Towards Sustainability in Operations: A Methodological Approach to Production Management Integration

The imperative shift towards sustainable production is driven by both societal demands and increasingly stringent legislative measures, exemplified by the 2030 Paris climate targets. Manufacturing companies are compelled to develop and implement robust sustainability concepts to ensure economic success, enhance public image, and maintain competitiveness. This paper addresses the need for an approach to identify and integrate sustainability aspects into operational production management, an area currently lacking comprehensive methodologies. The research aims to fill this gap by proposing a four-part categorization scheme developed based on a qualitative research approach and international standards, focusing on sustainability’s ecological, economic, and social dimensions. Drawing from the triple bottom line perspective, the scheme encompasses sustainability aspects aligning with the Global Reporting Initiative standards. The proposed methodology provides manufacturing companies with a framework to simplify the complexity of sustainability aspects, facilitating their integration into operational production management. The developed methodology contributes to more sustainable production processes, enhancing long-term competitiveness. The methodology was prototypically applied to a company within the commercial vehicle sector to demonstrate practical applicability. Lastly, this research identifies areas for future exploration, offering proposals for research to advance sustainable production.