A significant share of food waste originates in the food services domain and HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, catering) sector. Organizational improvements leading to the decrease of food waste and costs in restaurants are needed. The literature reports on applications of lean management in service businesses, and while food services belong in this category, the literature contains few works on specific applications in this domain. Those studies are limited mainly to economic aspects. Nor was there evidence of the applicability of lean management to achieve food waste elimination. This article analyzes the applicability of lean management methods for food services in order to achieve efficient operations and eliminate food waste, based on a literature review and three case studies from Poland. Lean management was found to be useful in these cases to decrease food waste and reduce operational costs. The case studies suggest a set of activities for organizations delivering food services to streamline their processes by applying lean management practices. This study contributes to the theory and practice of sustainable restaurant management.

The transformation trend towards digital technology to achieve sustainability targets and meet legal regulations has been visible in many industries. The printing sector has already been increasingly boosting sustainability performance through digitalization to automate workflows of processes. The goal of this paper is to initially diagnose a sustainable performance of Printing 4.0 (Industry 4.0 in the printing sector). To achieve this goal, qualitative interviews were carried out with representatives of 11 printing companies. Results of the diagnostic study showed that advanced technologies have had a positive impact on sustainability in the analyzed printing companies due to a higher awareness of sustainability. It was observed in the surveyed sample that interviewees confirmed such an assumption. These companies that tailor their operational activities toward digitalization have more quickly noticed a positive effect on their sustainable businesses. This survey has served as a basis for more extensive research.

A significant share of food waste originates in the food services domain and HoReCa sector. Organizational improvements leading to the decrease of food waste and related costs in HoReCa are needed to make progress in this issue. A systems engineering approach was applied to examine the links between food waste generated in the HoReCa industry and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A literature review discovered two dimensions of actions leading to decreasing food waste in HoReCa; i.e., actions triggered by companies and by authorities (e.g., governmental policies). Additionally, customers and society were also considered. A framework is proposed to explicitly illustrate the dependencies of different micro actions devoted to food waste reduction in HoReCa in support of the SDGs. The other dimension of this framework is macro policies and their impact on SDGs. To increase food waste reduction awareness and collaboration, stakeholders on both the macro (launched by authorities for the whole sector) and micro (initiated by single organizations on their own) levels must work together. The results of this research will be useful in coordinating the efforts of all (consumers, HoReCa companies and suppliers, policymakers and administrations on different levels) involved in the supply chain of food production and consumption.

The paper discusses possible applications of wireless technologies in support of lean manufacturing tools. The typology of lean tools is provided. It distinguishes three main categories, which are identification and analysis of waste, improvement implementation, and process monitoring. The set of lean tools was analyzed in terms of information requirements. On the other hand, the typology of wireless technologies was discussed including RFID and Wi-Fi. The literature review of wireless technology applications for support of lean tools was conducted. The literature was systematically reviewed from the point of view of specific technologies and specific tools which were the subjects of the analyzed publication. Both typologies were synthesized to establish a framework for wireless technologies applications in the context of lean manufacturing implementation. It also could serve as a guideline for lean practitioners and implies future research directions.

Growing concern for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) motivates to examine I4.0 technologies under the lens of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the context of digital technologies. The goal of the paper is to align SDGs with selected I4.0 technologies to conceptualize a digital business model for printing and packaging companies. In this perspective, a comprehensive literature review, quantitative survey and qualitative individual in‐depth interviews were conducted as a research approach. Findings revealed that printing and packaging companies achieved SDGs (8, 9 and 12) mostly through their value proposition by supporting I4.0 components (cybersecurity, system integration, cloud computing, big data and Internet of things [IoT]). The business model affirms a digital‐oriented transition towards sustainability, fostering further development of I4.0. It also highlights the importance of redesigning traditional business models to embrace digitalization. Despite the study limitations, the business model can be adapted to other companies of various sectors, improving their ‘profit centres’.