Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27

www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Cleaner production: an economical option for ISO certification in

developing countries
Zahiruddin Khan*
Institute of Environmental Science & Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Received 6 March 2006; accepted 17 June 2006
Available online 23 August 2006

Abstract

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 pro-
duction opportunities.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: CP opportunities; Just-in-time; Economic edge; Internal audit; Commitment; Ownership; Green materials; CP plans

1. Introduction management and true implementation of cleaner production

With the advent of WTO and ISO certification requirements
for industries and businesses especially for export oriented en-
terprises, the gap between imports and exports in the develop-
ing countries is on the rise. Today, ISO14001 or ISO9001
certified companies around the glob are refusing to do business
with non-certified companies. Moreover, the general absence
of quality consciousness in industrial operations, products
and services in the developing countries is costing them mil-
lions of dollars in terms of rejects and returned consignments.
Thousands of units around the developing world are operating
in same old way and the management dismisses the idea of im-
proved environmental management or ISO certification as ‘un-
due and uneconomical’. Success of cleaner production around
the world has proven that commitment from the top
* Tel.: þ92 51 927 1599.
E-mail address: zahiruddinkhan@yahoo.com.au
techniques results in cost effective environmental management
and brings the business close to ISO certification. The objec-
tive of this article is to highlight common cleaner production
opportunities in the commercial environment, provide a com-
prehensive step-by-step guidance for developing a cleaner pro-
duction program and confirm its successes by presenting some
case studies.
According to United Nation’s Environment Program,
‘‘Cleaner Production’ means the continuous application of
an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes
and products to reduce risks to humans and the environment’’.
It encompasses a thorough review of all aspects of business
operations and identifies opportunities where improvements
will help business’s economy as well as the environment. In
addition to economical and environmental benefits, cleaner
production saves staff from undue injuries, raises staff moral,
improves legislative compliance, prevents or controls spills,
and raises business’s profile amongst its competitors.

0959-6526/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.06.007
 Z. Khan / Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27
2. Methodology
This section addresses three subjects: (i) how to develop
a successful cleaner production program; (ii) where to look
for cleaner production opportunities; and (iii) what cleaner pro-
duction opportunities are attached to commonly used equip-
ment. Information provided here can be used as guideline for
development of an effective environmental management sys-
tem (EMS) and documents required for ISO14001 certification.
2.1. Developing a Cleaner Production Program [1]
The most critical factor in any Cleaner Production Pro-
gram is the commitment by the top management as the pro-
gram implementation requires some of the staff’s time spent
in meeting, discussing, communicating and planning various
phases of the program. Cost of implementing changes sug-
gested by cleaner production team is another obstacle. Cost
is less likely to be prohibitive if the advantages of the program
are well understood by the management and pay-back periods
are not too long.
Once the top management is convinced of the likely advan-
tages, following steps can be taken to develop and implement
a Cleaner Production Program.
Step-1: Top management selects an engineer or manager
from middle management that is relatively well versed with
the concept of cleaner production and call him/her the Cleaner
Production Champion (CP Champion).
Step-2: The CP Champion will put together a CP team com-
prised of supervisors from each section and the most experi-
enced and active floor staff.
Step-3: The CP team will review past and present environ-
mental and economic activities and contracts of the organiza-
tion and identify opportunities where improvements can
enhance environmental compliance, economic benefits or so-
cial stature of the organization. Smart CP teams revisit organ-
ization’s ‘vision for the future’ and incorporate future plans
e.g., ISO certification and initiate necessary documentation
of the collected data at the same time. Most common areas
of CP opportunities include: raw materials, water manage-
ment, wastewater management, energy consumption, mainte-
nance, technology being used with reference to the best
available technology, consumables, packaging etc.
Step-4: From the list of CP opportunities prepared in step-3,
CP team will focus on the few most promising ones and ex-
plore to what extent changes would help reducing costs or
improving environmental performance of the organization.
