Clean Production

Clean production is a philosophical and analytical approach to production which considers all the effects a product may have on the environment and on human health during all phases of its life cycle, with particular emphasis on the reduction of immediate and long-term harm. A primary focus of clean production is the reduction or elimination of releasing hazardous substances into the environment, preferably through upstream methods emphasizing product and process redesign, as well as reuse and recycling of waste materials in the manufacturing process as opposed to downstream methods, which move the waste elsewhere. Because of the difficulties in achieving truly clean production, some prefer the term cleaner production, which denotes improvement over standard approaches while also emphasizing that any manufacturing process is likely to ...