Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

THE SUSTAINABILITY LINK

Capacity planning and location decisions have a critical impact on sustainability. The most obvious is increased travel distance to suppliers and customers, which not only increases transportation costs but also increases measures of environmental impact, such as the company's carbon footprint. However, poorly made decisions in this area have other consequences. Just consider the negative consequences involved with facilities being located on natural habitats (ecosystems) and the resulting habitat destruction that could potentially occur. Also consider the negative effect of poor location on humans and animals, from increased noise pollution and energy consumption to the potential contamination of air and water. Capacity planning and location decisions made with sustainability in mind would involve minimizing total material and personnel travel distances to and from the facility. They would avoid runoff from construction activity, abate noise pollution, and consider air pollution effects on the community.

To provide a simple illustration of what a sustainability analysis would include, consider the decision of determining a location for a chemical processing facility. Initially, the choice of location would be determined by considering economic factors, such as real estate cost or transportation, as discussed in the chapter. However, sustainability requires an analysis of environmental and social factors that go well beyond these basic economic considerations. ...