Step-5: After extensive exploration of opportunities, cleaner
production plans (CP Plans) are prepared for implementation
of the changes recommended by the CP team. Achievable
goals and milestones are set and concerted efforts are done
to achieve the goals.
Step 6: Monthly or bimonthly meetings of the CP team keep
track of improvements and barriers in implementation of CP plans.
Step 7: Steps 4, 5 and 6 are repeated until most of the
cleaner production opportunities are extensively explored and
changes implemented.
23
2.2. Cleaner production opportunities
From daily life activities of an individual to national activ-
ities, Cleaner Production opportunities are available at every
step. It should however be noted that an opportunity that is
promising in one business may not have the same ranking in
another. Since opportunities vary from business to business
and even from management to management, given below are
the major Cleaner Production opportunities along with their
methods of exploration. Such opportunities exist in most of
the businesses and industries. A comprehensive exploration
of cleaner production opportunities would also help in identi-
fying all environmental aspects of that business. This would
minimize the effort required in developing ‘environmental as-
pects register’ required as part of Environmental Management
System (EMS) documentation. Given below are a few com-
mon ‘cleaner production opportunities’. Any business can re-
view its operations in the light of the following and save cost
as well as the environment.
2.2.1. Raw materials [1e3]
Try bulk purchase i.e., prefer 205 L drums, 1000 L IBCs or
custom-made large containers over 10 or 20 L containers. If
the same raw material is to be used over and over again, refill
containers as far as possible. Use flexible packaging such as
sacks or bags to help reducing storage space requirements. If
a dilute solution is to be used in the industrial operations, pur-
chase concentrated solution for on-site dilution. Where possi-
ble, use recycled raw materials and/or replace costly chemicals
with low cost chemicals of the same characteristics e.g., re-
place H3PO4 with H2SO4. Shop around and prefer local sup-
pliers to avoid shipping and handling charges.
Explore and purchase environmentally safe materials for
your business thus help environment friendly businesses,
e.g., replace solvent-based coatings with less toxic, water-
based coatings. Reformulate and redesign your products using
environment friendly materials e.g. eliminate lead from paints
or cadmium from ink manufacturing. Analyze impact of your
products over their life cycle and redesign to minimize its ad-
verse environmental impacts.
2.2.2. Change process or technology [1e4]
Discard obsolete, energy inefficient machinery. Always
purchase energy-efficient, 3e4 star rated equipment. Prefer
mechanical cleaning devices over manual cleaning, i.e., rather
than using tap water and man-power, use high pressure, hot wa-
ter jets. This would minimize water consumption and result
into quality cleaning. Reduce high pressure lines to reduce fu-
gitive emissions of air toxins. Store powdered chemicals in dry,
covered and contained area. Develop and document standard
operating procedures for all business operations. This would
minimize repeats and rejects. Keep a maintenance record of
individual machinery. Post an emergency response procedure
against spills, fire or machinery failure in each section. These
activities will help developing operational controls, and,
emergency preparedness and response register e a requirement
under Section 4.4.6 and 4.4.7 of ISO14001e2004.
24 Z. Khan / Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27
Training of staff with new technology is vital for any busi-
ness. Get your staff trained as soon as new machinery is in-
stalled. Assess their competence regularly. Ask the trained
staff to train newly inducted staff. Keep changing staff’s
work positions. This will provide wider skill-base and reduce
of the risk of production loss. Refresher training and random
competence checks will help keeping the quality high. Docu-
mentation of training records and assessment procedures will
help keeping track of training requirements as well as fulfill
another requirement under Section 4.4.2 i.e., ‘competence
training and awareness’, of ISO14001e2004.
2.2.3. Improvements in housekeeping [1e3]
Develop and document ‘standard procedures and records’
for receiving raw materials and disposal of products. This
would reduce ‘volume and duration’ of storage as well as pro-
vide a track record of items in production flow. Take steps to
reduce and contain spills. Also install spill control procedure
and necessary equipment in the area where the spill is likely.
Review inventory of raw materials and products weekly. Ap-
ply ‘Just in time’ technique to avoid un-necessary storage.
