Implementation of cleaner production : a ten-year retrospective on benefits and difficulties found

Abstract

Cleaner production is a fast-growing area with numerous important developments seen over the years, which have led to substantial improvements, both in technological, process and organization terms. Yet there is a paucity of literature organizing the body of knowledge on the benefits and difficulties seen in this field. Thus, following a systematic literature review protocol, this paper provides a ten-year state-of-the-art analysis on the benefits and difficulties faced in the implementation of cleaner production strategies, and outlines some means via which they may be addressed. Main results point out that companies and governments have been able to successfully reap both tangible and intangible benefits after Cleaner Production implementation as its appeal to attract customers and reap reputation gain increases, for example. However, the results also show a series of difficulties that remain and hinders the widespread advancement of this methodology.