In manufacturing industry, many companies strive for sustainability. The existing scientific discourse on sustainable manufacturing (SM) often focuses on economic and environmental aspects with a technology-centered perspective. This article strengthens the view of SM as a sociotechnical system and introduces a new perspective that links SM to the concept of sustainable leadership (SL) by highlighting parallels and potential for complementarities and synergies. We outline initial findings and argue that the integration of a SL perspective is essential to comprehensively implement SM in all three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., economic, environmental and social. In order to integrate SL in SM and to capture complexity, we propose to follow the design science research methodology (DSRM) and model-based systems engineering (MBSE), in order to systematically develop a model-based integrated SM. As a result, relationships within and between SM and SL elements can be formalized. Dependencies and effects are derived and summarized in a knowledge-based model that can support the decision-making of leaders in the manufacturing industry. This paper seeks to broaden the field of research by establishing the SL perspective in relation to SM.