Sustainable manufacturing assessment: approach and the trend towards life cycle sustainability analysis

Recently, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework has been launched for experts from different disciplinary fields to discuss and develop a holistic and integrated approach that supports effective sustainability decisions. Many authors have used different and combination of methodologies in support of this goal; some authors focus on competitive manufacturing with integrated environmental protection elements, some focus on energy and resource efficient technologies and eco-designs while other authors underscored the importance of holistic assessment of the three sustainability factors to drive effective sustainable manufacturing. However, it is evidence from the research that the existing approaches lack holistic and analytical approach that consolidates the objectives of other sustainable product development methods. This paper used a structured approach to a literature review to systematically examine sustainable manufacturing approach and the move from segmented assessment methods to the holistic and integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis, and identify gaps both in practice and research within the manufacturing industry domain. In view of the result, the research proposed a framework that integrates goals that support progressive sustainable product development with methods that focus on the holistic quantitative analysis of the manufacturing production process.