Title: Development perspectives on improved environmental performance through lean philosophy

Authors: Anna Rymaszewska

Addresses: Department of Production, University of Vaasa, Vaasan yliopisto PL 700, 65101 Vaasa, Finland

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the connections between lean and sustainable operations, with the focus on the environmental aspect of sustainability. All those aspects are presented in the supply chain context, as well as the process of value creation and delivering it to the end customer. The research contributes to the important challenge of expanding the applicability of lean, as well as supporting the claim that lean philosophy is valid even in today's rapidly changing economy, where pressure for improved environmental performance is increasing. Research contributions comprise the development of knowledge in the field of lean by systematising the existing literature, outlining the areas of convergence, proposing a conceptual framework as well as suggesting future research directions. This study is conceptual in nature.

Keywords: environmental performance; sustainable operations; lean operations; green SCM; supply chain management; GSCM; conceptual framework; literature review; sustainable development; sustainability; value creation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSE.2016.077416

International Journal of Sustainable Economy, 2016 Vol.8 No.3, pp.208 - 223

Received: 10 Dec 2015
Accepted: 24 Feb 2016
Published online: 29 Jun 2016 *

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