HOME | ABOUT P2 | P2 SECTORS | PROJECTS | RESOURCES | REGION 6

Pollution prevention (P2) opportunities can be identified
by the industry sector, product, or production process that is related
to your business. Pollution prevention can be accomplished by any of the
following five methods.
1. Product Design/Material Selection--Product design is a process
of synthesis in which product attributes such as cost, performance, manufacturability,
safety, and consumer appeal are considered together. Product design for
P2 incorportates environmental objectives with minimum loss to the product's
performance, useful life, or functionality. (U.S. Congress--OTA)
2. Process Design--Process designers consider production attributes
such as cost productivity, end-part manufacturability, and operator safety
when designing a production process. Process design for P2 incorporates
environmental objectives with minimum loss to the production process: stability
and productivity in particular.
3. Process Improvement/Material Substitution--Production process
improvements for P2 are considered after the process equipment is already
in place. Although this continuous method of improvement yields varying
degrees of success, it is a viable option to incorporate pollution prevention
into an already existing process.
4. Energy Conservation--Energy conservation minimizes power plant
emmissions through the efficient use of energy in the production process
by minimizing pollution offsite at the power plant.
5. Environmental Management Systems--Environmental management systems
identify pollution prevention opportunities in order to implement one of
the above P2 methods.