Why sustainability in production and logistics needs to be rethought
Sustainability is no longer a voluntary add-on issue in industry and logistics. Rising energy costs, volatile supply chains and growing regulatory requirements are noticeably changing the framework conditions for planning and operations. Companies are under increasing pressure to make their processes not only efficient, but also measurably more sustainable.
This is not a matter of symbolic measures or isolated individual projects. What is needed are robust decisions based on data. Traditional planning tools usually only depict a static target state and provide little insight into how processes actually behave under changing conditions.
Simulation and digital twins offer a structured approach to systematically integrating sustainability into planning and operations.
Regulatory and economic drivers
With the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD for short, the EU is obliging many companies to disclose their sustainability performance in a transparent and comprehensible manner. This includes CO₂ emissions from their own processes as well as from upstream and downstream areas of the value chain.
At the same time, rising energy prices are having a direct impact on the economic efficiency of production and logistics systems. Sustainability is thus becoming a classic planning and optimisation task.
Typical challenges in practice include:
- Lack of transparency regarding energy and material consumption
- Uncertainty regarding process changes
- Fear of efficiency losses during ongoing operations
- Lack of data for reliable CO₂ reporting
Simulation addresses precisely these issues.
Error-free sustainability: testing sustainability without risk
Simulation makes it possible to analyse sustainability scenarios without affecting ongoing operations. Processes, layouts and control strategies can be mapped virtually and compared in so-called what-if scenarios.
Companies can evaluate how different variants affect key performance indicators early on in the planning phase:
- Energy requirements and peak loads
- CO₂ emissions
- Throughput and utilisation
- Resource use
The key advantage is that decisions are made based on facts before investing, building or converting. Sustainability goes from being an assumption to a predictable variable.
Specific areas of application in production and logistics
Targeted optimisation of energy requirements
A key lever for sustainability is energy use. In many production systems, load peaks are caused by unfavourable cycle times or oversized equipment. These effects often remain hidden in everyday operations, but have a significant impact on costs and CO₂ intensity.
Simulation supports detailed energy planning by:
- Analysing cycle times and shift models
- Evaluating different control strategies
- Dimensioning systems according to demand
- Realistically evaluating energy consumption
This allows load peaks to be reduced and energy to be used specifically where it is actually needed.
Designing efficient material flows
Material movements account for a significant portion of energy consumption in production and logistics. Simulation enables a detailed analysis of routes, means of transport and order structures.
Digital models show, among other things:
- Unnecessary transport and empty runs
- Unfavourable layouts
- Bottlenecks and waiting times
On this basis, material flows can be optimised, AGVs and forklifts can be designed according to demand, and traffic rules can be adapted. The result is more efficient processes with lower energy consumption.
Increase resource efficiency and reduce waste
In addition to energy, material usage and waste play a central role in sustainable processes. Unstable processes, downtime or poorly coordinated detailed planning often lead to material spoilage or unnecessary waste.
Simulation helps to:
- Plan processes more stably
- Identify bottlenecks at an early stage
- Better coordinate production programmes
- Control resource use in a targeted manner
Resource efficiency thus becomes an integral part of planning rather than a downstream correction.
The digital twin as a link between planning and operation
While classic process simulations are often used in the planning phase, the digital twin accompanies real-world operations. It is continuously supplied with current data and digitally maps the real system.
This allows you to:
- Identify energy-intensive conditions early on
- Identify inefficient operating modes
- Plan maintenance measures in advance
This allows adjustments to be made before costs or emissions occur. The digital twin combines operational control with strategic sustainability goals.
Transparency and reporting based on reliable data
Simulation provides comprehensible and consistent data on energy requirements, throughput and emissions. This data supports both internal decisions and external verification.
In the context of CSRD, simulation forms an important basis for structured CO₂ reporting. Sustainability thus becomes controllable and verifiable, rather than estimated.
Summary
Sustainability in production and logistics is a complex optimisation task. Simulation and digital twins make it possible to solve this task systematically, risk-free and data-based. They help companies save energy, use resources more efficiently and reliably meet regulatory requirements.
Those who integrate sustainability early on in planning and operations create ecological advantages, economic stability and long-term future security.
