In addition to being a guest lecturer at UNESCO-IHE, Dr. Huisingh is Professor at the University of Tennessee (USA), the University of Lund (Sweden) and Erasmus University (The Netherlands). His primary research focus has been the development of policies, concepts, technologies and educational programs that can help societies to avoid the generation of waste, with tools and concepts such as Cleaner Production, Sustainable Consumption and Waste Minimization. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier’s ‘Journal of Cleaner Production that is now in its 15th year of publication. Having just celebrated his 70th birthday, he looks forward to many additional years of work to helpmake the changes that are essential, ‘if we are to make the transition to sustainable societies’.

What is the role of Cleaner Production in Sustainable Development?

There is or should be a close link. Cleaner Production of Cleaner Products and sustainable production and consumption are key elements of sustainable societies. Sustainable development is the process and sustainable production and sustainable consumption are elements. Other parameters must be used to support them, such as: changes in values, ethics, governmental policies, and in what we call sufficiency. How much is enough? How much do we need to produce and to consume? Beside that, there are incredibly large economic and welfare differences between countries and within countries that must be addressed. Those disparities certainly won’t be solved by only using cleaner production of cleaner products.

How much is enough?

I don’t have a good definition. Fulfilling one’s basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and security are basic for all humans. However once one goes further up in meeting the hierarchy of human needs, one enters the area of self actualisation. Here the psychology and sociology of self-satisfaction and peer group approval are of increasing importance. Unfortunately, at this time, 2 – 3 billion humans do not have their basic needs fulfilled. They do not have enough! We have many challenges to work to achieve the U.N. ‘Millennium Development Goals. Certainly, Cleaner Production of Cleaner Products must be integrated within the broader, social and ethical context of Sustainable Development. Fortunately, organizations such as UNESCO-IHE and other similar institutes are making important contributions globally, in helping people to move upward out of abject poverty toward self-actualization.

What factor has contributed most to the development and implementation of Cleaner Production in recent years: new products (technology), better processes (management) or the delivery of new services?

All have and continue to play important roles. One is not more important than another. In some industrial sectors, new technologies have played and are playing crucial roles. In others new products integrated with improved management approaches have helped to make rapid progress. Some company leaders are making progress by improving the management of their current production processes. This has shown us that many companies were not doing a good job in management because they were not monitoring and quantifying their processes. When they do, they can make dramatic improvements in a relatively short time with little or no new investments.

On the other hand, eco-design of ecologically sound products that do not contain toxic substances can help the companies make quantum jump improvements. Furthermore, governmental policies can and should play a strong supportive role in promoting the production of and the life-cycle management of all industrial sectors. In this context, the extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies that many governments have enacted, place the responsibility for minimizing the toxics, life cycle energy consumption, etc in their products. EPR responsibilities require the producer to be responsible for the entire life-cycle of their products.

How many companies are applying Cleaner Productions concepts?

There are companies in many countries which are making excellent progress in improving products and processes, while ensuring better management, better engagement of workers, better management of the entire life cycle of their products and services. The Journal of Cleaner Production, UNEP, UNIDO and UNESCO have documented results of hundreds of companies that have made progress. Based upon such examples, some people have estimated that 10 – 15% of all companies have made or are making progress on the Cleaner Production journey. However, I don’t know of anyone who has sound scientific data.

What role can the optimisation of existing technology play as a first step towards cleaner production and waste reduction?

Sharing the information about how much can be done with the optimisation of existing technologies with more managers is a good starting point –in other words, documenting and sharing best practices. However, better is sometimes the enemy of the best. The improvements in processes shouldn’t blind us from the fact that –for example– the use of some toxic catalysts can be done in a better way, however such incremental improvements may block the company leaders from investigating and implementing improvements that would be a quantum improvement, both in eco-efficiency and eco-effectivity. Thus, only focusing upon optimisation of the use of existing technologies and or products can lock the company into the ‘old’ way and not challenge them to think and act ‘outside of the box,’ to make big improvements.

Which sectors have gone further on the path of Cleaner Production?

Many sectors have made progresses. The printing and painting industries are making their inks and paints safer by replacing organic solvents with water-based systems. Similarly, they have replaced many of the toxic heavy metals with non-toxic substances. In the food processing industries many improvements have been made in energy efficiency improvements and in applications of membrane technologies such as ultra- filtration & reverse osmosis.

Perhaps, an ideal example is the work of Sally Fox. She has developed cotton varieties that are pesticides resistant and are naturally colored. Ms. Fox learned that thousands of years ago, cotton was grown and used in many countries, that was naturally red, yellow, green and many other colours. For years she searched for ‘wild cotton’ plants in Egypt, India, Chile, Peru and other countries. She then worked for several decades in cotton breeding and testing work. She now has many varieties of naturally colored, long-fibre cotton that is used to make clothing, drapes, carpets and other types of products.

Not surprisingly, due to her achievements, she is now facing the pressure from white cotton producers, as well as by the pesticide and dye manufacturing industries that feel threatened by her progress.

Advances are not always easy or uniform, but are essential for the transition to sustainable societies.

How can such counter pressures be neutralised or counter-balanced?

Many stakeholders have key roles in promoting the production of ecologically and economically sound products. Governments can and in some cases are promoting the production of cleaner products that are produced under safe working conditions. NGO’s, consumers and employees can all play centrally important roles in promoting progress toward more sustainable production and consumption. There is also growing counter pressures from ethical investors to support the production and use of green products. Green investment funds have proven to have a higher return on investment than non-green investment funds. This should help to encourage companies to implement steps toward cleaner production.

So people shouldn’t regard the relation between economic development and cleaner production as a dichotomy.

Absolutely not. In fact, they go hand in hand. The cleaner production of cleaner products is better for human health, for the environment and for the economy, both in the short and in the long-term.

How can this environmental concern be encouraged or promoted in developing economies?

Fortunately, approximately 40 National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) have been established by UNEP and UNIDO. These centres are responsible for working with their companies, universities and governments in the promotion of Cleaner Production. As a result, increasing numbers of companies in developing economies are making progress. This is encouraging!

How far are we from fulfilling the potential of re-use and recycling of products, especially in Western societies?

We have made important progress in some areas such as in the recycling of metals, paper, glass and some kinds of plastic. There are some barriers to further improvement of recycling; some of the barriers are due to product design that results in mixtures of materials that are difficult or impossible to separate in the recycling phase. Other barriers or challenges to expanding recycling are tied with the consumer demand for products that contain recycled materials.

Is zero-waste production achievable?

Much progress has been and is being made in moving in the direction of Zero-Waste. In fact, a special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production, developed by Profs. Schnitzer & Ulgiati, is titled, ‘Approaching Zero Emissions.’ (Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 15 Numbers 3 – 14, 2007) In the 22 articles of that issue, they document that the process of working toward ‘zero-waste,’ is first of all, ‘attitudinal.’

Of course, making the necessary changes after that will involve changes in managerial, technological and product and process design. But Schnitzer and Ulgiati and others have documented that the Triple Bottom Line of Corporate Social Responsibility requires us to continue to push toward the goal of Zero-Waste. This requires that we increasingly develop systems that are energy efficient and that are based in renewable energy sources. Clearly, our attitudes, values and commitments are critical if we are to make progress toward sustainable societies. It is our responsibility!