Cleaner Production Strategies Research Articles

Characterization and life cycle assessment of alkali treated abaca fibers: the effect of reusing sodium hydroxide

The increasing demand for natural fibers, driven by their advantageous attributes such as low density, sustainability, and high specific strength, has promoted the adoption of sustainable alternatives in composites. Although alkali treatments are known to improve fiber properties, they entail challenges regarding NaOH consumption and environmental impact, making it necessary to explore cleaner production strategies. This study evaluated the effects of implementing a circular economy approach through the recirculation of an NaOH solution on the treatment of abaca fibers. The fiber properties were assessed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile strength testing, along with an evaluation of the carbon footprint through a life cycle assessment. New life cycle inventories were developed to reflect the NaOH recirculation process. Comparative analyses were conducted using polypropylene fibers. The findings indicate that the recirculation of the NaOH solution remains effective for up to eight cycles, producing consistent TGA, SEM, and tensile strength results while achieving a 25 % reduction in the carbon footprint compared to conventional treatment. Additionally, this study highlights the environmental advantages of abaca over synthetic fibers, with increased tensile strength (8–46 %) and carbon footprint reduction (55–86 %) compared to polypropylene fibers. These results highlight the potential of abaca fibers to contribute to the circular economy, enhance resource efficiency, and mitigate climate change.

Composting as a Cleaner Production Strategy for the Soil Resource of Potato Crops in Choconta, Colombia

Choconta is the municipality in Colombia with the greatest prevalence of potato planting, representing 70.90% of the total territory. However, this crop has been affected by the presence of pests, diseases, and chemical contaminants from pesticides and chemical fertilizers that deteriorate the soil and, therefore, the quality of the final product. Compost (organic waste with specific characteristics and made from waste generated in Choconta) was studied as a sustainable production strategy to increase soil quality and thereby the quality of the local potato crop. For this purpose, a 3 × 2 experiment design was implemented with three treatments (0%, 25%, and 50% compost) and two variables (young potato and mature potato) in duplicate for 4 months. In this experiment, the use of compost led to an improved final product, which went from a floury texture to a dense and creamy texture. The use of compost also reduced the levels of heavy metals, such as lead, with a higher removal in treatment 3 (50% composting). The estimated direct cost of the composting process was USD 280.85, slightly lower than that of the application of fertilizers at USD 294.48. The use of fertilizers has a higher environmental impact due to the use of chemical products that have environmental and health implications. Using compost did not influence tuber harvest time but had a positive impact on tuber texture quality and on soil resources through the reduction in heavy metals, especially lead (16.40–18.03 ppm for treatment 1, 17.96–18.49 ppm for treatment 2, and 15.67–17.88 ppm for treatment 3). Using compost could be environmentally and economically beneficial for local farmers, and it promotes the circular economy and sustainable communities.

The impact of Gen Z's pro-environmental behavior on sustainable development goals through tree planting

This interdisciplinary study addresses a critical gap in environmental behavior research by focusing on Gen Z's engagement with tree planting, a key yet underexplored activity in the context of achieving sustainable development goals. Motivated by the need to understand how cultural practices and environmental policies influence young people's participation in sustainability efforts, this research examines how integrating psychological theories with sociocultural dynamics can enhance our understanding of proactive environmental engagement. Leveraging frameworks from psychology, sociology, environmental science, and cultural studies, this research integrates the Value-Belief-Norm theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior to analyze how Gen Z's values, environmental beliefs, and perceived behavioral control influence their intentions and actions toward tree planting. The methodology involves a two-phase empirical investigation: initially developing and validating measurement items with 141 Gen Z participants, followed by a second phase with 203 participants to validate the proposed model using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings highlight that the environmental value of Gen Z significantly shapes its attitudes and behavioral intentions toward tree planting. Additionally, this study reveals the crucial role of personal norms and perceived behavioral control in steering individuals’ pro-environmental behaviors. The Vishu Thaineetham initiative, which has a global footprint and has transformed a cultural tradition into a sustainable tree-planting movement, is a case study for innovative ecological preservation. This initiative demonstrates the potential of culturally adapted practices to foster collective environmental engagement and promote cleaner production strategies. The implications for theory and practice, emphasizing insights into environmental behavior models, are also provided.

