Analysing the support of sustainability within the manufacturing strategy through multiple perspectives of different business functions

This paper proposes an empirical study aimed at characterizing the evolution of a company towards a sustainable manufacturing strategy, with a special emphasis on the role played by the business functions within the industrial organization. In the study, a methodology to evaluate and rank the sustainable manufacturing strategy in different production contexts is developed, stemming from the fact that there is a lack of objective methods for sustainable manufacturing strategy ranking in the literature. The analysis method consists of an Analytic Hierarchy Process applied to competitive priorities and manufacturing performances. It enables a structured reflection that considers the multiple perspectives of different decision-makers in business functions relevant to the implementation of sustainability in the manufacturing strategy. The main objective of the approach proposed in this study is to provide a methodology able to give an integrated view of the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the manufacturing plants. The proposed methodology is applied in two application case studies referring to two different production contexts. The application cases show the usefulness of the methodology to assess how sustainability is supported in the manufacturing strategy, with specific concern to the evolution of a manufacturing plant towards a sustainable manufacturing strategy.