating best practices from similar compliance and the objectives describing the real-
companies or through simple in-house projects ization of the environmental policy. For every
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
Cleaner Production and
Sustainable
Development,
Fig. 4 Cleaner Production
assessment methodology.
(Source: UNIDO and
UNEP (2004))
objective, various targets can be defined, giving
detailed information regarding the responsibili-
ties, measurement, resources, and time schedule
for implementing planned activities within the CP
project (Nilsson et al. 2007).
Pre-assessment
The goal of the pre-assessment is to provide an
overview of the organization’s environmental
aspects by generating a flowchart including all
inputs, outputs, and production processes. The
first task is to describe the company’s processes
with the type of products and production, organi-
zation, and relevant inputs and outputs. A key step
for the later assessment and the basis for material
and energy balances is the generation of a detailed
process flowchart, with particular attention to
7
support processes, such as cleaning, storage, com-
pressed air, maintenance, etc. which are often
causing relevant environmental impacts. After
defining the processes, a walk-through inspection
should take place to identify the sources for waste
and emissions on-site, also by directly talking to
the operators. The last step of the pre-assessment
is to establish a focus for CP actions as due to time
and resource constraints, not all opportunities will
be implemented at first hand. The focus should be
on processes that generate large quantities of
waste and emissions, use or produce hazardous
materials, are related to high costs, and show high
potential of CP benefits (Hansen et al. 2000).
8 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development

Assessment and should therefore be treated like other invest-

The assessment phase serves to collect data and to ment projects. Special attention should be paid for
evaluate the organization’s environmental perfor- necessary staff trainings. To evaluate the effec-
mance and production efficiency. The collected tiveness of the realized CP options, indicators
data should provide information about the quanti- should be used to assess the performance, i.e.,
ties of consumed resources and generated waste reduction in waste and emissions per unit of pro-
and emissions. Such data may be available from duction, improved profitability, etc. (Hansen et al.
production data, purchase receipts, accounts, 2000; Bosworth et al. 2002).
etc. In some cases, direct measurements will be The continuation of Cleaner Production can be
necessary, as well as estimations from operators. realized in the form of an EMS, as this ensures that
To account all the inputs (raw materials, services) CP is integrated into daily management (Vietnam
and outputs (products, losses, waste, emissions), Cleaner Production Center 2000).
every process and process unit is described in the
form of a material balance. Out of these material
balances, data meaningful environmental perfor-
Continuous Improvement and Cleaner
mance indicators can be developed and used as a
Production
controlling instrument (Bosworth et al. 2002;
Nilsson et al. 2007).
As the steps of a CP assessment follow the pro-
Depending on the knowledge and creativity of
ceeding of a PDCA cycle with the phases plan, do,
the team as well as with the help from external
check, and act, it supports the continuous
sources, opportunities for CP can be identified.
improvement of an organizations environmental
Those opportunities are related to the various
performance. In this way, after finishing on
strategies for CP actions, as illustrated in Fig. 3.
assessment, the next should be initiated with the
Once a number of CP opportunities has been
goal to further improve or to continue with
identified and recorded, they should be sorted
another focus area (Vietnam Cleaner Production
and prioritized (Hansen et al. 2000).
Center 2000). As a philosophy of continuous
improvement, the PDCA methodology induces a
Evaluation and Feasibility Study
stepwise change, which leads to an evolution of
To select suitable options, the sorted CP opportu-
the company (Silva et al. 2017).
nities should be evaluated regarding their techni-
The phases of the PDCA cycle include the
cal, environmental, and financial feasibility. The
following aspects (Gorenflo and Moran 2009):
result of these evaluations has to be combined to
select the most promising options. To prioritize
(a) Plan: Identification and prioritization of
the options, methods like a cost-benefit analysis or
improvement opportunities; this includes the
a weighted sum method can be applied. If there
analysis of the current situation, the determi-
exist no-cost or low-cost opportunities, they
nation of problems and their causes, and
should be implemented immediately (Vietnam
accentuating possible actions to mitigate
Cleaner Production Center 2000).
problematic aspects.
