Drivers and barriers to implement sustainable manufacturing concepts in Sri Lankan manufacturing sector

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 171–176.Sri Lanka promotes manufacturing sector without much concern on environmental and social problems as one of the driving forces for the economic prosperity. This has aggravated number of issues and this has lead to adapting of some sustainability related initiatives in local manufacturing sector. However, majority of them function independently with fix boundaries. Conversely, there are some hindrances to implement the sustainable manufacturing concepts as a one comprehensive solution. This research intends to investigate the motivators and barriers to adapt sustainable manufacturing concept to overcome current issues faced by the manufacturing industry. An evaluation criterion was developed based on some of the popularly used guidelines and sustainability options available in number of sub domains. Results highlights the main motivators plus common and cluster specific barriers to implement sustainable manufacturing in local industry. These outcomes can be easily considered for the policy development purposes in developing countries in future