Lean lessons for the climate crisis

FROM COMPETITIVENESS TO SURVIVAL

We live in very different times than when we first discovered lean over 30 years ago. We are in the midst of a climate crisis that threatens our very existence on this planet, and it is obvious this calls for a very different response than what we have done until now. Indeed, it is no longer about competitiveness, but about survival.  

Rising to this crisis means rethinking everything we do – the technologies we use, the products and services we deliver, the energy sources we use, the supply chains we rely upon, the global footprint we produce and the management systems we have in place in our organizations. In the end, it is the decisions and actions by millions of companies and individuals that will determine how we survive this critical decade.

Lean is often perceived as a bottom-up method for increasing competitiveness by eliminating waste, but this is just a fraction of its true potential. So far, Lean Thinking has helped to improve many key processes in large operations of our biggest corporations – which I think of as the legacies of the mass production age. Industry leaders were keen to see step changes in performance, but many of them did not feel challenged enough to change their behaviors to sustain them.  

Could the climate crisis force a more fundamental rethink of the way we think and act, unlocking the full potential of Lean Thinking? What lessons can we draw from our experiences with lean that can help us to address the climate emergency? I see three key lessons, which I outline below. But first, let’s summarize the fundamental changes brought about by Lean Thinking over the past three decades.

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