La evolución y el futuro de la producción más limpia en Colombia

En 1997, el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Colombia adoptó la Política Nacional de Producción más Limpia como una estrategia complementaria a la normatividad ambiental, para impulsar la nueva institucionalidad ambiental en el país. Desde entonces, diferentes iniciativas han sido desarrolladas por empresas, autoridades ambientales y universidades, entre ellas, los convenios de producción más limpias, programas demostrativos de asistencia técnica para la implementación de alternativas preventivas, centros de producción más limpia, guías ambientales, programas de autogestión ambiental. Los resultados de estas iniciativas muestran la efectividad de la estrategia de Producción más Limpia para mejorar el desempeño ambiental de las empresas y mejorar la competitividad empresarial a través la reducción de costos. Hoy diez años después su expedición, la Producción más Limpia (PML) todavía es la estrategia emergente para afrentar los retos ambientales nacionales e internacionales en la industria. Los desarrollos relacionados con la globalización y la integración de la variable ambiental como un elemento central de la competitividad, hacen evidente la importancia del enfoque preventivo para asegurar un manejo responsable y competitivo de empresas ante los crecientes y variados requerimientos. Así, el presente artículo plantea orientaciones para dar un nuevo impulso a la Política Nacional de Producción más Limpia. Los planteamientos desarrollados, parten de un análisis del contexto actual de las tendencias ambientales nacionales e internacionales, un análisis de la evolución de las iniciativas de PML en Colombia y un análisis de avances de PML en la literatura internacional. Las conclusiones de este artículo muestran cómo la política de Producción más Limpia en Colombia debe evolucionar, desde un enfoque para la optimización y mejoramiento de procesos empresariales existentes hacia una estrategia de desarrollo empresarial que promueva la innovación tecnológica y la sostenibilidad de los negocios. La integración de la Estrategia Nacional de Mercados Verdes con la Política Nacional de Producción más Limpia es una de las recomendaciones planteadas para avanzar./ In 1997 the Ministry of Environmental Affairs of Colombia adapted its National Cleaner Production Policy as a complementary environmental strategy to introduce prevention oriented approach into management practices of industry. Since then a range of different initiatives have been developed, all focused on the improvement of the environmental performance of companies. The results of the demonstration projects, voluntary agreements, capacity buildings programs among others, sustain the potential of this strategy to combine the reduction of environmental contamination with cost reductions and competitiveness improvement. Now, ten years after its expedition, Cleaner Production (CP) is still an emergent strategy for environmental management and industrial development in Colombian, even when the context of the time period and the main drivers, have changed. When in the early year's incentives to participate and contribute to CP initiatives were closely related to the new developed environmental regulation in Colombia and responses of industry towards those. Now, ten years later, the globalization of the economy and the integration of environmental variables in competitiveness make CP an important strategy to assume corporate social responsibility and respond to market and trade requirements. Taking into account this importance, this article proposes new ideas and strategies for the renovation of the National Cleaner Production Policy in Colombia. The proposed ideas and strategies are based on a: (i) historical review of the different CP initiatives in Colombia, (ii) the experience of the authors who have participated in a broad range of CP initiatives during the last ten years, and (iii) a literature review of CP initiatives and developments mainly published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The conclusions of this paper show how the Cleaner Production Policy in Colombia has to develop towards an innovative business development strategy, changing its early emphasis of optimizing of existing processes and the implementation of best practices towards the innovation and promotion of cleaner technologies and sustainable business. Also the integration of the National Green Marketing Strategy with the Cleaner Production Policy opens up new perspectives to integrate environmental strategy with business development

Voluntary Environmental Agreements in Developing Countries: The Colombian Experience

According to proponents, voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated with polluters sidestep weak institutions and other barriers to conventional environmental regulation in developing countries. Yet little is known about their effectiveness. We examine VAs in Colombia, a global leader in the use of these policies. We find that the main motive for using VAs has been to build capacity needed for broader environmental regulatory reform. Their additional effect on environmental performance has been questionable. These findings suggest that in developing countries, VAs may be best suited to capacity building, not environmental management per se.voluntary environmental agreement, pollution, Colombia

Efectividad y perspectivas para construír y transferir Capacidades regionales en producción más limpia (p+l), a través del uso de tecnología basada en Internet

La experiencia de un programa basado en Internet, para educar y entrenar en Producción más Limpia1(P+L), que se ha venido realizando en Colombia, donde nueve universidades públicas y privadas comparten la implementación de un curso en Producción más Limpia, y que se ha ido extendiendo a otras áreas del conocimiento, a otras entidades diferentes a universidades, y a objetivos más ambiciosos que solo transferir el conocimiento, muestra resultados promisorios para ampliar la capacidad de construír, difundir, transferir y apropiar desarrollos tecnológicos en temas específicos. La experiencia establece también un enfoque metodológico interesante para promover su efecto multiplicador en otros países con características similares. Este artículo presenta la experiencia de la Universidad de los Andes, como una de las principales iniciadoras de este programa. Basados en esta experiencia, se dan las perspectivas para la educación y los programas de entrenamiento basados en Internet, en P+L y temas relacionados. También se dan pautas a las universidades y organizaciones internacionales, que buscan apoyar la transferencia eficiente de tecnología y la construcción de capacidad regional en países en desarrollo

