Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach for Development of Electric Vehicle Market in India

AbstractThe automobile industry is at its maximum growth since few years because of revolutionary changes in Information Technology and greater living standards created by the citizens of India. The booming market obviously puts a lot of pressure on the available stagnant resources like crude oil, natural gas, fossil fuels etc. The supply and demand are crossing the breakeven point and the situation can be worsened if an alternative doesn’t replace the existing crisis. The Electric Vehicle (EV) is one of the alternative solutions to overcome the crises. But EV market is at a nascent stage in India when compared with other developed and emerging countries. There are many factors which affect the growth of electric vehicle market in India. The present paper discusses most critical factors for the promotion and development of EV market in India with the help of an Interpretive Structural Model (ISM)

Learning to predict cosmological parameters using Deep Learning

Abstract Ever since its discovery back in 1964 Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) has been of great interest to cosmologists and played a crucial role in understanding and studying the early universe. One of the most interesting topic of current interest is dark matter and its existence is by now well established. By analyzing the CMB data we can estimate the baryon matter and dark matter density of the universe. With vast amount of astronomical data already present and a more vast amount which is to come in future, Machine Learning techniques can provide a variety of benefits in astrophysical and cosmological research. Here we explore the use of deep learning to estimate baryon and dark matter density. We have used a U-Net based neural networks in this paper. We have used simulated CMB temperature maps as a dataset to train the neural networks and correlate the baryon and dark matter density from the power spectrum of the corresponding simulated CMB temperature map.</jats:p

Indian residents willingness to pay green cess to support electric mobility ecosystem: A societal benefit perspective

This study investigates the societal benefit of willingness to pay (WTP) green cess on polluting vehicles, to build an ecosystem for promoting zero emissions electric mobility in Western India. A survey method employed enabled data collection from 492 commuters and analysed using an open-ended contingent valuation method (CVM). As per the findings, about 67 % of commuters are in favour to pay green cess to help building an ecosystem for faster adoption of electric vehicles, but at comparatively low price. On positive note, around acknowledged electric mobility adoption needs a supportive ecosystem, while were not so forthcoming. The findings depicted that the average open-ended WTP for green cess evaluates to Rs 370 per month. The study engages commuters as stakeholders, helps analyse their sustainability orientation in terms of WTP and suggests recommendations for utilizing key learnings and monetary tool for inclusive developments towards a cleaner environment