Lean Six Sigma for ESG: A Framework for Sustainable Operational Excellence

As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues rise to the forefront of corporate strategy, organizations increasingly face the challenge of integrating sustainability into operational practices. Meanwhile, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) remains a dominant methodology for driving process efficiency and quality improvement. However, the integration of these two powerful paradigms remains limited in theory and practice, recently gaining significant interest from academics and practitioners. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework that combines LSS tools and methodologies with ESG principles and goals to improve sustainable performance across strategic and operational levels. The research followed an exploratory, qualitative design grounded in an abductive approach. The framework was developed through two inputs: a comprehensive literature review and empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews with consultancy professionals involved in continuous improvement and sustainability across multiple industries. These two sources were used iteratively to create the proposed model, ensuring both theoretical relevance and practical applicability. The results show that while LSS methodologies are well established in many organizations, ESG practices are still developing and often not fully integrated. Integration remains limited due to knowledge gaps, measurement challenges, and organizational misalignment. These insights directly influenced the design of the proposed framework, that aims to address specific gaps and enablers identified during the research. This study concludes that integrating ESG into LSS practices may represent a promising pathway and suggests a practical framework for achieving both operational excellence and sustainable development. By bridging the gap between efficiency and responsibility, the framework represents a practical tool for organizations aiming to align performance with evolving societal and environmental expectations.