The concept of Clean Production, originally developed under the Kyoto Protocol, was to help industrialized countries meet their obligations for the reduction of greenhouse gases. It involved mechanisms to assist developing countries, which had no history of producing large quantities of greenhouse gases, to avoid copying the mistakes of the past and was described as one contribution to long?term sustainable development of the recipient country.

The concept of Clean Production was expanded at an expert-level meeting organized by The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and hosted by the Institute of Environmental Technology (Apini) at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania held October 18 - 20, 1999. The problem was posed: 'How to prepare creditworthy investment proposals to financial institutions for small-and medium?scale industrial projects that would be good and efficient business without depleting resources and burdening the environment'.

On 4 November 1999, UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP/TIE) started the implementation of a Norwegian?funded project on strategies and mechanisms for promoting cleaner production investments in developing countries to address this issue. One of the challenges of the project was to develop tools and instruments, which could be transferred to financial and service institutions to gradually integrate cleaner production into the due diligence process for investment. The expansion of the concept included both process and product.

Clean Production is one of the essential components of a favorable Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The waste from the production process and from the product itself should be, as far as possible, non-toxic to both the environment and to human health. Such production enhances life, and the resulting product is suitable for reuse and recycling.

In 1996, UNEP published "Life Cycle Assessment: What it is and How to Do It" to provide background information on the LCA concept with examples of current practice. A follow up, which broadened the concept to include services as well as products, was published in 1999. "Towards the Global Use of Life Cycle Assessment" described initiatives taken by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to determine the level of acceptance and adoption of Life Cycle Assessment worldwide.

In short, LCA is a tool for evaluating the effects that a product or service has on the environment over the entire period of its life - beginning with the extraction and processing of raw materials from which it is made, through the manufacturing, packaging and marketing processes, the use, re?use and maintenance of the product, and then on to its eventual recycling or disposal as waste at the end of its useful life.

For several decades, LCA in various forms has been applied to production processes, product design and policy issues. However, there is evidence that LCA is not being utilized to its full potential, even in those countries most involved in its development and application. A major goal, therefore, is to increase the involvement of consumers, industry, non?governmental organizations and governments, thereby bringing about a greater awareness ? among industrialists and consumers alike ? of the consequences of their activities. "Towards the Global Use of Life Cycle Assessment" provides an action list of what can be done to overcome some of the existing barriers to LCA. It also contains numerous examples of LCA applications, and listings of LCA Publications and key contact institutions.

"Towards the Global Use of Life Cycle Assessment" is based on a background report prepared by the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands and on a survey carried out by the German Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IOW). It was produced with the support of the Governments of the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States.

For more information - www.earthprint.com and www.uneptie.org