 NAME: SURBHI SINGH

 ID NO: 22MBA053
 SUBJECT: OPERATION
MANAGEMENT ASSINGMENT 2
SUBMITTED TO:
DR. PRADYUMAN LAKHAWAT
What is sustainable manufacturing?
Sustainable manufacturing also referred to as green
manufacturing or eco-friendly manufacturing, is receiving
more attention in the process manufacturing world. Natural
disasters like floods, wildfires, and hurricanes triggered by
climate change, and the growing need to reduce pollution,
are all increasing the pressure on process manufacturers to
run a “green” plant.
The United States’ Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) defines sustainable manufacturing as “the
creation of manufactured products through economically
sound processes that minimize negative environmental
impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.” It
adds that it should also increase safety for employees, local
communities, and the product itself.
Sustainable manufacturing includes:
 Avoiding causing harm to the local environment
 Reducing pollution and emissions
 Cutting waste of raw materials and other resources
 Reducing consumption of energy, water, and other
limited substances
 Increasing safety for workers and nearby
communities

Why does sustainable manufacturing matter to

process plants?
With climate change and pollution frequently making the
news, the general public is increasingly worried about the
impact of heavy industry on the environment. Process
plants that are seen as green enjoy a competitive
advantage, while those who hit the headlines for
environmental disasters like an oil spill, a toxic waste leak,
or a local explosion will lose customers.
Manufacturers are also realizing that sustainability is cost-
effective. Reducing waste and improving use of energy,
water, and raw materials enables companies to lower their
costs and thereby boost their profit margins. Additionally,
sustainable plants are better placed to meet governmental
and industrial regulations, cutting the burden of
compliance and reducing the risk of costly audits.
Finally, supply chain is an integral element of sustainable
manufacturing. With a refined supply chain, manufacturing
companies can raise their reliability and lower delivery
times, thereby improving their reputation with customers.
An optimized supply chain also supports better forecasting,
enabling plants to produce the right amount of product at
the right time and thus reduce the expense of unwanted
products.

How can process plants implement sustainable

manufacturing?

Recycling

The OECD recommends increasing the percentage of used

materials involved in the production process. A closed-
loop approach, or circular process manufacturing lifecycle,
means that when the product reaches the end of its
lifecycle, it is collected to be reused into the new product.
In this way, manufacturers can optimize the use of energy,
raw materials, and other resources, and reduce waste and
emissions.
Renewable energy

While it’s crucial to cut energy use as much as possible,

process manufacturing plants will always be heavy energy
consumers. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable and/or
green energy like green hydrogen, solar, wind power, or
biomass can help improve the plant’s sustainability profile.
Every plant activity that can be powered by renewables
helps it become more eco-friendly.

Predictive analytics

Advanced predictive analytics tools , including predictive

monitoring and predictive maintenance , can help reduce
energy consumption and raw materials’ waste by ensuring
the plant is operating at optimal efficiency. Fixing issues
like bottlenecks in processes, fouling in pipes, and
inaccuracies in temperature gauges helps optimize
resource use and cut the risk of discarded batches.

Smart systems

Today’s smart plant software uses data from Industrial

Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, artificial intelligence
(AI), and machine learning (ML) to quickly spot variations
in water and energy consumption. Early alerts enable
teams to fix leaks or bottlenecks before they result in
large-scale waste.
Smart inventory management ensures each plant has the
materials it needs, without overstocking “just in case”
which could lead to materials passing their expiry date.
Automation
Automation such as cobots and robotic process automation
(RPA) helps lower the risk of waste due to human error.
With AI, automation, and IIoT, plants are increasingly
adopting “lights out” manufacturing, which cuts energy
consumption by removing the need to run light and heating
for human employees. Automated processes also help
improve plant safety by eliminating the need to send
workers into hazardous situations.
Conservation
Toyota, one of the leaders in sustainable manufacturing,
goes a step further and includes tree planting and other
conservation activities as part of the remit of a green plant.
Enhancing the natural environment and helping to preserve
local ecosystems takes sustainable manufacturing beyond
merely avoiding harm and brings it to active eco-
friendliness.
How does sustainable manufacturing make process plants
more competitive?
By implementing sustainable manufacturing practices,
process plants can improve their reputation to expand their
customer base, lower waste, and cut expenses to boost
their profit margin and enhance their bottom line.
PRINCIPLES, APPLICATIONS AND DIRECTIONS

