Title: Sustainability strategies of manufacturing companies on corporate, business and operational level

Authors: Daniella Van der Spiegel; Barbara S. Linke; Jens Stauder; Steffen Buchholz

Addresses: Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA ' Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA ' Division of Technology Planning, Chair of Manufacturing Technology, Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL), RWTH Aachen University, Steinbachstr. 54A, 52074 Aachen, Germany ' Division of Technology Planning, Chair of Manufacturing Technology, Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL), RWTH Aachen University, Steinbachstr. 54A, 52074 Aachen, Germany

Abstract: Throughout society sustainability has gained great awareness and consumers expect producing companies to act sustainably. Research has shown that companies are starting to develop and communicate their sustainability agenda, but leaving the customer wondering if and how sustainability is really executed down the line. Therefore, this paper investigates sustainability strategies in manufacturing and their communication by first defining a research methodology and then applying it to a case study. Sustainability goals and strategies are studied on corporate, business and operational level. They are rated on their conveyance and correlation. These results are visualised in a matrix. A case study with the web-based information of 100 companies revealed that energy, waste and diversity are the most named sustainability goals. Support of charity programs, smarter programming, reuse of waste heat, efficient lighting systems and childcare/work time models were the most cited sustainability strategies.

Keywords: sustainability strategy; marketing; awareness; green manufacturing; research methodology; sustainable manufacturing; energy; waste; diversity; charity support; smarter programming; waste heat reuse; efficient lighting; childcare; work time; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEAM.2015.072125

International Journal of Strategic Engineering Asset Management, 2015 Vol.2 No.3, pp.270 - 286

Published online: 01 Oct 2015 *

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