When Lean meets Green

This is the sixth article in which we explore “adjacent”. Those who know me well and are aware of my passion for manufacture must imagine how difficult it was to get here discussing “adjacent” without mentioning “Lean & Green”. But believing in the maxim that it’s the journey that counts, here we are, in the middle of our journey, and today we are finally discussing “Lean & Green”. 

It is a fact that Sustainability is promoting a global debate whose heart of the matter is to meet human needs and understand the type of society and company that will make sense going forward. And what happens when we try to solve this problem by trying to understand the principles of Sustainability that exist within manufacturing environments?

In the 1980s, many models of how to run an efficient and effective manufacturing organization were created. This process, developed after mass production, was named “Lean Thinking”. In order to promote the development of a culture of continuous improvement, Lean describes this work philosophy which focuses on eliminating waste and investing resources only where there is value creation. However, the original model of Lean has always focused on the traditional dimensions of manufacture, such as safety, quality, deliver and cost, and it has never bothered to include a new mindset, a dimension capable of conferring the “adjacent” necessary to deal with our overpopulated and interconnected world, the so-called “Green”.

Following this idea, the thought of doing more with less was adapted to improve the flows that support production, that is, materials, energy and waste generation, which cause a significant environmental impact. In my book “The Green Factory – creating lean and sustainable manufacturing”, I discuss this archetype, i.e., this model capable of translating the intention of the Sustainability Practices, preventing pollution, improving environmental performance and improving mass and energy flows to the manufacturing world; and I am concerned with looking at environmental problems from the perspective of manufacturing, understanding the practices and tools used in this (such as process mapping, Kaizen, Team Involvement and many others), adapting them based on environmental premises, to support the sustainable business development. The L&GBM (Lean & Green Business Model), the model described in my book, aims to translate the language of Sustainability into the world of manufacturing, applying Lean Thinking to solve environmental problems.

Sustainability means “meeting the needs of current generations, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. The three fundamental vectors (People, Planet and Profit) have evolved to redefine the purpose of business according to Brundtland's philosophy. Thus, Lean Thinking leads to sustainable initiatives. As Lean Thinking considers the economic and social vector of sustainability, environmental sustainability, in concept and in practice, can be considered the extension of Lean Thinking to achieve a much greater objective.

Sustainability, like Lean Thinking, has a good record of improving business because of the emphasis on eliminating waste. And yes, there are great opportunities to save resources on the shop floor. Lean & Green, using Kaizen exercises, involving people, through the ideas and experiences of operators and leaders, as well as Lean tools and techniques, appropriate to identify waste in production support flows, generate significant operational cost improvements.  In a world of uncertainties about the Economy and Sustainability, Lean & Green is a very happy meeting of two great “adjacent”, a super Sustainability Practice, proving to be an innovative approach to support the development of sustainable businesses.

Andrea Pampanelli, PhD

Andrea has a PhD in Sustainability and she is a Global Executive in the areas of Sustainability, Lean, Environment and Safety, with 25 years of experience. Andrea is a professor in the Graduate Program in Engineering at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), and she is founding partner of “The Green Factory”.

 The Green Factory

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