Framework Integrating Sustainability and Lean Practices Within Non Traditional Lean Organizations: Educational Institutions and Healthcare

Purpose: This research provides a framework for integrating lean and sustainability practices drawing from the literature as well as several real-world case studies in healthcare and Higher Education. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: This is a pilot study where a framework was developed drawing from the authors' experiential application of the integration of lean and sustainability principles within healthcare and higher Education, as well as the literature on the topic. Findings: The findings of this study demonstrate the usefulness of the framework to integrate waste identification and reduction from both a Lean and Sustain ability perspective in multiple non-traditional lean case study settings, where both Lean and Sustainability practices have lagged behind traditional manufacturing Lean approaches. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the field by proposing a framework for integrating both Lean and Sustainability practices within environments outside of manufacturing organizations where Lean has been practiced much longer than within non-traditional Lean organizations, such as higher educational institutions and healthcare. The study and framework aid practitioners and academicians to quickly engage with these methods and practices to achieve both Lean and Sustainability goals.