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| 1. |
What’s Cleaner Production? |
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Cleaner Production (CP) is the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services to increase efficiency and reduce risks to human being and the environment.
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- or production processes: conserving raw materials and energy; eliminating toxic raw materials and reducing quantity and toxicity of emissions and wastes
- For products: reducing negative impacts throughout the life cycle of products
- For services: incorporating environmental concern into the design and delivery of the services
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| 2. |
What are the benefits of adopting Cleaner Production? |
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Cleaner Production is a widely recognized and proven strategy for increasing the efficiency of natural resource management and waste minimization. Pollution and risks to human health and safety are reduced at the source, rather than the end of the production process. Measures of Cleaner Production typically involves improving maintenance practices, upgrading or introducing new technology, or changing production processes. It results in meeting consumers' needs with more environmentally compatible products and services. As well as reducing pollution, this strategy also generates tangible economic savings for a business enterprise by improving the overall efficiency of production. |
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| 3. |
What is the difference between "Cleaner Production" and "Pollution Control"? |
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The major difference between "Cleaner Production" and "Pollution Control" is one of timing. Cleaner Production is a forward-looking philosophy while Pollution Control is an after-the-event approach. |
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| 4. |
What are the cities in the Pearl River Delta Region? |
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The Pearl River Delta Region includes nine areas in Guangdong Province of the People’s Republic of China, namely, Guangzhou（廣州）,Zhaoqing（肇慶）, Foshan（佛山）, Zhongshan（中山）, Jiangmen（江門）, Zhuhai（珠海）, Dongguan（東莞）, Shenzhen（深圳）and Huizhou（惠州）. |
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| 5. |
How to get started in Cleaner Production? |
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Step 1: Top management makes commitment to CP and communicate with all staff members
Step 2: Organize a cleaner production management committee to coordinate CP work; Carry out CP measures to identify practicable CP measures
Step 3: Identify and select CP measures; analyze technical feasibility, environmental and economical benefits
Step 4: Review the effectiveness of CP measures; establish and enhance CP management system and incentive scheme to sustain the CP practice |
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| 6. |
What are the techniques to identify Cleaner Production opportunities in my industry? |
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Various techniques used for identifying opportunities for Cleaner Production includes, but are not limited to the followings: |
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| a. |
Source Reduction (Housekeeping and Processing Change) |
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Change of Input Materials |
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Better Process Control |
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Equipment Modification |
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Technology Change |
| b. |
Waste Recycling |
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On-site Reuse/Recovery |
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Creation of Useful By-Products |
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Product Reformulation or Modification |
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The aforementioned techniques can often be used in combinations. |
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| 7. |
What is "Cleaner Production Assessment"? |
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"Cleaner Production Assessment" is structured methodology to identify and evaluate the pollution prevention opportunities of an enterprise based on the existing and future planned production process, products and services. |
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| 8. |
Who is Eligible to Apply for Funding Support? |
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Any company registered in Hong Kong under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) with a factory in the PRD Region which is owned by any of the following, is eligible to apply: |
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| (1) |
a Sino-foreign equity joint venture or a co-operative joint venture to which the company is a party; or |
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a wholly-owned foreign enterprise with capital from the company; or |
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a People’s Republic of China enterprise which is a party to a subsisting agreement with the company in relation to any of the three forms of processing and assembly operations or compensatory trade（三來一補）. |
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| 9. |
What is three forms of processing and assembly operations or compensatory trade? |
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The expression “three forms of processing and assembly operations（三來）” refer to processing with materials supplied by the Hong Kong Business（來料加工）， assembly with parts supplied by the Hong Kong Business（來件裝配） and processing in accordance with samples supplied by the Hong Kong Business（來樣加工）. Compensatory trade （一補或補償貿易） is an arrangement whereby the Hong Kong Business provides a loan (either in the form of money, equipment or technology) to an enterprise in the People’s Republic of China to either set up a factory/factories or to exploit resources. When the project is completed, the enterprise uses its products or other products to pay back the loan by installments within an agreed period of time. |
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| 10. |
If my business does not belong to the 8 targeted industries (i.e. Chemical products, Food and beverage, Furniture, Metal and metal products, Non-metallic mineral products, Printing and publishing, Paper/paper product manufacturing; and Textiles), can I still apply for the funding support? |
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Yes, you can. Companies with factories from other industry sectors may also apply. Funding approval for these companies will, however, be subject to the endorsement of the Project Management Committee (the PMC) on a case by case basis. |
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