Significance of Clear Production Promotion in China The main reasons for promoting CP in China are: Cleaner production is an inevitable choice and a guarantee for sustainable development in China. For a long time, China has been adopting the traditional development pattern, which has the characteristics of high consumption of resources and energy, and wasteful processing operations. As a result, economic growth has been achieved at the cost of high investment, high consumption and serious pollution. Development based on this format is unsustainable and results in a conflict between economic progress and environmental protection. Growth which neglects the environment damages its quality, and the health of people and future generations, and consequently, future economic development is also compromised. On the other hand, it is not viable to pay attention only to environmental concerns. Without the support of a strong economy, environmental protection can never be realized. Poor living conditions will not be improved, and the welfare of present and future generations cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, sustainable development is the only choice for meeting the needs of the present, which does not limit possibilities for the future. Cleaner production is a strategy of continuous application of pollution prevention to industries with an emphasis on pollution prevention from the source and pollution control during the whole process. By implementing CP, we can increase the efficiency of resource utilization and raw material transformation, to reduce resource consumption and waste generation and to achieve sustainability. At the same time, we can reduce risks to people and the environment through eliminating pollution during the process. Success stories in China and other countries have shown that CP, as a strategy of reducing pollution and costs, increasing competitiveness and achieving integration between economic benefits and environmental benefits, is an inevitable choice and important assurance for sustainable development, industries must stay on course since their vital interest is at stake. Cleaner production is an effective approach and a practical requirement for encouraging the changing of economic growth patterns and improving the quality and efficiency of economic growth. The concept of sustainable development originated from environmental protection. However, the adoption of a sustainable development strategy is a requirement not only for environmental protection, but also for the entire economic operation. Sustainable development will require a complete reworking of the conventional way of growth – massive consumption of natural resources and energy with a careless attitude of management. The major problem for Chinese economic development is the poor quality and low efficiency of economic growth which resulted from poor management style, unreasonable production structures, obsolete technologies and equipment, high consumption, inefficient use and waste of resources and energy. These result not only in high production costs and economic inefficiency, but also in a large amount of pollutants which are causing serious environmental problems. To solve these problems, new ways for production must be promoted. To promote CP, a totally new target is set for the development of enterprises and industries: To enhance the efficiency of resource utilization and minimize the generation of wastes. To achieve this goal, efforts must be made by enterprises in restructuring, improvement of management systems, process and technology renovation, personnel practices which reduce energy consumption, and other areas which enhance efficiency and reduce consumption and pollution. Effective development practices must be followed for wise and efficient utilization of resources. It is obvious that CP involves far-reaching enterprise reforms and a major shift of economic growth patterns. It means specifically the changing the changing the way of development from extensive operations into intensive operations. By so doing, CP will positively and rapidly improve the quality and efficiency of economic operations. Cleaner production is an inevitable choice and the best way for industrial pollution control. The traditional environmental protection pattern-end-of-pipe control with the philosophy of “Pollution First and Treatment Afterwards”, has produced some improvement in the environment. But as time passes, especially with the acceleration of industrialization and the implementation of a sustainable development strategy, end-of-pipe control has demonstrated its limitations: (a) High capital investment and high operation cost for pollution treatment facilities, imposing an additional burden to the production process and increasing the production cost, and consequently reducing the enthusiasm of the enterprises to act. (b) Pollutants cannot be eliminated completely and are usually transferred to other environmental media, causing “secondary pollution.” (c) End-of-pipe control often requires secondary treatment facilities, so it does not give the ability to use resources more efficiently and prevent pollution at the source. (d) Complicated technology requirements and high risks caused by waste disposal. (e) Its emphasis on waste treatment after generation rather than pollution prevention for the whole process causes a division in the integral relationship between pollution control and production management in the course of processing. The bulk of China’s pollution comes from industry. There exist, in general, a number of problems in China’s domestic industries, such as backward technologies and management systems, severe pollution situations, and inadequate awareness of pollution prevention. It is therefore difficult to reduce industrial pollution and fundamentally improve environmental quality by using the traditional end-of-pipe control technique, which cannot keep up with the needs of sustainable development. However, CP, as a means of pollution prevention rather than pollution treatment, has strengthened the concept of environmental protection. By continuous improvement of management systems and technologies (under the prerequisite of satisfying the physical and cultural needs of people) CP focuses on the efficient use of resources and reduction or elimination of waste generation with the goal of minimizing risks to people and the environment. It emphasizes pollution prevention with economic benefits to enterprises. Cleaner production, with great vitality and buoyancy, begins a new era of “Pollution Prevention” in the history of environmental protection and will become the best approach for pollution control in this new century. Cleaner Production is a significant landmark for the development and the civilization of modern industry, and as well as an internal requirement for enterprises to establish a high reputation. The shift in emphasis from end-of-pipe control to CP, or from post-pollution treatment to prevention, is not only a change and an alternative for a pollution control approach, but a totally new attitude for industrial production as well. Cleaner production overcomes the deficiency of the traditional end-of-pipe control procedure. In order to understand this alternative, we have to greatly change and improve our overall thinking, management style, industrial processes and technologies, responding fully to the requirements of sustainable development. The course of change and improvement reflects the evolution of modern industrial civilization. CP implementation is a new industrial revolution, guided by a sustainable development strategy, and it will become the indispensable approach to industrial production development in the 21st century. Enterprises can neither survive nor grow without the mutual understanding and support from people in different walks of live. If enterprises keep on using end-of-pipe control strategy, producing tremendous wastes of resources with high consumption, and causing serious pollution to the environment, or worse, aggravating risks to people and the ecology, they will be distrusted by the public instead of being understood. By implementing CP, using non-toxic or low-toxicity raw materials, adopting sound and improved processes, producing no-risk or low risk products, and realizing low or zero waste discharge, enterprises can build a good reputation and obtain acceptance and support from the public. In the world market, especially, this will be very helpful in breaking international trade barriers and securing the possibility of entrance to the world market. Cleaner production is an effective approach for enterprises to meet discharge standards by the year 2000. It is required by the State Council Resolution on Issues of Environmental Protection tat all industrial emissions across the country must meet discharge standards by the end of 2000. It is difficult in terms of either capital investment or construction schedule to realize this target simply by adopting traditional end-of-pipe treatment and building treatment facilities. The target can only be reached if major efforts are dedicated by enterprises towards promoting CP through strengthening their management capability, using energy efficiently, reducing consumption and minimizing pollutions discharged.