Pro Public and Sri Ram Sugar Mills Ltd. (SRSML) implemented a NGO Business Environmental Partnership Program aimed to demonstrate the potential of source reduction activities in the sugar and related industries of Nepal. The source reduction approach guides enterprises in the reduction of raw material and energy wastes at their source. This approach leads to improved productivity and competitiveness while protecting the environment and reduction risks to public health. The other major objective of the partnership was to raise public, industry and government awareness of the benefits of waste reduction in an effort to build support for production standards that minimize environmental damage.

The cornerstone activity of the Pro Public - SRSML partnership was a systematic sugar production process review. A team made up of Pro Public and SRSML technicians conducted successive studies of factory operation in the spring of 1997. The team identified 45 potential options for source point pollution reduction that would conserve water and energy, reduce water and soil contamination and increase sugar yield. As part of an overall source reduction and cost recovery strategy, Pro Public-SRSM team conducted in-house training for the factory's management and workforce in the theory and practice of waste minimization.