Interrelation of Lean and Green Management in Croatian Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

The goal of this article is to explore the link between lean and green management, reasons for their implementation, their effect throughout the whole life cycle, as well as the current state of use of lean tools, economic and environmental indicators in the context of Croatian manufacturing companies. A semi-structured interview was used in this research. As a result, the frequency of economic and environmental performance indicators and lean tools in Croatian companies has been defined, as well as the reasons for the implementation of lean management. Additionally, the understanding of the use of Life Cycle Assessment methods, environmental standards has been obtained and the integration of lean and green management in Croatian companies has been explored. Further on, results were compared to the similar study done in the UK. Finally, it can be concluded that the integration of lean and green management is not yet sufficiently present in manufacturing companies, although there are cases in which these two approaches are integrated, primarily in the process and food industry. It is for these reasons that in the integration of these two approaches lies great potential.

Keywords

• lean management
• green management
• product life cycle
• manufacturing management
• environmental management
• ISO 14001