Lean environmental management integration system for sustainability of ISO 14001:2004 standard implementation

Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management JIEM, 2014 – 7(5): 1124-1144 – Online ISSN: 2013-0953 – Print ISSN: 2013-8423 http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.907 Lean Environmental Management Integration System for Sustainability of ISO 14001:2004 standard implementation Perumal Puvanasvaran, Robert Kerk Swee Tian, Suresh A/L Vasu Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (Malaysia) , , Received: July 2013 Accepted: July 2014 Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present a model for integrating Lean Principles with ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. Design/methodology: To achieve the objective of the study, the methodology used in this study is based on preliminary literature review of ISO 14001 standards and Lean Principles as well as certain case reports from various proponents and authors of ISO 14001 and Lean as noted in various articles and journals and some books. Findings: The findings of this study are a new model called Lean Environmental Management Integration System (LEMIS) has been developed and leads to the creation of these measurement standards for evaluating the organization, making its environmental efforts more realistic, focused and attainable. Research limitations/implications: Future research should be conducted case studies in this direction are required to be conducted for examining the feasibility of amalgamation and implementing ISO 14001:2004 standards with the philosophy of Lean Principles to enable the achievement of world class standards. Practical implications: This model helps to eliminate any wasteful processes in the organization’s implementation of the ISO 14001 standard thus leading to higher environmental performance. Integrating the standard with Lean principles through LEMIS model helps to -1124- Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management – http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.907 specify these performance measures making the standard achieve sustainability and continual improvement. Originality/value: This study presents a unique approach of integrating the two main models, namely Lean Principles and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, as a single framework benefiting contemporary organizations. Keywords: Lean Principles, EMS, ISO 14001, Integration, Continual improvement, Sustainability 1. Introduction ISO 14001 spells out the criteria for developing an environmental management system (EMS). It is crucial as it states how the EMS should be managed and how an organization should be structured to become more environmentally sensitive. ISO 14001 is a voluntary standard; therefore, organizations are not required by law to implement the standard. The standard has no specific measures of performance, but it deals mainly with the managerial process instead of specifying environmental outcomes and consequences. This is one of the main criticisms towards the standard. Various research studies have cast doubt on the benefits and sustainability of ISO 14001 certification. Some of the studies accuse the standard of not focusing on the environmental performance of an organization or company (Krut & Gleckman, 2002). Rondinelli and Vastag (2000) claim that the standard assumes that firms which have been certified have a management system in place for measuring their environmental results and effects. The main factor making the standard unsustainable is the fact that it does not specify environmental performance measures for organizations. Environmental measurement systems are developing more rapidly than ever, but most current measurement systems still fail to provide important information . For example, most of the existing environmental data sources were originally designed to monitor regulatory compliance, not measure environmental performance. Measuring environmental performance allows management to identify program successes and failures, and assess the level of environmental goals being met. Efficiency is a crucial dimension in manufacturing. Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating waste from organizational processes with a view to deliver more value to a customer. Thus, integrating Lean with the ISO 14001 standard will make the standard more sustainable because it will be customer-oriented, which is consistent with the objectives of many organizations (Simpson & Power, 2005; Shah & Ward, 2007). The research done by Puvanasvaran, Kerk, Suresh and Muhamad (2012) lean principles have positive and highly significant relationship with ISO 14001 requirements. The integration of lean principles in ISO -1125- Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management – http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.907 14001 will serve practical methods for ISO14001 EMS to achieve the continual improvement (Puvanasvaran et al., 2012). Implementing Lean principles requires an organization to identify all the processes that are involved in the conversion of raw materials into a finished product for the customers. This process is known as mapping the value stream. Integrating Lean with ISO 14001 standard ensures that the environmental impact of all processes leading to the delivery of products to customers are identified and dealt with effectively (Sroufe, 2003; Montabon, Sroufe & Narasimhan, 2007). This will lead to higher environmental performance of organizations. Puvanasvaran, Kerk and Muhamad (2011) effectiveness of integrating Lean and EMS can be realized by adopting processes and procedures designed to eliminate waste and create an economically sustainable work environment. 2. Literature review This section will focus on an introduction to ISO 14001 and Lean system and subsequently provides an in-depth literature review of ISO 14001 and Lean system related papers published in journals, book and reports. The hallmark of the ISO 14001 standard that differentiates it from other environmental standards is the integration of managerial decision-making with environmental protection efforts (Raines, 2002). This is a more effective approach that divorces environmental protection efforts from other management activities. Despite its merits, several criticisms have been leveled against the ISO 14001 standard. To start with, it has been argued that the standard does not focus on environmental outcomes but instead it describes managerial processes that lead to such outcomes (Sharma, 2003). This nature of the standard makes it difficult to evaluate organizations’ environmental performance based on a standard benchmark (Corbett & Kirsch, 2001). Secondly, compliance with the standard is voluntary which means some organizations may not comply with it. This aspect reduces the effectiveness of the standard in reducing emissions to the environment (Smith, 2001). Some studies have also questioned the cost-benefit value of the standard claiming that the costs of implementing it exceed the benefits for some firms. Today application of lean principles is not confined to manufacturing operations only but has extended to all forms of businesses inc (...truncated)