Sustainability and manufacturing: A conceptual approach

Manufacturing has represented the backbone and cornerstone of any national economy not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Sustainability and sustainable development are the so-called new way of updating/upgrading this sector of the economy. Sustainable manufacturing is mainly divided into three streams or pillars: machine design, manufacturing processes, and manufacturing systems. A conceptual approach was suggested to analyze the pillars of manufacturing in terms of sustainability enablers for each pillar taken into consideration the triple bottom line of sustainability (TBL) (economy, social, and environmental). The sustainability models were proposed and presented for each pillar individually and aggregate. It seemed that the pillar of the manufacturing system represents the highest turbulent one due to the diversity and numerous sustainable enablers.