2.2.4. Communication [1,4]
Healthy two-way communication is the heart and soul of
any program. Cleaner production champions all around the
world regularly communicate to their staff at all levels. De-
velop a system of communication throughout your organiza-
tion. This is important to get the first hand information
about conformance or complications. This will also provide
staff with changes in management’s plans, objectives, targets
and legal obligations. Encourage staff’s ownership e promote
intersectional competitions and reward best performers. An-
nounce ‘employee of the month’ award to motivate staff.
Keeping records, documentation and implementation of such
a communication system will fulfill requirement of Section
4.4.3 ‘communication’ of ISO-14001e2004.
2.2.5. On-site waste management [1e3,4]
Think through operations and minimize raw material wast-
age. Motivate floor-staff in waste minimization drive by shar-
ing the income from sold recycling materials. Segregate
effluent streams with reuse focus. Treatment of wastewater
to the country’s effluent quality standards is obligatory irre-
spective of seeking certification. Install low-cost treatment
systems as far as possible. Keep track of business’s obligations
under prevailing legislation and maintain a record of viola-
tions. Maintain a ‘legal requirements register’ and update it
with changes in legislation. This would establish the basis
for business’s track record under Section 4.5.2 namely, ‘eval-
uation of compliance’ while applying for ISO14001:2001
certification.
Segregate solid wastes and recycle where possible. Install
scrubbers to treat emissions. Comprehensive waste manage-
ment practices make any business more sustainable as well
as compliant with legislative requirement. Return all expired
chemicals and used chemical containers to suppliers as far
as possible. Shop around for most economical waste collector.
Conduct informal internal audits to review opportunities of
waste reduction and enhancement of waste reuse. This may
also include energy audit and machine-hours vs production
etc. Waste reduction can be improved by defining new targets
every year and motivating staff. Documentation results from
such audits and actions taken to fill the gaps will not only
improve production but reduce waste and will fulfill an other
requirement of ISO14001e2004 under Section 4.5.5 namely
‘internal audit’.
2.2.6. Energy management [1e3]
Conduct an in-house ‘energy audit’ every year or hire an
external auditor. In case of a large industry, conduct internal
energy audit in parts. Painting walls as white improves light
as well as the working environment. Use natural light by intro-
ducing translucent sheets in ceiling and installing large win-
dows all around. Maintaining minor gaps between start of
heavy machinery would reduce probability of crossing the
energy threshold. Recover heat loss by using heat exchangers.
Develop a culture of turning lights & machinery off while not
in use. Sensors can also be used to turn the lights and taps on
when needed. Replace high power light fixture with energy
saver fixture. Revisit electricity and telephone contracts where
possible. Supplement your energy needs with green energy
i.e., solar and wind energy, and set new targets each year.
Costs on phones are changing rapidly. Attend to your power
correction factor and keep it close to 1.0 as far as possible.
2.2.7. Water consumption [1e4]
Conduct an internal water use & quality audit each year.
Identify wastewater streams that can be diverted to reuse. Har-
vesting storm water can save on water used for floor cleaning
and/or washrooms flushing. Use AAA rated water shower-
heads and taps. Conduct a weekly survey for leaking taps
and other fixtures. Fix leaks immediately. Document steps
involved in the routine water audit and maintain records.
This will become part of the internal audit required in
ISO14001e2004 certification.
2.2.8. Equipment maintenance [1e3]
Keep all moving machinery well lubricated. Establish and
follow an equipment maintenance and fixtures changes plan.
Keep maintenance record of each equipment. Never use sole
supplier for equipment & spares. This can jeopardize produc-
tion and other operations anytime. Keep in touch with modern
developments & budget for replacement of equipment. Switch
to long life and better quality lubricants, coolants and
chemicals.
2.2.9. Consumables [1e3]
Consumables are materials used in the business operations
and personal protection in addition to raw materials, e.g., nuts,
bolts, rags, cartridges, filters, oils, ear-plugs, gloves, goggles,
overalls, shoes fuels and stationary, etc. In offices, promote
use of both sides of the paper and recycled toner cartridges.
