Economic and Environmental Indicators for Assessing Energy Efficiency Improvements in the Smart Manufacturing Processes

Since the manufacturing industry is one of the major global energy consumers and carbon emitters, energy efficiency has emerged as one of the industry's key drivers. Additionally, digital technologies offer companies significant opportunities to boost productivity and generate cost savings while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact. This study establishes a framework for economic and environmental indicators supporting smart manufacturing and asset management operations. The framework contributes to the sustainability assessment of digital solutions focused on increasing energy efficiency. In this setting, the emphasis is particularly on LCC (Life Cycle Costing) and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) indicators. The approach is being tested in four different types of pilot companies in the manufacturing sector. The study examines the indicators from several angles at the process and machine levels. In the next phase of our research, software tools for the energy efficiency-oriented online LCC and LCA will be developed to make the indicator framework practical