Sustainability And Innovation In Manufacturing Enterprises

This book informs and educates readers about sustainable development management, approaches and applications in manufacturing processes and presents the trends to the next economic and social paradigm: the Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0. Educational aspects, case studies from various companies, together with the analysis and synthesis of the literature and empirical experiences, define the content of the eleven chapters. Thus, this material could be considered as a starting point and foundation for researchers and practitioners interested in the present state and the evolution of the manufacturing systems. The book offers various points of view regarding the actual digital transformation of the manufacturing system.

This book explores sustainability within manufacturing enterprises and examines the concepts and principles of this field. It also reviews the quantitative and qualitative tools available for analytic assessment. It presents a new framework for sustainable manufacturing requirements and discusses the implementation of sustainable manufacturing in terms of practices, indicators, and sustainability level assessments. The book also details the important conditions necessary for the conversion of existing traditional plants to ones with more sustainable processes. Chapters explore topics including the assessment of economic sustainability, social sustainability, environmental sustainability, sustainable manufacturing practices, and sustainability optimization. Serving as a reference for engineers, managers, and practitioners involved in manufacturing, this book will also be a valuable resource to students and researchers of industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, systems engineering, and operations management.

This dissertation approaches the question of sustainability and its influence on company performance, with special focus on the manufacturing industry. In the contemporary production environment, manufacturing operations must take into account not only profit, but also environmental and social performance, in order to ensure the long-term development of the company. Companies have to decide whether they should allocate resources to environmental and social practices in order to improve their competitive advantage. Consequently, in decision-making processes concerning operations, it is important for companies to understand how to coordinate profit, people, and planet. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the current situation regarding manufacturers’ sustainable initiatives, and to explore the relationship between these sustainable practices and companies’ performance, including financial performance, operational performance, innovation performance, environmental performance, and social performance. First of all, a structured literature review was conducted to identify sustainable factors considered to be important in the decision making of manufacturing operations. The findings were synthesized into a conceptual model, which was then adopted as the basis for designing the survey instrument used in this dissertation. Drawing on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports, empirical research was performed to explore the relationship between environmental management practices and company performance. Interestingly, the findings showed that many environmental management practices had a strong positive impact on innovation performance. Sustainability disclosures and financial performance were further analyzed using extended data from the GRI reports. The results also showed that several sustainability performance indicators, such as product responsibility, human rights, and society, displayed a significant and positive correlation with return on equity in the sample companies. In order to further explore the research area and to verify these findings, a triangulation approach was adopted and new data were collected via a survey conducted among middle and large sample companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The results indicated that the sustainable improvement practices had a positive impact on company performance. Some environmental and social improvement practices had a direct and positive correlation with product and process innovation. Furthermore, findings suggested that better cooperation with suppliers on environmental work could help to strengthen the organizational green capabilities of the focal companies. When considering the company’s general approach to implementing sustainable practices, some interesting findings emerged. There were limited significant differences in sustainable practices when comparing different manufacturing sectors, and different countries and regions. However, the results showed that Swedish manufacturing companies often place higher priority on implementing economic and environmental sustainability practices than on social ones. This dissertation contributes to the literature on manufacturing sustainability. The study expands the understanding of how environmental, social, or economic perspectives as a triple bottom line can influence company performance and to a certain extent the supply chain. Identifying and understanding such relationships gives companies the opportunity to integrate sustainability into their manufacturing operations strategy in order to sustain their manufacturing operations over the long term.

Sustainable procurement is the pursuit of sustainable development objectives through the purchasing and supply process, while balancing environmental, social, and economic objectives. This book will help readers develop new contemporary knowledge about frameworks, innovative tools and techniques to achieve sustainability in public as well as private procurement practices. The book will enable scholars and practitioners working in the domain of sustainable procurement to improve the overall performance of the supply chain and further achieve UN SDGs, by making various decisions at the planning and strategic phase of the business. Features Discusses theoretical, decision making and related business management models Assists to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Provides qualitative/quantitative frameworks Covers quality innovations sustainability in sourcing Examines measurement drivers, indicators and metrics

This book highlights innovative solutions together with various techniques and methods that can help support the manufacturing sector to excel in economic, social, and environmental terms in networked business environments. The book also furthers understanding of sustainable manufacturing from the perspective of value creation in manufacturing networks, by capitalizing on the outcomes of the European ‘Sustainable Value Creation in Manufacturing Networks’ project. New dynamics and uncertainties in modern markets call for innovative solutions in the global manufacturing sector. While the manufacturing sector is traditionally driven by technology, it also requires other managerial and organizational solutions in terms of network governance, business models, sustainable solution development for products and services, performance management portals, etc., which can provide major competitive advantages for companies. At the same time, the manufacturing industry is subject to a change process, where business networks play a major role in value-creating processes. By far the biggest challenge in this context is making value creation a sustainable process where economic, social, and environmental demands are met. Managing product and service-related business operations in manufacturing networks thus brings different challenges that cannot purely be resolved using traditional methods, and techniques. This book is an outcome of a European project funded by the European Commission, and performed by a dedicated R&D consortium comprised of some leading Research institutions and Industrial partners.

This book provides a richly illustrated study of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it examines the ways in which governmental policies and practices modify the social conditions necessary to promote innovation in businesses and by so doing impact economic development. Exploring topics such as green innovation, green customer capital, smart cities, green entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility, this book presents some of the most current research and best practices in the field. In today’s global economy, strategies, policies and practices that address the negative effects of human activity on the environment need to be incorporated into the business framework in order for companies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Around the world, such changes have already resulted in a broad range of products, production methods and technical features that ensure environmental protection. At the same time, the mass media’s communication of a deteriorating earth have motivated a growing number of citizens in both developed and developing nations to modify their consumption habits towards more ecological products. Consequently, an increasing number of companies are reacting to these changes in business and legal frameworks and consumer preferences by investing in new forms of green innovation or “eco-innovation” designed to promote both environmental and corporate sustainability. For example, Hewlett-Packard eliminated lead from its welding process; Wal-Mart reduced the emissions of their suppliers; and Cisco, Dell and IBM are investing in smart grids. This volume showcases pioneering efforts among companies, citizens, and government agencies that are moving from theory to practice by placing sustainability at the core of their development strategies.

This volume includes papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-17) held in Bologna, Italy, in April 2017. The conference covered a wide range of topics from cutting-edge sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable processes and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of the societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied, and the book provides an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

Around the world, small manufacturing enterprises in market-based economies are facing daily challenges posed by emerging green imperatives and opportunities. These issues impact future decisions, allocation of resources, and encourage managers to refocus their strategies.This book investigates how smaller manufacturing enterprises commit to green marketing strategies, mapping all major parts of the design process throughout the entire value-creating channel. It draws together a comprehensive framework to understand, from the perspective of marketing management, what managerial considerations are important in committing to green initiatives.Presenting an active debate and policies on environmental sustainability for small and medium sizes manufacturing companies, it focuses on aspects of innovative marketing practices in response to the need for businesses to incorporate strategies that generate a smaller carbon footprint.Aimed at an international audience, Mapping Managerial Implications of Green Strategy is an invaluable resource for managers looking for green solutions, and doctoral and graduate students looking for research topics.