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The purpose of this paper is to review the green manufacturing and similar frameworks in order to trace the origin, definitions, scope, similarities, differences, and publications of these manufacturing frameworks.

A review of 113 research articles is conducted for various terms, namely, green manufacturing (GM); environmentally conscious manufacturing; environmentally responsible manufacturing; environmentally benign manufacturing; sustainable manufacturing; clean manufacturing; cleaner production; sustainable production with reference to triple bottom line, product life cycle engineering, systems approach, resource and energy efficiency, supply chain, pollution prevention and closed loop system/6R.

It can be said with reasonable confidence that all these eight frameworks have been used interchangeably by researchers but it requires some standardization. It has been observed during literature review that to standardize the terminology researchers have to clear emphatically in their research the use of various life cycle engineering approach; clarity on the end-of-life strategies used; clarity in use of various components of triple bottom line perspectives; inclusion of the whole supply chain and integration of environmental improvement strategies with the business strategy.

The literature reviewed for the study is the literature available online using Google scholar.

This is one of the first known studies to review the GM and similar frameworks for their origin, definition, scope, similarities, and differences.

The increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.

A structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.

On the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.

The findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to develop a statistically reliable and valid model of performance measures (PMs) to observe the environmental behavior of different enterprises; second, at benchmarking the enterprises based on their green practices.

A PM model has been proposed using an empirical analysis of manufacturing industry. The developed model has been tested using structural equation modeling technique. The level of green manufacturing (GM) performance in different sectors and sizes of Indian manufacturing industry has been studied and benchmarked using hierarchical cluster analysis with one-way ANOVA.

The results indicate that top management commitment and product design are the root PMs for the success of GM practices. It has been found that chemical, automotive, food and pharmaceutical industries are the high performing sectors. It has also been found that large scale enterprises are performing better than medium-sized enterprises which are doing better than small and micro enterprises in GM practices.

The indicators/variables in questionnaire are subjective in nature and collected data are from Indian manufacturing organizations only.

The governments, trade bodies and NGOs can use the proposed model for measurement of green performance of any manufacturing industry. The benchmarking can be used by the different policy influencing and making agencies to develop future policies for the improvement. The industry can also use the benchmarking for its peer performance improvement.

The major novelty of the paper is benchmarking the green performance of manufacturing industries based on the different sectors and sizes using empirical investigation. The level of GM performance in different sectors and sizes of industries has been studied and benchmarked using hierarchical cluster analysis with one-way ANOVA.

In order to improve environmental performance, manufacturing companies around the world have started to seek green practices (GPs) to adopt in their operations. Environmental awareness of the stakeholders has put the pressure and changed the focus of manufacturers. The purpose of this article is to gather GPs used in manufacturing industries through a literature review. It also aims at exploring other elements related to GPs in manufacturing firms.

The paper is exploratory in its approach. After searching relevant research articles from the online database, a review of 103 research articles has been conducted in the area of GPs in manufacturing industries.

This work attempts to offer a comprehensive list of GPs by studying the detailed relevant literature. This paper concludes that the concern of the use of GPs within manufacturing organisations is rising fast around the world, and research in this area is of great interest throughout the world over the last decade.

This study has reported several earlier studies by searching the online database through some selected keywords only, but it has not performed a subjective overview for screening and choosing the research articles. This paper explores and gives a concise description of the GPs in manufacturing that will be helpful for further studies of green manufacturing (GM).

This study provides a comprehensive literature review of GPs in manufacturing industries. This review should give benefits to other scholars and practitioners interested in studying GPs related to manufacturing industries. It might represent new opportunities for relevant research that would contribute to more knowledge of GM being gained.

To provide a comprehensive state of the art review of environmental impact assessment (EIA) of existing rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid tooling (RT), and identify prospective research needs.

The sparse literature on the EIA of RP and RT is balanced by that of the comparatively mature field of industrial ecology (IE). Hence, the review emphasizes portable IE measurement and evaluations methods. As RP and RT can also be viewed as design tools and mass customization manufacturing, other EIA may be needed.

The scarcity of research to date combined with rapid technological advances leaves a large number of unresolved issues. In addition, the special character of RP and RT, as design and manufacturing enablers implies that future research is needed.

