Resource-Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) is a preventive approach to pollution promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and has been widely disseminated worldwide and in Viet Nam since the 1990s.
This approach focuses on helping enterprises use input resources more efficiently by continuously applying preventive strategies to production processes, products and services to improve operational efficiency and minimize risks to people and the environment.
RECP simultaneously addresses three dimensions of sustainable development:
- Production efficiency: Optimizing the use of raw materials, energy and water in production;
- Environmental management: Minimizing waste, emissions and adverse impacts on the environment and nature; and
- Human development: Minimizing risks to workers and communities, while supporting improvements in working conditions and social development.
In Viet Nam, the Law on Environmental Protection, together with policies and strategies on Green Growth, Circular Economy and Eco-Industrial Parks, provides a foundation for promoting the continuous application of RECP in enterprises’ production and business activities.
