Sustainable Process Quality with Links to Standards

Dear Colleagues,

The synergy of "Sustainable Process Quality with Links to Standards" and greening contribute to the efficiency of resource utilization in transparent processes with a high level of quality. The result of the introduction of quality management systems by the requirements of the EN ISO 9001 standard and environmental management systems under the requirements of the EN ISO 14001 standard is, on the one hand, a contribution to the permanent economic growth and prosperity of the company and, on the other hand, a gradual reduction in the impact of its activities, products, and services on the environment. The quality and environmental management system, as well as being certified by the requirements of the EN ISO 9001 and EN ISO 14001 standards, is becoming an industry standard in determining strategic partnerships. Adapting to stricter future environmental legislation, increasing consumer awareness of the environment and the share of environmentally friendly consumers, as well as the demands of business partners, can therefore only bring benefits in the long term.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is currently the only standardized method (within the ISO 14 000 series) to assess environmental impacts throughout the life cycle. LCA alone is only the first step towards a more environmentally friendly Supply Chain (SC), as it only detects environmental impacts and does not minimize them. The next step is then, for example, the use of Eco/Green design tools that allow us to minimize the environmental impacts identified with the LCA.

The results of research among Hungarian companies in the automotive industry show the popularity of various ecological techniques in the fields of product design, purchasing, production, and logistics in the external supply chain:

1. Green design—Design of new products for resource efficiency, including reduced energy consumption, reduced material consumption, renewable energy use, and waste reduction. Green design is a less commonly used area because its techniques require large investments, and the return is slow compared to other green activities.
2. Green purchasing—The basic idea is to reduce the environmental impact caused by the resources used in the products. This can be determined by selecting suitable materials and/or suppliers. The field of organic purchasing has a large set of tools and they found large differences in the degree of application of individual techniques. The most popular green shopping techniques are administrative, that is, they require certain documents and standards from the supplier.
3. Green manufacturing—The green manufacturing process must use inputs with a low environmental impact, work with high efficiency, and generate a minimum amount of waste and pollution. Green production has great popularity because it provides companies with fast and tangible results.
4. Sustainable packaging quality process—Consists of ecological packaging and transport. Eco-friendly packaging includes downsizing, the use of "green" packaging materials, working with suppliers to standardize packaging, minimizing the use of material and time required for unpacking, adopting returnable packaging methods, and promoting recycling and reuse programs. Ecological transport means deliveries directly to the user's place, the use of vehicles with alternative propulsion, distribution in large batches and the change of transport to another, more environmentally friendly mode of transport.

The scientific focus of the area of “Sustainable Process Quality with Links to Standards” is oriented as follows:

• Quality of logistics systems;
• Quality management system;
• Environmental management system;
• Statistical process control;
• Sustainable development.

Dr. Marcela Malindzakova
Guest Editor

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• quality
• statistics
• statistical process control
• environment
• quality of logistics systems
• quality management system
• environmental management system
• sustainable development