Lean Means Sustainability
By Claus Schafhalter | February 5, 2010
Murau, Austria
It happened in the early 1990ies in a small European country in a small valley surrounded by the Alps. The executive of the small brewery raised his glass of freshly malted beer for a toast: “ We’ve accomplished to save a bunch of money by helping to save our environment. We make more with less, use less water and less energy. We are simply more efficient.”
In the months leading to his toast a bunch of engineers and consultants went through his facility, analyzed and measured all processes, generated charts and simulated what-if scenarios. The scenarios were vetted by management and employees, the most promising were taken and implemented as fast as possible. And yes, this brewery became more efficient, produces more products to be sold, and reduces waste across the board.
Lean means Sustainability. When I — as a young consultant — participated in this project the terms “lean” and “green” were young and fresh. But we showed that what is good for the pocket book can be good for the environment. Becoming less wasteful means becoming more sustainable.
Welcome to a journey that hopes to promote that business can play a major role to save our planet. And that what is good for our planet can be good for business and its shareholders.
Topics: Sustainability Concepts, Sustainable Technology | No Comments »