Produktion2030 report - Factory Resource and Energy Efficiency through Digitalization (FREED)

Report, 2023

For manufacturing companies to thrive in the long term, it is crucial for them to demonstrate a clear commitment to sustainable development. This can be achieved by adopting eco-friendly practices, such as eco-efficiency and circular economy, which aim to create both social and economic value while minimizing the negative environmental impact of production. By efficiently processing materials into products and components, and recycling resources within a closed-loop system, companies can contribute significantly to sustainability. Moreover, the rise of industrial digitalization offers new opportunities for measuring the performance of complex systems and making systematic progress toward a circular economy and sustainable practices. This research project aims to assist manufacturing companies in identifying data-driven techniques that can be easily implemented to effectively manage the environmental performance of their operations. Overall, the vision of the FREED project is to create a toolkit for data-supported environmental performance management to boost the “green & digital transition” of industrial systems. In this context, the project primarily focuses on data handling practices and data management systems, aiming to establish connections between factory data and environmental information systems. Ultimately, these systems enable continuous monitoring of processes and automated identification of areas for improvement.
The project involves activities such as process mapping, data inventory, data quality assessment, and gap analysis. These activities are designed to identify existing strengths and pinpoint areas that require improvement to enhance the overall environmental performance of production systems.
WP1. Feasibility analysis: Encompasses the creation of process maps, conducting production data inventory, and evaluating data quality at the case companies. Novel methodologies and indicators are carefully examined and selected to identify appropriate solutions for testing.
WP2. Gap analysis: The maturity assessment conducted at the facility level serve as the foundation for the gap analysis. Our evaluation encompasses existing environmental practices and data management approaches, aiming to ascertain the specific requirements of key stakeholders and the data needed for implementing novel solutions. Notably, we focus on science-based targets and indicators for eco-efficiency, circular economy, and absolute sustainability. The gap analysis not only identifies areas of improvement, including data gaps but also recognizes existing strengths upon which to build.
The FREED toolkit’s primary objective is to assist manufacturing managers and workers in seamlessly integrating environmental considerations into their roles and actions. This is accomplished by reducing the cognitive load associated with processing environmental information so that it enables increased social sustainability. Other expected impacts are reduced material and energy intensity, reduced toxicity, increased sustainable use of renewable sources (for both energy and materials), value retention (circular strategies for product life extension and waste valorisation), and increased service intensity (product-service systems and industrial services).