As the result of voluntarily participating in a two year national program for business and industry, the Tecma Group of Companies “Plant 3” was recently awarded Mexico Clean Industry certification. Tecma’s Plant 3 facility houses four of its shelter company services clients that are engaged in the production of products that are used in the automotive aftermarket, medical device industry, retail industry, as well as services related to reverse logistics activities. Plant 3 is comprised of 160,000 square feet of industrial space and houses approximately six hundred direct labor workers.

Mexico Clean Industry certification is obtained through an initiative that was put into place in 1992. In that year, PROFEPA, the country’s federal organ that is responsible for fulfilling the important mission of protecting Mexico’s environmental integrity, established El Programa Nacional de Auditoria Ambiental (PNAA), or, as it is known in English, the National Program for Environmental Audit. The Mexico Clean Industry certification program, as it is commonly referred to, began as an effort that was limited in scope. It sought to safeguard the nation’s ecological balance by focusing its attention, primarily, on those industries that could have the most potentially adverse effects on Mexico’s environment.

The first eighty industrial firms that were recognized with Mexico Clean Industry certification were acknowledged on April 1, 1997 by then president Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon. Over the years, the PNAA has expanded its scope beyond its original design to include environmental audits of businesses in a diversity of sectors of the nation’s economy. Today, for instance, in addition to manufacturing, Mexico green industry certification under the Programa Nacional de Auditoria Ambiental can be pursued and achieved by small, mid-sized and large businesses that conduct retail,
tourism and service industry related activities. Clean Industry recognition can also be achieved by Mexican municipalities, as well as other public sector organizations. While recognition gained by manufacturers has been given the nomenclature of “Industria Limpia,” or “Clean Industry,” awards made to other sector participants are referred to as “Calidad Ambiental,” or “Environmental Quality” awards.

Companies that wish to pursue Mexico Clean Industry certification through the PNAA must go through a process that includes the following steps:

  • Choose an auditor that has been accredited by PROFEPA and the “Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación,” (EMA);
  • Devise a plan of work which will guide the environmental audit activities;
  • Conduct the audit in under the supervision and guidance of the chosen auditor;
  • Identify environmental “non-conformities” via the environmental audit process;
  • Create a plan of action for correcting all environmental non-conformities that have been discovered;
  • Correct all non-conformities in accord with the requirements of Mexico Clean Industry certification requirements.

Companies that are interested in pursuing Mexico Clean Industry certification, and would appreciate a recieving tips and information from those that have already been through the process successfully, are invited to contact the environmental experts at The Tecma Group of Companies.