Sustainable Operations and Closed-Loop Supply Chains

Gilvan C. Souza

Mei 2012 · Business Expert Press

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This book was written for any company or organization that needs detailed guidance on the journey towards sustainability, starting from zero. And if your firm wants to be sustainable, you know you have to consider the triple bottom line when making decisions: economic (profit), environmental (planet), and social (people). By focusing on the triple bottom line (3Ps), your firm can be assured of a steady supply of inputs such as raw materials and labor. Author Souza carefully explains the first step towards sustainability, which is aimed at reducing waste in operations, with the help of such tools as lean and Six Sigma. He will also help guide your firm through a “life cycle assessment” (LCA) for each of the main products and processes. LCA is a methodology designed to assess the environmental impact (such as energy consumption, and toxicity) of a product or process through its life cycle: raw material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, packaging and distribution, use by consumers, and end-of-life. The final step in the journey towards sustainability is to close the loop. To close the loop, you’ll learn about designing efficient packaging, designing products for multiple life cycles (as in design for remanufacturing), or designing products according to a Cradle to Cradle® philosophy, which ensures no use of toxic materials, ease of disassembly, and 100% up-cyclability. The book concludes with the “final P” of sustainability—people, with some examples of firms that invest heavily in the social bottom line.

Tentang pengarang

Gilvan "Gil" Souza is professor of operations management and Rifkin faculty fellow at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. Prior to Kelley, he was on the faculty at the University of Maryland. He received a PhD from the University of North Carolina, an MBA from Clemson University, and a BS in aeronautical engineering from ITA (Brazil). He worked at Volkswagen of Brazil in product development and product planning. His research focuses in closed-loop supply chains and sustainable operations. He has over 30 refereed publications in premier refereed academic journals. He is the former president of the Sustainable Operations Special Interest Group of the Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Society of INFORMS and the former president of the College of Sustainable Operations of the Production and Operations Management Society. At Kelley, he teaches an elective in sustainable operations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.