Cleaner Production Center in Nicaragua - Cleaner Production Award

Managua, Nicaragua. 19 October 2006

The Ministry of Promotion, Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Health, the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises, the Chamber of Industry, the association of Producers and Exporters, the National University of Engineering and the UNIDO Cleaner Production Centre in Nicaragua, with the support of the Interamerican Development Bank, established the Cleaner Production Award. This recognition aims at providing companies that are implementing Cleaner Production in their processes, products and services with a tool to increase their competitiveness at national and international level.

The CP Award is given to companies to recognize their environmental performance and efficiency, foster the further implementation of Cleaner Production options that aim at increasing their competitiveness, productivity and environmental management and stimulate them to apply cleaner and pollution prevention technologies.

On 19 October 2006, the Vice-President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Mr. Alfredo Gomez Urcuyo, delivered the Cleaner Production Award to 34 national companies that complied with the established requirements. The Minister of Promotion, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Alejandro Arguello, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Ms. Liliam Osejo, the Dean of the National University of Engineering, Mr. Aldo Urbina Villalta, the representative in Nicaragua of the Interamerican Development Bank, Ms. Mirna Lievano de Marques, the UNIDO project manager, Ms. Petra Schwager, and the director of the Cleaner Production Centre, Mr. Cesar Barahona, participated in the ceremony.

The awarded companies were grouped in three different categories: participating companies (6), companies under way (6) and excellent companies (22). These belong to different industrial sectors, including coffee production, fisheries, beverages processing, textile, agro-industry, furniture production, bakeries, chemical, service and tourism sectors.

The official institutionalization of the Cleaner Production Award represents an important confirmation of the positive impact of the Cleaner Production Centre's services and the participation of the Vice-President of the Republic in the ceremony is a high recognition of the effort of the Centre.