Humans have been consuming resources at an alarming pace

these days that is certainly not sustainable as the earth that we
inhabit cannot regenerate the materials at that rate. For a
comparison, between 1950 and 2005, worldwide metals
production grew six fold, oil consumption eight fold, and
natural gas consumption 14-fold. So, if we continue in the
same path, our future generations will not have access to the
resources the way that we have now. The harmful effects of
our consumption and its final impact on the humankind are
well known.
Though manufacturing systems create material wealth for
humans, they consume a great amount of resources while
generating a lot of waste. The waste generated during the
manufacturing processes, during the use of the products and
after the end of the life of the products is responsible for the
degradation of the environment. Thus, minimising the
resource consumption and reducing the environmental impact
of manufacturing systems has become increasingly more
important. Therefore, it is imperative that manufacturing
industries strive for ‘Sustainable Manufacturing’ on their part.
Sustainable manufacturing is the strategic method of creating
products through economical means and using components
that minimize waste and reduce negative environmental
impact.
Sustainable manufacturing can contribute to the ultimate goal
of sustainable development which, according to the World
Commission on Environment and Development, is to “meet
the needs of the present, without compromising the capability
of future generations to meet theirs.”
Over the years, a growing number of companies have
recognized the role of sustainability in increasing their growth
and global competitiveness. According to KPMG’s Survey of
Sustainability Reporting in 2020, 80 percent of the world’s
leading companies are now incorporating sustainability into
their operations and goals.
Organizations are implementing various strategies in making
their business environmentally efficient, socially sufficient,
and economically viable.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference also released
a recent study which reveals that sustainability is becoming a
basis for purchasing decisions and that more than a third of
global consumers are willing to pay more for products that are
environmentally-friendly and sustainable. Manufacturing: The
interconnected activities and operations involved in producing
a single part, or multiple parts to be assembled to form a final
product. In manufacturing, raw materials are transformed with
the assistance of technology, physical and chemical processes,
labor, and tools, into components or final products within
manufacturing industries. Therefore, it is possible to state that
while all manufacturing is a type of production, all types of
production do not always involve manufacturing (adapted
from CIRP, 1990; Bellgran and Säfsten, 2010). Production:
The process of transforming a set of input elements into a set
of output elements with economic value. Production
constitutes the outcome of the industrial work in different
fields of activity (e.g. agriculture production, music
production, oil production, energy production, manufacturing
production). The outcome of the production could be either a
tangible, or intangible product (production by service). The
research presented in this thesis adopts the notion of
production as superior manufacturing, since the term
production is associated with a branch of industry or line of
business (adapted from CIRP, 1990; Murthy, 2005; Bellgran
and Säfsten, 2010). Sustainable manufacturing: The ability to
smartly use natural resources for manufacturing by creating
products that, by using new technology, following regulatory
measures and adopting coherent social behaviors, are able to
satisfy economic, environmental and social objectives, thus
preserving the environment while continuing to improve the
quality of human life (Garetti and Taish, 2011). Sustainable
manufacturing practices: The actions, initiatives, and
techniques that positively affect the environmental, social or
economic performance of a manufacturing firm, helping to
control or mitigate the impacts of the firm’s operations on the
triple bottom line. Sustainable manufacturing principles:
Fundamental values that guide organizational practices
relating to the environmental, social and economic
sustainability dimensions, with the aim of attaining
sustainable manufacturing operations (adapted from Veleva
and Ellenbecker, 2001). Sustainability principles: Deal with
moving organizations toward sustainability by changing their
vision/mission, their use of natural andhuman resources, their
production and energy practices, and their products and waste
management (Shrivastava and Berger, 2010). Sustainable
production: “The creation of goods and services using
processes and systems that are non-polluting; conserving of
energy and natural resources; economically viable; safe and
healthful for employees, communities and consumers; and
socially and creatively rewarding for all working people” .

