Environmental protection in enterprises has been undergoing structural changes in recent years. The emphasis is shifting to preventive techniques that focus on the production processes themselves. Not only does this reduce the pollution toll on the environment but it also makes good business sense, since waste and pollution are, in effect, wasted resources.

UNIDO enables countries to achieve a reduced level of consumption of natural resources, greenhouse gas and other emissions and industrial wastes in industrial processes. It aims to increase the capacity of industry, government and environmental services providers, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental entities, to scale up and mainstream the adoption of more resource-efficient and cleaner patterns of production, through recycling, resource recovery and/or environmentally sound treatment and disposal of wastes, waste waters and toxic and/or hazardous chemicals, and also in particular for the sustainable use and management of water and other natural materials used in industrial processes.