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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Sustainable DMAIC – Define

In Six Sigma, organizing projects with clearly defined aims will support sustainable business practices. Six Sigma always considers the needs of internal and external stakeholders carefully. Whether tracking improvement performance or adjusting supply chain processes and even simply using green materials to monitor product quality are just some ways Six Sigma DMAIC can support sustainable work.

Measure

With constant strides made in Lean and Six Sigma applications, data can help you make more precise process improvements. Using metrics to single out and examine the efficiency of your supply chain can highlight other issues. These issues include accumulated waste and redundant processes. Remember, sustainability goes hand in hand with Six Sigma and helps your company achieve more rigorous bottom line performance goals. That’s why accurate measurement is important. Using DMAIC to streamline your project as it progresses will support your sustainability efforts and increase productivity.

Analyze

If you want to leverage a competitive advantage over your opponents, sustainable products and processes are the way to go. By using in-depth analysis of your data to highlight the root causes of problems, you can maximize your performance goals. Analysis can also shed light on where the project may need to turn its focus. Additionally, this will help you select appropriate metrics to locate the sources of inefficiencies.

Improve

Six Sigma is all about making improvements that will last, which is why sustainable practices can set you up for life. Material and product development don’t remain the same for long. Organizations are always changing to achieve greater sustainability and to secure support from an ever more discerning consumer base. By utilizing better quality, sustainable materials, you can help standardize the quality of your products. But to do that, you need to ensure a culture of continuous improvement flourishes in your business. That way, as supply chain accountability improves, and corporate responsibility expands, you’ll be better equipped to meet customer demands.

Control

Finally, control is important when it comes to implementing sustainable business practices. As we know, processes always overlap and mediate each other, which means any changes you make will affect everything. This ripple of effect can create powerful data, bringing new insights and inspiring further goals to pursue. Six Sigma coalesces with sustainable business practices, such as corporate transparency and continual improvement. The more you control your process performance in the present, the more you can influence and predict its future success.

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