The Business Case for Sustainable Manufacturing

A growing number of companies are treating "sustainability"

as an important objective in their strategy and operations to
increase growth and global competitiveness. This trend has
reached well beyond the small niche of those who
traditionally positioned themselves as "green," and now
includes many prominent businesses across many different
industry sectors. In many cases, these efforts are having
significant results.
There are a number of reasons why companies are pursuing
sustainability:
 Increase operational efficiency by reducing costs and
waste
 Respond to or reach new customers and increase

competitive advantage
 Protect and strengthen brand and reputation and build

public trust
 Build long-term business viability and success

 Respond to regulatory constraints and opportunities

Companies engaged in sustainability efforts include those of

all sizes, ages and sectors. Companies move forward along the
path to sustainability by improving performance and reducing
their resource footprint. Ways that companies progress further
on the path to sustainability include:
 Address sustainability in a coordinated, integrated and
formal manner, rather than in an ad hoc, unconnected
and informal manner
 Focus on increased competitiveness and revenues rather
than primarily focusing on cost-cutting, risk reduction
and improved efficiency
 Use innovation, scenario planning and strategic analysis
to go beyond compliance
 Integrate sustainability across business functions
  Focus more on the long term
 Work collaboratively with external stakeholders

1. Sustainable manufacturing defined

Sustainable manufacturing (SM) or green manufacturing for

our purpose can be defined as a method for manufacturing
that minimises waste and reduces the environmental impact.
These goals are to be obtained mainly by adopting practices
that will influence the product design, process design and
operational principles. Therefore, sustainable manufacturing
may be defined as a system that integrates product and
process design issues with issues of manufacturing, planning
and control in such a manner as to identify, quantify, assess,
and manage the flow of environmental waste with the goal of
ultimately reducing the environmental impact to that of the
self-recovery capability of the Earth could deal with while
also trying to maximise resource efficiency. A survey of 198
Indian SMEs have identified the following aspects of
sustainable manufacturing: “The final quantitative benefits of
green manufacturing in order of their decreased ranking are
improved morale, improved brand value, lowered regulatory
concerns, increased market opportunities, improved product
performance and decreased liabilities. The quantitative
benefits of green manufacturing are related to either waste
(reduced waste handling cost, lowered waste categorisation
cost, reduced waste treatment cost, reduced waste disposal
cost and reduced waste storage cost) or life cycle of the
product (lowered transportation cost, decreased packaging
cost, reduced overall cost of the product, lowered cost of
production, reduced user operation/use cost, lowered
maintenance/service cost and reduced overall cost to the
organisation).”

2. Sustainable manufacturing tools

The tool generally used to implement SM is the Life Cycle

Assessment (LCA). It is an approach to examine fully the
environmental impact of different activities performed by
humans including the production of goods and services by
corporations. LCA can be applied for any activity that is
either at national level or global level in order to identify
environmental burdens resulting from the activities of a
society, region or industrial sector. In fact, LCA can provide
an excellent insight for the engineer to study any given
product such that he/she can identify the methods to reduce
the environmental impact of a specific product or process. A
schematic of the methodology employed for carrying out the
LCA .
LCA is concerned with identifying the environmental impact
of a given product or process at each of these life stages. Full
implementation of LCA allows the engineer to make a
quantitative comparison of the stages of a product’s life,
determine where the greatest environmental benefit is to be
gained, and ultimately monitor the long term effect of changes
in design and/or manufacturing.
Let us take an example to illustrate the point of how the
consideration of LCA makes a very strong contrast to what we
normally think about the environmental impact of the
products. Consider a car used for personal transportation as an
example. The energy consumed during the resource extraction
and transportation for making the car is 9.2%, production and
selling of a car is 13.9%, during the actual use of car during
the lifetime is 76.8%, and the end of life vehicle disposal is
0.1%. As can be seen from this example, it is clear that the
biggest impact is to be made at the consumer use life stage. In
order to reduce the environmental impact of the car, the
approach should be to develop cars with higher mileage and
lower emissions.
The ISO standards assume a process-based LCA approach and
is organised into four steps: goal and scope definition,
inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation as
shown in Fig 2. It is important to understand the goals of the
LCA and the methods to achieve them. Though this is a
framework, the way the goals are formulated, the work
involved is going to be enormous. The deeper the level of
analysis, better will be the understanding. That will also
provide better solutions to achieve the required results.
However, this will also call for a lot of effort from the user.
Therefore, during the first step, appropriate scope should be
defined. This will be followed in the second step to develop a
quantitative analysis of the material and energy inputs to the
product or process at all levels. In this, it is also important to
measure the possible environmental releases. Here, in the
problem, though our interest is to find the actual releases over
the entire life cycle, the designer/engineer will only have
limited knowledge or control on what the user of the product
will be doing.
In the third step, the outputs of the system at each stage are
related to direct impact on the external world. The trouble
with this stage is that data that will be generated is
controversial, incomplete or wholly unavailable. Also, many
of the impacts will depend on global and will not be
necessarily regional in nature. For example, the release of
CFC’s into the atmosphere. As a result, data for this step is
often qualitative in nature. The last step in the process utilises
the findings from the three previous steps and makes
recommendations for the environmental improvement of the
product or process under consideration. Ideally, this
information provides direct input for proactive approaches,
such as, design for the environment initiatives.

