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184 • Green Project Management

taBle 10.3 (Continued )
Environmental Benefits of Lean
Lean Method Potential environmental Benefits
Less floor space needed; potential decrease in energy use
and less need to construct new facilities
Can facilitate worker-led process improvements
Less excess inventory, which reduces energy use associated
with transport and reorganization of unsold inventory
Total production Fewer defects, which reduces energy and resources needed
maintenance (TPM) and avoids waste
Increased longevity of equipment, which decreases need for
replacement equipment and associated environmental
impacts (energy, raw materials, etc.)
Decreased number and severity of spills, leaks, and upset
conditions; less solid and hazardous wastes
Six Sigma Fewer defects, which reduces energy and resources needed
and avoids wastes
Focusing attention on reducing the conditions that result in
accidents, spills, and malfunctions, thereby reducing solid
and hazardous wastes
Improving product durability and reliability, which can
increase product life span, reducing environmental impact
of meeting customer needs
Preproduction planning Eliminating waste at product and process design stage,
(3P) similar to “design for environment” methods
Using nature (inherently waste free) as a design model
Right-sized equipment, which lowers material and energy
requirements for production
Reducing the complexity of the production process (“design
for manufacturability”), which can eliminate or streamline
process steps; targeting environmentally sensitive
processes elimination, since they are often time, resource,
and capital intense
Less-complex product designs, which can use fewer parts
and fewer types of material, increasing the ease of
disassembly and recycling
Lean enterprise supplier Magnification of environmental benefits of Lean
networks production (reduced waste through fewer defects, less
scrap, less energy usage, etc.) across the network
Environmental benefits are more broadly realized by
introducing Lean to existing suppliers rather than finding
new, already Lean suppliers
Note: Courtesy of the U.S. EPA.