BCRC Bratislava
11th Training Course
Bratislava, Slovak Republic
November, 10-13, 2003
International Training on Implementation of Waste Minimisation – Cleaner Production Project
REPORT
1. Introduction
The overall objective of the Basel Convention Regional Centre (BCRC) in Bratislava is to strengthen and further develop the capabilities of countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in implementing the Basel Convention and managing hazardous wastes in an environmentally sound manner. The activities carried out by the BCRC since its foundation in 1997 have been assessed by the Secretariat of the Basel Convention positively. Based on the conclusions of the Consultative Meeting in Cairo, April 2002, BCRC Bratislava prepared and submitted its Business Plan for 2003-2004, which was noted on the Conference of Parties COP6 in Geneva in December 2002.
The BCRC in Bratislava has undergone several changes recently, in order to improve its activities. In this process, the BCRC underlined the need to provide training courses more focused on expressed demands of CEE countries. The usual format of the training courses provided was also changed to organise more participatory and interactive courses. The training format now includes the presentation of a subject, followed by discussions and/or a practical exercise linked to the subject.
The eleventh training course of the BCRC was focused on the implementation of waste minimisation that can be achieved by a Cleaner Production Project, used as a special tool. The training was prepared in close co-operation with the Slovak Cleaner Production Centre (SCPC).
The objective was to undertake a regional training for officials from the Ministries, Environmental Agencies & Inspectorates and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) supporting agencies with the aim to strengthen the capacity in Cleaner Production of the participating CEE countries.
This is in line with the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Basel Convention where one of the aims is the prevention and minimisation of the generation of hazardous and other wastes, the environmentally sound management of such wastes and the active promotion of the transfer and use of cleaner technologies.
The training course took place from 10 to 13 November 2003 in Bratislava. Presentations and lectures were alternated with practical exercises, simulation games and a half-day plant tour. The Trust Fund of the Basel Convention and the Austrian Government, provided the funding for the workshop, and support from the Slovak Environmental Agency.
This report sets out a summary of the workshop. Background documentation and several of the presentations made are available from the Secretariat of the Basel Convention or the Basel Convention Regional Centre in Bratislava.
2. Attendance
The training course was attended by representatives from 18 CEE countries, as follows: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.
The list of participants is as in Annex 1 of this report.
3. Purpose of the Training Course
The general objective of the training course was to look at the concept of cleaner production as a growing worldwide movement for reducing environmental impact, and namely reducing wastes, from processes, products and services by using better management strategies, methods and tools. Waste management involves two issues closely linked: waste minimisation, a top issue of waste management hierarchy, and cleaner production. Waste minimization or waste reduction is usually a primary objective of many executives, followed by additional elements such as reduction at the source and the adoption of cleaner production technologies. Cleaner production can also be a tool for waste minimisation, and that was intended to be presented in this training.
The specific practical aim of this training is that the participants obtain knowledge on cleaner production, namely, principles of practice, strategies, tools and methods to adopt preventive approach on preparation and management of cleaning production projects, planning and organization of projects in enterprises, quality of implementation plan, environmental and economic evaluation.
The training course was participatory in its character, with a practical application following the presentations, and open discussions with the aim to provide training for participants from environmental ministries, inspections, national Cleaner Production Centres and NGOs.
4. Contents of the Training Course
During the course of four days, workshop participants attended several presentations and lectures basically divided into two groups. Introductory lectures were presented by representatives of international institutions as specified below, i.e. Secretariat of the Basel Convention, UNIDO, UNEP-Cleaner Production Programme, and European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM). After these more or less general presentations, the lectures on various aspects of cleaner production projects were given.
I. Introductory Lectures on Cleaner Production
The Basel Convention and Cleaner Production
Mr Nelson Sabogal, the SBC representative, gave up-to-date information on the Basel Convention in relation to Cleaner Production, the goals of the Convention, key objectives and supporting tools. He stressed the importance of this subject for the Basel Convention: waste prevention and minimization and active promotion and use of cleaner technologies are key issues of the Basel Declaration. In addition, the promotion of Cleaner Production is as also a priority activity under the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Basel Convention adopted at COP6 in December 2002. He presented also the institutional set-up of UNIDO/UNEP supporting Cleaner Production activities, in particular UNEP Division for Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) and the concept of National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs). Participants were informed about relevant conclusions of COP5 and COP6 on Cleaner Production, pointing out that the cooperation between UNEP/UNIDO CP-Centres and the BCRCs is welcome. One of the most relevant decisions of the COP6 in relation to cleaner production was the adoption of the Strategic Plan which included the “ active promotion and use of cleaner technologies and production, with the aim of the prevention and minimisation of hazardous wastes subject to the Basel Convention”.
UNIDO – Cleaner Production Activities and Results
Mr V. Ischenko presented the experience of an UNIDO programme implemented in 30 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Increasing competitiveness, stimulation of public/private partnership and Cleaner Production promotion are the principal objectives of the programme, as well as the reason to establish Cleaner Production Centres (CPCs). The CPC set-up can be very simple at the beginning comprising 1-2 persons. However, host institutions are very important as they provide facilities, expertise, human resources and cover operational costs. UNIDO and other donors monitor the activities. The principal consideration for establishing a centre is its geographical coverage. Later on, the necessity of specialization on different sectors can be discussed.
