THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE (Profit, People and the Planet) is the place where corporate and societal interests intersect. It is a new way to measure the bottom line - where profits go side-by-side with environmental and social performance - and an illuminating way to understand the often-fuzzy concept of sustainability. It is a spot that the best-run and most profitable companies have already found. So, you can too!

Sustainability goes beyond Lean, which only looks at the financial bottom line, to include two additional bottom lines--social and environmental--in decision making at all levels of an organization. Sustainability embraces the three R’s--respect, relationship, and responsibility. It is about respect for each other, respect for our earth, and respect for future generations. It is about relationships with one other, and relationship with future generations. It is thinking of ourselves as stewards, in a long line of stewards. And it is about being committed to helping customers, suppliers, and employees grow and succeed.

Lean tools like Kaizen (Continuous Improvement), VSM (Value Stream Mapping), 5S (Sort, Set-to-Order, Shine, Standardise and Sustain), waste minimization, and Root Cause Analysis are very helpful in the implementation of Sustainability. Pursue a “hybrid approach” to Lean that adapts Lean methods to produce low volume, high variety manufacturing system. In addition, re-examine the same operation year after year, thus allowing fresh eyes to analyze the process and identify opportunities for further improvement. Because the changes made are continuous and gradual (Kaizen events notwithstanding), it will take some time for everyone to recognize the full potential of Lean tools towards sustainability projects.

Save on…

Rubbish (Recycle as much as possible; use recyclable materials)
Water (Conserve Water)
Energy (Use alternative sources of energy such as Solar Energy)
Building (Make the buildings eco-friendly)
Transport (Minimise the transportation using work flow techniques)
Chemicals (Eliminate the use of toxic chemicals)

Funding is available from NZ Ministry for the Environment under Sustainable Management Fund (SMF)

The purpose of the SMF is to support community groups, iwi, businesses and local government in taking practical actions that produce long-term environmental benefits. The objectives of the Fund are to make a positive difference to the environment by funding projects that:

Support the Ministry’s priorities;
Encourage pro-active partnerships; and
Promote community action.
Funding is available for up to three years.

Who can apply?

NZ Ministry for the Environment welcomes proposals from community groups, iwi, businesses and local government who are legally registered New Zealand entities and have the basic capability and capacity mechanisms to deliver a successful project including:

Technical and project management skills and experience
Strong partnerships
Access to necessary resources (i.e. office space, internet access, email, telephone).

Capability Criteria

Practical proposals that encourage and strengthen pro-active partnerships between different groups and promote community action will be viewed favourably by the steering committee.
Applications from community groups (with limited experience in delivering projects) that can demonstrate strong support from ‘umbrella’ organisations will also be viewed favourably by the steering committee.
All proposals must directly support one or more of the Ministry’s priorities:

Supporting land and water management
Supporting sustainable business practices
Meeting the challenges of climate change.