A Review on Achieving Sustainability in the Petroleum Industry Through the Integration of Lean and Green
Source abstract
Abstract
The petroleum industry has been a key driver in the development of the world economy yet continues to attract increasing criticism due to its negative environmental impact via greenhouse gas emissions, resource inefficiency, and waste. Integrating lean and green practices is fast becoming a transformative approach to tackling these issues as it integrates process optimization with sustainability principles. This review paper examined the existing literature on lean and green integration, highlighting its benefits, models, critical success factors, and a roadmap for its implementation. Also, it identified sustainability challenges and offered strategic solutions. The findings showed that integrating lean and green offers potential for both process optimization and waste and carbon footprint reduction, particularly for the petroleum industry in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This can be achieved by using appropriate tools and models. Sustainable value stream mapping (Sus-VSM) is a strategic tool that highlights the importance of sustainability metrics. These sustainability metrics address the implementation challenges of the convectional value stream mapping tool (VSM). This paper is one of the few initiatives to promote lean–green integration within the petroleum industry.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Quality and Supply Management · Sustainable Supply Chain Management · Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK
School of Leadership, Management and Marketing, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Department of Logistics and Transportation Technology, Federal University of Technology Minna, Minna PMB 65, Nigeria
References (100+)
Show source-provided references
1. Natural gas flaring—Alternative solutions10.4236/wjet.2017.51012 ↗
2. The potential role of natural gas flaring in meeting greenhouse gas mitigation targets10.1016/j.esr.2017.12.012 ↗
3. World Bank (2022). 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report, World Bank. Available online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/gasflaringreduction/publication/2022-global-gas-flaring-tracker-report.
4. WorldMetrics (2025, February 18). Oil Industry Statistics: Market Data Report 2024. Available online: https://worldmetrics.org/oil-and-gas-industry-statistics/.
5. Lean and green–a systematic review of the state of the art literature10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.064 ↗
6. Lean and green in the transport and logistics sector–a case study of simultaneous deployment10.1080/09537287.2016.1197436 ↗
7. Shokri, A., Antony, J., and Garaza-Reyes, J.A. (2025, February 18). Modelling Interaction and Prioritisation of Barriers to Green Lean Six Sigma Implementation in the Manufacturing Through ISM-MICMAC and Fuzzy AHP. Available online: https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/files/108448385/EurOMA_2023_full_paper_A._Shokri.pdf.
8. Lean production, green supply chain management and environmental performance: A configurational perspective based on the Portuguese context10.1108/IJLSS-02-2023-0036 ↗
9. Connecting lean and green with sustainability towards a conceptual model10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129047 ↗
10. Lean-green integration and its impact on sustainability performance: A critical review10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117697 ↗
11. Status of Lean Six Sigma implementation in Indian industries: A cross-sectional national survey10.1108/IJLSS-05-2022-0107 ↗
12. A lean six sigma framework for continuous and incremental improvement in the Petroleum sector10.1108/IJLSS-02-2019-0011 ↗
13. Maintaining sustainable performance in operating petroleum assets via a lean-six-sigma approach: A case study from engineering support services10.1108/IJLSS-11-2015-0042 ↗
14. Reliability, availability and maintainability analysis of a bag production industry based on the six sigma DMAIC approach10.1108/IJLSS-09-2019-0101 ↗
15. Investigating the impact of total quality management practices and Six Sigma processes to enhance the quality and reduce the cost of quality: The case of Dubai10.1504/IJBEX.2022.123036 ↗
16. Lean and green strategy: The lean and greenhouse and maturity deployment model10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.022 ↗
17. Adegoke, A., Ayenor, G., Nnoaham, I., Okwuosah, S., and Osadebe, O. (2024, January 6–9). Bonga North Story: Beyond 1 Billion Barrels–Driving Growth with Subsea Tiebacks in Deepwater Nigeria. Proceedings of the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, TX, USA.10.4043/35242-MS ↗
18. Mohammed, M., Brewer, R., Amuda, D., Anyankpele, P., Oreagba, T., Marshal, T., Ilesanmi, O., and Osolu, O. (2024, January 6–9). Powering Bonga to One Billion Barrels Through Innovative Project Delivery and Technology Deployment. Proceedings of the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, TX, USA.10.4043/35124-MS ↗
19. Evaluation of Lean Manufacturing Concept Implementation in The Upstream Petroleum Industry Through Critical Success Factors
20. Adoption and implementation potential of the lean concept in the petroleum industry: State-of-the-art10.1108/IJLSS-10-2016-0065 ↗
21. Lean production: A frontier for improving performance of Petroleum companies in Nigeria
22. Defining and developing measures of lean production10.1016/j.jom.2007.01.019 ↗
23. Chiarini, A. (2013). The Seven Wastes of Lean Organization. Lean Organization: From the Tools of the Toyota Production System to Lean Office, Springer.10.1007/978-88-470-2510-3 ↗
24. How to increase value and reduce waste in research: Initial experiences of applying Lean thinking and visual management in research leadership10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058179 ↗
25. Chiarini, A., and Cherrafi, A. (2017, January 7–8). Improving patient satisfaction using lean manufacturing tools. Case studies from Italy. Proceedings of the 20th Excellence in Services International Conference, Verona, Italy.
