sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Sustainable Operations: Advancing Industry Practices for a Greener Future

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 21 April 2025 | Viewed by 2403

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Engineering, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: six sigma; lean management; organizational excellence; operations management; quality engineering & management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Operations managers are under increasing pressure to minimize the environmental impact of their activities and maximize the quality of products and services provided to the customers. The selection of suppliers is a critical aspect of operations performance as their processes and products (e.g., raw materials, components, semi-finished products) must be as environmentally friendly as possible. Thus, these considerations cannot be ignored. Furthermore, the operations management focus on sustainability must also consider employee well-being and safety, and also encourage behaviors that contribute to a culture of excellence. In this context, this SI of Sustainability considers practical case studies of operations management and hosts more theoretical articles addressing issues like the supplier selection, supply chain, production processes automation and optimization, product lifecycle, and operational excellence practices. Social, economic and environmental sustainability, among other concerns, are to considered for this Special Issue of Sustainability.

Dr. Nuno Ricardo Pais Costa
Dr. Pedro Alexandre Marques
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • resilience
  • excellence
  • automation
  • digitization
  • optimization
  • production
  • quality

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
18 pages, 1140 KiB  
Article
Adopting the Materiality Principle in Sustainable Operations Management
by Michel Leseure and David Bennett
Sustainability 2024, 16(15), 6572; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156572 - 31 Jul 2024
Viewed by 948
Abstract
This paper argues that operations management needs a commonly understood materiality principle to truly contribute to sustainability. A framework initially developed in international finance is generalized and used to model firms as borrowing resources from a common creditor, the environment, and to establish [...] Read more.
This paper argues that operations management needs a commonly understood materiality principle to truly contribute to sustainability. A framework initially developed in international finance is generalized and used to model firms as borrowing resources from a common creditor, the environment, and to establish when a sustainable initiative is material in terms of impact. Our framework also solves the long-standing challenge of measuring impact at the level of an operations unit of analysis. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 4735 KiB  
Article
Spatial Coordination Analysis and Development Methods of the Catering Sector in Yongkang City
by Hao Yang, Hao Zeng and Xiaoyun Cai
Sustainability 2024, 16(21), 9567; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219567 - 2 Nov 2024
Viewed by 925
Abstract
The catering sector is recognized as a crucial driver for stimulating domestic consumption and fostering sustained economic growth. A scientifically informed spatial planning of the catering sector in county-level cities can help mitigate the overconcentration or excessive dispersal of resources, thereby enhancing the [...] Read more.
The catering sector is recognized as a crucial driver for stimulating domestic consumption and fostering sustained economic growth. A scientifically informed spatial planning of the catering sector in county-level cities can help mitigate the overconcentration or excessive dispersal of resources, thereby enhancing the efficiency of land and commercial resource utilization, reducing waste, and promoting sustainable development within a county’s economy. This study focuses on Yongkang City, located in central Zhejiang Province, as a case study. Using Python 3.1 software to extract point-of-interest (POI) data, spatial analysis techniques such as standard deviation ellipses and kernel density estimation are employed to elucidate the spatial distribution characteristics of the catering sector, comprehensive transportation, and public services in Yongkang City. Furthermore, a coupling coordination degree model is utilized to quantify the coupling coordination degrees between the catering sector and comprehensive transportation (D1), as well as between the catering sector and public services (D2), ultimately assessing the overall coupling coordination degree among the three sectors (D3). Based on the analysis results, the coupling coordination degrees are categorized into five levels, followed by a detailed evaluation of the catering sector’s development across different subdistricts. The findings indicate a certain degree of spatial imbalance in the distribution of the catering sector in Yongkang City, with the western region exhibiting a more favorable development trajectory. Notably, Dongcheng Subdistrict achieved the highest coupling coordination degree (0.993), while the northern region, hindered by underdeveloped economic conditions and limited transportation infrastructure, exhibited the lowest coordination degree (0.098). Considering the unique developmental characteristics and current conditions of each subdistrict, this study advocates for the formulation of a long-term sustainable development plan for the catering sector in Yongkang City. The findings of this research may offer valuable insights for other regions and countries, thereby promoting the sustainable advancement of the catering sector. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop