Who we are

Cleaner Production Germany is a website published by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the German government’s central environmental authority. One of our tasks is to improve the acceptance and application of environmentally compatible processes and technologies throughout the world. To this end, we set up the Cleaner Production Germany website to present state-sponsored best practice examples and research results in German and English both for use in other projects and for further development. Cleaner Production Germany is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research as part of its research initiative for sustainable development.

What is Cleaner Production?

Cleaner Production promotes the implementation of technologies which enhance the principle of sustainable production. Cleaner Production addresses the technical and organisational modification of production processes and plants to achieve a significant reduction in environmental pollution.

Cleaner Production means improving processes in such a way that the resources used are transformed into products as efficiently as possible, eliminating where possible waste and emissions at source. This reduces the cost of raw materials, energy and waste disposal, at the same time lowering the risk of environmental pollution and improving safety at work. In other words, sustainable management means combining successful business activity, an economical way of thinking, ecological compatibility, and social justice.

In effect, Cleaner Production is a simplified version of an environmental management system pursuant to ISO 14001 or EMAS.

What we hope to achieve

Access to scientific and technical information regarding environmentally compatible technologies is an important condition for sustainable development. Our Cleaner Production Germany website makes the results of state sponsorship in Germany available to the world, and provides contact information for important stakeholders. We would like interested readers and technology consumers to use the information to streamline their own production processes and develop environmentally friendly processes.

As our information is directed particularly at stakeholders from abroad interested in environmental technologies from Germany, we also provide English translations of the website content.

The data provided on Cleaner Production Germany was written primarily for the developers and users of environmental technologies, i.e. companies and research institutes. But it will also be of use to national and local authorities, opinion makers such as bilateral organisations, associations and consultants, and the interested public in Germany and abroad, all of whom are potentially interested in environmental technology from Germany. Two thirds of our users already come from outside Germany, particularly the USA and Asia.

What we offer

At the heart of Cleaner Production Germany are around 2,500 state-sponsored project descriptions and publications. These include projects sponsored by the German Environment Ministry, Research Ministry, and Economics Ministry, regional ministries, and foundations. All of the projects and publications published on Cleaner Production Germany were checked by a public funding authority or client for eligibility for sponsorship and have thus been subjected to a quality assurance process. Cleaner Production Germany also provides additional information such as the contact details of technology providers and stakeholders involved in the environmental technology transfer, and information on assistance programmes. 

How to use CPG

A good search engine is an absolute must if supply and demand for knowledge regarding environmental technologies are to be brought together. On the CPG website you can either select a particular technology or conduct a full text search. In future, you will also be able to enter additional selection criteria in the advanced search engine.

Just as important as the information contained in our project descriptions are the contact details provided on the website for project parties, cooperation partners and technology providers. You can use these to contact the relevant experts if you wish to know more about one of the processes or products described, or are looking for the right person to contact to initiate a collaboration or business relationship.