The Usefulness of Cleaner Production Projects as an Element of the Initial Assessment of the Circularity of SMEs in the Context of Obtaining Funds Supporting the Implementation of the Circular Economy

The authors of the article decided to verify the requirements for companies looking for sources of financing for projects that will enable them to transform the circular economy. Clarifying the requirements will allow companies to initially verify their ideas. For this purpose, an analysis was carried out of the requirements set for enterprises by committees assessing circular economy projects and allocating funds for their implementation. The analysis allowed us to identify several features that indicate whether a given project fits into the circular economy model. The article proposes a system model that can be used to prepare the company for changes towards the Green Deal (GD) by implementing the Cleaner Production (CP) strategy in the company. The implementation of a Cleaner Production strategy initiates further changes, gradually developing the company’s potential towards implementing the circular economy assumptions. This solution is much cheaper than the expensive services of consulting companies and much simpler than trying to prepare a competition application on your own, the authors asked themselves a research question: can the implementation of a Cleaner Production project be an initial action supporting SMEs in obtaining external funds (domestic and foreign) intended for the implementation of circular economy solutions?

The impact of cleaner production strategy on Sustainable supply chain performance

Abstract There is a paradigm shift occurring in organizations towards sustainable production through cleaner production strategies. This cleaner production concept has been proven to be cost-effective, result-oriented, environment-savvy and provides the organizations a cutting edge over their counterparts. However, there is a lack of awareness about cleaner production practices in Iraq while the current study analyzed one of the most important factories in Iraq for sugar production to understand the factors required for successful application of cleaner production strategy and the challenges to be expected. In this study, the researchers followed an exploratory research approach. For this study, a questionnaire was designed, validated and distributed randomly among 700 potential respondents working in various departments of the organization under study. Out of the total responses, 482 responses were considered and SEM-PLS analysis was conducted. The cleaner production strategies were applied through nine dimensions and the relationship between the performance of the factory and sustainable supply chain was found to be prominent. With a few limitations such as the choice of a single factory, weak relationship between the variables identified from hypothesis testing, the study is a first-of-its-kind in this domain, especially in dealing with sugar refineries. Based on the outcomes, policy recommendations were made to the decision makers and the government. It can be concluded that the application of modern technologies and effective resource management can help in achieving the goal of the study.

Customer pressure and environmental stewardship: The moderator role of perceived benefit by managers.

Nowadays, environmental issues and cleaner products are interest to many customers, considering whether to buy or continue using a product. This will affect the perception, attitude of upper managers in the process of strategic choices and operational management behavior. This study is based on the Upper Echelon Theory, research under the influence of customer pressure to attitude toward the environmental, decision choices for cleaner production strategies, implementation of environmental management accounting towards achieving green competitive advantage of Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises. In addition, the role of two moderator variables: (1) perceived benefit of cleaner production strategies and (2) perceived benefit of environmental management accounting in the research model is also considered. This study surveyed 234 CEOs of Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises. This study employed PLS-SEM, version 3 for data analysis. Results have shown that all relationships are statistically significant. Moderator variables have a statistically significant and positive impact in relationships in which they play a moderator role. This study helps CEOs realize the importance of producing products that are customer-oriented, environmentally friendly, and the implementation of environmental management accounting will have a strong impact on achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.

Toward Sustainable Leather Processing: A Comprehensive Review of Cleaner Production Strategies and Environmental Impacts

Toward Sustainable Leather Processing: A Comprehensive Review of Cleaner Production Strategies and Environmental Impacts

Effects of Irrigation and Fertilization Management on Yield and Quality of Rice and the Establishment of a Quality Evaluation System

