Susana Duarte

Green and lean are manufacturing management paradigms that identify new opportunities to improve the business to be more competitive. The purpose of this research is to contribute for the understanding of how to address green–lean approaches in a supply chain. The objective is to provide basic mechanisms to implement an organization’s supplychain based on an integrated green and lean approach. To attain this objective, some relevant initiatives for a green and lean transformation were considered first. Second, a multiple case study was conducted in the automotive industry to test qualitatively the several integrated green and lean initiatives and see how they are being implemented in the real world. Based on the literature review and the case study, an oriented-tool is suggested, which involves a roadmap to achieve a green–lean supply-chain transformation. The proposed roadmap can serve as the basis for further research in green and lean supply chain management, providing insights into the implementation of a green–lean approach.

Purpose: The purpose of this research work is to propose an assessment framework to evaluate businesses in terms of the implementation of a green and lean organization’s supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework was developed for the assessment of green and lean implementation. The framework was designed using key criteria to identify green and lean initiatives. This led to the development of guidelines for each criterion, and the development of a scoring method. A multiple case study of five different organizations in the automotive industry was conducted to validate the conceptual framework. Findings: The study reveals that high scores are derived from a good interaction between green and lean implementation in these companies. The results confirm that the initiatives considered in the conceptual framework were appropriate to represent the green and lean assessment framework. Research limitations/implications: The case study was developed in five organizations. Validation of the model is not based on quantitative techniques. The sample size is too small. More study is need in different industry sectors. Practical implications: The proposed model can be the basis for further research on green and lean concepts, contributing to the understanding of green and lean implementation. With this assessment method, managers can evaluate their business in relation to the implementation of green and lean supply chain initiatives. Originality/value: To the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to provide an assessment framework to evaluate an organization’s supply chain in terms of green and lean implementation.

Understanding how efficiently we use the role of resources in the organization namely natural resources in use, water, materials and energy consumption is a vital step for designing business strategies to tackle inefficiencies. Green and lean model for business sustainability will be presented and indicators for a resource efficient and green business will be discussed. Organizations must understand how resources are use and how can be used, making better decision about the use of those environmental, social, and economic resources. However the resources are not only a business concern. All organizations in a specific region should be evaluated for the knowledge of the progress on the road to sustainability. This study aims to be a preliminary study of how to use green and lean management concept as a step towards to sustainability. To the authors this is the first attempt to understand and develop a model through green and lean concepts to improve critical sustainability issues, enhancing the efficiency of the resources.