'Operations, Meet Sustainability. You Two Should Talk!', a seminar by Professor Tarkan Tan (University of Zurich)

'Operations, Meet Sustainability. You Two Should Talk!'

by Professor Tarkan Tan (University of Zurich)

Abstract

Sustainability is no longer a peripheral concern; it’s an operational imperative. As environmental and social pressures intensify, organizations are being called to rethink how they plan, produce, and deliver. Contrary to the perception that sustainability comes at the cost of efficiency, evidence increasingly suggests that well-designed sustainable operations can enhance both resilience and economic performance. Still, the path forward is rarely straightforward. In this talk, we provide insights into what firms can do to improve the sustainability of their operations, and how operations management and operations research can support this effort by incorporating sustainability into decision-making in the face of complex and often uncertain trade-offs.

About the speaker

Tarkan Tan is a professor of Sustainable Operations Management at the University of Zurich since September 2022. Prior to that, he worked at Eindhoven University of Technology and TIAS Business School in the Netherlands. He received his Ph.D. from Middle East Technical University in Ankara and was a Fulbright scholar at Columbia University, New York. Additionally, he has served as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Sydney Business School. His research interests include inventory theory, capacity management, spare parts management, and supply chain management, with a focus on sustainability. He has received multiple teaching awards and has extensively collaborated with the industry. Prof. Tan serves as an associate editor for the Manufacturing & Service Operations Management journal and has served as a guest and associate editor for other journals. He co-edited a book entitled 'Sustainable Supply Chains: A Research-based Textbook on Operations and Strategy'.