Earthenterprise Tool Kit - International Institute for Sustainable ...

EarthEnterprise Tool Kit
The Four Generations of Environmental Technology
Point
of
Generation Application Characteristics Examples
Remediation ◗ Symptoms ◗ After the Fact ◗ Soil
Technologies ◗ Damaged Resources ◗ Costly Remediation
or Environments ◗ Range from Low ◗ Toxic Site Cleanups
Tech to High Tech ◗ Water
Treatment
Abatement ◗ Pollutant Capture ◗ Captures Or Treats ◗ Flue Gas
Technologies or Treatment at Pollutants Before Desulphurization
End-of-pipe Release ◗ Sewage
◗ Capital, Treatment
Energy and
Plants
Resource Intensive ◗ Catalytic
◗ Generates a Mufflers
Waste Stream
◗ Fairly Costly
Pollution ◗ Industrial Process ◗ Changes Product or ◗ Chlorine-free Paper
Prevention Design Process to Reduce ◗ Cyanide-free
Technologies ◗ Product Design or Prevent Electroplating
or Composition Pollution ◗ Lead-free Gasoline
◗ More Cost ◗ Closed-loop
Effective than Manufacturing
Abatement
◗ Reduced Waste
Stream
Sustainable ◗ Alternate Product ◗ Multiple Benefits ◗ Daylight-sensitive,
Technologies or Service Environmental/ Efficient Lighting
Economic/Social ◗ Renewable Energy
◗ Bio-cosmetics
and Drugs
◗ Organic Agriculture
Pollution Prevention Technologies
Pollution prevention technologies are attracting the interest of regulators,policy
makers, and many parts of the private sector. Generally, there are two types of
pollution prevention technologies:
• Improved or alternative industrial and agricultural processes that avoid the
production of pollutants. These include paper making processes that
eliminate chlorine bleaching, cleaning techniques that eliminate toxic
solvents, reformulated manufacturing processes that eliminate the use of
heavy metals and toxic chemicals, and agricultural practices that eliminate
the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
58
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT