Manual on the Development of Cleaner Production Policies ... - Unido

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DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY MODULE 2: BASICS OF CP POLICY SLIDE: Insertion points for CP in sectoral policies/2 • Education and R&D policy; • Municipal and regional development; • Resource conservation and enforcement practice; • Health and safety aspects; • Activities related to national defence. These two slides show where CP can be introduced into sectoral policies. The aim is to demonstrate, by concrete example, how CP considerations can be included into other policies, so that participants realize that the mainstreaming of CP can be done in practice. Background Frequently, economic or sectoral policies continue to be drafted without taking into account sustainability. In some cases, policies are outright indifferent to environmental impacts that are seen as the price to be paid for economic development. Without the support of a policy framework, that encompasses many sectors and is reflected in a combination of regulatory requirements, promotion programmes, market-based instruments and other tools, all efforts in information dissemination, awareness raising, demonstration projects and training will fail to result in the rapid adoption of CP. Conversely, CP promotion should not be limited to developing a stand-alone national CP policy, or enacting a law on Cleaner Production or pollution prevention, but rather a preventive approach needs to be included in other existing policies. Emphasis should be placed on mainstreaming CP, by integrating preventive approaches within traditionally nonenvironmental policy areas including industrial development, agriculture, energy policy, finance and education and research. This goal can be achieved in a number of ways: Improving the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises through the adoption of CP can be included in sectoral policies related to specific industries (e.g. agriculture, manufacturing, food processing). Energy efficiency can be applied across all sectors with special prominence in energy policy. Resource pricing is a key factor, since subsidies can damage the environment by encouraging overproduction and the wasteful use of inputs. Industrial development strategy lends itself admirably to the concept of CP. Environmental considerations in general and CP in particular can successfully be integrated into the modernization of an existing industrial base, access to more efficient technologies and privatization. Agriculture is one of the sectors of the economy where failure to integrate environmental and economic policies is often most evident. Soil and water quality, biodiversity and rural amenities are all affected by policy decisions on agriculture, such as subsidies for fertilizers, pesticides or water. An important step towards integration is to identify the impact on the environment of economic support measures, such as subsidies. Economic development and investment promotion policy can create financial incentives for productivity and efficiency, including tax incentives and penalties, and removing subsidies for input materials of production, such as water, energy and raw minerals. Investment promotion may include preferential treatment for companies that comply with the highlevel environmental standards applied in their home countries. PAGE 40
DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY MODULE 2: BASICS OF CP POLICY Economic instruments such as taxes, charges and transferable permits are important, as they can be used both for pollution control and natural-resource management, by creating incentives that bring rational economic behaviour into line with environmental goals. “Green” tax reforms can be implemented so that tax and environmental policies can become not only compatible, but also mutually reinforcing. Tax and customs systems may include preferences and incentives to apply efficient technologies and preventive environmental management. It is important to bear in mind, however, that ill-conceived tax incentives may promote end-of-pipe measures instead of CP techniques. Financing mechanisms and technical support schemes are particularly important to the small and medium enterprise. Possible ideas include creating clusters of similar companies to receive technical support in the application of CP measures, and financing schemes adapted to the specific situation of individual SMEs. Education and R&D policies can play an effective role in disseminating the CP concept. Opportunities include the creation of training and capacity-building programmes for CP at universities and technical vocational schools as well as institutions providing continued education programmes for professionals. It is important to create a cadre of educators through, for example, training for trainers’ initiatives. Municipal and regional development can include CP elements in the planning and permission process, as well as the planning of waste collection or waste water treatment. A preference for regional recycling facilities, a composting plant, or a sanitary landfill—albeit not “pure” CP measures—can improve the local environmental situation. Resource conservation will be a key entry point in regions where a given resource is in short supply. Through minimizing or preventing waste water discharges to water bodies, CP can be applied in the areas where there is a problem with the supply of drinking water. Enforcement of environmental regulations can be an entry point for CP. In some Latin American countries, the reform of government regulations (i.e. the diverse set of instruments by which Governments set requirements for enterprises) is now high on the political agenda. The objective is not necessarily to “deregulate”, but to make government interventions more efficient, and thereby to decrease the cost burden imposed on the regulated sectors. Companies that include CP considerations in their design and operations may be given preferential treatment in permitting and monitoring. Health and safety is an area where CP has been increasingly applied. This relates both to the indoor environmental health protection of workers and the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases, resulting in a minimization of health expenditures. There are, however, also cases of technical CP projects implemented in hospitals. The defence sector is an interesting example of how CP and pollution prevention can be employed in a non-traditional area. The armed forces are a large-scale buyer of hardware and services, while their workshops and service outfits generate huge amounts of pollution. They are in a position to make significant economic and environmental gains through the introduction of “off-the-shelf” preventive techniques. This does not, of course, touch on the issue of combat and training activities, which are outside the traditional scope of activities. EXERCISE Divide the participants into groups of six to eight people, trying to ensure that each group has at least one person familiar with the policy framework. Working in groups, identify existing sectoral and horizontal (cross sectoral) policies in effect that are related to the environment and enterprise. Also discuss what other policies are currently under preparation. Identify which organizations were PAGE 41
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DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY—APPROACH
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