Chile has become the latest Latin American country to launch a National Center for Cleaner Production, a support organization aimed at helping businesses find ways to cut pollution. The initiative, opened officially in June, enjoys public- and private-sector support. In late October, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos announced the creation of a $3 million Technical Assistance Fund for Cleaner Production to finance up to 70% of the consulting costs incurred by small and medium-sized businesses planning pollution-reduction. Similar to the Environmental Pollution Prevention Pays program (EP3) promoted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cleaner production is an outreach strategy intended to show businesses that pollution control and cost control can go hand-in-hand. Companies are advised on how to conserve raw... [Log in to read more]