Abstract
Since 1994 UNIDO and UNEP cooperate in a Programme to establish National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) in developing and transition countries. An evaluation was conducted in 2007 when the Programme covered 37 countries. The programme evaluation was based on three information sources: a review of Programme strategy and management; self-evaluation by NCPC directors; and independent reviews of 18 NCPCs. It was found that NCPCs had been successful in putting Cleaner Production (CP) on the agenda of business and government, training of professional staff, implementation of low and intermediate technology options in assisted companies and policy change in some countries. An overall assessment was made on six assessment criteria: relevance; effectiveness; efficiency; sustainability; capacity development; and ownership. Limitations in articulation and implementation of the Programme strategy, the complexity of inter-agency cooperation and diversity among Programme countries globally, had a somewhat negative impact on the programme assessment, which was regardless on average satisfactory. It was concluded that the Programme had great potential, as relevance of CP was rising, due to worsening industrial pollution, resource scarcity, globalisation and resulting market pressure. The challenge remained to adapt to the changing interests and diversifying demands from governments and private sector globally.
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Notes
In some countries, the establishment of a NCPC is preceded by a National Cleaner Production Programme (NCPP). As NCPCs and NCPPs have similar aims and objectives, and undertake similar activities, for ease of reference in this paper all are referred to as NCPCs.
The Development Assistance Committee of OECD defined evaluation as: “the systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed project, programme or policy, its design, implementation and results. The aim is to determine the relevance and fulfilment of objectives, development efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling incorporation of lessons learned into the decision making process of both recipient and donor. Evaluation also refers to the process of determining the worth and significance of an activity, policy or programme” (OECD 2008, p. 4).
CP Centres comparable to NCPCs were set up by several donors and/or national governments without an association to the UNIDO-UNEP NCPC Programme in other countries, including for example Indonesia, Malaysia, Lithuania and Chile, whilst also in some countries sub-national NCPC-type entities were set up outside the Programme (e.g., in China and India).
Capacity development was considered ambivalent in the context of the self-evaluation by NCPC Directors who themselves had been trained by the Programme, and therefore left out from the self-assessment.
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Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the contributions made to this research by Johannes Dobinger (UNIDO, Austria), Hans Schnitzer (Graz University of Technology, Austria) and Matthias Meyer (PRAXIMONDO, Switzerland).
Disclaimer
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and/or the United Nations Environment Programme. Designations such as developed, industrialised, developing and transition are intended for convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.
Conflict of interest
The Evaluation was financially supported by the Austrian Ministry of International and European Affairs and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The author was at the time of this research with Eco-Innovation (Australia). He declares that he had no conflict of interest.
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Rene Van Berkel—formerly Eco-Innovation, Inglewood, Australia.
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Van Berkel, R. Evaluation of the global implementation of the UNIDO-UNEP National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPC) Programme. Clean Techn Environ Policy 13, 161–175 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-010-0276-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-010-0276-6