Challenges for implementing green concept in sustainable manufacturing: a systematic review

Global warming and the environmental problems arising from it are posing a serious threat to the peaceful co-existence of the human and the natural worlds. The drastic depletion of fossil fuels, in particular, has made it imperative that we find alternative ways of manufacturing that can support upcoming industries without causing further loss or damage to our natural resources. This critical situation has given rise to a pressing need for a cohesive and strategic research that can address the needs of industries while simultaneously ensuring the implementation of environmentally sustainable manufacturing methods. However, the adoption of environmentally sustainable concepts is a challenging task for industries and a thorough, comprehensive and insightful research is essential in order to support and facilitate this task. From the literature available, it can be assumed with certainty that industries are currently making substantial efforts to ensure that their manufacturing-related operations are as green and as sustainable as possible. The literature review contained in this paper endeavours to assess, from a global perspective, the various challenges that hinder these efforts while bearing in mind the positive trend in industrial operations. It may also be worth noting that there are not much research so far on green concept in sustainable manufacturing and this paper adds value to the existing research by focusing on this hitherto neglected area.