26. Using BIM as a lean management tool in construction processes A case study10.1016/j.asej.2021.07.009 ↗
27. Implementation of lean tools in an automotive industry for productivity enhancement-A case study10.4028/www.scientific.net/JERA.29.175 ↗
28. The Impact of the Application of Lean Tools for Improvement of Process in a Plastic Company: A case study10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.104 ↗
29. Rodrigues, J., Sá, J.C., Silva, F.J., Ferreira, L.P., Jimenez, G., and Santos, G. (2020). A rapid improvement process through “quick-win” lean tools: A case study. Systems, 8.10.3390/systems8040055 ↗
30. Green environment and circular economy: A state-of-the-art analysis
31. Circular economy to ensure production operational sustainability: A green-lean approach10.1016/j.spc.2021.12.001 ↗
32. Using life cycle assessment to achieve a circular economy10.1007/s11367-020-01856-z ↗
33. Green as the new Lean: How to use Lean practices as a catalyst to greening your supply chain10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.12.023 ↗
34. Sustainable Value Stream Mapping (Sus-VSM): Methodology to visualize and assess manufacturing sustainability performance10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.042 ↗
35. Green Lean Six Sigma for sustainable development: Integration and framework10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106396 ↗
36. Da Silva, F.J.G., and Gouveia, R.M. (2020). Cleaner Production, Springer International Publishing.
37. Lean-Green models for eco-efficient and sustainable production10.1016/j.energy.2017.04.016 ↗
38. A model for Lean and Green integration and monitoring for the coffee sector10.1016/j.compag.2018.03.034 ↗
39. Green and lean implementation: An assessment in the automotive industry10.1108/IJLSS-11-2015-0041 ↗
40. Assessing the lean-green practices in the automotive industry: Perspectives from academia and industry10.54517/esp.v8i2.1712 ↗
41. Lean and Green Manufacturing in operations strategy: Cases from the automotive industry
42. Elemure, I., Dhakal, H.N., Leseure, M., and Radulovic, J. (2023). Integration of lean green and sustainability in manufacturing: A review on current state and future perspectives. Sustainability, 15.10.3390/su151310261 ↗
43. Promoting eco-innovations to leverage sustainable development of eco-industry and green growth
44. Gordon, J. (2021). The Automotive Industry: The Potential for Sustainable Regional Cooperation. [Master’s Thesis, Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town].
45. Nigeria’s automotive policy and the quest for a viable automotive industry: A lesson for the developing economies10.1108/JSTPM-07-2019-0073 ↗
46. A readiness self-assessment model for implementing green lean initiatives10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127401 ↗
47. Real-Time Optimization and Decarbonization of Petroleum Production Value Chain Enabled by Industry 4.0 Technologies: A Critical Review
48. Innovation in Exploration and Production: How Technology Is Changing the Petroleum Landscape
49. Santos, M.C. (2023). Development of a Fixing and Adjusting Device for Chevron Osteotomy. [Ph.D. Thesis, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra].
50. Rahat, A.B. (2023). Importance of Social Investment Projects by Chevron for the Economic Development of Bangladesh, BRAC University.
