Abstract

The present era of globalization, modernization and development is the resultant of extreme exploitation of natural and human resources in developed as well as developing countries. But the limitation of these resources leads the business or corporate world to explore the methods of handling and exploiting them to fulfill the current and future needs without any compromise. Therefore, being sustainable is becoming the most important factor for any developmental process. In this regard, manufacturing companies are also pushing themselves to achieve various dimensions of sustainability, such as social, economical, environmental and technical. Sustainability, in case of manufacturer, is measured by evaluation of products, processes or systems that effect its operations. It requires assessment of all the factors that affect the manufacturing facilities and then developing strategies to reduce their impact. Therefore, the manufacturing companies are always under pressure to develop strategies to allocate their resources efficiently for value creation, because of increasing prices and competition. As traditional approach related to quality and price can not be ignored, the manufacturers are intensely focused on areas like energy, water, emission, waste, production, awareness, etc., so as to increase value of product by increasing benefits and reducing costs. This paper reviews how few changes, in allocation of various resources and processes can result in value creation. It also includes the various sustainability initiatives adopted by Maruti Udyog Limited to manufacture its small car, named ‘A-Star’. It also analyzes the concept of green manufacturing as well as sustainable manufacturing used by the company.

Keywords: Sustainability, value creation, resource allocation, green manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing.

Introduction

Traditionally, the manufacturing system was assumed to be sound if it can provide opportunity for continuous improvement, hence results in increase in production and operational quality. In such a system, the production system was designed to improve process capability and operational performance. However, the proper attention was paid towards product nonconformities and process off-specifications [1]. Because this kind of system resulted in lesser wastes and emissions due to reduction of rejected parts [2]. The manufacturing companies were only emphasizing on good quality in lesser price and optimal use of resources. As it is rightly said for these kinds of manufacturing units by David C. Korten that Economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing [3].

Therefore, now days, manufacturing system is viewed from different perspective. Revolutionary production-systems thinking directed at the identification and elimination of all forms of non-value added activity, or waste, from an organization [10]. The manufacturing systems are designed for value creation. As said by Henry Ford, “If it doesn’t produce value, its waste” [2]. So, it directs an organization towards the waste elimination from all the sources. Because, manufacturing industries are additionally under the economic pressure to compensate increasing cost and create adding value [16]. So, it has become necessary to design products as well as processes for value creation.

Besides value creation, the manufacturing systems are viewed from the broader characteristic of sustainability these days. The idea of sustainability has come to represent the rising expectations not only from economic viewpoint but also from social and environmental performances of manufacturing system [8]. So, the manufacturing system is not only limited to value creation but to sustainable value creation. This means that the manufacturing companies are finding their way to sustainable development by using methodologies of increasing the efficiencies (economic, ecologic, social) into the production system by producing products with less energy, less material, and less pollution [4,16]. Some of objectives of a sustainable manufacturing system can be,