A Collection of Tools for Factory Eco-efficiency

The efficiency and eco-efficiency of manufacturing

In this paper, we review the efficiency of both manufacturing processes and systems over recent decades and compare nano-materials technologies in this context. To a first approximation, nano-materials processes appear to be about as efficient as semi-conductor processes. That is, their second law efficiencies are of the order 10, while conventional processes are of order 10. However, many of t...

System Factory: Integrating Tools for System Integration

Large-scale distributed systems such as global enterprise systems, E-commerce and E-service systems are critical for businesses and complex to build and run. Their design requires an advanced technology of system integration that guarantees satisfaction of various customer requirements. This paper advocates a holistic approach to system integration that supports an end-toend systematic design: ...

Eco-Efficiency Indicators for Urban Transport

This paper focuses on urban passenger transport eco-efficiency, which can be defined as the production of maximum benefits to society while minimising environmental impacts from urban transport’s inputs of energy and materials. Researchers have intensively studied transport’s varied environmental impacts, particularly through Life Cycle Assessment; this paper argues that primary transport energ...

Eco-Efficiency in Corporate Budgeting

A methodology for assessing eco-efficiency in logistics networks

Recent literature on sustainable logistics networks points to two important questions: (i) How to spot the preferred solution(s) balancing environmental and business concerns? (ii) How to improve the understanding of the trade-offs between these two dimensions? We posit that a visual exploration of the efficient frontier and trade-offs between profitability and environmental impacts are particu...