Integrated Assessment of ‘Green-Lean’ Production

Abstract

Green Production has becoming increasingly important because of the growing need for sustainable development. Lean Production is one the most influential concepts in contemporary industrial management. The focus of Lean Production has been waste elimination and streamlining operations. Therefore, it is natural to seek alternatives for balancing or synergizing productivity gains with environmental friendliness by combining Green and Lean initiatives. However, Green and Lean practices may result in negative side effects. Such cases are mostly explained by dysfunctional assessments of effects. Sometimes, companies center on the positive effects, but hide or externalize negative trade-offs. Therefore, consistent assessment is critical to secure the achievement of Green and Lean objectives. An assessment has to consider all vital interdependencies between various effects. When enforced by law, it should respect all limitations and incentives set by regulators. To address these issues, an approach to integrated assessment of Green-Lean Production was conceptualized. Two fundamental strategic perspectives are considered for assessment: the product and operations views.