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J. Preparation and Presentation of Reports of Practical Working Groups On their return to the main workshop venue each team completed the worksheets in the EnTA Manual and prepared their presentations. The first team noted many shortcomings in the current system for the collection, transport and storage of used lead acid batteries at the plant, and identified several new technologies that could be employed to improve environmental performance, both off- and on-site. These options included a railway system for battery transportation, a well informed system for collection and transportation, short term fixes to problems plus a "just in time" approach, and a zero discharge wastewater treatment plant. Each of these options was subjected to an environmental assessment, resulting in recommendations as to which options might be considered for adoption by plant management. The second team considered the environmental benefits that might arise from the incorporation of the PLACID and/or PLINT processes at the plant, leading to a recommendation that plant management consider such technological improvements. Feedback from the group included:
The third team identified several ways in which the environmental performance of the existing plant could be improved through the introduction of technologies that build on the currently employed pyro-metallurgical processes. Thus the current operation provided the benchmark. Feedback from the group included the following:
Following the presentations by the three teams, the resource persons
participating in the workshop provided constructive feedback to the working
groups. The feedback was a mix of additional technical information that the
teams might have included in their assessment, and guidance as to how their
assessment might have been improved by consideration of key information. But with respect to the case study it was pointed out that lead metal prices are at their lowest ebb, in real terms, since systematic recording of prices began at the end of the 19th century. As a result, the competitive position of primary materials, versus recovered materials, has increased. Also, pyro-metallurgically produced secondary lead products have difficulty competing on the basis of purity. Overall, certain secondary materials can be at a competitive disadvantage. Tightening of the environmental requirements can increase the used battery recovery rates, but it can also reduce profit margins and discourage investment. Reflecting the costs of environmental damage in the product costs adds to the problem. So governments have a key role to play, in that they can encourage implementation of technologies that are drastically cost cutting. Governments may thus need to assist the private sector. One way would be to tax the primary material so that secondary lead becomes more cost competitive. Any action requires development of a plan that is comprehensive and provides a mix of incentives, restrictions and even penalties. Thus while EnTA is useful at enterprise level, there is also a need for national policy analysis to ensure that policy is supportive of achieving the identified national environmental and other goals. There is also a need to involve the government in any follow-up activities after the EnTA. In that way everyone will benefit from the EnTA being undertaken. However, EnTA is not a "silver bullet" - it is one of many tools. The workshop is an important opportunity to learn how to improve EnTA as a tool. As a tool, EnTA makes an assumption - that there is an enlightened government and industry. EnTA is a "process tool" so some are comfortable with the process, while others will be uncomfortable. This raises questions as to who are the target audience for EnTA and does there need to be specialised training for EnTA - does a company need to hire an EnTA specialist? The target audience needs to be more clearly identified - different information is required and expertise needed if the target audience is the enterprise or the regulator. Another issue is the ideal composition of the assessment team. There is a need to clarify the relationship between EIA and EnTA - for example, in the Philippines the priority for industry and the regulator is the EIA, so what is the role for EnTA? It is important to recognise that, in general, the EIA is obligatory while EnTA is voluntary. Perhaps EnTA can best be used to prevent the enterprise from reaching the stage of doing an EIA on an unfeasible technology or other proposal. EnTA needs to be flexible. In this respect an advantage comes from the fact that the worksheets in the Manual are in electronic form, so they can be expanded and modified, as the situation requires. Again in the context of the case study, a challenge for EnTA is that in its present form it does not give rise to a framework for developing a strategy for improving the environmental outcomes associated with the activities of the informal sector, other than emphasising that many of the current practices are unacceptable. The field trip was considered to be an excellent opportunity to evaluate a real world activity, rather than engage in EnTA on a theoretical basis. K. Preparation of Personal Action Plans In the concluding stages of the workshop all participants were invited to prepare and share their personal actions plans for follow-up activities related to EnTA and the tools and experience they had acquired at the workshop. They were asked to develop their action plans under two headings:
Participants were also advised to provide a timetable for the planned actions. The resulting personal action plans are presented in Annex 4. In general, most action plans included aspects of the following:
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