Promoting sustainability of manufacturing industry through the lean energy-saving and emission-reduction strategy

Wei Cai; Kee-Hung Lai; Conghu Liu; Fangfang Wei; Minda Ma; Shun Jia; Zhigang Jiang; Li Lv

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.069

Promoting sustainability of manufacturing industry through the lean energy-saving and emission-reduction strategy

Sci Total Environ. 2019 May 15:665:23-32. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.069. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Authors

Wei Cai¹, Kee-Hung Lai², Conghu Liu³, Fangfang Wei⁴, Minda Ma⁵, Shun Jia⁶, Zhigang Jiang⁷, Li Lv⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission and Manufacturing Engineering, Wuhan University of Science & Technology, Wuhan 430081, China. Electronic address: weicai@swu.edu.cn.
² Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hum, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
³ School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Suzhou University, Suzhou 23400, China; Sino-US Global logistics Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China. Electronic address: liuconghu@sjtu.edu.cn.
⁴ Sino-US Global logistics Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
⁵ School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China.
⁶ Department of Industrial Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
⁷ Hubei Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission and Manufacturing Engineering, Wuhan University of Science & Technology, Wuhan 430081, China.
⁸ Zcrubber Group Co. Ltd, Hangzhou 310018, China.

PMID: 30772553
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.069

Abstract

The energy-saving and emission reduction (ESER) strategy is a crucial measure for promoting the sustainability of manufacturing industry in green transition. Analyzing current practices and limitations of the ESER in the manufacturing industry, this paper proposes a new concept entitled lean energy-saving and emission-reduction (LESER) and an approach to effectively improve the energy efficiency and reduce waste emissions. This paper illustrates the definition of the LESER and establishes an implementation framework for LESER to improve the manufacturing process. To quantify and evaluate performance of LESER, the state space model of the carbon footprint for energy consumption and waste discharge is established. A method for implementing the LESER strategy is constructed in the following steps: (i) clarification of the current situation; (ii) analysis of the root cause; (iii) improvement; (iv) evaluation of the carbon emissions; (v) sustaining and standardizing. Finally, the LESER strategy is applied to the Zcrubber Group Co. Ltd., which is characterized with high pollution, high energy consumption, and high emission in green transition. Results demonstrate practicability of the proposed strategy to offer an effective measure for promoting sustainability of manufacturing industry.

Keywords: Carbon emission; Emission reduction; Energy saving; Lean production; Manufacturing industry; Sustainability.