3. Sustainable manufacturing approaches

Sustainable manufacturing requires that all manufacturing
organisations should aim for the following four activities that
would help the environment across its entire supply chain
with activities that are identified as in Fig 3.
• Energy use reduction
• Water use reduction
• Emissions reduction
• Waste generation reduction
Sustainable manufacturing should integrate sustainable
activities at all levels of manufacturing – product, process and
system. We are familiar with the 3R as reduce, reuse and
recycle that is commonly followed. This needs to be expanded
to more R’s, such as, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, redesign,
remanufacturing, repurpose, refurbish, refuse, etc, as shown in
Fig 4.
The reduction should always start at the source level to be
more effective. Therefore, the first part of the effort should be
by incorporating sustainability in the product design to
account for environmental impacts over the entire life of the
product. Designing products to be environmentally benign can
contribute to their successful introduction and maintenance.
Designing products with easy disassembly help in the process
of repair, reuse, repurpose and remanufacture. Designing
products with easy maintainability help in prolonging the use
of the product more efficiently. Product flexibility, for
example, allows for environmental improvements, like
materials substitution, while retaining competitiveness. The
expected decrease in product life cycles with increased
product customisation is likely to make flexibility
increasingly important.
Sustainable manufacturing processes: Manufacturing
processes and systems employed should consider
sustainability at every level, so that there will be
comprehensive adherence to sustainability principles. All the
processes used are energy efficient while maintaining
requisite quality. All the interconnected systems also share the
same philosophy. Reduce energy intensity and emissions in
all operations and the supply chain. Zero-emission (i.e.
closed-loop) manufacturing views the manufacturing system
as an industrial ecosystem, and requires the reuse of wastes or
by-products within the manufacturing system. Manufacturing
systems employed should have the flexibility for material
substitution, and accommodate variations in material flows to
assist in enhancing sustainability while maintaining
competitiveness. To reduce the environmental impacts of
manufacturing processes, it is necessary to optimise the
environmental performance of the existing processes as well
as develop new green processes.
Optimise the environmental performance: So far,
manufacturing processes are generally designed for high
performance and low cost with little attention paid to
environmental issues. Most of the time, optimisation of a
process is done with reference to minimising the machining
time or machining cost with no consideration for the
environment. The costing models considered rarely included
the cost of environmental compliance. However, it is
necessary to consider the cost of compliance to the
environmental guidance.
For example, when estimating the cutting fluid cost, the
following costs are considered as part of the total machining
cost.
• Cost of purchasing the cutting fluid including the cost of
recharging
• Cost of maintaining the cutting fluid, cost of additives along
with the associated labor cost
• Cost of makeup fluid, the cost associated with the
volumetric loss of cutting fluid due to evaporation, leakage,
etc.
• Cost of pump out of the used cutting fluid
• Cost of system cleaning, i.e. flushing the system after
disposing of the spent cutting fluid
It is also possible to improve the efficiency of operating the
machine tools by modifying the software. For example, in
deep hole drilling when programmed with peck cycle, the tool
is withdrawn at programmed intervals to clean the chips. This
may not be efficient use of energy. It is possible in deep hole
drilling; the power consumption can be reduced with an
adaptive pecking cycle, which executes pecking as needed by
sensing cutting load. Also, synchronisation of the spindle
acceleration/deceleration with the feed system during a rapid
traverse stage can reduce the energy consumption up to 10%.
It is possible to develop mathematical models for electrical
energy use in machining and validating them along a machine
tool path such as in turning and milling. This helps in
evaluating tool paths and re-designing machine tools to make
them more energy efficient. It is also observed that the total
energy requirement is controlled more by the auxiliary
equipment than the main process in many situation. So,
machine tools need to be redesigned taking this into account.
Develop new green processes