Shop around for petrol, coolants, detergents and other consum-
ables. Decentralize purchasing so that each department can
 Z. Khan / Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27
maintain its own inventory of consumables. Maintain a record
and study variations with time and production. Keeping track
of consumables becomes a part of ‘monitoring and measure-
ment’ covered under Section 4.5.1 of the ISO14001:2004.
Do not enter into a long-time contract, this would limit your
flexibility and may not be economical in the long run.
2.2.10. Packaging [1e3]
Packaging may include materials that are being purchased
by the company for packing its products or the kind of pack-
aging it is receiving along with its raw materials. In order to
reduce cost on packaging materials, quarterly review most
popular & unpopular packaging and accordingly change un-
popular sizes. Design packing as to maximize its recovery
and reuse Shred and reuse waste cardboard and papers for
shock absorbing materials.
2.3. Equipment specific cleaner production options
2.3.1. Compressed air systems [1,5,6]
Compressed air systems are an essential component of al-
most every industry. Many CP measures have been suggested
to reduce the cost of operating these systems. A 3 drop
in temperature of the incoming air can reduce energy
consumption by 1%. This can simply be achieved by placing
compressor under cover. Most compressed air systems are
over-designed, matching demand and supply would cut the
cost. Air leaks in compressed systems are responsible for
20% of the air consumption. Also many businesses keep extra
pressurized lines to the need in case. Removing unused com-
pressed air lines can help reducing cost. Establish and follow
a monthly schedule of leak detection. Keep records of leaks
and cost of repairs to decide when to replace lines. Ultrasonic
equipment is now available in the market to make this job easy.
2.3.2. Boilers/hot water systems [1,5,6]
Hot water systems using gas are lot more economical and
environment friendly than those using furnace oil, diesel,
coal or electricity. Efficient combustion equipment reduces
the fuel demand. Often boilers are oversized. Matching de-
mand with generation would help reducing the cost. Use of
demineralized water reduces the need for anti-scaling agents
as well as maintenance requirements. Insulating hot water
and/or steam lines reduces heat loss by as much as 90%. Reg-
ularly check and repair steam traps and keep the operating
pressure to an optimum level. In case of hot-water system,
re-set your thermostat to 60  C. Hot water consumption can
be halved by installing AAA rated shower-heads and water
saving aerators on taps. Savings through on-time repairs of
leaky taps and rusting pipes is another important economical
step.
2.3.3. Electric motors [1,5,6]
Fifty percent of world’s energy goes through electric mo-
tors. Ratio between the capital cost vs operating cost of elec-
tric motors is 5:1. Studies have shown that 2.4 KW saved at
motors can save up to 8 KW at the power plant. Installation
25
of variable speed drive for motors that are not always fully
loaded, saves as much as 20e30% energy. Also installation
of time switches to turn off un-loaded motors helps in saving
energy as well as maintenance. Again, in case electric motors
over-sizing is quite common. Reducing number of tees and el-
bows in pipes following motors reduces head-loss. Minimize
rewinds, each rewind reduces motor’s efficiency.
2.3.4. Pumps and fans [1,5,6]
According to Sustainable Energy Development Agency,
NSW, Australia, savings as high as 80% can be achieved by
reducing the speed of pumps and fans to 50%. A unit of energy
saved at pump or fan saves 3.3 units at the motor. In order to
save energy, ensure that pipes and ducts or not undersized-
15% increase in pipe diameter reduces pressure drop by
50%. In case of centrifugal pump, trim impeller diameter be-
low design flow rate or use a smaller diameter impeller. A 10%
reduction in impeller diameter would reduce energy consump-
tion by 25%. Altering the angle of the blades in fans also helps
increasing its efficacy. Regular maintenance and installation of
timers to stop pumps and fans when not in use, adds into the
efficiency and working life of the equipment.
