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Cleaner production involves activities that prevent environmental impacts of business practices. Businesses and individuals can implement a variety of cleaner production practices to reduce their environmental impacts. In general, the practices involve changes in technology, operation practices, inputs, product design, waste use, maintenance, and packaging. Some of the practices involves a considerable investment while others just need a change in attitude. Silvica has prepared a list of eight cleaner production practices that  can be implemented by a business.

1. Good house keeping

This involves taking operational and managerial actions to prevent wasteful activities such as leaks and spills. It also requires enforcement of existing operational instructions. One major aspect of good housekeeping simply involves keeping the workplace clean and free of clutter. This can greatly reduce the risk of accidents and damage to stock or equipment and can also help create a smooth work flow throughout the facility. For example, keeping stock in a designated inventory area can reduce the risk of it becoming accidentally damaged by forklifts. In the case of hazardous products, this can prevent spills in non-bunded areas. Maintaining a smooth flow of work can greatly increase the efficiency of the operation. By planning where materials are stored and used they can be easier to get when needed. Also wastes can be more easily segregated (Queensland government, 2012). Companies and businesses should always ensure that their housekeeping remains efficient.

Major loss of water in companies is in leaks. Water is a valuable resource in short supply for most parts of the world and should therefore be used appropriately. Preventing leakages can assist significantly in resource use and the associated costs. A regular schedule of cleaning and maintaining is a good way of implementing good housekeeping and so is staff training as informed staff is indispensable in quest for cleaner production. House keeping efforts in cleaner production are among the simplest with significant contribution to effectiveness.

2. Input substitution

Business can enhance cleaner productions by evaluating their raw materials. Options of substituting input materials by less toxic, or by renewable materials, or by adjunct materials which have a longer service life-time in production. For instance, a shoe making business can consider using offcuts from their production to make some models of shoes or accessories.

3. Better process control / (production planning)

There is need to modify process control for the better through operational procedures, equipment instruction and process record keeping in order to run the processes more efficiently and at lower waste and emission generation rates.

4. Equipment modification

The CP concept also entails modifying the existing production equipment and utilities in order to run the processes at higher efficiency and lower waste and emission generation rates.

5. Technology change

Replacement of the technology, processing sequence and synthesis pathway in order to minimise waste and emission generation during production are also practices consistent with CP. Business should invest in efficient technologies insted of sticking to old and inefficiemt approaches. Often, efficiemt technologies results to more savings.

6. On-site recovery/reuse

Reuse of the wasted materials in the same process for another useful application within the company is a concept that is entailed in CP practice. The shoe example in point 2 also relates to this point.

7. Production of a useful by-product

Consideration of transforming waste into a useful by-product, to be sold as input for companies in different business sectors.

8. Product modification

CP practice can also entail modification of the product characteristics in order: to minimise the environmental impacts of the product during or after its use (disposal) and to minimise the environmental impacts of its production