The doubling of world’s population over the next 50 years is likely to be a challenge as to how to cater to the requirements of rising levels of consumption without putting corresponding additional burden on the environmental resources.

The proponents of conservation movement around the world believe that it is possible to quadruple resource productivity through conservation and efficient practices given the present state of technology.

Considerable work has been done for creating awareness on conserving environment over the years. It will be sheer cynicism if we do not acknowledge this fact. The increased awareness has however given way to new level of aspirations. These aspirations demand physical progress to be made on ground in addressing these issues and not just slogans. And we have certainly not been upto the mark on this front. It is true that the resources at our disposal are little, and barriers too many. Yet one reason for this sluggishness is a lack of focus to highlight that conservation and profitability are not separate challenges, they are rather inexorably linked.

Profitability is the corner-stone of any business, and perhaps the only language an entrepreneur will understand quickly. In the practice of clean production (CP), the focus is on integrating environmental considerations with business promotion, profitability and competitive advantage. CP considers pollution as a form of waste of environmental resources and a symptom of inefficiency in a system. By removing imbalance in the system inputs and outputs, it creates opportunity for higher level of productivity with consequent increase in profits straightaway.

It is concerned with resource productivity, that is, maximizing the value added per unit of resource input.The clean production concept encompasses all sectors of economy, let us take the industrial sector in hand. Industry is central to the economies of modern societies and an indispensable vehicle of growth. It is essential for developing countries to widen their development base to meet their growing needs. Industry’s impacts on the environment are at every stage of the life cycle of goods and services produced. They begin at the state of raw material exploration and extraction, moves through transformation into products and finally the use and disposal of products by consumers.

Raw material extraction through mining and other extra- active processes leads to degradation of soil, vegetation, and contamination of air and water bodies. Manufacturing processes result in air emissions, waste water and solid waste generation leading to pollution of air, water and. Distribution of goods and services demand resources such as energy, packaging material etc., resulting in several secondary environmental impacts. Finally when consumers use and dispose products, it again results in pollution of air, water and land. All this environmental damage is leading to mounting costs that are large even in simple economic terms. Not surprisingly, the Asian region’s costs from environmental degradation are estimated to be above 5 per cent of annual gross domestic product.

In the 1960s, a common approach to pollution was to dilute and disperse concentration of the pollutants in the air or large water bodies. In the 70’s when it became clear that the pollutant volumes were too large for dilution and the finiteness of assimilative capacities of receiving bodies began to be realized, the “end-of-pipe” approach signifying use of treatment systems to ensure compliance with stipulated environmental quality standards came into focus. However, despite high costs, the “end of pipe” treatment approach was found to be far from adequate. This led businesses to re-examine their manufacturing practices and they began exploring technological options to reduce pollution at source i.e pollution prevention through practices such as cleaner production.

The need to fundamentally change the approach to business by moving towards resource efficiency and taking a holistic life-cycle view of products was recognized in the 1990s. Resource efficiency not only leads to protection of natural resource but also results in improvement in productivity. Concept of eco-design, product life-cycle and eco-sustainability are emerging as interface areas with the concept of cleaner production, which is the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services. It embodies the more efficient use of natural resources and thereby minimize waste and pollution as well as risks to human health and safety. Implementing simple CP techniques like housekeeping, rationalization of operation and re-use, improving combustion, improving recycle, in most cases is easy.

Moreover, it is possible to implement these techniques in a fairly short period of time and with relatively less capital investment. Good housekeeping is more of a habit than a technique. Housekeeping is aimed at rationalization of the use of raw materials, water and energy inputs like plugging leaks; avoiding overflows by placing value and tightening supervision; and segregating hazardous wastes.

The practice of the CP can create a distinct market advantage today when producers, consumers and policy makers worldwide are making efforts to develop strategies to move toward sustainable development. Market advantages could be in the form of creating new market opportunities for eco-friendly goods and services, and improved corporate image due to greater environmentally and socially responsible business practices while retaining the high quality of the products. Eco-labelling is the trend of the future. We already see examples of this in different countries. Products which have these labels often command a premium over other products without them. Greening of the supply chain is being adopted by a number of multinationals and purchasing policies are reflecting the environmental requirements.

To stay in the market, the suppliers have to modify their business practice. Another dimension of this pattern of development has been the increasing, albeit slow, shift among consumers toward sustainable consumption. Some governments, which are often the biggest consumers in the country, are now looking into their purchasing policy to ensure that they are compatible to their policy on sustainable development. In our country, where CP is still in its nascent stage, the organizations that come forth and take advantage of these trends will find themselves not only more profit-making but also with a competitive edge in the market place.

(The writer is Chief, National Energy Conservation Centre, ENERCON)