2.3.5. Ovens and kilns [1,5,6]
Ovens and kilns are a common encounter in ceramics and
allied industry. The efficiency of ovens and kilns can be im-
proved by automating controls rather than manual operations.
Waste heat can easily be recovered for use in other operations.
Reduction in heat loss can be achieved by insulation and
proper sealing. Use of indirect heating often losses heat in
the conduction and convection processes. Change from indi-
rect heating to direct firing reduces this loss. Optimizing tem-
perature and minimizing warm-up time is another source of
economical heating.
2.3.6. Cooling towers [1,5,6]
While cooling towers continuously reuse water within a
facility, they can represent between 20e30% of the total water
consumption. The efficiency of water use in cooling towers
can be improved by optimizing water treatment to minimize
blow-down requirements. Drift (water loss in the form of
mist) can be reduced by installing baffles or drift eliminators.
Using clean water from other operations within the facility as
make-up water or re-using blow-down water in other opera-
tions reduces the cost of fresh water.
3. Discussion
Thousands of businesses around the world are enjoying
economic, environmental and social benefits from implement-
ing cleaner production practices. Given below are the cleaner
production guidelines for the most polluting automotive indus-
try. A few case studies, developed by the author, are also dis-
cussed to promote the sense of cleaner production in other
industrial sectors.
26 Z. Khan / Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27
3.1. Cleaner production and the automotive industry
Automotive industry is one of most polluting industry
amongst small enterprises. Owing to the poor regulatory en-
forcement, business owners in developing countries dispose
all kind of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes into the environ-
ment. Open air spray painting, disposal of oil bearing filters
into open waste-dumps, repairing leaky cars without spill col-
lectors in open spaces, waste coolant running into natural
streams or street-side drains, storage of oils chemicals and
greasy parts in open air, car washings everywhere and on per-
meable surface, noisy smoky engine testing, used tires dis-
posed off in open dumps etc. are common practices in the
developing world. Given in Table 1 are a few of the cleaner
production options vis-à-vis existing practices.
As mentioned earlier, cleaner production is applicable to
any business and is useful in getting environmental, economic
and social benefits. The most important aspect of cleaner pro-
duction is that its application in true spirit would alleviate the
functioning of an organization to a point where it can develop
its EMS without using a consultant and get ISO14001:2004
certification without any further steps. Most of the case studies
presented below, get their ISO14001 certification through true
application of cleaner production practices.
Case study-1 [2]: Company A is an aluminium anodising
business. Cleaner production team evaluated the efficiency
of all of its rectifiers using computer models and recommen-
ded to overhaul rectifier #3. In doing so the company saved
$13,000 in terms of energy cost only. Air agitation system in
heat transfer baths was found inefficient. The company re-
placed fine bubblers with circulating jets. This reduced the
power required for fluid agitation by 20%. Examination of
heat transfer between chillers and heat exchangers revealed
that the system was working inefficiently. Pressure and heat
was lost due thin pipes. Increasing diameter of these pipes im-
proved heat transfer efficiency. Also new heat exchangers
Table 1
Existing vs CP practices in automotive businesses
No. Current practice
1 Open air spray painting pollutes air damages
the health of the worker
2 Waste oil filters dumped along with other waste
3 Drums/cans of fresh oils, coolants and other
chemicals stored near shop door
4 Vehicle repair in open air on permeable soil
5 Open air car washing
6 Compressors and vehicle testing e highly noisy
7 Used tires e everywhere
8 Used batteries e thrown in open
were recommended to minimize the heat loss. Inspired by
the recommendations by the Cleaner Production team, the
company hired an independent energy consultant. At a cost
$1500 paid to energy consultant, the company changed it en-
ergy supplier and started saving over $5000 per month. Dis-
posal of aluminum sludge from the wastewater treatment
plant was costing $5000 per month to the company. The
Cleaner Production team discovered that the same sludge
could be used for phosphate removal at the sewage treatment
plant. Another company expressed its interest to use the sludge
as raw material for its product. Overall Company A was esti-
mated to save over $180,000 per annum.
