A simplified method and tool to support energy efficiency and environmental evaluation: a case study in the Off-Site Construction sector

This paper presents the method and architecture of a novel software tool designed to support energy efficiency evaluation and environmental sustainability assessment in the industrial sector. By integrating principles from Lean Management (LM), specifically Resources Value Mapping (RVM), the tool enables users to identify energy inefficiencies and correlate energy use with production processes, concurrently providing Carbon Footprint (CF) assessment. The proposed approach allows companies to analyze energy flows through key indexes used as KPIs for energy performance quantification. Furthermore, the tool’s flexible data input capabilities make it adaptable across different industrial settings. The tool was tested and tailored for the Off-Site Construction (OSC) sector in the Italian geography, where it demonstrated its utility in managing supply chain energy interactions and highlighting critical inefficiencies both at the energy and sustainability level, aligning with the European Union’s Net-Zero ambitions.