Lean and Green: 3Ms Meets 5Rs Creating Environmental Value for the Planet

This chapter proposes operationalizing the Circular Economy in companies through the Lean Thinking management model. For this purpose, the authors demonstrate the conceptual correspondences between the principles of Circular Economy and Lean Thinking based on a common principle of reducing waste and minimizing the use of resources. It also discusses the development of sustainable products whose lean LPPD technique can leverage with the questioning of each design stage from what is valuable for the customer and the planet. Finally, the theoretical discussion is exemplified through a clothing company that applies the concept of lean thinking in its product development and operations with promising results for a green transition.