(b) Do: Implementation of the action plan includ-
Implementation and Continuation
ing the documentation and reflection of
The last phase of the CP assessment aims at the
selected actions.
implementation of selected options and the con-
(c) Check: Analysis of results.
tinuous monitoring of results. To ensure the
(d) Action: Development of methods to standard-
implementation of CP activities, an action plan
ize the improvements and maintaining
with concrete responsibilities, schedules, and
actions.
milestones should be worked out. The actual
implementation of options may require new
equipment, modified procedures, or processes
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development,
Table 2 Cleaner Production methodology and the
PDCA cycle (Source: adapted from Silva et al. 2017)
CP assessment methodology according to
PDCA UNEP
Plan Step Commitment from the top
1 management
Employee engagement
Organizing a CP team
Step Presentation of the CP methodology
2 to the team
Step Company pre-assessment
3 Data collection
Definition of performance indicators
Data evaluation
Step Identification of options for
4 improvement
Do Step Implementation of changes
Check 5 Evaluation of actions toward the
CP/monitoring plan
Act Program continuity
Table 2 shows the implementation of a CP
assessment according to the UNEP methodology
and related to the phases of the PDCA cycle.
The PDCA cycle is the basis for standards like
ISO (International Organization for Standardiza-
tion) 9001 for quality management systems, ISO
14001 for environmental management systems,
OHSAS 18001 for health and safety, and ISO
50001 for energy management systems. In this
context, CP can be integrated to complement and
support organizations activities toward a sustain-
able development.
Environmental Management Systems and
Cleaner Production
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) rep-
resent a systematic approach to manage complex
environmental components with the goal to
achieve higher levels of environmental perfor-
mance in a cost-effective way (Cheremisinoff
and Bendavid-Val 2001). According to ISO
(2015), an EMS is “the part of the overall man-
agement system that includes organizational
structure, planning activities, responsibilities,
practices, procedures, processes and resources
for developing, implementing, achieving,
9
reviewing and maintaining the environmental pol-
icy.” In this sense, companies can profit from
synergies and contributions between CP programs
and an EMS. While CP projects are focusing on
technical aspects, an EMS sets the framework for
management. As illustrated in 4.2, it requires a
solid management structure to conduct a CP
assessment. At the same time, every EMS needs
a technical component when it is implemented
(Nilsson et al. 2007). Thus, an EMS can contrib-
ute to increase the effectiveness of CP practices,
while the conduction of CP can simplify the
implementation process of a standardized EMS
(Cheremisinoff and Bendavid-Val 2001; UNIDO
2017b). Regardless of which approach is under-
taken, CP assessments and environmental man-
agement systems are compatible and there exist
synergies and contributions between CP and EMS
(Bosworth et al. 2002; de Oliveira et al. 2017).
ISO 14001 and Cleaner Production
The ISO 14000 series includes voluntary interna-
tional standards covering tools and systems for
environmental management. The first standard of
the series, the ISO 14001, provides specifications
for environmental management systems and is
intended for organizations that seek to manage
its environmental responsibilities in a systematic
manner (ISO 2015).
An EMS based on ISO 14001 consists of five
main stages: (1) environmental policy, (2) plan-
ning, (3) implementation, (4) evaluation, and
(5) review (EPA 2017). Based on the PDCA
cycle, the aim of implementing ISO 14001 is to
increase the environmental performance. The
principal idea is that an organization will review
its EMS periodically in order to identify improve-
ment possibilities and the chances for realization
thereof. CP concepts harmonize with the goals of
ISO 14001 as they require a shift from end-of-pipe
solutions to preventive strategies where all phases
of processing, service provision, and product life
cycles are considered (IVAM 2008).
The following Table 3 provides an overview of
environmental management based on ISO 14001
and on Cleaner Production.
