Development of a Methodology to Analyze Energy and Resources Consumption Along the Product Value Chain

Over the last years the sustainability issue has grown exponentially and it has involved several engineering areas, starting with the product sustainability, then to the factory sustainability, up to reach the entire Value Chain sustainability. Due to the continuous increasing of complex relations among factories, suppliers, and customers, a new method for investigating the entire Value Chain, considering its key partners, their requirements in terms of materials usage and energy consumption, and how these requirements influence the Value Chain sustainability is presented. This model will aim companies to define the criticalities inside the Value Chain relations and to develop possible improved scenarios.