Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.8
3.9
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Energy Efficiency Measures in Supply Chain Systems
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Energy Efficiency Measures in Supply Chain Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 8520

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ivan Ferretti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Università degli Studi di Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: models for the management of complex systems with particular attention to sustainability and energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Beatrice Marchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze, 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: sustainable logistics and supply chain management; energy efficiency; industrial symbiosis; energy storage system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy efficiency represents a strategic resource for sustainable development in the three dimensions (i.e., economic, environmental, and social) because it provides multiple benefits to different stakeholders. For instance, from the perspective of industrial users, energy efficiency can result in relevant cost savings, improved competitiveness, profitability and quality, and a better working environment. Several energy efficiency measures (EEMs), which can be mainly grouped in three categories, i.e., technological, managerial, and maintenance practices, have been identified in the past years. Moreover, the recent development of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing technologies has made it possible to develop tools that are able to decide (or support decisions) with respect to the operating conditions of plants while achieving the goal of energy efficiency. Thanks to the use of data acquisition tools, it is possible to monitor and control energy consumption.

Despite these multiple benefits, there is still a gap between the actual implementation rate and the potential one. In fact, most firms, especially Small and Medium Enterprieses (SMEs), face many barriers and, in some cases, hostility when trying to implement energy efficiency plans. The most dominant of these barriers are the access to the capital required for supporting the initial investment and the lack of awareness and know-how. Supply chain management and the coordination and collaboration of the different stakeholders (e.g., companies directly involved in the supply chain, multi-utility, public service facilities, etc.) represent one of the main ways to overcome those barriers and can also support the implementation of EEMs for companies with a lower competitive positioning in the marketplace, while introducing additional benefits.

There are many opportunities to develop this topic from the practice and research point of view. For instance, further interesting developments in the following fields (as well as other topics) remain:

  • the evaluation of the effects that the energy management has on the economic and environmental results of the supply chain while considering also different forms of cooperation among the actors
  • how supply chain management can support the development of energy efficient measures to overcome existing barriers
  • how different learning curves and knowledge of participants along the supply chain can influence the outcomes
  • the effects introduced by considering risks and uncertainties that characterise the current environment
  • the effects of specific supply chain energy efficiency measures, in order to compare and prioritize the existing alternatives in different industrial sectors, since they may have different relevance and impacts

References:

Marchi B. and Zanoni S. (2017). Supply chain management for improved energy efficiency: review and opportunities. Energies 10, 1618, doi: 10.3390/en10101618

Marchi B., Zanoni S., Ferretti I., and Zavanella L.E. (2018). Stimulating Investments in Energy Efficiency Through Supply Chain Integration. Energies 2018, 11, 858; doi:10.3390/en11040858

Dr. Ivan Ferretti
Dr. Beatrice Marchi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • energy efficiency
  • supply chain
  • energy management
  • decision support system
  • Industry 4.0

