National Cleaner Production Centers (NCPCs)

In less than two years, 110 enterprises in 10 countries have successfully implemented Cleaner Production options with the advice of their NCPCs.

NCPC staff are highly qualified nationals who have worked in, or with industry for many years. They are familiar with the problems and the challenges industry faces every day. NCPC staff have been trained in the country and abroad in the identification of resource and material saving opportunities. Their support is tailor-made to the needs of the companies.

NCPCs have become national centers of excellence for Cleaner Production in developing countries and economies in transition. Today, NCPCs in ten countries around the globe service their national industry. They have access to United Nations International Development Organization's (UNIDO) sectoral technical expertise and to United Nations Environmental Program Industry and Environment (UNEP IE) office's experience in policy advice and information dissemination.

NCPCs draw on a UNIDO/UNEP pool of institutes in Europe and the United States that specialize in Cleaner Production. Many of these organizations have played a leading role in the introduction of Cleaner Production in their own country.

Acting as focal points for Cleaner Production, NCPCs extend the global network to partners in their countries - like productivity councils, certified engineers associations, chambers of industry, universities, etc. Clearly, this extensive network with its wealth of information and expertise allows the NCPCs to provide much better services to companies.

International donors like ILO, NORAD, USAID (EP3), and the World Bank have identified NCPCs as high competent partners for in-plant demonstrations or for organizing and conducting Cleaner Production workshops.

Many organizations in developing countries and economies in transition recognize the strength of the Program and have requested to be included. As the enthusiasm is shared by donors, the NCPC Program expects to expand its network to 20 centers in the coming years, making it again richer and more beneficial to enterprises.

NCPCs pursue three goals when conducting in-plant assessments:

The result is enterprise staff that is able to maintain the introduced changes and continuously improve the environmental performance of the production process. This saves not only money, it also improves the company's ability to recognize and address future environmental risks.

The pool of CP experts will ensure sufficient capacity in the country to assist more companies, achieving a higher impact on the industries environmental and financial performance.

UNIDO/UNEP provide all NCPCs with a generic model for conducting CP in-plant assessments. Every NCPC adapts this method to the culture and manufacturing practices of the country. Thus, the method is not only thoroughly tested and accepted world-wide but also well adapted to the needs of the local companies.

Planning and organization phase: A team of company staff supported by one or two experts from the NCPC, is set up to conduct the in-plant assessment. Top management commits itself to the assessment. Qualitative and quantitative assessment goals are set.

Pre-assessment phase: A materials balance is prepared to identify and quantify all streams both entering and leaving the production process. In some cases also a energy balance is made. The team then evaluates the material inputs and outputs and decides on the focus of the assessment.

Assessment phase: The team intensifies the relevant part of the materials balance and attaches financial values to the streams. It investigates the causes of the identified losses and shortlists the most important problems. To remedy these problems at source, a set of Cleaner Production options is generated.

Feasibility-study phase: The technical and financial feasibility of the options, is evaluated and an inventory of well documented feasibility of the options, is evaluated and an inventory of well documented feasible options is produced.

Implementation phase: The team, in coordination with company management, prioritizes the options and decides which ones should be implemented. An implementation plan and a monitoring scheme are prepared and further Cleaner Production activities are planned.