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20 years of industrial efficiency
by 3S Media
celebrates 20 years National government programme of industrial efficiency
In September, the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) officially celebrated 20 years of operations: two decades of assisting industry to do more with less, by moving to a resource-efficient and sustainable business model.
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he NCPC-SA was set
Tup at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido). It was established within the CSIR, which still manages the Centre today.
The WSSD brought together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of state and international and national representatives of business, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious organisations and civil society to focus the world’s attention and direct action toward promoting sustainable development globally.
The NCPC-SA drives the transformation of industry to a green economy through the pursuit of excellence, empowering people, generating impact and welcoming collaboration.
One of the outcomes of the WSSD
discussions was the establishment of the NCPC-SA, originally to promote cleaner production processes in local industry.
The international network of National Cleaner Production Centres was led jointly by Unido and the United Nations Environment Programme. Together, they sought to advance sustainable industrial development and sustainable consumption and production in developing and transitioning countries. The NCPC-SA became a flagship centre – a programme that would proactively engage industry to improve efficiencies, enhance sustainability and drive competitiveness.
Through the application of resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP) methodology in industry, the Centre has supported almost 2 000 companies to do business in a more efficient and sustainable manner. RECP contributes to significant resource savings with surprisingly little investment – and often quick wins can pave the way to even greater savings.
The NCPC-SA marked its 20 years with two significant industry events. In May, the fifth biennial Industrial Efficiency Conference shared methodologies, case studies and opportunities for industry improvement.
On 2 September, almost exactly 20 years since the end of WSSD 2002, the NCPC-SA hosted a
colloquium of presentations by sustainable development experts, examining the changing face of sustainability in the past two decades.
Both these sessions were recorded, and videos can be viewed any time via the NCPC-SA website, www.ncpc.co.za, under the Resources and Tools section.
Continued national relevance
Following the initial three-year pilot phase with Unido, the NCPC-SA was continued as a national industry support programme funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, now the dtic.
Gerhard Fourie, chief director: Green Industries, dtic, explained that the department’s role as the core funder of the NCPC-SA is to provide strategic direction to ensure that the Centre is aligned to the country’s industrial policy and environmental objectives.
One of the focus areas of the NCPC-SA, he said, has always been to contribute to the improvement of companies’ bottom lines and productivity by improving their resource and energy efficiency. “I want to congratulate the NCPC-SA on its successes during these two decades and thank it for making our job somewhat easier to get funding to support the initiative going forward. The success of the NCPC-SA has encouraged donor funding from other governments, including the British, the Swiss, the German, and more recently the Government of Flanders,” Fourie said.
Free industry tools and resources
The NCPC-SA aims to further support South African industry and businesses through the RECP journey by providing tools on the website (tutorial videos, downloadable booklets and posters), technical advice, assessments and implementation of RECP in companies.
For more on these projects, case studies and tools, visit www.ncpc.co.za.
RECP implementation by the NCPCSA in numbers
This national industrial support programme has managed to save 6 500 GWh of energy, which translates into R5.3 billion in savings for industry and 6.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions mitigated through the Industrial Energy Efficiency Project.
In addition, the programme resulted in 6 330 professionals, 314 experts and 199 local trainers being trained; seven occupational qualifications registered with the the National Qualifications Framework; and 13 original training courses developed.
Through these energy savings, as well as over 500 000 tonnes of waste diversion by industrial symbiosis, 8.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been mitigated.
