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56 Third alternative to industrial development RoleoftheNCPCinresourceefficiencyand cleanerproductioninSouthAfrica Marié Uys and Sunette Steyn 3 ABSTRACT The primary objective of this case study of the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA) was to establish what the NCPC-SA considered as its breakthrough intervention in the green economy. Consequently, the NCPC-SA’s role in and contribution to environmental sustainability, a greener economy and cleaner production (CP) was considered. It emerged that the NCPC-SA and its focus on resource efficiency and cleaner production within SMEs was the major breakthrough. Although challenges still exist with regard to the slow implementation of initiatives and recommendations from the NCPC-SA by the Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) and other companies, success is being realised. This is showcased by the 61 production facility sites assessed by the NCPC-SA between April 2010 and March 2011. INTRODUCTION The case study of the NCPC-SA is unique in that it profiles a green economy breakthrough from a national statutory body. The NCPC-SA is advocating for and enabling resource efficiency and CP in South Africa in line with global developments in this space. In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference, was held in Rio de Janeiro. After the Rio Conference, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated resource-efficient and CP pilot projects in order to demonstrate preventive environmental strategies.1 Upon the successful completion of these pilot projects, the partners agreed to sustain such production by establishing national capacities known as NCPCs in developing countries and economies in Third Alternative to Industrial Development 57 transition.2 In South Africa, the NCPC-SA was established during the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development that took place in Johannesburg.3 The establishment of the NCPC-SA was a product of international competitive pressures for greener economies, environmental technical barriers to trade, as well as cost and resource availability challenges.4 The cooperation programme between UNIDO, South Africa’s national Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the donor countries, Austria and Switzerland5 brought about the initial establishment of the NCPC-SA. Today the NCPC-SA is fully funded by the National Treasury through the DTI and it serves as the key industrial sustainability programme of the DTI.6 The NCPC-SA focuses on SMEs. It is hosted within the legal facilities , financial and human capital structures of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and is dependent on the CSIR for its business process system in relation to human resources, information and communications technology, legal services and financial management.7 The primary aim of the NCPC-SA is to assist companies to reduce their use of energy , water and other natural resources while also reducing the generation of waste and emissions.8 In order to do so, the NCPC-SA carries out CP assessments and supports the implementation of CP activities.9 It promotes Environmentally Sustainable Technologies (ESTs) and investments, raises public awareness and contributes to policy development.10 The CP initiative aims to assist the industrial sectors of developing countries to produce in a sustainable manner, thus improving their competitive position.11 RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND CLEANER PRODUCTION According to UNEP, CP can be defined as the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, goods and services to increase overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment.12 CP can also be defined as a systematically organised approach to production activities, which has positive effects on the environment.13 These activities encompass resource use minimisation, improved eco-efficiency and source reduction to improve the environmental protection and to reduce risks to living organisms.14 While these definitions adequately describe the concept of CP, more clarification is needed in order to unpack the concept. While many current environmental protection initiatives focus on what to do with waste and emissions that already exist, CP is a positive and proactive approach to improve the environment.15 CP promotes the prevention of the generation of pollution and brings about more efficient use of resources.16 The idea behind the promotion of CP is that waste avoidance and reduction should be considered as the first options but if waste cannot be avoided, the quantities should be kept to a minimum and options for recovery...

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