Yield and rice quality indicators of crops are a direct reflection of the rational irrigation and fertilizer strategy. However, the effects of controlled irrigation (CI) combined with the split application of fertilization managements (straw returning, organic fertilizer, and conventional fertilizer) on rice quality are not clear in southeast China. This study aims at exploring the effects of three fertilization managements applied under CI or flooding irrigation on rice yield, quality, enzyme activity, and soluble sugar content including 43 indicators, to determine the optimal comprehensive evaluation model, management, and representative indexes. The results showed that compared with CF (CI + conventional fertilizer), CS (CI + straw returning) significantly increased yield (27.65%), irrigation water use efficiency (6.20%), chalky grain rate (9.67%), chalkiness (1.83%), protein content (4.29%), and amylose content (0.33%), indicating that CS improved yield and milling quality but decreased cooking and appearance quality. This was mainly because CS promoted the activities of alpha-amylase, ADPG (ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase), and GBSS (granule-bound starch synthase) and reduced the soluble sugar content in rice. Grey relational degree analysis (GRD), the entropy method (ETM), and TOPSIS (the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution) were used to comprehensively evaluate the rice quality and determined that CS treatments could synergistically improve yield and rice quality. The five indexes (adhesive strength, HPV, ADPG, soluble sugar (leaf), yield) and TOPSIS model can be used as the best indexes and model to evaluate the rice quality. These results could provide scientific management and evaluate practices for high-yield and high-quality rice cultivation, which may be promising for a cleaner production strategy.

THE INFLUENCING FACTORS IN CLEANER PRODUCTION ADOPTION ON THE ALUMINIUM PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Cleaner Production (CP) practices comprised environmental strategy perpetually applied in the production, processes, and services to bolster efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness. Some factors are to be considered to achieve a cleaner production strategy: stakeholders establishment, surveys, utilization, and impact, as well as how the top management devote their practices towards cleaner production. Combining with the mindset of sustainable stocks and resources, this exercise of cleaner production provides advantages of minimum toxic wastes and residues. In this study, we prioritize this practice to be applied in the aluminum industry, of which cleaner production action has not yet been employed. Small and medium businesses now no longer have enough monetary assets to put money into cleaner production practices because they require high-cost investment. This study aimed to determine the factors that have an impact on the application of cleaner production. The method used is regression analysis. The regression analysis results showed that three variables were tested to be significant and had a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value of 3.05 which means good. Three variables that affected the implementation of cleaner production include measurement of fuel usage, efforts to improve production process efficiency, and waste reuse by product. From the calculation results, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.550 (the influence was quite strong). The results of this study can be used as a recommendation for the government to increase the implementation cleaner production in Jombang Regency.

The role of cleaner production costs to reducing failure costs

Economic units can benefit from the cleaner production strategy, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities while improving efficiency and profitability. Accordingly, the aim of the research was to clarify the knowledge foundations of cleaner production costs and to indicate their role in reducing the costs of poor quality (the costs of failure). A set of conclusions has been reached, the most important of which is that cleaner production has achieved a reduction in the costs of external failure, represented by the costs of guarantee, by an amount of 12,339,000 dinars. Contributes to reducing the costs of failure, and based on the conclusions, a set of recommendations were presented, the most important of which is the need to focus economic units on the use of environmentally friendly materials, as they contribute to the production of products that meet the desires of customers, which leads to reducing costs, improving product quality, and reducing failure costs internally and externally.

Industry 4.0 Implementation Projects: The Cleaner Production Strategy—A Literature Review

The industrial impacts on the environment need to be minimized to reduce climate change, which will benefit human beings. Industry 4.0, the new production paradigm, promises productivity gains for companies that manage to implement it, but it is also dependent on natural resources, impacting the environment. The aim of this study is to identify and analyze possible cleaner production strategies associated with Industry 4.0 to optimize manufacturing systems in Industry 4.0 implementation projects, in addition to reducing the environmental impacts of these companies. Through a literature search, cleaner production strategies associated with Industry 4.0 were identified and classified into ten dimensions (strategy, waste, recycling, life cycle, resources, energy, production, work, performance and environment) contributing to the theory. The possibilities of using Industry 4.0 technologies were analyzed to meet each dimension. The relevance of this study lies in presenting possibilities for using and developing technologies and applications to meet these dimensions of cleaner production and helping those involved in Industry 4.0 projects to implement it more stably, contributing to the theory and practice.

