Degrees in Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention

The Department of Work Environment offers Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention.

Faculty: Michael Ellenbecker, Ken Geiser, Charles Levenstein, Rafael Moure-Eraso, Margaret Quinn, Cora Roelofs, Joel Tickner

Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention offer new directions for reducing environmental and occupational health risks by redesigning production systems or reformulating commercial products with the objective of prevention or minimization of short and long term risks to humans and the environment. Cleaner production applies to both products and processes. Cleaner products are those designed to reduce impacts throughout their entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to ultimate disposal of the product and packaging. Cleaner production processes conserve raw material and energy, eliminate toxic materials and reduce the generation of wastes and emissions.

Students in this concentration will be prepared for new positions in private firms and governments promoting preventive strategies towards risk reduction.

All Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention students must take the Work Environment Core as well as 24 credits of concentration courses.

Examples of areas of research in Cleaner Production include: sustainable product design and integrated product policy, green chemistry, product take back (extended producer responsibility), ecological taxes, materials policy, indicators of sustainability for the workplace and general environment, environmental management systems, sustainable consumption patterns, and integration of occupational health and pollution prevention.