The concept of “lean production” today is one of the most effective strategic measures for the transition to sustainable development. It is aimed primarily at the initiation of resource-saving technologies at the micro level of production, and gradually takes a global character, turning from a tool of progressive organization of production into harmonization of an ever-expanding industry and environment. This concept is particularly relevant in the context of sustainable development policies that are currently being implemented in technologically advanced countries. However, the uneven economic development of the territories and the high level of differentiation in the technological and socio-economic development of different countries and regions necessitate the creation of new clusters of lean production based on the competitive advantages of the regions. The success of the implementation of sustainable development policies in any country depends largely on how effectively business leaders are aware of the need to invest in resource-saving technologies and use lean production mechanisms designed to reduce overspending of natural resources.

To date, investment in industrial production and infrastructure has passed through a certain bifurcation point associated with the division into “green” (environmental) and traditional (resource and nature-intensive) investments. Following the new demands of modern society to improve the environment and reduce the pressure on it from industry, the concept of traditional economic growth based on extensive environmental management is being replaced by ideas of sustainable development related to resource conservation, waste recycling and reduction of polluting emissions into the biosphere. As a result, investment as the basis of economic growth is also gravitating towards a green economy, participation in which is gradually becoming a major competitive advantage for the markets of developed countries. In this process, the role of the state in stimulating nature-saving investments, in which indirect instruments (subsidies, tax incentives), take an increasing place, is growing many times over.

Sustainable Development is a hypothetical development of a society in which human conditions improve and environmental impact is constrained by the regenerative abilities of the biosphere, so that the natural basis of human life is not destroyed. Sustainable development assumes that meeting the needs of present and future generations is maintained in a safe state, and that environmental conservation is an integral part of the development process. The era of post-industrialization is radically changing the nature of human exposure to the environment. Before raising the question about the current state of natural resource complexes, it should be recognized that humanity still faces the problem of geoecology at the national level, as part of the industrial policy of each country separately. In the post-industrial world, in which the goods created in one country are consumed all over the world, geoecological problems go global, where any component of the environment – natural, technological, social - are combined in a single chain of production and consumption. All of the above requires the formation of an effective system for managing sustainable development in the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial economy, with its specific subjects, goals and subsystems.