Successful pollution control through cleaner production: myth or reality

This thesis examines the domestic and international legal constraints to the use of cleaner production and its variants. The domestic legal constraints are the labour laws, industrial incentives to less developed regions, protection of existing industries from competition, “grandfather” clauses in environmental legislation to existing industries, and national security. The international legal constraints are treaties distorting the market, thereby eroding the benefits of cleaner production – together with the wide range of non-operational concepts attached to cleaner production, thereby creating apathy and confusion in the potential users. This thesis examines the sugar industry in the Philippines as a case study to illustrate the impacts of domestic and international legal constraints on the use of cleaner production.