1. editor’s desk
Sweet green suppliers
In this millennium, green (or sustainable) manufacturing has become an almost-
overused catchphrase.
Everybody’s using it — environmental activists and CEOs, marketers and consum-
ers, post-doctoral researchers and trendy magazines, cool kids and squares. But its
meaning is as diverse as downtown Atlanta or the Old City of Jerusalem.
To some, green means a diet of homemade granola squares with all ingredients
sourced from the backyard, or at least the nearest farmers’ market. Most people don’t
want to go that far. Others see it as a way to make the same products more appealing
to a more discerning public. But seriously, how much effect did British Petroleum’s
“Beyond Petroleum” ad campaign, launched in 2000, have on the public after last
year’s massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
In the past (and for some, in the present), many businesses have viewed sustain-
able practices as a way to add unnecessary costs that would render their enterprises
noncompetitive. After all, spending millions on sustainable initiatives that yield red
ink is a good way to make your organization unsustainable.
However, as technology and the understanding of processes grow, industrial
engineers often have reached the sustainable sweet spot — where the green color
of money intersects with the savings possible from green manufacturing, all with a
To reach me, e-mail
mhughes@iienet.org
side dish of cleaner air from fewer toxic emissions.
or call (770) 349-1110. In this month’s cover story, Ayse Bayat and three co-authors detail one compa-
ny’s initiative to use sustainable manufacturing to drive a leaner supply chain. The
business was one of thousands scrambling for change after retailing behemoth
Wal-Mart demanded that its suppliers improve their sustainability. Starting on
Page 26, “Sustainably Driven Supply Chains” explains the data collection, analysis
and opportunities the team uncovered.
The improvement initiative discovered a number of lessons that others can use to
“green” their supply chains. And its results gave the company involved opportuni-
ties to save $1.2 million each year and cut the pilot facility’s carbon footprint by more
than 3,500 metric tons annually.
So take a look at the results, and clean costs and carbon out of your supply chain.
Because remember, a sustainable business is one profitable enough to keep its doors
open for workers, customers and the environment alike.
Michael Hughes
Managing Editor
6 Industrial Engineer
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