P R O D U C T I O N

  Businesses and environmentalists have traditionally found it difficult to get along. Companies thought campaigners were unrealistic trouble makers and campaigners saw firms as greedy and destructive.

  Then came Cleaner Production — the idea that money can be saved by using environmentally-friendly techniques. The method is targeted at small and medium-sized companies and aims to show them that by energy saving and reduction of emissions and waste, a more cost-effective business can be created. "Instead of using the end-of-pipe environmental techniques which are the basis for the whole environmental industry we would like to use Cleaner Production, which says it is best if we don't produce waste at all," explains Sandor Kerekes, who runs the Hungarian project at its base in the Budapest Economics University.

  Hungary joined the Cleaner Production programme in February this year, after the Czech Republic and Slovakia pioneered the scheme in Central and Eastern Europe. As well as disseminating information on Cleaner Production and working on policy issues, a series of eight workshops were designed for eleven companies in pilot project regions of Sargotarjan, Dorog and Esztergom. The areas were selected because of their polluting industries and high unemployment. The Hungarian team worked with both companies and local governments and trainers used the Austrian "Eco-Profit" Cleaner Production model.

  During workshops and factory visits throughout the year, experts in Cleaner Production measured indicators such as energy use and pollution levels to examine possibilities of changing the business in a cost-effective way. That could be such small considerations as putting in a new window pane or adding another pipe. One waste water company will make savings of around HUF 1 million next year by restructuring its canalisation system. The current layout means that its machinery must clean both waste water and rain water which has collected in the same channel, using up extra energy — and money.

  Although not every company can see such immediate savings, Cleaner Production experts say that the long term gains are worth waiting for. Very small companies can also be helped. Austrian printing shop, DruckWerk, with just five employees, says it spends 6% of its expenditure on environmental protection every year. The firm has been growing since 1982 when it was first established and in its own words: "the only thing that has remained small is the number of employees."

  According to Kerekes small and medium sized companies are the best candidates for Cleaner Production methodology. Unable to bear the financial cost of environmental technology or to shoulder the burden of increasingly implemented environmental fines, the concept allows them to improve business and environment at the same time. "In the first stage we are trying to collect the low hanging fruits, which is very cost-efficient and self-financing," says Kerekes.

  Not everyone is convinced. Some firms find the burden on personnel too great, since representative staff must attend regular training sessions and work on developing the practice inside the company. Firms which are already functioning effectively are the most difficult to persuade. "Some companies believed we couldn't really help them," notes Miklos Galli who also works at the Hungarian Cleaner Production centre. "Our main argument is just to look at the results — even hi-tech companies implementing environmental practices made savings".

  But some companies struggle to finance the HUF 10-200,000 yearly fee charged by the Cleaner Production centre. Small and medium-sized firms, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, often find it difficult to make ends meet. Consumers in the region still tend to place more emphasis on price than environmental concerns — and that inevitably affects managers' decisions. Caroline Walcot of the European Round Table of industrialists says SMEs should be given more flexibility on environmental regulations if they are to survive. "Large companies can comply with the rules very easily but for SMEs rules should be lightened up," she told Insight. The European Round Table plans a series of workshops in Central and Eastern Europe, to stress the possibilities of environmentally aware business. But Walcot stresses that such small-scale projects are not enough. She recommends that governments take the initiative. "They should provide centrally administered schemes where SMEs can have access to training — and it helps if they are for free." She adds that a local government-company partnership and "to carpet-bomb companies with basic schemes which are easily taught by local trainers," would be the best approach.

  Next year Hungary's Cleaner Production centre hopes to offer the possibility of sponsoring environmental graduates to work a one-year placement inside companies to implement the Cleaner Production project. That would help smaller companies who cannot afford the initial personnel costs and would improve chances for the growing community of young environmental experts. "There is a huge gap today because there are some highly qualified people but they can't find a job — we would help to put a bridge between these people and the companies," explains Galli. Companies would receive the graduate for free, who in turn would help the company save money and earn him or herself a job. A truly economic solution to an environmental question.

  The Hungarian Cleaner Production Centre is organising Project TECH COM on November 17-20, 1998. The event's theme is: Hazardous Wastes: Minimising Environmental Risks and Creating Business Opportunities.