Recent academic research and surveys find the most compelling reasons for organisations adopting lean are the economic and environmental benefits of going green. Leading organisations go beyond the basics of cutting waste and operating efficiently by embedding environmental considerations into all aspects of their operations.
Environmental regulations such as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives have forced manufacturers to re-examine the entire life cycle and environmental impact of their products.
Such compliance efforts have already resulted in cleaner, safer operations, reduced use and acceptable substitutions for hazardous substances, increased product recyclability and recovery, and improved transparency of information available to suppliers, trading partners, employees and customers.
The good news is that existing lean programmes can be leveraged to develop sustainable green practices, particularly in the area of waste reduction. Green opportunities for identifying and reducing waste in the lean supply chain can be found in various places: material costs, consumption of energy and natural resources, equipment efficiency, and education of key stakeholders.
Manufacturers must be concerned with controlling pollution and environmental waste at its source in order to address the rising cost of energy and natural resources and the negative impact on climate change and global warming. In fact, manufacturers can still achieve cost savings in addition to environmental benefits by integrating lean and green initiatives.
At SYSPRO, we believe that every company has a social responsibility, not only to the regions in which it operates, but to the global community as well. In line with this belief, SYSPRO continues to develop software solutions that enable businesses to attain new levels of efficiency - which in turn facilitates green practices. The result: implementing environmentally friendly ERP capabilities can allow firms to cut costs while benefiting the planet.
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Since its inception in 1978, SYSPRO has been delivering state-of-the-art business solutions to some of the world's leading companies. As a global leader in the production of world-class ERP software, the company now caters to the specialised needs of 14 000 licensed companies in more than 60 countries worldwide. SYSPRO is marketed globally through regional territory distribution centres and a global reseller network in the US, Canada, Africa, Asia Pacific, Australia and the UK.
SYSPRO is a fully integrated business software solution that provides complete control over the planning and management of all facets of business, including accounting, manufacturing and distribution operations in a variety of industries. For more information, please visit http://www.syspro.com.
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