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

DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY
MODULE 3: CP POLICY DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
improvements and a willingness to modify existing methods. Most important among these awarenessraising
activities are:
• Human resources development of personnel at various levels in the stakeholder groups;
• Awareness-raising campaigns, targeting industry, government, financing institutions, academia
and NGOs;
• Compilation and dissemination of up-to-date information on Cleaner Production practices and
technologies in a user-friendly manner, addressing specific local needs.
Awareness-raising among senior decision makers differs from the dissemination of general
information on CP. Gaining access may be difficult, e.g. scheduling a meeting with the Minister of
the Economy or the President of the Republic. Their interest may be limited to issues of direct interest
to the institution they represent. The interview with the decision maker may be very brief, and he or
she may not have a technical or economic background, or be familiar with environmental issues.
For this reason, it is worthwhile to prepare a concise promotional description of CP, its importance and
how it can benefit the country in general, and economic competitiveness in particular. The write-up
should be brief, substantive and targeted to the needs and interests of the particular player. For
instance, if the Government is in the process of drafting an industrial development policy, the
competitiveness aspect should be stressed. In dealing with an industrial association, it may be
appropriate to emphasize the economic and environmental benefits for members.
It is useful to choose a starting point that will stimulate the interest of stakeholders. One very effective
approach is for the interviewer to present in monetary terms the nationwide potential for CP
application in his or her own country. This may be a good estimate rather than hard science. There
may be a specific priority sector on which to focus the effort such as highly polluting sectors,
traditional exporting sectors, or sectors otherwise declared as a priority in national policies, and this
would be a good place to start. Potential savings for that entire sector should then be calculated, based
on the size of industry and on the average savings from individual CP projects in that particular sector.
An extrapolation of this kind, using conservative estimates based only on good housekeeping
measures, usually results in potential savings of tens of millions of dollars annually.
The next stage is an interview with high-level people in the key institutions identified during the
stakeholder analysis process. There will be three objectives to this meeting: to learn about their needs
and motivations, to increase their awareness of the CP concept and its benefits, and to arouse their
interest and gain support.
An initial meeting of 30 to 45 minutes could include a short presentation of the benefits of CP, the
activities of the specific CP Centre, and the global CP programme. Key players should be offered a
well drawn up outline of the benefits of CP for the national economy as well as for their organizations.
It is vital that the decision maker recognize the advantage of the preventive approach as an alternative
to end-of-pipe pollution control.
The next step is to ascertain the needs and concerns of the particular institution and to determine
whether the concept of CP is an interesting one. Concrete suggestions that might spark a discussion
include: Could a national round table on competitiveness be a good idea? Would the institution
participate in this initiative as part of the Steering Committee? Who else might be recommended to be
a part? What other recommendations can the institution offer? The experience of the Mexican CPC
shows the effectiveness of an open-ended and flexible approach of this kind, even with players at the
most senior level.
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