This review is drawn from a technology in rapid evolution. Hence, unresolved issues focus on technologies that already are on the market and the research needs are formulated in terms of state of the art process research.

As technological advances multiply, so does the number of unresolved environmental problems. The review of unresolved issues points to a pressing need to assess the consequences of RP and RT while identified research needs point the way to anticipated areas where further assessment methods will be needed.

This paper intends to raise awareness about the potential environmental impacts from RP and RT, by presenting the problems associated with current methods for measuring environmental effects and discussing some of the most urgent unresolved issues, specifically with respect to materials. Indirect effects of other uses of RP and RT are discussed only briefly for lack of available data.

Many types of research have already investigated the lean, green or agile manufacturing systems in a discrete manner or as combinations of two of them. In today’s competitive scenario, if industry wants to perpetuate its name in the market, then it has to supervene proper thinking and smart approach. Therefore, the combination of lean, green and agile manufacturing systems can provide better and beneficial results. The purpose of this paper is to discern the barriers to the combined lean green agile manufacturing system (LGAMS), understand their interdependence and develop a framework to enhance LGAMS by using total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) and MICMAC (Matriced’ Impacts Croise’s Multiplication Appliquée a UN Classement) Analysis.

This paper uses TISM methodology and MICMAC analysis to deduce the interrelationships between the barriers and rank them accordingly. A total of 13 barriers have been identified through extensive literature review and discussion with experts.

An integrated LGAMS has been presented that balances the lean, green and agile paradigms and can help supply chains become more efficient, streamlined and sustainable. Barriers are identified while referring to all three strategies to showcase the clear relevance. TISM models the barriers in different levels showcasing direct and important transitive relations. Further, MICMAC analysis distributes the barriers in four clusters in accordance with their driving and dependence power.

The inferences have been drawn from a model developed on the basis of inputs from a small fraction of the industry and academia and may show variations when considering the whole industry.

The outcome of this research can contribute to bringing the change to the manufacturing systems used in most developing nations. Also, top managers considering adoption of LGAMS can be cautious of the most influential barriers.

A TISM-based model of the barriers to an integrated LGAMS has been proposed with evaluation of the influence of the barriers.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a sustainability readiness assessment model and a sustainability assessment model for manufacturing organizations.

The proposed models have been developed using resource-based theory along the integrated supply chain. The models are based on resources sustainability (people, money, material, energy, infrastructure, water, and air), critical factors of sustainability (product, process and policies), sustainability dimensions (environment, economic, and social), and life cycle sustainability (integrated supply chain).

The paper presents an integrated assessment system which includes: product life cycle, resources, critical factors (product, process, and policy), key performance indicators, and their interrelationship with sustainability dimensions. The three critical factors and all the important resources required by a manufacturing organization along the integrated supply chain are identified. The readiness assessment model is user friendly and effective to guide the managers to identify the weak areas of sustainability.

The proposed model for readiness assessment is tested and in an automotive manufacturing organization but the sustainability assessment model is conceptual and it requires validation by implementing the same in an organization to understand its effectiveness.

The readiness assessment model can help the top management to decide whether the organizational orientation is correct to improve sustainability. The easy to use models can be used by the decision/policy makers and independent bodies to assess, compare and benchmark the products, processes or organizations and thus affect public policies and attitudes.

This study has developed, for the first time, a sustainability readiness assessment model. The resource-based theory has been applied along the integrated supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to address, via a case study, some of the key measurement issues within environmental accounting, in particular the methods used to measure threatened and endangered wildlife. This study examines the accounts of Earth Sanctuaries Ltd, a listed conservation company in Australia over a seven year financial reporting period beginning in 1995 and ending in 2001, a period both prior and subsequent to, the implementation of Australian Accounting Standard AASB 1037 — Self Generating and Re‐Generating Assets (SGARA s), which sought to recognise the value of biological assets within financial statements. In particular the study examines these values in light of the conceptual framework qualitative characteristics of relevance and reliability. The study concludes that because of the current Commonwealth policy of non‐trade in wildlife, and the consequent absence of an active and liquid market for trade in these assets, efforts to provide legitimacy to the environmental cause are hampered, and questions raised over the surrogate measurement base used to value the assets.

The purpose of this study is to examine how variation in product information about environmental consequences could make professional food purchasers inclined to choose more environmentally friendly alternatives.

