E100: How Lean Six Sigma Professionals Can Make The World A Better Place – Orlando March 2023

I’m very excited about episode 100, it’s a great milestone in any podcaster’s journey. Thank you for listening! It has taken many years to get to this, but it’s a sustainable pace that has worked for me, and why I feel that I can get to #200 someday.In this 100th podcast, I share a video of a speech I gave at the Lean Six Sigma World Conference in Orlando on March 16, 2023. Here is the abstract I submitted about the presentation.Process improvement specialists have had decades of success helping organizations improve their operations using methods like TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, ISO and more. In 2015, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet…” There are specific targets for each goal that are meant to be achieved by the year 2030, focusing on topics such as poverty, hunger, healthcare, education, equality, clean air and water, and more. However, the approach being used to address these targets does not leverage these established improvement methods, which may add additional cost or time to achieving these targets. As an example, I go through an example of sustainable consumption and reducing food waste in the video. How can process improvement practitioners shift our attention from helping for-profit organizations make more profits towards achieving the SDGs targets? I discuss ways that you can help your organization transition improvement activities towards sustainability by looking at the impact each facility has on the environment and societal issues in the local community. This can be accomplished through targeted projects, events, training and activities with your Facilities, Environment, Safety and Health (ESH), and Corporate Sustainability teams. It can also be accomplished through skills-based volunteer work with local nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are working on SDGs. I share some examples of internal sustainability projects and external volunteering projects using Lean and Six Sigma methods, and hopefully inspire you to pursue opportunities to find rewarding and impactful improvements at work or in your free time. In summary, here are some ways to help your company be more sustainable using Lean Six Sigma* volunteer with nonprofit partners during (paid) * invite nonprofit partners into improvement events and training * Conduct projects to reduce environmental or social impacts at work If you cannot get your company support (unpaid), here are some other suggestions:* volunteer with nonprofit partners after work * coach or mentor nonprofits on your free time * coach or mentor students or co-workers that have time to work directly with the nonprofits You can watch the entire video to view the slides, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldsvXbT1eQM Links* Lean Six Sigma World Conference * UN SDG #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production * Lean Six Sigma and Wasted Food training classes * Free Lean Six Sigma for Good book – How to personally identify causes to support * Case Studies*