CP Barriers and Motivators

Barriers to Cleaner Production

CP hold out the promise of improving the

environment performance of industry at the
same time improving firms bottom line.

However, there have been a number of barriers

to the promotion and adoption of cleaner
production. Let us review these barriers so as
to develop strategies to overcome them.
 Types of Barriers In CP
Internal Barriers External Barriers
Internal barriers are External barriers
those that operate and motivators are
within a business those that operate
environment. outside the business
and include
statutory, economic
and social barriers
and motivators.
 1. Internal Barriers

1. Traditional philosophy of CEOs (low awareness)

2. A lack of information and expertise
3. A low awareness of environmental issues
4. Competing business priorities, in particular, the
pressure for a short term profits
5. Financial obstacles
6. Lack of communication in firms
7. Middle management inertia
8. Labour force obstacles
9. Bounded rationality in decision making processes
10. Difficulty in implementing cleaner technology
11. Internal organization and communication
(initial constraints)
12. Limited information, data and expertise on
waste and emissions
13. Focus on end of pipe solutions and short term
profits
14. Inadequate cost/profit calculations CP options
15. Missing, outdated or unreliable process
instrumentation
16. No or limited support of middle management
17. No EMS to achieve continual improvement
1. Lack of information, expertise and adequate
training
Many a time, the stakeholders are interested in the concept of
cleaner production but are unable to put it in practice, due to
information gaps and lack of technical assistance.

2. Lack of communication within enterprises

At times, a stakeholder gets interested in cleaner production
and has the necessary skills or expertise. However, the
stakeholder is unable to communicate the concept and its
benefits to the top management. This creates a barrier to
implement cleaner production.
3. Resistance to change
Many stakeholders have an attitude to follow business as
usual and not adapt to change. Any change is considered as
unwarranted, risky and not necessarily profitable.

4. Competing business priorities - in particular, the

pressure for short-term profits
A significant impediment to the adoption of cleaner
production is the emphasis of enterprises on short-term
profitability. Since enterprises are judged by markets and
investors principally on short-term performance, they have
difficulties in justifying some of the investment in cleaner
production processes and technologies, even when there are
demonstrably attractive long-term financial returns.
 2. External Barriers
1. The failure of existing regulatory approaches
2. Difficulty in accessing cleaner technology
3. Difficulty in accessing external finance
4. Perverse economic incentives
5. An absence of markets for recycled goods
6. Economic cycles

7. The potential motivators and drivers for the

adoption of cleaner production by industry are many
and varied.
8. Availability of investment capital
9. Availability of CP technologies
1. The failure of existing regulatory approaches
A lack of orientation in the existing national policy and regulatory
framework towards cleaner production is one of the major
impediments to the adoption of the cleaner production strategy.
Conventional regulatory approaches have in many cases proved to
be counterproductive to the uptake of cleaner production. By
assuming that the regulators are in the best position to determine
appropriate action, regulations may engender an attitude of
complacency on the part of the management.

2. Perverse economic incentives

Economic subsidies for business resource inputs may be a

significant disincentive to cleaner production. For example,
to the extent that governments subsidize the price of energy
and water or the prices of relatively polluting fuels, through
subsidies, they will diminish the financial benefits of cleaner
production.
Many of these barriers can be addressed through strategies
such as awareness raising, training, provision of technical
assistance, implementation of demonstration projects,
opening up financing programmes, and by aligning national
policies and regulations to promote cleaner production. In
order to support these strategies, adequate institutional
building is also necessary, as is the creation of partnerships
between stakeholders. These efforts will then ensure that the
cleaner production is mainstreamed.

In the next section, we will review of some of the efforts

undertaken by various international agencies as well as
national governments, to set a common agenda for cleaner
production and take it forward.
3. Difficulty in accessing external finance
The implementation of cleaner production technologies has
been hindered by a lack of access to finance. Banks,
government investment agencies, corporate financial
departments, venture capitalists, and other sources of risk
capital for industry either discriminate against or do not have
the competence to evaluate applications that concern cleaner
production programmes, thus severely limiting their access to
capital.
4. Difficulty in accessing cleaner technology
Investment in new, cleaner technology is a major decision for
enterprises to undertake. In addition to the substantial costs of new
technology, there are several potential external barriers, which may
discourage or prevent enterprises from updating their existing plant
and equipment. These can include the complexity of new technology,
the level of technological specificity (cleaner technologies may be
hard to transfer from one user to the other), etc.