In addition to improving and optimising the existing

processes, it will also be important to develop new processes
that use less harmful materials and generate fewer emissions
which can then be considered as green processes. An example
could be processes based on laser. Laser assisted
manufacturing processes are likely to bring some
environmental advantages by reducing emissions during
manufacturing processes while extending the tool life because
of its non-contact nature. However the energy consumption of
laser processes is more compared to the conventional
processes. Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) is an additive
manufacturing process that is better for simple molds with a
low solid-to-cavity volume ratio that will be less
environmentally burdensome compared to CNC milling.
It is known that the selection of process parameters can have a
significant influence on the consumed energy and resources.
Reducing energy consumption in a machine tool can be done
by recovering the energy through the use of a kinetic energy
recovery system (KERS) similar to regenerative breaks used
in automobiles. It was found that 5 to 25% of energy saving
can be achieved by having a KERS device on the machine
tool based on simulated conditions. It is possible that the
energy consumption for drilling and face/end milling can be
reduced by setting the cutting conditions (cutting speed, feed
rate and cutting depth) high, thereby shortening the machining
time, yet within a value range which does not compromise
tool life and surface finish

4. Sustainable manufacturing examples

Cutting fluids are used extensively in metal machining
processes to remove and reduce the heat during the machining
operations. The use of cutting fluids greatly enhances the
machining quality while reducing the cost of machining by
extending tool life. However, the mist and vapour generated
during the machining processes is harmful for the operator
and stringent regulations exist to control them. Direct
exposure of cutting fluids has been responsible for a number
of skin cancer cases. Stringent environmental legislations
require that the spent cutting fluids be recycled or disposed of
in a manner that is not harmful to the environment. This calls
for increased expenditure on the recycling and disposal
procedures used depending upon the type of cutting fluid.
The machining cost, environmental impact and operators’
health concerns have driven researchers to find alternatives
such as Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) or equivalent
dry cutting conditions that could satisfy the machining
requirements without the use of cutting fluids. In MQL, the
fluid used is generally straight oil, but some applications have
also utilised water fluids. These fluids are fed to the tool
and/or machining point in tiny quantities. When air is
combined with the lubricant it becomes atomised in the nozzle
to form extremely fine droplets which is termed mist
application.
Cutting fluids based on vegetable oils are bio-degradable as
well as renewable. The experimental data indicated that the
biobased fluids performed better than the mineral oil-based
products in drilling in terms of prolonged tool life, better chip
breaking, and lower tool wear and lower cutting forces. This
will improve its main credentials as green cutting fluid since it
does not have any harmful additives that complicate the
disposal procedures and hence the disposal cost.
5 Ways to Achieve More Sustainable Manufacturing

Consumers have a newly-informed awareness of how the

products they choose, and the companies that produce them,
impact the environment. And whether you support global
initiatives such as ESG (Environmental, Social, Govbernance)
standards and compliance, sustainable manufacturing
practices are most certainly in the spotlight.
People have been consuming resources at a rate that does not
allow enough time for the earth to regenerate those resources,
and our impact on the environment around us is becoming
more important to consumers.
Three out of every four millennials are willing to pay a little
extra for resources from brands that are committed to a
positive environmental impact, and 76% of millennials are
concerned about the environment. There are good reasons
for this. For example, if the global population reaches 9.6
billion by 2050, the resources needed to sustain current
lifestyles would be the equivalent of the resources on three
different planets.
This is why it’s important to consider how manufacturing can
be made more sustainable. It is estimated by the federal US
government that manufacturing operations use about one-
third of the total amount of energy consumed annually in the
country. People are starting to wonder about the
environmental impacts when manufacturing products.
 1. Evaluate and Optimize Your Utilization of Fossil
Fuels

The Environmental Protection Agency reported that in

2018, 22% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were
industrial. Decreasing energy and not only reduces the carbon
footprint, but it can also cut energy costs, making it a win-
win. Manufacturers can make a big difference with simple
acts like turning machinery off when its not in use and
replacing single-speed motors with servo drive or variable-
speed to decrease consumption of energy. It may also be
worth it to consider alternative energy sources like solar,
hydroelectric, or wind.

2. Decrease Pollution

Manufacturers can do a lot to reduce the use of

environmentally unfriendly materials that are used in the
manufacturing process. For example, dry or near-dry
machinery that uses as little coolant as possible can be an
efficient way to remove metal. There are also a lot of ways to
use technology to destroy pollution before it enters into the
atmosphere of the earth.