Identifying an over tenfold variation in carbon intensities of coal mines in China by multi-scale multi-benchmark accounting

Complete and accurate accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal mines in China is a critical basis for identifying mitigation potential and making reduction strategies. Previous studies based on the emission factor method and life cycle assessment are limited in accounting scope completeness, data reliability, or result applicability at multiple scales and benchmarks. The objective of this study was to carry out a multi-scale multi-benchmark GHG accounting of Chinese coal mines to build a shared understanding and facilitate discussion on this topic. We established a complete accounting model to cover upstream indirect, direct, and downstream indirect GHG emissions related to coal mining. A total of 1151 operating coal mines were investigated to model site-level carbon emissions based on mass and energy benchmarks and then aggregated to 99 cities, 19 provinces, and the country for accounting. The results showed an over 14-fold variation in mass-based site-level accounting, with the highest uncertainty of less than 15%. This variability performed almost the same at city-level aggregating, whereas narrowed to over twofold at the provincial level. Energy-based accounting presented an over 17-fold variation at the site-level with a similar uncertainty to mass-based accounting. Such variability was narrowed to over sevenfold and approximately threefold in the city- and province-level aggregations, respectively. The national average mass- and energy-based carbon footprint of coal mining were 0.39 kg CO2-eq/kg and 0.0185 kg CO2-eq/MJ, respectively, in which approximately 36% of the total GHG emissions were omitted if mining methane escape was reported only. These results suggest improving the methane utilization rate and optimizing coal production and consumption patterns, which implicates cleaner production and sustainable development strategies for the coal industry in China. The conclusions are helpful to identify individual carbon emission gaps, clarify regional emission responsibilities, coordinate the national carbon neutrality process, and promote a low-carbon coal supply system.

Nanopriming-mediated memory imprints reduce salt toxicity in wheat seedlings by modulating physiobiochemical attributes

BackgroundAround the globe, salinity is one of the serious environmental stresses which negatively affect rapid seed germination, uniform seedling establishment and plant developments restricting sustainable agricultural productivity. In recent years, the concepts of sustainable agriculture and cleaner production strategy have emphasized the introduction of greener agrochemicals using biocompatible and natural sources to maximize crop yield with minimum ecotoxicological effects. Over the last decade, the emergence of nanotechnology as a forefront of interdisciplinary science has introduced nanomaterials as fast-acting plant growth-promoting agents.ResultsHerein, we report the preparation of nanocomposite using chitosan and green tea (CS-GTE NC) as an ecofriendly nanopriming agent to elicit salt stress tolerance through priming imprints. The CS-GTE NC-primed (0.02, 0.04 and 0.06%), hydroprimed and non-primed (control) wheat seeds were germinated under normal and salt stress (150 mM NaCl) conditions. The seedlings developed from aforesaid seeds were used for physiological, biochemical and germination studies. The priming treatments increased protein contents (10–12%), photosynthetic pigments (Chl a (4–6%), Chl b (34–36%), Total Chl (7–14%) and upregulated the machinery of antioxidants (CAT (26–42%), POD (22–43%)) in wheat seedlings under stress conditions. It also reduced MDA contents (65–75%) and regulated ROS production resulting in improved membrane stability. The priming-mediated alterations in biochemical attributes resulted in improved final germination (20–22%), vigor (4–11%) and germination index (6–13%) under both conditions. It reduced mean germination time significantly, establishing the stress-insulating role of the nanocomposite. The improvement of germination parameters validated the stimulation of priming memory in composite-treated seeds.ConclusionPre-treatment of seeds with nanocomposite enables them to counter salinity at the seedling development stage by means of priming memory warranting sustainable plant growth and high crop productivity.

Blue to black: Hypotheses on plant use complexity in traditional dyeing processes in Southeast Asia and China

Modern indigo dyeing is achieved using chemical dye vats with toxic reducing agents that have an impact on the environment and human health. Consequently, there has been interest in traditional indigo dyeing processes and their potential for more environmentally friendly industrial production. Traditional indigo dyeing was studied by conducting a literature review (China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam) and field surveys (Timor Leste, Indonesia, Laos, and China) in Southeast Asia and China (SAC). Traditional SAC blue and black dyeing processes can be a combination of separate dyeing steps. Here, we documented plant species and ingredients in the blue to black dyeing processes used in addition to indigo yielding species. We recorded 80 plant species belonging to 39 families and 67 genera used in the “blue to black” dye processes in SAC. Owing to local use and phytochemicals or microbial substances of these species and their function in the dyeing processes, eight hypotheses for added species, including lime or ash water, microorganisms, food for microorganisms, electron donors, electron mediators, reducing sugars, metallic mordants, and tannins were suggested herein. The combination of hypotheses was supported by the findings and theories of previous studies and clarifies why these particular plant species are likely added to dye vats. The hypotheses and theories derived from this study pave the way for insights into indigo dyeing processes that reduce inorganic chemical additives using additional plant products, which consequently may provide a green route for cleaner production strategies. This research identifies gaps in knowledge and highlights where further work is needed to verify the hypotheses proposed for adding products to dye vats in the future.