Case study-2 [2]: Company B was an international ink man-
ufacturer. Their product was mainly used for currency printing
all around the world. The company had an inefficient non-
compliance reporting system (NCR) in place. Many loopholes
were identified by the Cleaner production team that helped im-
proving the NCR. Valuable press-based was lost due to pack-
aging and poor removal methods. CP team recommended
changes in product recovery mechanisms that saved product
worth thousands of dollars. Company had an impressive fleet
of vans that would rush to deliver products as soon as a demand
was launched. By introducing a delay time of half-an-hour, the
company was able to mange many orders in one go saving cost
of fuel and driver’s time. The company also reviewed it pack-
aging and eliminated un-popular sizes. On waste management
side, the company promoted on-site waste sorting and recy-
cling system. Waste barrels and buckets were crushed on-
site to minimize volume of the waste. This reduced the number
of waste pick-ups to twice a month from 6e8 times a month.
An efficient hot water jet system reduced the time and effort
for cleaning the used machinery and waste drums. Adjust of
cool room thermo-state to 20  C viz a viz 13  C helped reduc-
ing energy bill. Similarly a fresh whitewash of the ceiling and
the top-half of factory walls ignited a new life into the dull
odorous environment. Another important development was
Proposed CP practice
 Conduct spray painting in enclosed ‘spray booth’ fitted with filters and
exhaust fans. Staff must use respirator and other safety gear during spray
painting. Also using low pressure, high volume spray guns would impart
most of the paint to the surface.
 Drain oil filters for more than 24 h into an oil can.
 Crush oil filters into an oil collector. Remove and recycle metal and dispose
off paper into the bin. Similarly, remove and reuse metal part of the air filter.
 Store all oils, coolants and other chemicals in a sealed, bunded and covered area.
 Keep a spill kit or a bag of rags ready to control, contain and clean spills.
 Always repair vehicles in a sealed area and use oil collecting pans or at least a
few rags under the vehicle to keep the surface clean.
 Wash vehicles in a proper wash-bay where all the wastewater is collected and
treated using an oil-water separator before disposal into the street drain or sewer.
 Reduce compressor noise by placing it on rubber pads and covering it.
 Test vehicles at low rpm while vehicle faces the shop door. Use shop exhaust to
remove smoke.
 Store and sell tires to recyclers. Used tires are used to make sleepers and mates.
They can be used for soil and slope stabilization, shock absorbers and kid’s swings.
 Used batteries can be a source of acid. Thrown in open, they can damage the surface
in contact. Keep the batteries in closed area until taken away by a recycler.
 Z. Khan / Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2008) 22e27
the installation of power factor correction equipment that im-
proved the power factor from 0.8 to near unity. Changing the
position of near-ceiling exhaust fans in the chemical storage
room to near floor, removed all heavy and health hazardous
vapors. Inspired by the above actions and resulting savings,
the company conducted its internal audit and many more
cost saving opportunities, for example removal of extra phone
lines, sprung up. As a result of cleaner production project,
Company B saved $60,000 per annum.
Case study-3 [2]: Company C was an international detergent
manufacturing company dealing in liquid as well as powdered
detergents. Being a large company with many departments,
ever-changing products and over 500 staff, the company had
stocks of obsolete raw materials and waste detergents. A de-
tailed cleaner production audit suggested that company must
decentralize it purchasing and each department should follow
a just-in-time technique to minimize such stocks. A culture
of on-site waste segregation and enhanced recycling lead to
a 30% reduction in waste. Also the company revisited it waste
disposal contract and saved an extra 10% by hiring a new waste
collector. Comprehensive light survey in the product ware-
house, helped repositioning and replacing the 1000 Watt
high-bays by 400 Watt Sodium illuminators. A reflective
white-wash inside the warehouse multiplied the effectiveness
of light. Installation of power correction factor equipment en-
hanced the value of supplied energy. On staff level, disposable
coffee cups were replaced by personalized re-usable cups.
Manual cleaning of tanks was replaced by hot water jets.