3. Engage in Time-saving Practices

Saving time is an excellent way to achieve more energy

efficiency. If you run a production cycle faster, you can have
more time to shut down and save power. You can also
decrease the number of machines that are needed to
manufacture.
 4. Recycle.

An effective recycling solution for manufacturers can help

organizations to really minimize waste and have a positive
environmental impact. This is one of the most important green
manufacturing processes. Manufacturers can also determine
the best manner by which the workflow can be changed in
order to separate materials that can be recycled.

5. Reduce the Amount of Waste You Produce

Manufacturers should have a goal to consume only the

supplies and resources that are needed to produce the finished
product. Manufacturers may also be able to find more
opportunities for waste reduction by re-evaluating their
systems and processes in general.
When it comes to sustainable manufacturing practices, the
goal should be to approach every process trying to find a way
to use the least amount of energy and resources possible. It’s
important to keep in mind that sustainability is not just about
the “big ticket” items that make a big impact right away, but
it’s also about a lot of smaller changes that add up and create
a positive impact in the long term.
At POWERS, one of the ways we help organizations to be
more efficient is by helping reduce the resources, time, and
energy that it takes to produce a finished product. Not only is
this helpful in terms of sustainability, but it can greatly cut
costs as well, making it a win-win scenario.

Sustainable development and manufacturing

Sustainable development was first defined in “Our common
future”, better known as the Brundtland Report (1987). The
concept, which is still being used by the European
commission, was defined as “meeting the present needs
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987, p.15). In regard to
this, Brookfield (1987) stated that this environmental report
presented a novel focus on the politicization of environmental
problems and its connection with social problems such as
poverty and inequality. In the same sense, from an enterprise
perspective, Elkington (1998) created the triple bottom line
concept, stating that organizations looking to achieve
sustainable development needed to work on three pillars or
dimensions (the triple bottom line): environment or planet,
social or people, and economics or profit. However, despite
this definition of sustainable development, there is still limited
consensus among scholars on the definition of sustainability
(Berns et al., 2009). Based on the definition of sustainable
development, the concept of sustainable manufacturing
emerged. This term was first mentioned in 1992 during the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
– UNCED. Later, De Ron (1998) defined sustainable
production as an industrial activity that generates products
which meet the needs and wishes of the present society
without sacrificing the ability of future societies to meet their
needs and wishes. Alongside De Ron´s definition, the Lowell
Center for Sustainable Production – LCSP, University of
Massachusetts, Lowell – defined sustainable production as:
“The creation of goods and services using processes and
systems that are non-polluting; conserving of energy and
natural resources; economically viable; safe and healthful for
employees, communities and consumers; and socially and
creatively rewarding for all working people.” (Veleva and
Ellenbecker, 2001. In a similar way, Garetti and Taisch (2012,
p.85) defined sustainable manufacturing as “the ability to
smartly use natural resources for manufacturing, by creating
products and solutions that, thanks to new technology,
regulatory measures and coherent social behaviours, are able
to satisfy economic, environmental and social objectives, thus
preserving the environment, while continuing to improve the
quality of human life”. For many years, large enterprises have
made up the visible tip of the iceberg of contributors to global
anthropogenic impacts on sustainability. These type of
organizations are commonly acknowledged as the usual
sources of such impacts resulting from manufacturing
operations. On the other hand, SMEs have not been in the
spotlight in the ongoing global debate regarding the adoption
of sustainable manufacturing. Studies presenting sustainable
manufacturing practices seem not to reflect the responsibility
of all companies to mitigate or eliminate the negative effects
of non-sustainability, as scientific research is still heavily
focused on large manufacturers Sustainability principles
According to the dictionary definition, the term “principles”
refers to a fixed or predetermined set of policies, ways of
action or conducts. For Glavič and Lukman (2007, p.1876),
principles “are fundamental concepts that serve as a basis for
actions, and as an essential framework for the establishment
of a more complex system”. For Shrivastava and Berger
(p.248, 2010), principles constitute “sets of values, standards,
guidelines or rules of behavior that describe the
responsibilities of or proper practices for organizations”.
These are some of the many definitions where the term
“principles” alludes to guidance for further work. Similarly,
principles have been defined as “the key concepts that serve
as a basis for action” (Roberts and Ball, p.163, 2014). One of
the first attempts made to publish sustainable principles was
by Daly (1990). He defined sustainability principles at a high
level with a general approach. Some of the principles
proposed by him were: 1) for renewable sources management,
the harvesting rates should equal regeneration rates (sustained
yield) and waste emission rates should equal the natural
assimilative capacities of the ecosystems; 2) the sustainable
use of non-renewable sources requires the investment in the
exploitation of these type of resources being paired with an
equivalent investment in a renewable substitute (e.g. oil
extraction paired with tree planting for wood alcohol); 3)
technologies that increase resource productivity (i.e. the
amount of value extracted per unit of resource) must be
prioritized, instead of those technologies that focus on
increasing the resource throughput (Daly, 1990). Two years
later, these basic principles were refined and published by
Costanza and Dali (1992). In addition to these attempts at
defining sustainability principles, governments in various
countries have tried to establish their own sustainable
development principles (e.g. The Government of Western
Australia, 2004). The establishment of these sustainability
principles at a higher level have shaped the way governments,
industries and communities approach sustainability. This, as
principles are usually introduced into a country’s legislation,
forming a starting point for defining governance strategies or
public policy (Government of Western Australia, 2004).
Among other studies that reviewed existing sustainability
principles, Shrivastava and Berger (2010) worked on
organizing the information published about main agreements
concerning environment and development problems from
1968 until 2009. According to the authors, the agreements
(e.g. the International Conference on Environment and
Economics (OECD), Kyoto protocol), had the potential to
spawn general sustainability principles, represented as
“articulated desired changes” for governments, corporations,
financial institutions, and individuals. The study also
reviewed industry-specific sustainability principles proposed
by several industry associations and national and international
institutions. According to Shrivastava and Berger (2010), an
increasing number of industries have been realizing that
sustainability principles are needed as a guide to operate in the
new economy, nevertheless little data published on adoption
of these principles. The principles mentioned above mostly
covered defining policies and programs regarding
sustainability, falling short when it came to applying these
principles to the shop floor, or translating them into an actual
transformation process.

