March 2007 : TEMPUS Cleaner Production Center Rijeka - Instruction workshop

Within the framework of the TEMPUS project CLEANER PRODUCTION CENTER RIJEKA the EU experts Gerhard Weihs and Rainer Agster from CENTRIC AUSTRIA INTERNATIONAL and James Hogan and Colum Gibson from the Clean Technology Center Cork provided end of March 2007 a one week instruction training to the Croatian trainees in Rijeka, Croatia.

The implementation of Cleaner Production in the larger scale requires sufficient capacity on trainer and consultancy level. The whole TEMPUS project will contribute to the capacity building process in this respect setting up the CLEANER PRODUCTION CENTER RIJEKA. To this end a number of Croatian experts, appointed by the project partners during a selection process, will be trained during the project to the level of cleaner production trainers themselves. They will build the first stock of trainers and consultants of the centre with in-depth and lively experience, how to replicate the approach in professional manner. This instruction training is the first activity to achieve the listed goals. The main topics of the instruction training mirror the typical set up of a basic instruction training in cleaner production for representatives from various commercial sectors. Starting with general definitions and explanations about the unique approach of cleaner production the training will lead to more detailed topics on how to implement Cleaner Production on company level. As a management concept cleaner production has like every other management concept initially to describe the fields of management, which are the materials and resources like raw and process materials, water and energy, and the resulting output of the operations such as products and services but also waste and emissions. The later are focused to be reduced by means of typical Cleaner Production measures to improve the environmental as well as the economical performance of a company. As management concerns not only the physical and economical features of a company, also the human, socials and institutional dimensions of cleaner production have to be taken into account. A number of further topics are dealing with these themes such as innovation and communication or how to set up cleaner production programmes in general with the help of authorities and other interested institutions.

The Croatian experts attending this instruction training will be actively involved during the other project activities to draw up a richer and more comprehensive modular training programme under supervision of the EU experts. They should become familiar with different ways of training using different didactics like lectures, exercises, case studies, forms and tables, homework, manuals, role games, group work, feedback, discussions, etc.