Using Lean principles, Six Sigma can also help eliminate waste (Muda) in all its forms. When we talk about Six Sigma and waste, it is usually intangible waste, such as over-processing or time-related waste. But environmental waste also tolls heavily on efficiency and profits. Waste results from a high carbon footprint, producing a negative effect on the environment. By reducing yours, you can ensure your business stays efficient, profitable, and green. Today, learn how you can safeguard the environment by calculating your carbon footprint.

The Dangers of High Carbon Emissions

It’s essential that your business is aware of its carbon footprint. Your environmental impact can not only be detrimental to the planet, but to your company’s success. Energy experts concur that excessive carbon emissions indicate inefficiencies in a business’s operations. Therefore, by reducing your carbon emissions, you can increase savings. Studies show that carbon- and water-saving projects are directly related to a strong bottom line. The average household can save more than $2000 per year through reducing emissions by only 20%. Think how much a large business, with many more incomings and outgoings, could save by taking control of their carbon footprint. By reducing waste, you can increase savings and drive profits. Using eco-friendly vehicles, light bulbs, and resources all help. You could also invest in solar power and wind turbines, as well as encourage sustainable / green practices in your employees.

Six Sigma is incredibly useful here as it enables you to make lasting changes to your operations through intensive project work. Create a project team, including Yellow, Green, and Black Belts, targeted at reducing waste and inefficiencies. Techniques like DMAIC and root cause analysis will shed light on issues of waste and why they arise. For example, none-value-adding processes may be contributing to a buildup of waste, sapping cash, and reducing efficiency. If you don’t know what to look for, you may not even notice these issues, which will then go unchecked.

How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

Calculating your carbon footprint will give you a better idea of how your business operations affect the planet. It will also show you which of these actions are most damaging, many of which have a negative effect on your success. Our method for calculating carbon emissions focuses on the consumption of several key resources. These include electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water, as well as the level of waste produced. For electricity, the calculation is as follows:

(kWh/yr) x EF (kg CO₂e/kWh) = your emissions for the entire year (kg CO₂e/yr).

If you wish to calculate your footprint for other resources, such as natural gas or water, simply alter the above figures appropriately. Kilowatts per hour would become therms per year for natural gas, and liters per day for water. Similarly, you would need to multiply your water figure by 365 before multiplying again by your EF.

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When is a Green Project Necessary?

If you pay attention to the way businesses operate, you’ll start to notice certain trends that appear. As more companies strive for improved production efficiency, the demand to reduce adverse environmental impact also increases. This correlation has always been there, buy it has become more relevant in the last few decades. As such, environmentalism and Six Sigma are by no means unrelated or mutually exclusive. Furthermore, a Six Sigma project is more likely to receive funding if it includes objectives towards environmental improvement. So, in other words, green projects are always necessary!

Planning a Green Project

Planning a green project uses the same core principles as a conventional project, with more focus on sustainability and eco-friendliness. As you know, project plans include a goal statement, a timeline for task completion, and an inventory of all resources required. Evaluation measures for studying the effectiveness of your proposal are also necessary. When it comes to green projects, your task is to incorporate green ideas into your plan. For example, are any tools or resources you intend to use environmentally friendly? Are they liable to affect your carbon footprint? Are materials sustainable? Your green project should zero in on these ideas at a core level and inform your activities going forward.

Benefits of a Green Project

Green projects and environmental work of all kinds are incredibly beneficial. But numerous benefits go together with green Six Sigma projects, including:

• Expanded expertise/enhanced management strategies. The rate at which technology is increasing continues to encourage companies to introduce new management strategies. Environmental management means Six Sigma project leaders will be fully equipped to drive green projects to success. Moreover, these new plans will ultimately shape your Six Sigma work going forward, meaning more successful green projects.
• Sustainability achieved. Achieving sustainability can prove to stakeholders and investors that you are a reliable force for Six Sigma. It’s also beneficial for the planet, meaning your Six Sigma work can proceed unencumbered by concerns about harming the environment.
• Improves business’s bottom line. Six Sigma projects are useful for improving processes, as well as the firm’s bottom line. With green objectives mixed into its activities, your organization will enhance its standing in the global market. The way others view your company counts a lot, and green project work is a great way to improve this.

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