Abstract

There is a growing desire to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing operations through implementing new practices. There is a reasonable literature on environmental practices and the benefits they can bring. However, the literature is weak in two respects: firstly, it is heavily reliant on practices of leading firms; secondly, there is little focus on understanding the conditions that foster the adoption of such practices. This paper addresses these shortfalls by presenting evidence of how any firm can start to improve their resource efficiency using new practices. Studying organizations with similar market conditions and production systems allows us to look at a breadth of firms in a single supply chain tier, with a range of environmental maturity. A grounded approach employing interviews, workshops and observation uncovers the conditions that help and hinder adoption of new ways of working. Specifically, the motivations for cost reduction through resource efficiency, aided by communities of practice but hindered by organisational barriers. Combining this with learning from theory, this paper advances environmental practice in manufacturing through learning from the experiences of UK brewers. The work contributes to knowledge by framing how companies of all shapes and sizes within a sector (not just the leading companies) can advance by adopting practices and avoiding barriers.

摘要

人们越来越希望通过实施新的实践来减少制造业务对环境的影响。关于环境实践及其可以带来的好处有合理的文献。然而，文献在两个方面薄弱：首先，它严重依赖领先公司的实践；其次，很少注重了解促成采用这种做法的条件。本文通过提供任何公司如何开始使用新实践来提高其资源效率的证据来解决这些不足。研究具有相似市场条件和生产系统的组织，使我们能够观察单个供应链层级中具有一系列环境成熟度的公司的广度。采用采访的扎根方法，研讨会和观察揭示了有助于和阻碍采用新工作方式的条件。具体来说，通过资源效率降低成本的动机，在实践社区的帮助下，但受到组织障碍的阻碍。本文结合理论学习，借鉴英国酿酒商的经验，推进制造业的环保实践。这项工作通过构建行业内各种形式和规模的公司（不仅仅是领先的公司）如何通过采用实践和避免障碍来推进知识，从而为知识做出贡献。本文通过学习英国酿酒商的经验，推进制造业的环保实践。这项工作通过构建行业内各种形式和规模的公司（不仅仅是领先的公司）如何通过采用实践和避免障碍来推进知识，从而为知识做出贡献。本文通过学习英国酿酒商的经验，推进制造业的环保实践。这项工作通过构建行业内各种形式和规模的公司（不仅仅是领先的公司）如何通过采用实践和避免障碍来推进知识，从而为知识做出贡献。