What you can do

Living Sustainably

Cleaner Production

Take the Challenge – Where to start

Use the Cleaner Production self-help tool to guide you through the process and help you to develop and implement a Cleaner Production program tailored to your workplace.

Step 1 - Learn from others

Have a look at what others are doing and read recent case studies where Cleaner Production processes have been implemented and introduced. You'll find lots of inspiring ideas, and anecdotes, as well as some really impressive facts and figures about costs and benefits.

Investigate and learn more about pollution and waste management issues facing other workplaces and industries. These may help to promote ideas and opportunities, and provide valuable facts for arguing a business case.

Thoroughly review the What you can Do > At Work section for essentials tips and ideas on how to save, minimise and recycle.

Share your information and see if you can spark some interest in doing a Cleaner Production project at your workplace.

Step 2 - Generate interest and support

Get a team together and start a discussion with work colleagues who are interested in learning more about Cleaner Production and how it could be implemented in the workplace.

Involve people from as many different sections of your workplace as possible and ensure management is on board. You might also want to involve suppliers, distributors or adjoining businesses.

Step 3 - Understand your business and its processes

Conduct a simple 'walk through' audit of your workplace and processes. Look for opportunities. Use the Cleaner Production self-help tool to guide and help you.

Look at how your organisation uses energy, water, raw materials and other inputs. Look at types of waste or pollution generated and how they are dealt with. Collect data about consumption of energy, water and raw materials – this will become the 'baseline' data for later reviews.

Look at work flow from start to finish and housekeeping and maintenance procedures. Focus on identifying needs and issues, rather than possible solutions. Don't spend too much time on details, you'll have opportunities to do this later.

Conduct further investigations if necessary, for example you might employ a consultant to undertake a more detailed audit – make sure the needs are well defined.

Step 4 - Generate ideas and enlist support

Brainstorm ideas for improvements. Don't dismiss ideas as 'too hard' or 'too expensive' – you never know where they might lead. Sometimes 'out-there' or creative ideas can lead to break-throughs or fresh ways of seeing things.

Work out which areas need attention most urgently, and working with the appropriate managers, set some priorities for action.

See what outside help is available – approach your local council, industry association or chamber of commerce and ask for advice. Seek as much involvement from others as possible. Make sure there is good communication happening across the board, and check that everyone who needs to know is kept up-to-date with what's being proposed. Include people who are involved with unions, OH&S, HR, workplace education and other special workplace functions.

Step 5 - Plan, implement and review

Working with management, confirm priorities, define projects and set up goals, timeframes, budgets and action plans. Start with simple improvements and use these to generate support for further initiatives. Decide whether you should conduct a trial or stage the implementation.

Decide how the projects will be reviewed and gather data that can be used to monitor changes. Work out how you will gather feedback, and how you will measure success or failure. Ensure consultation, communication and education aspects have all been covered.

Proceed with the action plans. Monitor, review and publicise the results and make continual improvements as you go.