Sustainability Assessment Framework for a Manufacturing Firm- An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Sustainability is an integrating concept and needs strategic attention in today's scenario. Sustainable manufacturing is an important aspect of sustainable supply chain since most of the firms consume large quantities of resources while simultaneously generating wastes and environmental pollution. Thus, manufacturers need to pursue production activities internalizing negative environmental externalities while maximizing profits and socio economic benefits. In the Indian context, the percentage share of manufacturing in its Gross Domestic Product varies from 13 to 16 per cent and is continually decreasing since January 2007 as per the World Bank 's 2013 Development Indicators dataset. Manufacturing processes are broadly classified into five groups such as casting, forming, powder metallurgy, joining and machining.