Fact: Many green initiatives don’t save money, Lean could be the solution

No business wants to be the stereotypical successful corporation – the one that dumps oil into rivers or clears rainforests to make room for new factories. At the same time, however, Deloitte brings up a key point: Regardless of how well-intentioned a company is, the fact of the matter is that many green initiatives don't save money. In fact, some are actually more expensive that less eco-conscious practices.

This conflict of interest between the social benefits of going green and maintaining profitability is something every business and executive board is aware of. So what can companies do to reduce their environmental footprints while also saving money? Lean Six Sigma is one potential approach, Deloitte suggests. Lean entails the elimination of waste, both in terms of pollution and extraneous business processes.

“Beyond the obvious link between Lean Six Sigma and sustainability, there are other deeper connections,” Deloitte adds. “For example, companies with a Lean Six Sigma infrastructure often have well-established governance processes to help surface, prioritize and charter the right projects. By broadening the mandate of Lean Six Sigma programs, companies can meet one of the most daunting challenges of making a company more sustainable: priority-setting in a business-driven context.”

Going green through Lean

Businesses looking to leverage Lean to bolster sustainability issues need to come at the challenge in a rational fashion. First, they must decide which sustainability projects will help them best meet their ultimate goals. Lean Six Sigma provides companies with the tools that will help them analyze initiatives in terms of how they can improve and what it costs to achieve those goals.

Companies must also challenge themselves to identify any tradeoffs when moving forward with a Lean program. How do businesses evaluate an initiative that benefits the environment but costs a little bit more versus one that costs less but doesn't help the environment? These are the questions that companies looking to go Lean and green must ask themselves.

“Lean and green are natural allies,” Deloitte added. “Incorporating sustainability tools and concepts into existing Lean Six Sigma Yellow, Green and Black Belt programs can arm employees with the awareness and tools necessary to identify and tackle sustainability issues.”