Remanufacturing in industry: advices from the field

The sustainable management of wastes has attracted in the last decades an increasing number of industrial actors, policymakers and researchers. Environmental improvements, social responsibilities and economic opportunities led many manufacturers to implement different kinds of end-of-life (EoL) strategies. However, in many cases, these strategies are not supported by a correct commitment of top managers, but are implemented only in response to competitor’s actions. This paper aims to improve the understanding of management practices concerning remanufacturing activities. A mixed evaluation model based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed. Its final aim is the evaluation of top management commitment in driving remanufacturing as an overall sustainable initiative into three different sectors (automotive, aerospace and medical equipments). The survey allowed to define the most critical factors for each sector and, so, to analyse underlying remanufacturing strategies.