It is important to reduce emissions in the manufacturing process by 30 percent and to promote efficiency in the use of resources to ensure cleaner production, the National Cleaner Production Centre Sri Lanka (NCPSL) Chief Executive Officer Samantha Kumarasena told a forum on ‘Resource efficiency for better profits for Sri Lankan Businesses and Enterprises’ in Colombo last week. The NCPSL will support businesses to build up their technical needs and work towards cleaner production, he said.
“Improving the use of resources with the available equipment and facilities is a challenge. Low and no-cost options have a short ‘return’on investment. The products should be of quality and cost effective. Businesses should use novel proactive management tools such as eco design to enable cleaner production,” he said.
It is necessary to have a life cycle inventory data base. This is lacking in the country.
The accredited green label scheme will give Sri Lanka a competitive edge over world players. Regular cleaner production assessment will augur well for businesses in the long run, he said.
STENUM Asia, India Project Manager Rajat Batra said, “Resource efficient cleaner production contributes to Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). The SDGs offer a huge opportunity for the private sector. It saves US $ 1 trillion in India, adding one third of GDP potential.”
The SDGs also focuses on the environment and social side, not only profits. The forward-looking companies operate on strategic levels.
They attempt to reduce emissions along the value chain, reduce resource consumption, change products through innovation, change consumer behaviour and collaborate with industry, he said.
AREC Austria, Project Manager Stefan Melnitzky said, “With the cleaner production approach, waste management is considered important. The efficient use of resources is not merely an environmental initiative, but simply a good business decision.” The NCP is conducting a resources efficient supply chain for metal products in the buildings sector in South Asia, the project named Metabulid, targets 80 industries to be competed in a four-year period.
The project has so far completed 20 factories and will be looking at another ten this year.
Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) is a continuous application of preventive environmental strategies to processes, products and services to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment.
RECP addresses three sustainability dimensions individually and synergistically; Production efficiency, through improved productive use of natural resources by enterprises; Environmental management, through minimisation of the impact on nature by enterprises and human development, through reduction of risks to people and communities from enterprises and supporting their development NCPCSL undertakes various international projects to accelerate RECP implementation and shift towards achieving sustainable development of the country.