Introduction.

The tannery industry is an important sector of the economic development of the north of Cundinamarca; there are more than 190 companies dedicated to the transformation of putrescible bovine skin into non-putrescible leather; an activity that generates highly toxic discharges directly into Bogotá river, causing adverse effects on the environment and public health, due to the lack of technified systems under the principles of Cleaner Production (CP).

Objective.

This study focuses on analyzing the production system of a tannery in northern Cundinamarca to formulate CP strategies at the microenterprise level in that sector.

Materials and methods.

The study verified data in the field of each one of the activities of the productive process, to then build the process diagram, the mass balance; tools that allowed the consolidation of PML strategies, and the quantification of the economic benefits expected to improving the environmental performance of the tanning company.

Results.

This study shows that through CP actions it is necessary to save 52% in water consumption, and reduce 75% of solid waste available in sanitary landfills, and 73% of the chemical inputs required for tanning; In addition, the transformation and technification of the production system will allow the recovery of approximately COP 932,766.0 for each production process of 1,000 kg of raw skin.

Conclusions.

Consolidated CP strategies allow the transformation of artisanal production systems into technified systems, these being more competitive and productive in coherence with sustainable development objectives.