The impact of sustainable manufacturing

Purpose

Sustainable manufacturing practices are one of the significant

environmental initiatives taken by manufacturing industries to
preserve the environment and improve the quality of human
life while performing manufacturing activities. The
emergence of the value creation concept, economic value no
longer counts as a single factor for measuring manufacturing
performance. Within the sustainability context, the impact of
manufacturing activities on the environmental and social
aspects should be taken into account as the basis for assessing
manufacturing performance, which is called sustainability
performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the
relationship of sustainable manufacturing practices with
sustainability performance, which considers the
environmental, economic and social aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey is carried out among 443 ISO 14001

certified manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Structural
equation modelling is used to evaluate the relationship of
sustainable manufacturing practices with sustainability
performance.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that manufacturing process
is the manufacturing stage that gives the most impact on the
improvement of sustainability performance. Hence, it is
concluded that manufacturing companies in Malaysia are
highly focussed on the production bound when implementing
sustainable manufacturing practices.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study indicates a good estimation of the

proposed model, additional variables might be added to
improve the prediction strength of the proposed model such as
considering type of industries, economic scale or ownership.
Adding the comparison of sustainable manufacturing practices
between different countries also a valuable research to
investigated.
Practical implications

The framework proposed here can also assist manufacturing

industries to conduct sustainability assessments by providing
elements of sustainability performance and can serve as a
guideline to select appropriate sustainable manufacturing
practices and to what level the practices need to be improved
to leverage companies’ sustainability performance.

Originality/value

The framework proposed here can also assist manufacturing

industries to conduct sustainability assessments by providing
elements of sustainability performance and can serve as a
guideline to select appropriate sustainable manufacturing
practices and to what level the practices need to be improved
to leverage companies’ sustainability performance.

Elements of Sustainable Manufacturing

Assessing if a manufacturing system is sustainable may vary

depending on the business and product, but below are the
elements that are mainly used to evaluate this:
 Manufacturing cost – or the amount used to
manufacture the product;
 Power consumption – the amount of energy used to
produce;
 Waste management – how the waste is disposed, re-
used, or recycled;
 Operational safety – how it ensures the safety of
production process;
  Personnel health – how it ensures that workers in the
operations aren’t at risk;
 Environmental friendliness – how it ensures that the
product is not environmentally harmful

Challenges in Achieving Sustainable Manufacturing

Though companies have already started to recognize the

impact of sustainability initiatives on consumer behavior and
their role in solidifying the brand’s image and reputation,
there are still numerous barriers in practicing and achieving
them.
Lack of standardized metrics or performance benchmark

Some companies that do engage in sustainable manufacturing

have poor systems for monitoring and evaluating the
performance of their initiatives, which can lead to inefficiency
and inaccuracy in tracking their development.

