Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

THE SUSTAINABILITY LINK

Setting standards of performance is a key aspect of reducing and measuring variation. Just as we need to measure quality performance and compare it against a standard we need to measure sustainability performance. We also need standards against which to base performance. Standards and metrics are essential to managing environmental outcomes and verifying claims of performance. Otherwise, claims can be seen as just unsubstantiated advertising. The same processes of statistical control can be applied here. However, instead of a quality metric, we would use a sustainability metric. The important issue is developing these metrics and many can be highly industry specific.

For sustainability metrics to be effective, they often need to be industry specific. Industry-specific scoring and measurement systems are being developed in a wide range of industries. For example, in the trucking industry companies are working with the newly expanded Safety Management System from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A detailed scoring system shows how trucking firms compare along metrics such as emission controls, vehicle maintenance, driver fitness, and crash history. Companies are using this scoring system to compare track records, assess who is really performing in terms of specific metrics, and using that information to choose logistics partners. High scorers such as Ryder Logistics, a company that has consistently ranked in the top 10% in safety categories, ...