While sustainable business proves to be quite expensive, many advocates are still at it. Now, there is a growing interest in applying lean principles to green business.
Foremost reason of which, perhaps, is that lean would speed up any green initiative, which would mean less cost but with significant results in terms of efficient processes.
An article on ReliablePlant discusses how lean manufacturing principles can help deliver green results. The article also cites a few examples of organizations that uses Six Sigma and other continuous quality improvements to be sustainable:
- From 2005 – 2007, General Electric reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 250,000 metric tons and saved $70 million in energy costs.
- A Baxter International facility combined Six Sigma and energy-efficiency efforts to save $300,000 in energy costs in one year.
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America has reduced average facility energy consumption per vehicle by 30 percent since 2000.
