Environmental Benefits of Lean Methods

Lean Method	Potential Environmental Benefits
Kaizen Rapid Improvement Events	continual improvement culture focused on eliminating waste uncovering and eliminating hidden wastes and waste-generating activities quick, sustained results without significant capital investment
5S (or 6S)	decreased lighting, energy needs when windows are cleaned and equipment is painted light colors spills and leaks noticed quickly decreased potential for accidents and spills with clearly-marked and obstacle-free thoroughfares reduced contamination of products results in fewer product defects (which reduces energy and resource needs; avoids waste) reduced floor space needed for operations and storage; potential decrease in energy needs less unneeded consumption of materials and chemicals when equipment, parts, and materials are organized, easy to find; less need for disposal of expired chemicals visual cues can raise awareness of waste handling/management procedures, workplace hazards, and emergency response procedures
Cellular Manufacturing	eliminates overproduction, thereby reducing waste and the use of energy and raw materials fewer defects from processing and product changeovers- reduces energy and resource needs; avoids waste defects are noticed earlier, preventing waste less use of materials and energy (per unit of production) with right-sized equipment less floor space needed; potential decrease in energy use and less need to construct new facilities easier to focus on equipment maintenance, pollution prevention
Just-in-Time / Kanban	eliminates overproduction, thereby reducing waste and the use of energy and raw materials less in-process and post-process inventory needed; avoids potential waste from damaged, spoiled, or deteriorated products frequent inventory turns can eliminate the need for degreasing metal parts 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 reduces energy use associated with transport and reorganization of unsold inventory
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)	fewer defects-reduces energy and resource needs; avoids waste increased longevity of equipment 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 waste
Six Sigma	fewer defects – reduces energy and resource needs; avoids waste can focus attention on reducing the conditions that result in accidents, spills, and malfunctions, thereby reducing solid and hazardous wastes improving product durability and reliability can increase product lifespan, reducing environmental impact of meeting customer needs
Pre-Production Planning (3P)	eliminates waste at product and process design stage, similar to "Design for Environment" methods nature (inherently waste free) is used as a design model right-sized equipment lowers material and energy requirements for production reducing the complexity of the production process ("design for manufacturability") can eliminate or streamline process steps; environmentally sensitive processes can be targeted for elimination, since they are often time-, resource-, and capital-intensive less complex product designs can use fewer parts and fewer types of materials, increasing the ease of disassembly and recycling