Conference paper
Evaluating SMEs' relationships with 'lean' and 'green' thinking when aiming for sustainable business practice
Proceedings of the 18th European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production, pp.531-540
European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production Conference (ERSCP), 18th (Skiathos Island, Greece, 01-Oct-2017 - 05-Oct-2017)
GRAFIMA Publications
2017
Abstract
'Sustainable business practice' is an aspiration for an increasing proportion of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world, promising profitability, resilience and positive social and environmental impacts. Alongside this aspiration, 'lean thinking' has evolved as a popular business strategy for SMEs, addressing the pressing need for efficiency in production and waste reduction. In this paper, we propose that this co-evolution of ideas has resulted in missed opportunities in harnessing lean and green thinking towards achieving sustainable business practice in SMEs. We propose that a better understanding of how lean and green thinking can enable sustainable business practice will lead to more effective use of precious capital and ongoing expenditure. Focusing on 13 manufacturing SMEs in Queensland, Australia, we present several enablers for sustainable business practice, derived from a series of in-depth interviews with Chief Executive Officers and Senior Managers involved in sustainability and lean manufacturing decision-making. These comprise: integrated strategy, continuous improvement, stakeholder engagement and streamlining processes. We propose that this improved understanding of what enables sustainable business practice can be used to maximise benefits of lean and green efforts and expenditure on tools and processes. We intend that these findings will be immediately useful to SMEs seeking to leverage current and future 'lean' and 'green' practices to achieve sustainable business practice.
Details
- Title
- Evaluating SMEs' relationships with 'lean' and 'green' thinking when aiming for sustainable business practice
- Authors
- H T S Caldera (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyC Desha (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyL. Dawes (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
- Publication details
- Proceedings of the 18th European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production, pp.531-540
- Conference details
- European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production Conference (ERSCP), 18th (Skiathos Island, Greece, 01-Oct-2017 - 05-Oct-2017)
- Publisher
- GRAFIMA Publications
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991011098402621
- Output Type
- Conference paper
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