VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLP #2903/01 2991620
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261620Z OCT 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1088
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6216
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3533
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7395
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4655
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1906
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 1957
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1837
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4109
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4544
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 1570
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9118
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002903 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI 
BRASILIA FOR JSTORY AND LSTONER 
USAID/LAC FOR AFRANCO, MSILVERMAN, RLOUDIS, AND JBISSON 
USAID/EGAT FOR CJACKSON, ANE FOR JWILSON 
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN 
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH 
ENERGY FOR CDAY AND SLADISLAW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ENRG BL
SUBJECT: CLEAN PRODUCTION PRACTICES INCREASE EFFICIENCY, 
LOWER COSTS 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Clean production practices introduced by the 
USAID-supported Center for the Promotion of Sustainable 
Technologies have increased efficiency and lowered costs for 
more than 90 Bolivian businesses.  The following case studies 
suggest that lower production costs provide powerful 
incentives for firms to modify production processes to 
improve efficiency and cut pollution, thereby making them 
more competitive in domestic and international markets. 
Companies have also adopted corporate social responsibility 
programs to minimize environmental damage.  End summary. 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) The Center for the Promotion of Sustainable 
Technologies (known by its Spanish acronym, CPTS) acquired 
its present form after the 1998 merger of the USAID-funded 
Environmental Pollution Prevention Project and the World 
Bank-supported Energy Sector Management Program.  Now a 
non-profit organization, CPTS receives financial support from 
USAID and other international donors, among them Denmark and 
Switzerland, and collects fees for consulting services.  The 
group's 25 staff work with a broad range of Bolivian 
businesses, from hospitals and hotels to food processors and 
furniture manufacturers, to redesign production processes to 
optimize the use of raw materials, water, energy, and other 
inputs; improve efficiency and lower costs (by producing more 
goods with fewer resources); and cut air and water pollution. 
 Companies that implement clean production technologies 
protect the environment, consumers, and workers while 
improving industrial efficiency, profitability, and 
competitiveness. 
 
CASE STUDIES 
------------ 
 
¶3. (U) Cerveceria Taquina, a Cochabamba-based brewery, 
installed water and energy meters at all stages of 
production, from initial maceration and brewing to eventual 
bottling, and automated pasteurization and sterilization 
processes to lower water and energy inputs.  The firm also 
cut pollution in effluents by filtering the residue of each 
successive brewing process and using recovered grain in 
animal feed.  The brewery reduced water consumption by an 
estimated 43 percent, from 15 to 8.6 liters of water per 
liter of beer, and lowered natural gas and energy consumption 
by 11.6 and 2.1 percent, respectively, saving more than 12 
million cubic feet of gas and over 80,000 kilowatt hours of 
energy annually.  The firm expects its $145,000 investment to 
yield yearly savings of almost $93,000. 
 
¶4. (U) Ingenio Azucarero Roberto Barbery Paz, a sugar mill in 
the Santa Cruz department, purchased an infrared spectrometer 
to decrease the lead used in chemical analysis, installed 
automated hydrojets to lower the quantity of water used in 
evaporation equipment, and adopted new boiler cleaning 
techniques to completely eliminate water use.  New 
technologies also allowed the company to reduce air and water 
pollution by properly disposing of cinders and other waste. 
The firm expects its $221,000 investment to cut production 
costs by $292,000 per year. 
 
¶5. (U) In one of its most intriguing projects, CPTS developed 
new (soon to be patented) cleaning, processing, and drying 
techniques for Andean Valley, a La Paz-based quinoa producer. 
 The firm adopted new cleaning and filtering systems to 
remove impurities and unwanted chemical substances from the 
grain and introduced new methods to reduce drying time.  The 
 
company increased its processing capacity from 0.6 to 1.08 
tons of quinoa per hour and significantly lowered water and 
energy consumption, reducing the former by 64 percent (from 
14 to 5 cubic liters of water per ton of quinoa) and slashing 
energy and liquid petroleum gas consumption by 80 and 67 
percent, respectively (from 101.6 to 20 kilowatt hours and 
from 30 to 10 kilograms of gas per ton of quinoa).  The firm 
expects annual savings of $46,000, and other beneficiaries 
expect similar cost reductions. 
 
¶6. (U) Audits indicate that La Paz soft drink companies 
benefiting from CPTS assistance have reduced water 
consumption by approximately 4 million cubic meters per year 
(the equivalent of two months of water consumption in La Paz) 
and significantly decreased raw materials inputs and 
environmentally damaging waste.  Together, the firms' 
estimated $2.4 million total investment has resulted in 
annual savings of approximately $1.2 million. 
 
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS 
------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) CPTS has also introduced corporate social 
responsibility projects and a waste exchange program. 
Initial results indicate that the former have helped 
companies improve relations with local communities and 
employees while reducing job-related accidents, employee 
complaints, and environmental damage; several firms applying 
CPTS recommendations have been able to apply for 
certification under International Organization for 
Standardization framework 14001, the world's most recognized 
environmental management system standard.  The framework 
helps organizations better control their activities' impact 
on the environment, with certification not only improving 
environmental management, but also enabling firms to acquire 
access to growing "green" markets around the world.  Under 
the waste exchange program, meanwhile, companies have 
experimented with new ways of treating and processing waste; 
many have explored recycling possibilities or considered 
proposals for turning unwanted materials into new products. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (U) The key difference between pollution control and clean 
production is one of timing.  Pollution control is a 
post-event, "react and treat" approach, while clean 
production involves a forward-looking, "anticipate and 
prevent" philosophy.  In this context, waste is considered a 
product with negative economic value.  Each action to reduce 
raw materials and energy consumption and prevent or reduce 
waste generation can increase productivity and generate 
financial benefits for businesses.  CPTS case studies suggest 
that lower production costs provide powerful incentives for 
firms to modify production processes to improve efficiency 
and cut pollution.  As many observers argue, convincing firms 
of the economic benefits of "green" technologies may be the 
surest way to minimize environmental damage while improving 
business competitiveness. 
GOLDBERG