Can additional agricultural resource inputs improve maize yield, resource use efficiencies and emergy based system efficiency under ridge-furrow with plastic film mulching?

Water scarcity is a major constraint for maize production in drylands. As an efficient water-saving technology, the ridge-furrow with plastic film mulching (RM) system has achieved success in dryland farming. The efficiency of the rainwater-harvesting system in RM is greatly affected by erratic precipitation, and water absorption by crops is influenced by nutritional availability. Whether the additional supply of irrigation and nitrogen (N) resources under the RM system could influence the resource use efficiencies, emergy flows, and system efficiency of agricultural products is unclear. Therefore, a 3-year field study on maize plants consisting of four planting patterns (CP: conventional planting; RM; RM + SI: RM plus supplementary irrigation; RM + SI + N: RM + SI plus additional N fertilizer) was conducted from 2018 to 2020 in the Loess Plateau of China to determine resource use efficiencies, emergy flows, and system efficiency through emergy evaluation. In this study, we demonstrated the high efficiency of the micro-field rainwater-harvesting system of RM by collecting more rainwater and improving soil hydrothermal conditions. For example, the soil temperature and moisture of topsoil at seedling stage were increased by 4.3 °C and 13%, respectively, under RM compared with CP. The soil hydrothermal conditions in RM further improved maize yield (+35%), water use efficiency (+32%), N partial factor productivity (+37%), radiation use efficiency (+10%), and system efficiency (8%, from an emergy perspective), compared to CP. However, the additional supply of N or irrigation in RM + SI or RM + SI + N planting patterns failed to increase resource use efficiency, although the maize yield was increased by 9%. Furthermore, although the total emergy input was increased by 19%, it did not significantly increase energy output, and thus decreased the resource efficiency by 9% through emergy evaluation, compared to RM. Overall, RM without additional agricultural resource input could be recommended as a sustainable and cleaner production strategy for maize in drylands to address the issues of ever-increasing food demand and declining availability of production resources.

Spotlighting graphene-based catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants to cleaner production: A review

In recent years, population growth and industrial development have raised concerns about environmental pollution and had negative effects on the entire ecosystem. Cleaner production is an effective strategy to reduce these negative effects and prevent damage to the environment. Graphene (GR)-based catalysts as eco-friendly catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants, such as pollutant degradation, CO2 reduction, and air purification, have been introduced as one of these cleaner production strategies. In this review, the benefits of GR-based catalysts for the breakdown of organic contaminants are highlighted. Besides, critical considerations, potential solutions, challenges, and upcoming development opportunities for GR-based catalysts in sustainable applications were discussed. The main observations are: (i) GR-based catalysts are different types, and there are several methods to synthesize them, (ii) GR-based catalysts are efficient catalysts for the mitigation of environmentally hazardous pollutants, and (iii) several issues must be resolved for the broad applicability of GR-based catalysts, namely, a) unclear mechanisms and/or lack of a basic understanding of the function of GR; b) complex problems related to the preparation of GR; c) graphene's derivates on a large scale; d) finite stability in specific reactions (e.g., photocatalysis); and e) development of synthetic methods for producing large quantities of high-quality GR nanomaterials. Accordingly, the research and development space has clearly shown that GR-based nanomaterials are the basis for future catalysts for cleaner production.

Waste minimization towards waste management and cleaner production strategies: a literature review

Waste minimization towards waste management and cleaner production strategies: a literature review

Integrating fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies into the water, energy & food nexus for sustainable security: A bibliometric analysis