In an internet-based experiment, the paper systematically varies environmental and price information about food products and measures the effects on product choice. In addition, the paper varies the condition of choice.

More complex and detailed environmental information, compared with simpler and less detailed information, was paired with a stronger preference for environmentally benign products. This effect was accentuated when the task was to minimize costs compared with that to promote the environment. Negative information, which is bad for the environment, had a stronger effect than positive information.

The research shows that detailed information emphasising potentially destructive environmental consequences may promote the choice of environmentally sustainable products among professional purchasers.

As there is a strong inducement to develop new colored inorganic materials to substitute the current industrial pigments that are based on toxic metals hazardous to health and the environment, the purpose of this paper is to invent environmentally benign rare earth-based colorants as viable alternatives to the traditional toxic pigment formulations. Herein, the authors developed a series of rare earth pigments having the general formula Ca0.1 Ln0.9 PO4 ( Ln = Y , Pr , mixed rare earth oxides, RE and Di). After studying all the optical properties, the authors have gone for some coloring application in plastic like PMMA.

The designed pigments were synthesized by traditional solid-state method. Stoichiometric amounts of each reagent were mixed in an agate mortar and the mixtures were calcined at optimized temperature 1000 °C for 4 h in electric furnace followed by auto–cooling. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction diffraction, UV–vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), particle size distribution, color coordinates determination, acid/alkali test, thermo gravimetric (TG) analysis and CIE–1976 L*a*b* color scales. Among the various lanthanide ions and calcium ion as dopant, the pigment composition shows various hues ranges from green to yellow. The designed pigments consist of non–toxic elements and were further found to possess high thermal and chemical stability. The pigments were also found to be appropriate candidates for the coloration of polymer substrates like PMMA.

The present investigations establish that various color hues can be achieved by the incorporation of suitable chromophore metal ions like calcium in various rare earth host lattice by tuning of the band gaps. The coloring mechanism is based on the strong absorption of the pigments in the blue and red regions due to electronic transitions of the micro states of rare earth ion. The pigment composition shows various hues ranges from green to yellow. The coloring mechanism is based on the tuning of band gap by the dopant like calcium in various rare earth host lattice. In addition, this pigment was chemically and thermally stable. Finally, it has applied in plastics like PMMA.

Mechanism of the color appearance using band calculations and on possible applications of rare earth phosphate powders as pigments in plastics and paints have not been explored much. However, the properties of the Ca-doped rare earth phosphate implies that this material has a potential to be applied as a satisfactory pigment for coating or coloring except for glaze, which may cause a side reaction at high temperatures, especially taking into consideration the economics and ecologies. The possibility of Ca2+ incorporation in CePO4 with monazite structure-type has been established.

The designed pigments consist of non-toxic elements and were further found to possess high thermal and chemical stability. The pigments were also found to be appropriate candidates for the coloration of polymer substrates. Thus, the present environmental friendly pigment powders may find potential alternative to the classical toxic inorganic pigments for various applications.

There is a strong incentive to design new colorants based on inorganic materials to substitute for industrial pigments that are based on heavy elements hazardous to health and the environment. However, several industrial yellow pigments such as cadmium yellow (CdS), chrome yellow (PbCrO4) and nickel titanium yellow (TiO2-NiO-Sb2O3) contain the harmful elements (e.g. Cd, Pb, Cr and Sb) for the human body as well as the environment. The designed pigments consist of non-toxic elements and were further found to possess high thermal and chemical stability. The pigments were also found to be appropriate candidates for the coloration of polymer substrates. Thus, the present environmental friendly pigment powders may find potential alternative to the classical toxic inorganic pigments for various applications.

There is a strong incentive to design new colorants based on inorganic materials to substitute for industrial pigments that are based on heavy elements hazardous to health and the environment. However, several industrial yellow pigments such as cadmium yellow (CdS), chrome yellow (PbCrO4) and nickel titanium yellow (TiO2-NiO-Sb2O3) contain the harmful elements (e.g. Cd, Pb, Cr and Sb) for the human body as well as the environment. So, the authors have developed new class of inorganic pigments that are both non-toxic and environmentally unimpeachable, while preserving or even exceeding the optical, thermal and chemical characteristics of the existing commercial pigments. The developed colorants find practical applications in polymer matrix like PMMA.