Examining “the Jungle” of Metrics Available to Improve Sustainability Performance of Energy Intensive Industries

Energy use in manufacturing is under increasing scrutiny given challenges, especially in recent times in Europe, for the cost and security of supply. In addition, the carbon impact of energy must be reduced dramatically in the coming decade(s) to meet national legally binding targets and alignment with global net zero objectives. This is being acutely felt in the energy intensive or “foundation industries” that are high energy users with disproportionally high carbon impact due to the higher use of non-renewable sources. Metrics and associated targets implicitly drive a focus on energy efficiency, however, a wider set of metrics that better represent sustainability issues could be used to foster broader solutions both within companies acting alone as well as collaborative solutions by working across organizations whether commercial or not for profit. This paper examines the spectrum of potential metrics to drive better sustainability performance (and greater resource efficiency, including energy efficiency) in the pursuit of broader societal goals such as the UN’s Global Goals. The paper reports on metrics research at multiple scales from process to factory to system levels. The findings show how alignment with emerging potentially mandated standards could lead to broader innovation in manufacturing.