51. Johnson, N. (2023). Strategic Mastery: Uncleashing the Power of LNG Program Development through Advanced Techniques, Lambert Academic Publishing.10.20944/preprints202312.2241.v1 ↗
52. Serena, B. (2023). Carbon Capture and Storage: The Solution to Climate Change or to the Fossil Fuels’ Survival? Critically Framing EU’s Discourses Around CCS. [Master’s thesis, University of Stavanger].
53. The renewable energy role in the global energy transition10.1016/j.ref.2024.100545 ↗
54. Oseme, K. (2023). Claims-to-Action Consistency of Major Petroleum Firms: A Comparison of Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil and Shell. [Master’s Thesis, University of Twente].
55. Saudi Arabia’s climate change policy and the circular carbon economy approach10.1080/14693062.2022.2070118 ↗
56. Krane, J. (2023). Net Zero Saudi Arabia: How Green Can the Oil Kingdom Get?, University of Cambridge.10.1017/9781009471527.006 ↗
57. Sahraoui, M.A., Rahmoune, C., Zair, M., Gougam, F., and Damou, A. (2023). Enhancing fault diagnosis of undesirable events in oil & gas systems: A machine learning approach with new criteria for stability analysis and classification accuracy. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part E J. Process Mech. Eng.10.1177/09544089231213778 ↗
58. The Monitoring of Abnormal Fluid Properties Based on PCA Technique as an Alternative Strategy to Support Autonomous Drilling Operations
59. Carbon intensity of global crude oil refining and mitigation potential10.1038/s41558-020-0775-3 ↗
60. Advancement in Heavy Oil Upgrading and Sustainable Exploration Emerging Technologies10.1016/j.arabjc.2024.105610 ↗
61. Khor, C.S. (2023). Model-Based Optimization for Petroleum Refinery Configuration Design, John Wiley & Sons.10.1002/9783527826100 ↗
62. Qing, W. (2021). Global Practice of AI and Big Data in Oil and Gas Industry. Machine Learning and Data Science in the Oil and Gas Industry, Gulf Professional Publishing.10.1016/B978-0-12-820714-7.00009-1 ↗
63. Can financing technological development programs mitigate mineral resource consumption-related environmental problems faced by Sub-Saharan African nations?10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104343 ↗
64. The refinery of today, tomorrow, and the future: A separations perspective10.1002/aic.17286 ↗
65. Core: Automatic molecule optimization using copy & refine strategy10.1609/aaai.v34i01.5404 ↗
66. Speight, J.G. (2020). The Refinery of the Future, Gulf Professional Publishing.
67. Lean and green? An empirical examination of the relationship between lean production and environmental performance10.1111/j.1937-5956.2001.tb00373.x ↗
68. (2015). Environmental Management Systems—Requirements with Guidance for Use (Standard No. ISO 14001:2015).
69. Elmansy, R. (2025, February 18). IKEA Sustainable Design Strategy. Available online: https://www.designorate.com/ikea-sustainable-design-strategy/#:~:text=IKEA%20has%20established%20a%20sustainability,renewable%20materials%2C%20and%20reduce%20waste.
70. Unilever (2025, February 18). 2010–2020: A Decade of Sustainable Growth. Available online: https://www.unilever.com/our-company/our-history-and-archives/2010-2020/#:~:text=In%20the%20face%20of%20climate,represent%20half%20of%20our%20growth.
71. An integrated lean and green approach for improving sustainability performance: A case study of a packaging manufacturing SME in the UK10.1080/09537287.2018.1501811 ↗
72. Lean and green combine to impact environmental and operational performance10.1080/00207543.2018.1447705 ↗
73. Could lean practices and process innovation enhance supply chain sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises?10.1002/bse.2266 ↗
74. Benefits of adopting lean production on green performance of SMEs: A case study10.1080/09537287.2018.1490971 ↗
75. Sustainability excellence: The interactions of lean production, internal green practices and green product innovation10.1108/IJLSS-07-2020-0109 ↗
76. Green and lean: A Gemba–Kaizen model for sustainability enhancement10.1080/09537287.2018.1501808 ↗
77. Appiah, M., Onifade, S.T., and Gyamfi, B.A. (2024). Pathways to Sustainability in Sub-Sahara Africa: Are Institutional Quality Levels Subservient in Achieving Green GDP Growth?. J. Knowl. Econ., 1–25.10.1007/s13132-024-01774-7 ↗
78. Kojima, M., Matthews, W., and Sexsmith, F. (2010). Petroleum Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank.
