Lean and green

All articles about Lean and green

Lean thinking, green thinking
February 29, 2024
Lean thinking, green thinking

FEATURE – When it comes to the fight against climate change, we can’t expect to achieve much until we fundamentally challenge the way we think about resource consumption. Lean is our tool to do that.

Continue reading
Learning about environmental concerns and strategy at Toyota
July 12, 2017
Learning about environmental concerns and strategy at Toyota

INTERVIEW – It might seem a paradox that the world’s largest automaker is setting the pace for corporate social responsibility. Then again, Toyota never really followed the status quo. Kelly Singer interviews Toyota's Steve Hope.

Continue reading
Pathways to reduce emissions
November 11, 2021
Pathways to reduce emissions

FEATURE - Imagine targeting a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by setting our lean minds to it? The authors discuss building better, circular supply chains and designing sustainable products.

Continue reading
Eight practices to put more green into lean
May 25, 2020
Eight practices to put more green into lean

FEATURE – The planet is warming at an unsustainable rate, pollution is increasing, wildlife populations and arable land areas have plummeted, and our oceans are filling with plastic. Can Lean Thinking help?

Continue reading
Lean project boosts sustainable development in Myanmar
September 1, 2016
Lean project boosts sustainable development in Myanmar

FEATURE – A group of Italian researchers and professionals partnered with a NGO to prove how lean thinking can pave the way for the competitiveness and sustainable development of SMEs in Myanmar. Is this a new model for the developing world?

Continue reading
A lean view on... the fight against climate change
October 15, 2020
A lean view on... the fight against climate change

INTERVIEW – What is the contribution of Lean Thinking to the battle against climate change? Michael Ballé discusses the Toyota approach to sustainability and what it takes to push "green" to the top of the business agenda.

Continue reading
Lean and green in a Scottish university
July 16, 2020
Lean and green in a Scottish university

FEATURE – Why do lean and green go hand in hand? In the experience of this university in Edinburgh, they are both about respecting people and thinking holistically.

Continue reading
Supporting Sri Lankan society by transforming our company
January 19, 2018
Supporting Sri Lankan society by transforming our company

INTERVIEW – Prior to his talk at this year’s Lean Transformation Summit, the CEO of a large apparel manufacturer tells us about the company’s lean journey, and its impact on Sri Lankan society.

Continue reading
Learn to see the green waste hidden in digital technology
September 6, 2017
Learn to see the green waste hidden in digital technology
green waste lean thinking digital tech

FEATURE – Not many people know that digital technology and the IT industry are rife with environmental waste. Discovering it and eliminating early can have beneficial effects on both the business world and the planet.

Continue reading
Jim Womack drives the Toyota Mirai and talks lean and green
June 28, 2017
Jim Womack drives the Toyota Mirai and talks lean and green

WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – After a road trip from Boston to Philadelphia driving Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell Mirai, Jim reflects on lean and green and why the two are not necessarily the same.

Continue reading
How Tokheim uses 5s to boost its environmental performance
June 7, 2017
How Tokheim uses 5s to boost its environmental performance

FEATURE – The many benefits of 5S are well known, but few people realize the positive impact the technique can have on our environmental performance, says our lean and green correspondent after visiting Tokheim Italia.

Continue reading
Lean management to make the Paris Agreement on climate work
January 26, 2016
Lean management to make the Paris Agreement on climate work

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Last month nations signed a greenhouse gas emissions deal – on paper, an insurance policy against climate change. But if action is to follow promises, the cost of the insurance premium, as perceived by voters and governments, must be lowered. Lean thinking can help.

Continue reading
Why the mining industry desperately needs lean thinking
May 7, 2018
Why the mining industry desperately needs lean thinking

FEATURE – Lean thinking is still largely absent from the mining industry. The author explains the great opportunities that lie ahead for an industry with a huge potential to improve.

Continue reading
Meet the club experimenting with IT and sustainability
March 22, 2018
Meet the club experimenting with IT and sustainability

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – This month, the author meets a group of business leaders consistently breaking new ground in their exploration of the relationship between IT and sustainability by using a kaizen-like approach.

Continue reading
Lean and sustainable fashion meet at Eileen Fisher
July 6, 2017
Lean and sustainable fashion meet at Eileen Fisher

FEATURE – Designing beautiful work helps design beautiful clothes. Here’s the story of how women’s clothing brand Eileen Fisher found in lean a way to support its environmental sustainability strategy.

Continue reading
Lean makes our economy more responsible – the SunPower story
May 17, 2016
Lean makes our economy more responsible – the SunPower story

FEATURE – The experience of solar company SunPower shows how, by marrying the concept of circular economy, lean principles can help us to transform our habits and save our planet.

Continue reading
Learning function integration while assembling wind turbines
October 6, 2015
Learning function integration while assembling wind turbines

FEATURE – Over the course of his career in the wind energy industry, the author has learned the power of horizontal integration in the improvement of organizations. In this piece, he shares his experience as a lean practitioner and leader at Ecotècnia.

Continue reading