According to Fresner (1998) the environmental
effects of an organization can be decreased by
10 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development

Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development, Table 3 A comparison between EMSs based on ISO 14001
and Cleaner Production (Source: adapted from Cervelini and Souza (2009))
Parameters/
management
tools EMS based on ISO 14001 EMS based on CP
Principles Not defined Prevention of pollution
Focus Systemizing information related to aspects within the Identification of the waste/emission
production process: use of techniques in general that generating source and use of techniques to
may minimize and/or treat waste minimize them
Object of EMS and not environmental performance No certification intended
certification
Costs Mainly associated to elaboration of procedures and Related to the adoption of measures aiming
generation of the documentation required by the ISO at minimizing waste and emissions
14001 standard; use of techniques of minimization
and/or treatment of waste and emissions
Coverage Systemic measures concerning environmental Measures aiming at reducing the
policies, communication with involved parties, and consumption of energy, supplies, and raw
environmental emergency plan materials and minimization in generating
solid waste, liquid effluents, and
atmospheric emissions
Vision Integrated; continuous improvement Integrated; continuous and incremental
improvement
Revision and By means of operational control, auditing, and By means of constant analysis of
evaluation critical analysis, using mainly indicators of an environmental performance indicators
mechanism administrative character
Refuse and It privileges the process and controls associated with Prevention of waste and emissions at their
industrial waste end-of-pipe technologies and attendance to source; limits the use of landfill sites;
handling legislation refusal of indiscriminate incineration
Directives Determined by local certification offices Use of international standards
Applicability Greater in mid to large organizations All companies, including small and micro-
organizations

introducing an EMS based on Cleaner Production.
ISO 14001 is mainly focused on auditing the
management system, while CP tools help organi-
zations to be aware of its waste and emissions and
to measure them. Using CP as a tool within an
environmental management system ensures that
the focus is on the relevant environmental aspects,
as CP is focused on improvements at material and
energy flows.
Conclusion and Outlook
Cleaner Production became a fundamental mech-
anism through which industry can contribute to
sustainable development. Although voluntary CP
can enable all types of businesses to improve their
operational efficiency and generate monetary sav-
ings while reducing resource consumption and
pollution generation (Ashton et al. 2017). Bonilla
et al. (2010) argue that Cleaner Production helps
to build a more sustainable society by a number of
benefits: efficient use of raw materials and energy,
careful selection of materials, generation of inno-
vative technologies, control of pollutant emission,
use of renewable energy sources and control of
non-renewable, integrating technology and envi-
ronment, implementing environmental manage-
ment systems, and regulatory adjustment. On
that account, academic research is engaged in
generating further progresses to the approach of
CP within a broader systems view. In the long
term, Cleaner Production shifts from projects of
continuous improvements to the redesign of pro-
duction with the goal to reach zero emission,
where all inputs are turned into products and
kept in cycles (Nilsson 2007).
Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
Regarding future perspectives, CP plays an
important role within international economic and
environmental policies in meeting the goals of
sustainable development. A number of organiza-
tions, with UNIDO and UNEP as the leading
ones, support the implementation of CP programs
in developing countries. In this context, the
Global Network for Resource Efficient and
Cleaner Production (RECPnet) which is
supported by UNIDO and UNEP actively pro-
motes the implementation of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) with several initia-
tives and actions. Therefore, the RECPnet com-
mitted itself to increase the global impact of its
services, i.e., developing, applying, and
mainstreaming concepts, methods, practices, and
technologies for resource efficient and cleaner
production (UNIDO 2017c), to achieve the goals
and related targets, especially to mention the
building of resilient infrastructure and the promo-
tion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization
and innovation (SDG 9), ensuring sustainable
consumption and production patterns (SDG 12),
and strengthening the means of implementation
and revitalize the global partnership for sustain-
able development (SDG 17) as key aspects.
Bringezu et al. (2016) conclude that many of the
SDGs and targets directly address the manage-
ment of natural resources, the minimization of
waste, and the decoupling of growth from
resource consumption. Strategies pursuing at sus-
tainable and resource-efficient production pat-
terns, and as is the core of the Cleaner
Production approach, will thus be a prerequisite
and synergistic for the implementation of
the SDGs.
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