Development of a model of barriers to environmentally conscious manufacturing implementation

Manufacturing firms consume energy and natural resources in highly unsustainable manner and release large amounts of green house gases leading to many economic, environmental and social problems from climate change to local waste disposal. Consciousness about these issues has led to a new manufacturing paradigm of environmentally conscious manufacturing (ECM). However, there are various barriers to the implementation of ECM. A proper understanding and analysis of these barriers will allow the management of the company and government to prioritise their focus to mitigate root barriers for effective implementation of ECM. This paper aims at identifying the barriers to ECM, developing a model of these barriers using statistical analysis and testing the model using structural equation modelling technique. The results provide three types of barriers – internal, policy and economic. The results show that internal barriers are the root barriers and cause policy and economic barriers. It reflects that the barriers which are internal to the organisation should be mitigated first for effective implementation of ECM.