Mr. Ischenko presented various examples of different organisational set-up of CPCs, from a private company, through industrial associations, a chamber of commerce to a technical university. To illustrate the different stakeholders that can contribute to the establishment of these Centres, he used the example of the Russian CPC which was established with initial support of the State University on Oil and Gas Industry and other stakeholders, in particular Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Technology and big private companies. He stressed the importance of donors at the beginning of CPC activities and the later attainment of financial sustainability. Using several examples, he explained the importance of fixing objectives, of the developing a strategy and ensuring financial sources, covering both the establishment and operation of the particular centre. He also mentioned three basic options of CP: improved housekeeping without any investment, small changes requiring slight investment and significant changes bound with substantial investment.
Sustainable Production and Consumption
The main objective of the lecture of Mrs Garrette Clark from Cleaner Production Programme of UNEP/DTIE was to provide a basic understanding of the global context of sustainable production and consumption, as well as to present relevant tools and UNEP activities in this regard. She started with a quick assessment of the current situation in relation to changing consumption patterns and their environmental impacts. The figures presented showed that the society is very far from sustainable consumption. While problems of production processes are understood, those of the use and disposal of products are still not well known. The current economic system is based on promoting increased consumption of goods and services. This requires increasing production of goods and services and thus increasing use of material and energy.
A new development of this system shall explore alternative means of meeting the needs of people, which are more resources efficient (Cleaner Production, Green Productivity and Eco-efficiency), produce products and services with less material and energy content (eco-design) and rely more or service content than on material and energy content.
Regarding the changes in production and consumption patterns, some available tools were presented:
· Life cycle assessment (LCA) - a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle
· Eco-design, i.e. how to better meet consumer demand, increase profit and reduce environmental impact
· Product Service systems (PSS) – describe the development of marketable mix of products and services that are jointly capable of fulfilling a client’s need with less environmental impact
· Eco-labelling – third party certification labels based on stipulated environmental criteria
· Green procurement - the process in which organisation buy supplies or services by taking into account best price, environmental aspects, the entire Life Cycle and social aspects.
The presentation was concluded by the explanation of UNEP Cleaner Production Programme and the progress so far made, in particular regarding the International Declaration on Cleaner Production.
The Voluntary Programme of the EU PVC Industry
Mr Jean-Pierre De Grève, Executive Director of European Council of Vinyl Manufactures (ECVM) presented voluntary initiatives of the industry. The Voluntary Commitment of the PVC Industry – Vinyl 2010 - builds on principles of the chemical industry’s Responsible Care programme and addresses key issues across the PVC lifecycle. It contains quantifiable targets, with interim deadlines, that will allow the industry to track its progress towards achieving the overall objectives, as follows:
· Reducing the emissions at PVC resin production level
· Phasing out the use of cadmium and lead-based stabilisers
· Development of recycling schemes for post-consumers PVC waste
· Involving all the stakeholders, in particular the trade unions and the NGOs in the monitoring process
· Developing programmes and social dialogue in partnership with the trade unions, in particular to facilitate the accession of the new EU States.
Mr De Grève presented practical experience based on the implementation of their projects focused mainly on the following areas:
· Traditional mechanical recycling of PVC
· The Vinyloop technology
· Feedstock recycling
· Partnership with communities
II. Training on Cleaner Production Projects
The training was provided by Mrs Viera Fecková the Director of Slovak Cleaner Production Centre (SCPC) with the assistance of her staff. The training was divided into several thematic lectures. Besides theoretical information, each lecture provided also practical applications and illustrative examples. The lecturer took advantage of the interactive training method with the involvement of participants in discussion.
Mrs Fecková introduced the Slovak Cleaner Production Centre as one of the leaders in promotion and support of the concept of cleaner production and sustainable development. The SCPC has been established to spread, promote and support activities aiming to use and implement advanced methods in environmental protection with emphasis on integrating existing everyday practise, increasing public awareness and sustainable development, and preparing and implementing environmental strategies. The SCPC is a professional, independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation, co-operating with public and private organisations.
Introductory Lesson: Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development
The introductory lesson provided the participants with general information on the interrelationship between the environment and pollution. The historical development and various approaches to the environmental protection were presented from the period of relying on self-recovery of polluted nature, through ignoring and diluting environmental problems up to cleaner production approach and to sustainable industrial development.
The main principle of the Cleaner Production (CP) concept was explained as “the continuous applications of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes, products and services to increase overall efficiency. This leads to improved environmental performance, cost savings and the reduction of risks to humans and environment”.
All relevant terms and definitions related to the cleaner production and used in the training course were explained (e.g. End-of-pipe technology, Life cycle Assessment/Approach, sustainable development). The following Cleaner Production measures were also presented:
· organisational measures (good housekeeping)
· better process control
· equipment modification
· input substitution
· technology changes
· product modifications
· on-site recycling
To illustrate what should be done practically to attain cleaner production,
relevant activities that help to achieve the presented measures were explained.
CP Project/Programme Preparation and Implementation
This lesson provided a comprehensive package of information and experience related to project management. In addition to theoretical aspects of a project life cycle, several other elements of Environmental Management System (EMS) were applied for the purpose of a CP project management. Thus this lesson explained:
· The role of management for CP
· What is an initial analysis and how to assess CP potential
· The planning and organisation of CP project
· What is a detailed analysis and how options are generated
· How to access feasibility and evaluate options for implementation
· How measures are implemented and when the project ends
All the issues were illustrated by examples from day-to-day life and/or well prepared exercises.
5. Practicum
Reasons of Waste Generation – Simulation Game
The purpose of this game was to simulate real conditions in a manufacturing company and to show reasons for waste generation and procedures of cleaner production assessment.
Participants were distributed into three groups thus created three chemical companies. The roles in the company (director, production manager, quality manager, environmental manager and operators) were determined. External roles were also important: suppliers, customers, waste expert and inspector.