Knowledge Agora



Similar Articles

Title Exploring the role of lean thinking in sustainable business practice: A systematic literature review
ID_Doc 34507
Authors Caldera, HTS; Desha, C; Dawes, L
Title Exploring the role of lean thinking in sustainable business practice: A systematic literature review
Year 2017
Published
Abstract The shift towards sustainable manufacturing processes and products has influenced business organizations to improve their environmental, performance and efficiency. 'Lean thinking' has evolved to 'lean and green thinking' as a targeted intervention for organizations to implement sustainable business models that reduce waste and improve material efficiency, and subsequently minimise costs. The lean and green concept however is still relatively new and it remains unclear for many as to how exactly lean thinking can contribute to the sustainability transformation of organizations. The objective of this research was to undertake a systematic literature review of how the implementation of lean and green initiatives could lead to sustainable business practice. This article includes an analysis of both conceptual and empirical research papers discussing various industrial contexts, and evaluation of: a) the impact of lean methods on environmental performance; and b) the variety of integrated lean and green models. The review highlights the ad hoc and limited use of lean thinking within corporate sustainability initiatives and the authors establish a 'lean and green matrix' that identifies opportunities to embed lean and green practices in five common work streams including waste, energy, emissions, water and chemical management. In addition to comparing different industries and their systems, this review provides a reference point for further investigation into lean and green practices. The findings contribute to the authors' research agenda that aims to develop a replicable system for holistically exploring strategies in corporate environmental management and prioritising the most appropriate lean methods. It is proposed that industrial practitioners could benefit from such a system, which could transform their organization's performance through well-integrated and aligned sustainable business practices. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PDF

Similar Articles

ID Score Article
66591 Abualfaraa, W; Salonitis, K; A-Ashaab, A; Ala'raj, M Lean-Green Manufacturing Practices and Their Link with Sustainability: A Critical Review(2020)Sustainability, 12, 3
71256 Piercy, N; Rich, N The relationship between lean operations and sustainable operations(2015)International Journal Of Operations & Production Management, 35.0, 2
69414 Ferrazzi, M; Frecassetti, S; Bilancia, A; Portioli-Staudacher, A Investigating the influence of lean manufacturing approach on environmental performance: A systematic literature review(2024)
68677 León, HCM; Calvo-Amodio, J Towards lean for sustainability: Understanding the interrelationships between lean and sustainability from a systems thinking perspective(2017)
76898 Hallam, CRA; Contreras, C The Interrelation of Lean and Green Manufacturing Practices: A Case of Push or Pull in Implementation(2016)
73639 Pampanelli, AB; Found, P; Bernardes, AM Sustainable Manufacturing: The Lean and Green Business Model(2015)
13218 Caldera, HTS; Desha, C; Dawes, L Evaluating the enablers and barriers for successful implementation of sustainable business practice in 'lean' SMEs(2019)
77357 Abreu, MF; Alves, AC; Moreira, F Lean-Green models for eco-efficient and sustainable production(2017)
8454 Bhatt, Y; Ghuman, K; Dhir, A Sustainable manufacturing. Bibliometrics and content analysis(2020)
73229 So, S; Sun, HY Lean thinking as organisational practice in enabling supply chain sustainability(2015)International Journal Of Environmental Technology And Management, 18, 4
Scroll