Experiences from the implementation of sustainable development in higher education institutions: environmental management for sustainable universities

During the last decades several international initiatives have emphasised that education is an imperative for societies to become more sustainable. This special volume stream is comprised of 33 papers that illustrate some of the efforts being taken by higher education institutions to contribute to sustainability. The majority of the papers were presented at the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production e Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities conference in Istanbul, Turkey in 2013. The papers address topics such as implementation of sustainable development, stakeholder engagement and participation, campus operations, sustainability reporting and assessment, organisational change management, and curriculum development. the papers in this special volume stream provide significant steps for the higher education for sustainable development discipline by exploring new and rethink theories, approaches, concepts, methods, and frameworks, as well as providing case studies and guidelines for practitioners. As the collection of papers shows, there have been many efforts in the implementation of sustainable development in higher education institutions; however, there are still many challenges to integrate sustainable development into their systems, and many opportunities for research in the topic.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lca (Life Cycle Analysis):

 Una Herramienta De La Industria Para Conciliar La Crisis Ambiental Y El Desarrollo Empresaria

Metodología para la evaluación de avances en la economía circular en los sectores productivos de América Latina y el Caribe

La presente investigación pone el énfasis en las cadenas de valor y destaca casos de negocios circulares como parte de estas. Al mismo tiempo, desarrolla una metodología de indicadores para la evaluación de avances en circularidad en cadenas de valor prioritarias y en la identificación de oportunidades en América Latina y el Caribe. Se incluyen casos de estudio en cadenas agroalimentarias en Argentina, construcción en Colombia y automotriz en México.Resumen .-- Introducción .-- I. Economía circular e indicadores .-- II. Metodología .-- III. Evaluación de avances y potencialidades de economía circular en cadenas productivas priorizadas .-- IV. Perspectivas para la transición de la economía circular en América Latina y el Caribe .-- V. Conclusiones

Scaling up circular economy initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document analyses the possibility of scaling up the potential of the circular economy through financial instruments in Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews progress in the circular economy in four business cases, selected based on priorities and representativeness for the Latin American and Caribbean region, and assesses the prospect of scaling them up using financial mechanisms and environmental, social and governance (ESG) schemes. The findings show that investment in circular economy business models has multiple benefits for companies, such as profitable operating margins and improved corporate reputation, thereby lowering the cost of debt and of financing circular economy projects. Various financial mechanisms are applied to scale up circular economy initiatives and circular economy indicators are aligned with broader ESG frameworks. To unlock the full potential of the circular economy in the region, new —and cheaper— financing alternatives should be considered. ESG funding has proven to be a reliable source of funding, even for circular economy projects, and has attracted the attention of investors the world over.Introduction .-- I. Dimensions involved in scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) .-- II. Finance mechanisms for scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives .-- III. ESG frameworks and circular economy (CE) .-- IV. Case studies on scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives .-- V. Recommendations for scaling circular economy (CE) initiatives in LAC .-- VI. Conclusions

Factibilidad de la recuperación del Co2 emitido por las calderas de una planta cervecera.

En la actualidad la industria cervecera emite por las chimeneas de sus calderas una serie de gases dentro de los cuales se encuentra el CO2. Adicionalmente en el caso de empresas que también elaboren bebidas carbonatadas o gaseosas, éstas deben comprar CO2 a un proveedor de gases industriales. Como se ve, está arrojando algo que después está comprando. Estudiando rápidamente el problema se identifica una oportunidad de mejora.  A través de este artículo se pretende mostrar los resultados de una investigación para determinar la factibilidad tecnológica, económica y ambiental de la reutilización del CO2 en una planta cervecera

Drafting a Surgical Procedure Using a Computational Anatomy Driven Approach for Precise, Robust, and Safe Vestibular Neuroprosthesis Placement-When One Size Does Not Fit All

OBJECTIVE: To design and evaluate a new vestibular implant and surgical procedure that should reach correct electrode placement in 95% of patients in silico. DESIGN: Computational anatomy driven implant and surgery design study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PARTICIPANTS: The population comprised 81 patients that had undergone a CT scan of the Mastoid region in the Maastricht University Medical Center. The population was subdivided in a vestibular implant eligible group (28) and a control group (53) without known vestibular loss. INTERVENTIONS: Canal lengths and relationships between landmarks were calculated for every patient. The relationships in group-anatomy were used to model a fenestration site on all three semicircular canals. Each patient's simulated individual distance from the fenestration site to the ampulla was calculated and compared with the populations average to determine if placement would be successful. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lengths of the semicircular canals, distances from fenestration site to ampulla (intralabyrinthine electrode length), and rate of successful electrode placement (robustness). RESULTS: The canal lengths for the lateral, posterior, and superior canal were respectively 12.1 mm ± 1.07, 18.8 mm ± 1.62, and 17.5 mm ± 1.23, the distances from electrode fenestration site to the ampulla were respectively 3.73 mm ± 0.53, 9.02 mm ± 0.90, and 5.31 mm ± 0.73 and electrode insertions were successful for each respective semicircular canal in 92.6%, 66.7%, and 86.4% of insertions in silico. The implant electrode was subsequently revised to include two more electrodes per lead, resulting in a robustness of 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The computational anatomy approach can be used to design and test surgical procedures. With small changes in electrode design, the proposed surgical procedure's target robustness was reached