Marketing message experts, driven by global warming fever, are more often linking green with lean. The Association for Operations Management’s annual conference brochure (no link but check out www.apics.org) indicates that “green is the new lean”. It can be if you use lean approaches, concepts and culture change.
Value stream mapping, a lean analysis approach, is used to link wasteful production practices to reduced energy use. Consulting firms and companies have put together excellent lean programs focused on reducing waste which includes energy. But to say that all of “green” is the new lean is to attempt to piggyback an ill-defined …read more

My fascination with how global warming and green messages are being used and abused by companies continues with a brochure advertising The Association for Operations Management’s annual conference (go to www.apics.org for more info). In it they promote a “learning path” called “sustainability/green” (my emphasis provided):
“Green is the new lean. Attend this Learning Path to discover how you can apply green concepts to your daily work. Examine the financial implications of sustainable purchasing. Evaluate models and methodologies for greenhouse gas emissions and “greening” your supply chain. Discuss how to develop a successful and sustainable plan for your company.”
The first time …read more

For those of you who believe that your carbon emissions won’t be tracked, just look at what Manufacturing Business Technology is reporting:
David Simchi-Levi, cofounder of LogicTools and now an ILOG consultant, says companies in the European Union, which has agreed to abide by the Kyoto Protocol for reducing greenhouse gases, already have a financial incentive for deploying tools like the Carbon Footprint Extension.
“Companies that can show their carbon emissions are below the limits [set by the Kyoto Protocol] can sell emission credits on the open market to companies above the limits,” Simchi-Levi says. “The market for those credits was 40 …read more