The technologies of the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR/Industry 4.0) have been a technological catalyst for all fields of human endeavor, permeating the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus. However, there is no empirical evidence of the extent of applications and the permeability level in ensuring the three resources’ security. This study explored the relationship of the fourth industrial revolution technologies and the water, energy, and food nexus by evaluating the applications of the various technologies of 4IR on WEF nexus and examined the effect of 4IR on WEF nexus. The objectives were achieved using the qualitative methodology and bibliometric analysis of content analysis. The result showed that most fourth industrial revolution technologies had not been integrated with the WEF nexus. The result showed that only the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data analytics had permeated the nexus, which shows that data of the resources will be the foundation of the nexus. The systematic collection, accuracy of data, and empirical analysis of data will determine the level of security of WEF nexus. The qualitative results show that there are applications of the fourth industrial revolution technologies to the individual sectors of the nexus, birthing Water 4.0, Energy 4.0, and Food 4.0. The Bibliometric analysis result shows that the integration of the fourth industrial revolution with the WEF nexus will lead to cleaner production practices relating to the technological processes of water, energy, and food resources. These practices will ensure the environment's safety from WEF wastes and the water, energy, and food security in production processes. The empirical research and bibliometric analysis result, rooted in the concept of cleaner production, shows that the fourth industrial revolution affected the WEF nexus. The effects are; the birth of clean technologies & industrial applications, the catalyst for sustainability security of WEF nexus leveraging on life cycle thinking , enablement of technological transfer, enhancement of economic growth, and urban planning . The study concludes that the fourth industrial revolution technologies affect WEF nexus, ensuring the popularization of cleaner production strategies and processes of the resources during trade-offs and synergies. The study recommends the integration of a cleaner production concept in WEF processing. It should follow the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and Technology acceptance theory (TAM) when applying 4IR technologies to the nexus of water, energy, and food resources, for their sustainable security. • 4IR technologies in WEF production leads to WEF resources sustainable security. • Applications of 4IR technologies on WEF nexus has significant effects. • 4IR and WEF nexus ensures Cleaner production of WEF resources.

Design and implementation of a treatment plant for the disposal of wastewater from portable toilets

Characterization of wastewater from portable toilets show parameters values (i.e., Chemical Oxygen Demand COD and total suspended solids TSS) that exceed the limits stablished by environmental regulations. This means that a prior treatment of these effluents is mandatory. This paper describes the design and construction of a plant for the treatment of wastewater from portable toilets, in a coastal city with dry/humid tropical weather conditions. The plant has a capacity for the treatment of 2.2 m3 of wastewater every two days. The batch process for the treatment of wastewater from portable toilets consists of primary treatment (screening and sedimentation), secondary treatment (biological activated sludge) and tertiary treatment (disinfection by chlorination, and filtration with activated carbon and gravel filters), in order to eliminate the chemical disintegrator of organic matter, the blue color, bacteria and odors, and to meet the limit values in discharges at surface water bodies and public sewerage system. Cleaner production strategies were also implemented to improve the sustainability of the process, such as the use of recycled material (i.e. the empty containers of agents for organic material disintegration), use of unevennes in the land to decrease energy consumption, use of equipment (tanks and filters) from disused production units and substitution of the toilet disinfectant (which was formaldehyde based disintegrator), for a biodegradable and non-toxic glutaraldehyde-based disinfectant, considering the environmental commitment involved in wastewater treatment processes. The characterization of the treated water from the plant showed that it can be discharged into the sewer. A characterization of the microbia present in the bioreactor is suggested for future research and optimization of the wastewater treatment plant, since the inoculum identified in the process will be a potential adjuvant in other processes for organic material degradation such as septic tanks and wastewater treatment plants located in similar climatic conditions.

Data-driven cleaner production strategy for energy-intensive manufacturing industries: Case studies from Southern and Northern China

Cleaner production is an effective strategy for improving material utilization, reducing energy consumption, maximizing product output, and minimizing emissions during the entire manufacturing processes. An increasing number of enterprises promote the implementation of cleaner production. In the Industry 4.0 context, product-embedded information devices are widely used to capture product lifecycle data. Product lifecycle management provides an opportunity to achieve cleaner production strategy. This paper presents a data-driven cleaner production strategy by product lifecycle management for energy-intensive manufacturing industries. The data-driven strategy is proposed and explained by the lifecycle of cleaner production data. Implementation models are developed to illustrate the proposed data-driven cleaner production strategy. Furthermore, two case studies from Southern and Northern China are presented to demonstrate the strategy. Results show that the unit energy consumption and the energy cost of production in Company A are reduced by at least 3% after applying the proposed strategy. In addition, the “cradle-to-gate” lifecycle data analysis indicates that the costs of environmental pollution in Company B are diminished significantly. Finally, energy-intensive manufacturing companies in China are compared and evaluated, and the effectiveness of the proposed strategy is discussed.