5. Perception of risk
Cleaner production involves possibilities of process
modification, equipment replacement or product/packaging
redesign. Some stakeholders view this as risky, especially if
the technology is not proven, or the product is not tested in
the market.
6. Accounting systems which fail to capture
environmental costs and benefits
Accounting systems and project appraisal procedures very
often fail to take adequate account of environmental impacts,
risks, liabilities and associated costs (which are not easily
quantifiable to start with). Because of these limitations, the
stakeholder is often unable to place environmental
performance in the business perspective and therefore fails to
fully appreciate the economic benefits of practicing cleaner
production.
CP Motivators & Drivers
 CP Motivators & Drivers

The potential motivators & driver for the

adaption of cleaner production by industry can
be categorized as internal 0r external motivators.

Types of CP Motivators & Drivers

1. Internal Motivators & Drivers

2. External Motivators & Drivers

Case Study
 Case study 1– Original Juice Company

The Original Juice Company, an EPA Cleaner Production

Award winner, opportunity to recover valuable by-products
from orange peels in the form of citrus oil and evaporator
with a capital outlay of A$1.1 million.

Their investment had a years from reduced trade waste

charges and by-product sales.

The reduction in trade waste.

The recovery and sale of citrus oil and molasses is now a

significant source of additional $700,000.
Case Study 2 – Tomorrow’s Food Today
EPA has a partnership with Tomorrow’ Food Today (TFT), a
non-profit farm management consultancy, to promote Cleaner
Production in the rural sector.

EPA, with TFT has enlisted the aid of four progressive beef
producers to pilot a new EMS as a prelude to going industry
wide.

The new system titled “10 easy steps to environmental

management for beef farming” was partly funded under EPA’s
CPPP and will help to cut water usage, fertiliser runoff to
streams, land degradation and chemical residues.

Partnerships are now being developed with the dairy and wine
industry involving environmental management system
development and promotion.
 Case Study 3 – Bonlac Foods
Darnum plant was awarded the 1997 EPA Cleaner Production
Award for its innovative approach to waste management.

The new leading the Australian dairy export industry with a

range of environmental processes which will

segregating wastewater from each part of the process to

maximize recycling and minimize water usage and product
loss;

using membrane technology to recycle acid and alkali wash

water streams in order to reduce salt loads going into
irrigation water;

cleaning boiler water condensation to the standard of town

water so it can be re-used in the plant; and
reusing water with an artificial wetland filled with native
flora and fauna, and irrigating expansive parklands
surrounding the factory.

Cleaner Production at the Darnum plant also significantly

reduced energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions and
also assisted the company to establish its environmental
credentials and win the right to be the official supplier to
the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Bonlac Foods is now working with its suppliers, the dairy

farmers of Victoria, to promote Cleaner Production.
 Case Study 4 – Goulburn Valley and North East Victoria

A partnership with industry leaders in the North East region of

Victoria has been established. The partnership is based on a
common goal of ecological sustainability for the region through
improved natural resource efficiencies and waste reduction.

Governments on a national, state and local level have recognised

the region as strategically important in food production.

Through forums such Supermarket to Asia and Australian Alpine

Valleys Agribusiness Forum the region intends to market it’s
“clean green” produce to the world.

The Cleaner Production partnership in the North East Region can

be compared to an extension program to facilitate a collective
learning process within businesses and government.
The Cleaner Production partnership in the North East Region
can be compared to an extension program to facilitate a
collective learning process within businesses and government.

This learning process aims to change central attitudes within

food businesses using a number of Cleaner Production
mechanisms in an integrated and coordinated manner.

Elements of the partnerships include: providing EPA

resources, identifying industry needs, developing industry
clusters, increasing Cleaner Production awareness and
information, facilitating specific Cleaner Production projects
and establishing further industry, government and community
partnerships.
THANK YOU