A critical analysis on the triple bottom line of sustainable manufacturing: key findings and implications

Abstract

Because of the environmental consequences of manufacturing activities, the general public, industry, and academia are becoming more aware of sustainable manufacturing (SM), which incorporates environmentally friendly manufacturing processes while emphasizing overall triple bottom line (TBL) performance in manufacturing. This article employs various text mining techniques and bibliometric analysis including cluster analysis, Pearson coefficient and research landscape to conduct an extensive investigation on SM with a focus on the TBL, in which the research content of SM with the TBL is reviewed and discussed systematically from a wide angle and with reduced bias. In this study, three new indicators about the ratios of the number of scientific papers between social, environmental, and economic dimensions of SM are devised to show the weight and level of importance of dimensions in SM, covering scientific papers from 30 years. The findings from this study indicate that the influential power of SM varies across the three dimensions, with a particular emphasis on the social dimension of SM from various countries, implying a current state of imbalance status in TBL for SM, at the same time, the economic and environmental dimensions share similar research topics and academic emphasis in SM. Based on these findings, recommendations based on sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) are made to increase the social influence of SM. This article firstly reveals the individual status of the social dimension and the situation of unbalanced TBL in SM, providing sustainable suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of SM and achieving balanced TBL regarding the SDGs.

Concern or Opportunity: Implementation of the TBL Criterion in the Healthcare System

“…The authors further point to the unsystematic approach and compliance mechanism as significant weaknesses of the integrated TBL system, emphasizing its rigidity in a rapidly changing environment. A study of sustainable manufacturing, which employed the text mining method to analyze scientific literature over a thirty-year period, unveiled an unbalanced TBL with an emphasis on the economic and environmental dimensions, while the social dimension received reduced attention [83]. A similar study that focused on the healthcare industry pointed to the multidimensional impact of this industry on the environment, but it was also noted that the measurement of that impact is unbalanced and fragmented [84].…”

Harmonising Strategy, Innovation, and Law: Navigating the Path to Ethical and Sustainable Progress

“…The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) concept indeed expands the traditional reporting (Elkington, 1997). It emphasizes the need for sustainable development that balances economic growth with ecological and social responsibilities (Yip et al, 2023). This framework is crucial in aligning strategy, innovation, law, and ethics with sustainable development goals.…”

“…The TBL concept has been widely adopted by businesses and organizations to measure their performance in a broader context of sustainability. It has been used to guide sustainable development efforts, with a focus on achieving a balance between economic, environmental, and social objectives (Yip et al, 2023).…”

The state‐of‐art review of ultra‐precision machining using text mining: Identification of main themes and recommendations for the future direction

“…Thematic analysis is more straightforward and quicker to learn than other qualitative analysis methods, such as narrative and grounded theory, due to its straightforward steps and procedures (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Therefore, scholars have initially tried thematic analysis to provide the possible research directions of sustainable UPM manufacturing (Yip et al, 2023) through creative LDA‐unpreserved learning (Zhou et al, 2022a). Also, combined with bibliometric analysis, the trend and the evolution of sustainable manufacturing are explored through thematic analysis, while they did not mention the details of general thematic analysis (Yip, Zhou, et al, 2022).…”