T9.

Sustainability in production

Ethical production: sustainability

Managers must develop and produce safe, high-quality green products, and must
do it while meeting the demands of a very competitive and dynamic world
marketplace.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a management concept whereby
companies integrate social and environmental concerns into their business
operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood
as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic,
environmental and social imperatives (Triple Bottom Line).
Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of the future generations to meet their needs.
3 concepts for sustainability decisions:
- Systems view: looking at a product’s life from design to disposal.
- Commons: how to manage common resources such as water, air, airspace,
sunshine…?
- Triple Bottom line: people + planet + profit.

Green Production
The operations manager’s greatest opportunity to make substantial contributions
to the company’s environmental objectives occurs during the life cycle
assessment.
Life cycle assessment evaluates the environmental impact of a product, from
raw material and energy inputs to the disposal of the product at its end of life.
The goal is to make decisions that help reduce the environmental impact of a
product throughout its entire life.

The circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy of “make-

use-dispose”. In the circular economy, we keep and use resources for as long as
possible and recover and regenerate to the maximum possible value at the end of
service life.

Managers can implement a circular economy by looking at:

• Product design: materials, quality, cost, processes, packaging, design for
disassembly…
• Production processes: energy, water, environmental contamination…
• Logistics: efficient route and delivery networks…
• End of life: designing closed-loop supply chains, also called reverse
logistics.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

It is a collection of 17 interrelated goals adopted by all UN member states. They
provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet by
2030. The SDGs are an urgent call to action by all countries - developed and
developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other
deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and
education, reduce inequality, spur economic growth, and tackle climate change
and environmental degradation.

The 17 SDGs are:

1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals