Towards eco-efficient lean production systems

Lean Production has proved itself a worthwhile production strategy in many distinct industries across all regions of the planet by achieving higher levels of production efficiency. Several authors identified that Lean inadvertently has had significant environmental gains. Such achievements are considered of special relevance in a global and highly competitive economy which is progressively both tied-up and driven by an environmental agenda. The main goal of the present study is to enlighten the contribution of Lean for achieving a better environmental performance of production systems and identify this as an emergent business model for supporting eco-efficiency

A framework for the integration of green and lean six sigma for superior sustainability performance

Evidence suggests that Lean, Six Sigma and Green approaches make a positive contribution to the economic, social and environmental (i.e. sustainability) performance of organizations. However, evidence also suggests that organizations have found their integration and implementation challenging. The purpose of this research is therefore to present a framework that methodically guides companies through a five stages and sixteen steps process to effectively integrate and implement the Green, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improve their sustainability performance. To achieve this, a critical review of the existing literature in the subject area was conducted to build a research gap, and subsequently develop the methodological framework proposed. The paper presents the results from the application of the proposed framework in four organizations with different sizes and operating in a diverse range of industries. The results showed that the integration of Lean Six Sigma and Green helped the organizations to averagely reduce their resources consumption from 20% to 40% and minimize the cost of energy and mass streams by 7-12%. The application of the framework should be gradual, the companies should assess their weaknesses and strengths, set priorities, and identify goals for successful implementation. This paper is one of the very first researches that presents a framework to integrate Green and Lean Six Sigma at a factory level, and hence offers the potential to be expanded to multiple factories or even supply chains

Assessing corporate social responsibility concepts used by a Brazilian manufacturer of airplanes: A case study at Embraer

There are many definitions for the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but it can broadly be understood as a commitment that an organization must have towards society, expressed through actions and attitudes that affect it positively. In Latin America, in particular, this field is still at an initial stage, and few companies have actually developed and integrated CSR practices as part of their management system. This paper aims to present a set of CSR initiatives and projects developed by a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, considered an example of best practice in sustainable management practices. The paper also verifies if these activities are integrated into the company's management model in a mature way, as proposed by the literature. The research method used here was a case study with semi-structured interviews with a set of employees responsible for CSR at the company. The results gathered allow the projects developed at the company to be clustered around six main areas: excellence in education, social partnership programmes, entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, volunteering and preservation of the history of the Brazilian aeronautics industry. All these projects are exemplary managed and critically analyzed in relation to aggregation of value they provide to society, thus ensuring suitable results. As a conclusion of the survey, it was observed that Embraer has integrated the CSR practices with other existing management systems in a harmonious and mature form. The scientific value of this research lies in the presentation of CSR practices developed by one of the most important companies in Brazil, with a management system directed to excellence. Other companies and researchers can use these practices as a benchmark, or as examples of good CSR practice leading to tangible results