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 2982 KiB  
Article
A Rational Plan of Energy Performance Contracting in an Educational Building: A Case Study
by Zulhazmi Hatta Mohamad Munir, Norasikin Ahmad Ludin, Mirratul Mukminah Junedi, Nurfarhana Alyssa Ahmad Affandi, Mohd Adib Ibrahim and Mohd Asri Mat Teridi
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1430; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021430 - 11 Jan 2023
Viewed by 2028
Abstract
Energy performance contracting (EPC) is the best solution for an educational building to implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) because of its high capital expenditure and operational expenditure needed for retrofit and maintenance. It is also considered a win–win mechanism for organising building energy [...] Read more.
Energy performance contracting (EPC) is the best solution for an educational building to implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) because of its high capital expenditure and operational expenditure needed for retrofit and maintenance. It is also considered a win–win mechanism for organising building energy efficiency retrofit projects. It aims to assist educational buildings in acquiring new high-efficiency equipment and maximising energy use reduction, as guaranteed by energy service company (ESCO). This study developed an EPC model using regression analysis, in which the inputs are based on the data collected during the preliminary energy audit in University A. As a result, with a quantum sharing ratio of 0.95/0.5 for ESCO/University A, the forecasted energy savings from the proposed ECMs, chiller optimisation and replacement, lighting retrofit, and energy management system are estimated to save 25.6% energy use, which reduces 5,672,057 kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity consumption; saves RM 2,762,291.76/year; carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation equal to 3,771,061.22 kgCO2/year; return of investment of 4.2 years with a 5% interest rate; and building energy intensity of 93.55 kWh/m2/year. A sensitivity analysis of various quantum sharing ratios found that the saving value of ESCO is inversely proportional to that of University A as the client when the quantum sharing ratio for the former is increasing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency Measures in Supply Chain Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 878 KiB  
Article
Energy Efficiency Engagement Training in SMEs: A Case Study in the Automotive Sector
by Gema Millán, Yassine Rqiq, Erudino Llano, Víctor Ballestín, Lisa Neusel, Antoine Durand, Josephine Tröger, Fabrizio Lamberti, Federico De Lorenzis and Maurizio Repetto
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10504; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710504 - 23 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1341
Abstract
Energy efficiency requirements in Europe are set by the Energy Efficiency Directive, considering energy audits as a systematic procedure to determine the savings in energy costs. These kinds of tools provide useful information for companies to identify opportunities for the improvement of their [...] Read more.
Energy efficiency requirements in Europe are set by the Energy Efficiency Directive, considering energy audits as a systematic procedure to determine the savings in energy costs. These kinds of tools provide useful information for companies to identify opportunities for the improvement of their energy performance. However, the regulation is only applied for non-SMEs in Europe, which make up only 0.2% of the total number of European companies. Compared in terms of the value added or the number of employees, these companies are still at a lower percentage than small and medium enterprises. The wide versatility of small companies, however, makes it difficult to determine a regulation that promotes the objective of the Directive in a uniform way. For this reason, one aspect that is being worked on with small companies is raising awareness and training in energy aspects, encouraging them to carry out activities to improve their energy performance based on their own initiative. In this regard, within the framework of an H2020 research project based on the automotive sector, the E2DRIVER project, a collaborative–cooperative training methodology has been designed to motivate and empower the key actors within a company. This paper describes the methodology and its implementation in different companies in European countries, providing some representative results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency Measures in Supply Chain Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 4144 KiB  
Article
An Evaluation of Supply Chain Performance of China’s Prefabricated Building from the Perspective of Sustainability
by Shiman Zhao, Junwu Wang, Mengwei Ye, Qiyun Huang and Xiang Si
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1299; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031299 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4288
Abstract
Prefabricated building is an objective requirement to achieve sustainable development of the construction industry. However, it should be noted that Chinese enterprises are characterized by an immature supply chain management mechanism, and weak environmental protection awareness and social responsibility awareness. Therefore, from the [...] Read more.
Prefabricated building is an objective requirement to achieve sustainable development of the construction industry. However, it should be noted that Chinese enterprises are characterized by an immature supply chain management mechanism, and weak environmental protection awareness and social responsibility awareness. Therefore, from the perspective of sustainable development, a performance evaluation system for a prefabricated building supply chain was established based on SEM (Structural Equation Model) and virtual frontier SBM–DEA (Slacks-Based Measure and Data Envelopment Analysis). Upon summarization of a great deal of literatures, the most influential 34 indexes were selected, after which the weight calculation and index screening were performed using SEM method. Second, the performance evaluation was conducted using the virtual SBM–DEA method. Horizontally, a comparison is made on the performance and total performance of the four sub-units (supply chain operation, economic benefit, environmental protection and social liabilities) in the supply chain; vertically, the dynamic changes of the supply chain in time dimension are assessed. After the evaluation system was applied into enterprises, research results show that factors affecting the performance of the corporate supply chain are ranked as: supply chain operation > economic benefits > environmental protection > social responsibility. At the same time, the performance of 14 supply chains was evaluated, in order to provide guidance for supply chain management in enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency Measures in Supply Chain Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop