Lean and Green

One of the most enlightening moments in my personal journey was when I discovered the innovative approaches employed by top Lean companies in Japan to curb waste via efficient environmental management and energy conservation. We visited 8 companies, and each of them showed us something they had done in the environmental & energy areas. All but one of them were ISO 14000 certified and had been for years.

 A Sustainable Approach to Waste Management

During our visit, we witnessed the concept of “zero landfill” factories, where every material entering the premises was either recycled, reused, or purified (in the case of water), leaving nothing to be discarded as waste. We noticed that there were no trash cans present that weren’t segregated for plastic, glass, paper, and so on. Workers were encouraged to take their non-recyclable waste back home with them.

Efforts of Companies towards “Green Purchasing”

Two other companies shared with us their efforts toward “green purchasing“. The companies identified packaging materials as a significant source of landfill waste, particularly for materials sourced from Southeast Asian countries where the use of old newspapers, plastic wrap, and other non-recyclable materials was common. By educating their suppliers and transitioning to simpler, reusable packaging, they were able to reduce their environmental impact.

Measures Implemented by a Company to Promote Sustainability

One of the companies implemented several measures to promote sustainability. They installed solar panels on their roof to generate power, reduced air conditioning costs by applying reflective paint to the roof, and tinted film to the windows. Additionally, they were conscious of energy consumption by turning off lights in unoccupied areas of the office, hallways, and factory. During tours of their facility, the lights were turned on for display purposes and then turned off once the tour was over. Similarly, during break times, lights in unoccupied production areas were either turned off or dimmed to conserve energy.

Japanese manufacturers are facing significant challenges including intense competition from low-cost rivals in Asia, strict environmental regulations within their own country, soaring energy costs, and a moderately recovering but still fragile market.

The Role of Lean Thinking

It is widely recognized that there is much work to be done to eliminate the 7 types of waste from our various value streams, such as those found in healthcare, production, engineering, and service sectors. However, the Japanese are making impressive strides in waste elimination in the energy and environmental domains, spurred on by pressing needs and managing to achieve profitability in the process. As Lean thinkers and practitioners, it is our duty to take the lead in avoiding the waste of our valuable environmental and energy resources.

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