Lean & Green: Aligning Circular Economy and Kaizen Through Hoshin Kanri

Abstract

As organizations are moving towards a circular economy to enable a transition to more sustainable business practices, there is a need for knowledge on how companies can leverage the capabilities of the entire organization to reach this goal.

In this paper, we present some preliminary but promising results from a single company that has adapted the use of Hoshin Kanri—a strategic management method often associated with lean which seeks to engage the whole organization in breakthrough improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost. The case company has over the last year experimented with including Sustainability (the term the company uses internally) targets in their Hoshin, to develop circular capabilities within the organization. We present a literature study on Circular Economy, Sustainability, Kaizen and Hoshin Kanri, which formed the basis for Action Learning Research interventions. We then compare the results from these interventions with the findings from the review. Finally, we discuss the implications of the results and point to further research.