The Robertson Building

NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY: LEAN AND CLEAN
The Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120) kicked off the new year in style by hosting a unique collaboration between Environment Canada, Industry Canada, and the National Research Council.

The event was organized around information on how to make manufacturing a more clean and sustainable process. Industry trade
booths outside the Centre provided reports and information for participants making it feel like a big-league conference and trade show!

Thirty five participants including representatives from equipment manufacturers, members of their supply chain, pollution prevention practitioners, consultants, and various levels of government were involved. The workshop explored the linkages and co-benefits of integrating lean (meaning more efficient and less resource intensive) manufacturing processes with environmental considerations -- a relatively new concept in North America.

As companies adapt to increasing global competition, lean manufacturing methods are emerging as a core competitive business strategy. Lean thinking, with its emphasis on continuous improvement to eliminate waste and enhance productivity, is revealing a strong business case for integrating "clean" objectives to achieve better business and environmental results.

Manufacturing industries are adopting a lean and clean attitude that is
believed to hold enormous potential for realizing economic and environmental rewards.

An interactive workshop provided specific strategies and practical tools to help participants better identify how they might reap these rewards. The workshop was facilitated by Judy Wlodarczy, from the Connecticut Manufacturing Extension Partnership (CONNSTEP), and Kurt Middelkoop from the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC). Both facilitators have expertise in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Suppliers Network.

For more information try: www.greensuppliers.gov