79. Saudipedia (2025, February 02). King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center. Available online: https://saudipedia.com/en/article/548/government-and-politics/centers/king-abdullah-petroleum-studies-and-researchcenter#:~:text=KAPSARC%20conducts%20international%20cooperative%20research,tools%2C%20and%20data%20for%20research.
80. TechCentral (2025, February 02). Real-World Uses of Blockchain: From Supply Chain to Equity. Available online: https://www.techcentral.ie/real-world-uses-of-blockchain-from-supply-chain-to-equity/#:~:text=The%20Abu%20Dhabi%20National%20Oil%20Company%20ADNOC,oil%20and%20gas%20production%20accounting%20anywhere%20in.
81. Oil and Gas 4.0 era: A systematic review and outlook10.1016/j.compind.2019.06.007 ↗
82. Babajide, A. (2018). Conflict and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. [Ph.D. Thesis, Loughborough University].
83. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (2025, February 02). Winning in Cabo Delgado. CSIS 2018., Available online: https://www.csis.org/analysis/winning-cabo-delgado.
84. Léo, H. (2025, February 18). The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund: A Unique Model for Managing Oil Rents. Blog Bio Ressour., Available online: https://blog.bio-ressources.com/2024/12/04/the-norwegian-sovereign-wealth-fund-a-unique-model-for-managing-oil-rents/.
85. International Energy Agency (2025, February 18). Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme. IEA 2020. Available online: https://www.iea.org/policies/8680-nigerian-gas-flare-commercialisation-programme.
86. Energy Capital & Power (2025, February 18). Angola Oil and Gas (AOG) 2024: Technical Track to Target Low-Carbon Technologies & Accelerated Project Deployment. Available online: https://energycapitalandpower.africa-newsroom.com/press/angola-oil-and-gas-aog-2024-technical-track-to-target-lowcarbon-technologies-accelerated-project-deployment?lang=en#:~:text=and%20well%20recovery.-,The%20country%20is%20implementing%20an%20%E2%80%9CIncremental%20Production%E2%80%9D%20initiative%20this%20year,workshop%20on%20Low%20Carbon%20Solutions.
87. Effective Stakeholder Relationship Management in The Oil & Gas Sector: A Conceptual And Review Perspective10.51594/farj.v6i3.898 ↗
88. Awan, U., and Sroufe, R. (2022). Sustainability in the circular economy: Insights and dynamics of designing circular business models. Appl. Sci., 12.10.3390/app12031521 ↗
89. Developing innovative software solutions for effective energy management systems in industry10.51594/estj.v5i8.1517 ↗
90. Hegedić, M., Gudlin, M., Golec, M., and Tošanović, N. (2024). Lean and Green Decision Model for Lean Tools Selection. Sustainability, 16.10.3390/su16031173 ↗
91. Sustainable value stream mapping (Sus-VSM) in different manufacturing system configurations: Application case studies10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.101 ↗
92. Impact of smart sustainable value stream mapping–Fuzzy PSI decision-making framework10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100201 ↗
93. Integrating and implementing Lean and Green practices based on proposition of Carbon-Value Efficiency metric10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.02.043 ↗
94. iPoint-systems (2025, February 18). Sustainability in the Automotive Industry: Driving the Transition to a Circular Economy in the Automotive Industry. Available online: https://go.ipoint-systems.com/blog/sustainability-automotive-industry#:~:text=From%20using%20recycled%20materials%20in,economy%20in%20the%20automotive%20industry.
95. Sustainable-value stream mapping to evaluate sustainability performance: Case study in an Indonesian furniture company10.1051/matecconf/201815401055 ↗
96. Lean and green: ‘Doing more with less’
97. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039 ↗
98. Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T., and Roos, D. (2007). The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-Toyota’s Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That is Now Revolutionizing World Industry, Simon and Schuster.
99. Evaluating the enablers and barriers for successful implementation of sustainable business practice in ‘lean’SMEs10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.239 ↗
100. Synergizing an ecosphere of lean for sustainable operations10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.093 ↗