Manufacturers face the challenge of implementing and assessing sustainable practices in their organizations due to several factors including lack of availability of clear guidelines and tools. Porter and Kramer (2006) suggest a framework on how to capture the negative effects of an organization’s primary and support value chain activities on the environment and society. In this paper, the framework suggested by them has been suitably modified to capture and organize sustainable practices relevant to manufacturing firms. Accordingly, a number of sustainable practices are identified through a detailed analysis of literature and incorporated in the developed framework. Further, in order to validate the potential of the proposed framework to be used as an assessment tool, feedback was sought from a senior level professional from an internationally acclaimed research center with experience and proficiency in conducting sustainability audits in textiles and leather industry. Going forward, the validated framework will be administered to assess sustainable practices in select manufacturing organizations. This study is a part of an ongoing research on assessment of sustainability in manufacturing organizations. Keywords: Assessment of Sustainable Practices; Sustainable Value Chain Practices; Triple Bottom Line; Total Life Cycle Approach; Sustainable Manufacturing

PurposeSustainable manufacturing is gaining prominence in light of the rising environmental and social concerns worldwide. One major task to enhance manufacturing sustainability is assessment of the current state of sustainability of a manufacturing firm. This paper reviews the existing sustainability assessment approaches applicable for manufacturing firms and observes that most of these approaches are not easy to apply for reasons such as high amount of skill, data and time requirement. Towards bridging this gap, this study proposes a sustainability assessment approach.Design/methodology/approachThe assessment approach proposed in the paper uses a predefined list of potential sustainable manufacturing practices (SMPs) covering the primary and support activity domains of a manufacturing firm's value chain. It proposes a method to assess the extent of implementation of SMPs and identify associated drivers and barriers for each SMP area/category along the value chain of a firm as well as at overall firm level. A case study from textile industry is presented to demonstrate the utility of this approach.FindingsThe sustainability assessment approach adopted in this study uses less time and skills as well as ensures comprehensive coverage of SMPs. It provided valuable information to the management of the case company on how sustainable their practices are and why?Originality/valueThe study highlights the importance of sustainability assessment at SMP area/category level as well as explores practice area/category specific drivers and barriers. It provides a useful approach for a quick assessment of the current state of sustainability in manufacturing firms.

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PurposeDespite its great practical and theoretical significance, research on how and to what extent sustainable manufacturing capabilities (SMCs) provide competitive advantage to firms remains scarce. Towards bridging the gap, this paper conducts an enquiry into the competitive value of SMCs.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework on the competitive value of four SMCs, namely, pollution control (PC), pollution prevention (PP), product stewardship (PS) and clean technology (CT) is developed through synthesis of literature. More specifically, competitive value is characterised in terms of enabling key resources and market positioning opportunities. A case study, using a deductive qualitative approach is conducted to test the framework by analysing reported sustainable manufacturing practices (SMPs) of three multinational firms. Observed compliances and deviations to the framework are analysed and accordingly few propositions are framed.FindingsThe empirical findings largely support the conceptualisation of competitive value for PC, PP, PS and CT provided in the theoretical framework. However, a few deviations were observed for PC, PP and PS. For instance, some PC-based actions, such as co-processing and implementation of zero liquid discharge technology show characteristics of resource conservation and lead to cost benefits. Similarly, there were instances when PP demonstrated the use of non-tacit (imitable) resources and PS was employed to seek compliance to environmental regulations.Research limitations/implicationsThe results based on limited number of case firms may not be generalisable to other sectors and contexts.Practical implicationsThe study provides guidance to the manufacturing managers about the competitive value of SMPs.Originality/valueThis is a novel study that empirically investigates the competitive value of SMCs by understanding the associated sustainability impetus, enabling key resources and market positioning opportunities.

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