2.4: Clean technology

clean technology

Products, services or processes that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources.

• includes recycling, renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels…) + other appliances that are now more energy efficient.

• a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental footprint and minimise pollution.

• To make green buildings, transport and infrastructure both more energy efficient and environmentally benign

Drivers for cleaning up manufacturing

Manufacturers may react to:

• Legislation is a driving force for industry to clean up manufacturing processes.

  • current or forthcoming legislation (laws)

  • to conform with government legislation

  • to avoid penalties

• Pressure created by the local community and media

  • communities have made it known that they don’t want harmful (to humans, ecology and the environment) industries

  • pressure groups such as Greenpeace or even a small community town

  • this can sometimes force legislation to be developed and enacted

Reasons for cleaning up manufacturing/industry include:

• promoting positive impacts

• ensuring neutral impact or minimizing negative impacts through conserving natural resources

• reducing pollution and use of energy

• reducing waste of energy and resources

International legislation and targets

developed for reducing pollution and waste:

Legislation – Laws considered collectively to address a certain topic.

• The role and scale of legislation are dependent upon the type of manufacturing and the varied perspectives in different countries.

  • Legislation provides a motivation for industry to clean up manufacturing processes.

    • Manufacturers react to the legislation by cleaning up there act or ignoring it (this happens in some countries as legislation not be forced). 

    • Manufacturers dont want to pay to clean up production; this cuts into profits.

    • Difficult to get nations to agree to the targets which can be for many reasons, such as, nations being at different stages of economic and social development, attitudes to the the environment, or placing more value on economic gain than the environment.

Incremental and radical solutions

incremental solutions: Products which are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations.

• Often, manufacturing processes are improved in terms of efficiency and amount of embodied energy over time.

radical solutions: Where a completely new product is devised by going back to the roots of a problem and thinking about a solution in a different way.

• Radical solutions can make a great and sudden impact

pros and cons of incremental solutions

pros

• use of existing trusted tech

• no/limited downtime in production- continued profits

• less uncertainty of success due to known tech

• can quickly respond to legislation (forthcoming or changing)

cons

• takes too long

• small changes may not meet overall legislation requirements

• need to make small changes often

• saturated marketplace + competition

pros and cons of radical solutions

pros

• exploration of new technologies

• high potential for market growth

• creation of new industries

• fewer competitors

• financial and repetitional benefits

• enhance reputation + innovation

cons

• costly- potential of loss of profits during downtime, tech outfitting

• costly training equip + capital

• high uncertainty of success

• possibility of high market resistance

• development unpredictable incorporating specific starts and stops

end of pipe technologies

Technology that is used to reduce pollutants and waste at the end of a process.

• Industries include, water, energy, manufacturing, advanced materials and transportation.

• E.g filters installed on the end of industrial smoke stacks.

system level solutions

Solutions that are implemented to deal with the whole system, rather than just components.

• Is concerned with the prevention of pollutants as a whole – i.e. production system wide

• Often radical implementation