Scientific evidence of human impact on the natural environment, such as global warming, continues to mount. Green manufacturing systems that focus on minimizing environmental impact of manufacturing processes and products are ever more important to our sustainable future. Green manufacturing systems are slow to gain acceptance as manufacturers are focused on implementing Lean manufacturing systems, generally considered the most competitive manufacturing systems in the world. In recent years, researchers and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have sought to "build a bridge" between Lean and Green manufacturing systems, in hopes that the rapid expanse of Lean can serve as a catalyst to the implementation of Green manufacturing systems.This study contributes to this growing body of knowledge by determining if leading Lean manufacturers are transcending beyond the traditional limits of Lean and implementing Green manufacturing systems as part of their overallwaste reduction strategy. In this work Lean manufacturing plants that have been evaluated by a panel of experts from the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing are surveyed on the diffusion of Green manufacturing system practices throughout their operation. A full system correlation analysis is performed utilizing forty-eight measures of Lean and Green manufacturing systems under the categories of management system, waste reducing techniques, and results. Data analysis indicates that known Lean manufacturers are significantly Greener than the general population of manufacturers in twenty-five of twenty-six measures of Green manufacturing. Lean manufacturers who implement Green manufacturing systems have the strongest results in both Lean and Green result areas, particularly cost reduction, indicating synergy between Lean and Green manufacturing systems. Manufacturing plants that choose to vertically integrate versus horizontally integrate their Lean systems transcend to Green manufacturing. Mexican plants in the study practice significantly higher levels of material resource efficiency and are more inclined to develop industrial partnerships to resolve environmental issues. The study also identifies a critical need for integrating Lean and Green management systems to drive synergistic waste reducing techniques throughout the operation. An integrated Lean and Green manufacturing system model, dubbed "Zero Waste Manufacturing", is proposed as a solution for economically and environmentally sustainable manufacturing.

Traditionally, environmental impacts of man made products have been determined by performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) on the product. As the name implies, LCA is usually covers the entire life of the product in a so-called "cradle-to-grave" assessment. In determining environmental impacts over the whole product life, LCA's are reasonably adequate. However, in providing detailed impacts on a particular phase of life, LCA's are lacking. Detailed assessments are important because very few stakeholders have influence over a product during all phases of life. Stakeholders need detailed impact assessments in their particular phase of life. More detailed assessments give stakeholders more information that can be used for better environmental management (EM) and more environmentally benign operations. In many LCA's, the manufacturing phase of life has been over-generalized and over-simplified because of its relatively small environmental impact, as compared to other phases of life. Nevertheless, certain stakeholders, such as manufacturing companies, need detailed impact information for the manufacturing phase of life so that they can create a more sustainable manufacturing process. Most traditional LCA's use a case-based approach, which was deemed to be inadequate. For these LCA's, the information provided for each case is often quite detailed and specific. However, this makes the assessment less flexible, limiting the quality of the assessment to the degree that the current scenario matches the existing cases. In order to make a more user-specific assessment, a model-based approach was used. To give the model flexibility, a parametric model was created based on mathematical equations that represent various parts of the manufacturing process. To give the model structure, an activity-based costing (ABC) approach was used. Using the ABC structure, the manufacturing process was broken down into activities, each of which was characterized by mathematical models. Large models would be difficult to construct and simulate by hand, so a model was built with the aid of a computer. The modeling language SysML (Systems Modeling Language) was used to create an object-oriented model of the manufacturing process, using the ABC structure. SysML defines overall properties and behaviors of the various elements in the model, while the plug-in tool ParaMagic was used to execute the model via a Mathematica Solver. The model computes carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, and waste mass generation for a particular manufacturing scenario. The goal of the model was to quantify environmental impact factors in order to aid manufacturing stakeholders in EM. The overall goal of the research was to determine whether an activity-based, object-oriented model was a valid approach, and whether the computer-aided tools adequately implemented this approach. Findings show that SysML is capable of modeling large and complex systems. However, due to some limitations of Paramagic, only some of SysML's capabilities were utilized. Nevertheless, Paramagic is capable of extracting information out of a manufacturing model built in SysML, and solving parametric relations in Mathematica in a timely manner. Timely solutions of complex models are critical for stakeholders keeping a competitive edge.

Eco-design is relatively new and fast growing field of research due to its vital importance to the manufacturing industry and its related environmental issues such as reducing waste, and CO2 emission. A major EU programme relating to the environment is the waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. The (WEEE) directive specifies ten categories and a voltage range which is up to 1.000 volts AC or 1.500volts DC. The developed framework came for the implementation of Eco-design principles that helps to take into account the adaption of the (WEEE) directive and the restriction of hazard substances (RoHS) used in electrical and electronic equipments. As a result of identify gaps and needs such as a lack of a comprehensive Eco-design framework and the need to integrate it to the normal business operation. In this research the PDCA framework for Eco-design and WEEE directive will be discussed. The framework will encompass all of the Eco-design¿s implementation and integration factors and activities such as WEEE and RoHS directives, Eco-design management, Environmental legislations, Eco-design tools and considerations. The literature review covers the topic of Eco-design¿s related issues, and WEEE and RoHS directives rules. Based on comprehensive questionnaire survey of Eco-design, WEEE and RoHS issues and activities among a sample of environmentally aware companies, statistical analysis is carried out using SPSS software. Then the findings of the survey triangulated with the findings of the literature review formed the basis of the design and implementation plan of the proposed framework