Identification of Cleaner Production criteria at Kimia Choob Medium Density Fiber Board

The production operation plays a crucial role in reducing the environmental impacts in various stages of the life cycle of products, from the extraction of materials to production, end-use, reuse, and recycling. Therefore, the process of reducing these environmental impacts in relation to production contributes to achieving competitive advantages and increased market shares. As such, discursive approaches to prevent industries from acting as pollutants are proposed. Since the medium density fiberboard industry is among the industries which consume high volumes of materials and energy, this study is considered to be a strategic model for enhancing efficiency and minimizing pollution and energy consumption within the framework of continuous improvement of the protection of the environment. To this aim, through the AHP, a three-level hierarchy, five criteria (product modification, process change, bill of material implementation, recycling, and human resources), and 45 sub-criteria were analyzed at Kimia Choob Medium Density Fiberboard Industry. The overall results showed that process change, among the main criteria, and planning to prevent unnecessary stoppage in machinery and equipment used as a sub-criterion were identified as the highest priorities. The total inconsistency ratio is 0.1, which proves the consistency of the results.