Sustainable Operations Management; from concept to action

Paper in proceeding, 2014

The concept of sustainable development has emerged into manufacturing since late 1990s and has focused on increasing competitiveness by improving environmental and social performance. Considering the global competitive environment, legislations, and customers’ awareness of sustainability issues, companies are expected to be aware of their impact on the triple bottom line i.e. people, planet, and profit. The purpose of this paper is to explore how companies go from vision of sustainability to accomplish sustainable operations management. Multiple case studies are conducted to provide findings on how sustainable operations management can be expressed in terms of the principles, practices, and tools.