New KPIs for Factories: Carbon, Energy and Resource Efficiency

As digital transformation accelerates across manufacturing, factory performance indicators are evolving. Alongside production output, quality and delivery times, carbon emissions, energy consumption and resource efficiency are becoming key operational metrics. This shift is increasing the need for enterprise software platforms capable of integrating sustainability data directly into manufacturing processes.

Reflecting this trend, Industrial Application Software (IAS) received the Gold Award in the “Sustainable Smart Factory” category at the Factory Innovation Awards held in Germany. The award recognises the company’s Canias ERP platform for its integrated approach to managing sustainability data within production operations.

Integrating sustainability data into manufacturing

Recognised at the Factory Innovation Awards, Canias combines ERP, IoT and big data technologies on a single platform, enabling manufacturers to monitor production, energy consumption, machine status, process parameters and material flows in real time. This integrated approach allows companies to manage not only production performance but also resource utilisation, energy efficiency and carbon footprint as part of their daily operations.

Rather than treating sustainability solely as a compliance or ESG reporting exercise, the platform enables environmental performance indicators to become part of operational planning and decision-making.

“Sustainable manufacturing requires the right data architecture”

Commenting on the award, IAS Vice Chairman of the Board Can Hakan Karabiber said that sustainability objectives can only become manageable when supported by a robust data infrastructure.

He noted that manufacturers are no longer focused exclusively on production efficiency but are increasingly expected to understand and manage the impact of their operations on energy consumption, natural resource use and carbon emissions. According to Karabiber, digital technologies provide the foundation for making sustainability measurable, transparent and actionable.

Moving towards real-time optimisation

Kürşad Karaman, Head of European Operations at IAS, said sustainability is rapidly becoming an integral component of manufacturing operations.

According to Karaman, manufacturers will increasingly move beyond simply reporting environmental performance. Instead, they will seek to optimise energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and resource utilisation while production is taking place. Integrating IoT data, machine performance and material flow information within the ERP environment enables this continuous optimisation.

ESG data becomes operational intelligence

Canias supports the collection, calculation, analysis and reporting of ESG data directly within ERP and business processes. This enables sustainability information to move beyond annual reporting and become part of production planning, cost optimisation and day-to-day operational decision-making.

The platform also reduces manual data handling while improving the transparency and traceability of sustainability performance across manufacturing operations.

Demonstrated in learning factories

IAS’s sustainable smart factory approach is also showcased in practical learning environments. Canias technologies are used in the Model Factory at the University of Potsdam and the FabLab at Ostfalia University in Germany, as well as in Canias Learning Factories established in Türkiye with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

By combining ERP, IoT and big data capabilities on a unified platform, Canias supports manufacturers in their digital transformation and sustainability initiatives through its flexible architecture, extensive integration capabilities and low-code/no-code development environment.

Can Hakan Karabiber