Cost is too high/lack of funding for green project.

Businesses tend to be skeptical about sustainable

manufacturing because of the initial high cost that it entails
and the longer duration needed for profit.
Lack of sustainability concepts, locally-conducted
programs awareness, and innovation. Access to
sustainability-oriented research and programs is essential in
implementing sustainable manufacturing practices as more
information and support broadens the ideas and the
capabilities of companies to achieve them.
Lack of consumer awareness for green projects.
 An article from the College International pour la Recherche
en Productique (CIRP) has also identified this as one of the
barriers to fully benefit from the practice of sustainability.
According to industry professionals in the manufacturing
sector that are one of the respondents of this study, companies
should properly address this, considering that there’s already a
high demand for green products and green practices from the
market.
In conclusion, companies must develop a streamlined process
and framework for implementing sustainable manufacturing
practices, and develop models that would directly tackle these
challenges.
Best Practices

More and more enterprises are engaging in sustainable

manufacturing and they have various ways of measuring its
level of success and efficiency. Below are just some of the
best practices companies can follow when observing
sustainability:
 Reduce inputs in production – Find alternatives for

supplies that are either harmful to the environment or

require a huge amount of materials. Reevaluate processes
to identify if there are more opportunities for waste
reduction.
 Reevaluate the use of fossil fuels – According to a

report released by The Rhodium Group, US greenhouse

gas emissions rose again in 2021 and one of the major
contributors is energy and industrial production.
Decreasing energy consumption not only reduces carbon
emissions, but also cuts energy costs.
  Improve efficiency in facility – Modifications in
operations can also reduce excess waste and help in
identifying more efficient processes in production.
 Recycle – Recycling is the most basic but also the most
important green manufacturing process. An effective
recycling system can help companies reduce waste,
reduce cost, and have a positive environmental impact.
 Decrease pollution – Reduce the use of
environmentally-unfriendly materials and utilize
equipment that could help in reusing resources such as
water treatment plants.

Examples of Sustainable Manufacturing

Including sustainability in branding and in business goals is

slowly becoming an ideal strategy for organizations
worldwide, especially with consumer behavior evolving in
favor of ecologically-friendly practices.
Roma Food Products

Roma Food Products is a leading plant-based, gluten and

allergen free food manufacturer based in Australia. As part of
their sustainability initiative, the company uses a solar grid in
their manufacturing facility and is considering programs that
would help them recycle, reduce waste, use rainwater tanks,
and reevaluate the sourcing of raw materials.

JD Sports
The leading sports retailer JD Sports, practices sustainability
in different stages of manufacturing. Some of their ongoing
initiatives include: reducing plastic use, recycling waste
water, encouraging the usage of renewable energy sources,
and reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions using
technology.

Sustainability is also a big priority for Motor Fuel Group, the

largest independent forecourt operator in the UK. MFG aligns
their commitment to the calls of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals and identified the following
items to focus on: 1) upgrading infrastructure and retrofitting
industries, 2) strengthening the adaptive capacity to climate-
related hazards, 3) promoting an inclusive urbanization, and
many more—all in the effort to practice sustainability.

Sustainability Manufacturing Assessment

Although sustainability in manufacturing has long been
deemed important, there’s still very limited guidance available
for its implementation and assessment. Researchers proposed
a structured framework that manufacturers could follow in
evaluating sustainability in operations and use to assess their
organizational policies, people, products, processes, and
performance.
1. Literature review – Research on the topic and review
research works on sustainability and manufacturing.
2. Research gap analysis/methodology – Identify core
elements for the specific manufacturing organization and
recognize research gaps.
3. Proposed framework – Develop the framework levels
and identify the performance measures for each level.
4. Empirical testing – Develop the survey, conduct
employee interviews, and update suggestions based on
the result.
5. Validation and future research direction – Validate
the framework using Interpretive Structural
Modeling methodology and develop indicators for the
proposed framework. This can also include long-term
sustainability assessment for the specific industry.