Dual flush systems and water efficient taps were added to all
washrooms and showers. The company was using phosphoric
acid for pH adjustment in its wastewater treatment plant. CP
team recommended the use of economical sulfuric acid. Mea-
sures were also taken to collect and reuse waste detergent pow-
der. Replacement of 205 L, non-recyclable, chemical drums
with large storage vessels resulted in huge savings. Over all
the company saved in the vicinity of $360,000 per annum.
Case study-4 [2]: Company D is a large construction equip-
ment hiring business. Company offices are located all around
Australian with its main workshop and head office in Sydney.
Large volume of water was consumed by the company in its
machine wash-bay. Also the company wanted to rebuild work-
shop and offices as the most environment friendly building.
Cleaner production team suggested reusing of last rinse as
the first flush for the next machine. Workshop was divided
into four sections such as: (i) services area for oil and coolant
changes; (ii) engineering þ welding section; (iii) oils and
chemical stores; and (iv) spares warehouse. Influx of natural
light was maximized by roof-top windows and painting top
two-third of all walls inside the workshop as white. All lights
were repositioned relevant to the point of use. An inventory
register was maintained to keep track of spares, personal pro-
tection equipment and volumes of oils/coolants used. Reuse of
cleaner rags was promoted. Staff decided to collect and sell all
soda cans and use the collection for annual X-mass party. The
company switched to long life oils and coolants that reduced
frequency of services. Overall company D saved around
$60,000 per annum.
27
Case study-5 [2]: Company E is polystyrene structure
manufacturer. Imported polystyrene resin is subjected to steam
before moulding into different shapes. House keeping, loss of
steam and loss of raw materials were a few major issues.
Cleaner production team suggested that machine moulds and
other equipment not always in use be stored in a separate
room. A study was initiated to adjust the weight: volume ratio
of the products as per the original configurations. A mainte-
nance and service schedule was devised for steam traps and
boilers. Granulation of rejects was replaced with a low temper-
ature moulding machine that would convert the reject to a useful
raw material for low quality products. Machine time for each
machine was reviewed and adjustments were made to enhance
the machine efficiency. All compressed air and steam lines were
surveyed for leaks and repaired as required. Power correction
factor of company E was found to be near unity. Company saved
$78,000 per annum as a result of its cleaner production program.
4. Cost benefits analysis
Whilst most of the Cleaner Production practices require bet-
ter management of existing resources and a pro-environment
attitude at all levels of the organization, yet some changes,
for example, replacement of an obsolete machine with latest,
energy efficient machine would require funding. Similarly
placement of solar panels or translucent sheets for more natural
light would involve expenditure. It has been seen that savings
will offset the cost within a period of 3e30 months and after-
wards then its savings continue to save money for the firm.
5. Conclusions
It’s clear from the above discussion that adopting cleaner
production practices will result in improved efficiency and
productivity, enhanced regulatory compliance, leading to bet-
ter public image and marketing advantages, reduced environ-
mental risks and ultimately reduced operating cost with
stronger organizational support for the environment.
Acknowledgement
The author gratefully acknowledges the information pro-
vided by Advitech Pty Ltd, New Castle, NSW, Australia.
References
[1] Environment & business- Profiting from Cleaner Production, Cleaner
Production Manual published by "Environment Australia", Canberra:
Australia; 2001. p. 38.
[2] Khan Z, Wilson D. ‘‘Cleaner Production Project REport for Smithfield-
Wetherill Park Industrial Area’’, NSW, Australia; March 2003. p. 170.
[3] Barker C. Cleaner Production Engineer, Advitech Pty Ltd, New Castle,
NSW, Australia: Personal Communications; January 2001eOctober 2004.
[4] International Standards e ISO14001: Environmental Management Systems e
Requirements with guidance for use; 2004.
[5] EPA- Unpublished Cleaner Production Module-3, NSW-Australia; 2002.
p. 89.
[6] Energy Saver’s Manual. Sustainable Energy Development Agency. NSW,
Australia; 2001. p. 124.