The digital twin solution is an industry 4.0 specific tool that has grown in the past decade, stemming from the modelling and simulation approaches that existed before, complemented by new sensor capabilities, cloud processing, big data analytics, and implementation mechanisms. As it is being used mostly in the present by manufacturing companies, the primary focus of the solution is to enhance productivity and reduce costs by optimizing processes and enabling real-time problem-solving, sometimes based on decision-making systems and artificial intelligence. However, as companies are being faced with an increasingly steep list of environmental requirements and regulations, ranging from the classical pollution control and waste recycling to full-scale economic models based on circular economy and transformative carbon dioxide elimination programs, the features of the manufacturing digital twins must also evolve to provide an appropriate answer to these challenges. In this paper, the authors propose a framework for building better digital twins for production systems by incorporating environmental-related functions. The demarches start from analysing existing solutions presented in literature from the point of view of environmental suitability, based on the use of the MoSCoW method for differentiating attributes (into Must have, Should have, Could have, Will not have elements) and determining development alternatives based on the employment of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for feature selection, and the TRIZ method (Theory of Inventive Problem-Solving) for application guidelines. The MCDA was performed within a focus group of nine production specialists from regionally successful sectors. We arrive at the conclusion that environmental-related functions are poorly implemented in the digital twins of the present (although more so in integrated solutions and custom-built applications) and that the development of the proper tools, databases, and interpretation keys should proceed immediately in the fields of production engineering, industrial ecology, and software development to support them.

Daily life in today’s dynamic world requires fast adaptation of people’s behavior to new challenges emerged from environmental, health, urban housing, transportation, etc. problems. A strong and complex tool in changing behaviors, education consumes significant resources and requires time for effective impact. The present study proposes a roadmap, integrating advanced methods for industrial competitive development (QFD) in configuring efficient educational interventions for changing people’s behavior on special thematic areas, such as environment and recycling. A literature review on applicable behavioral theories led to more than 30 behavioral factors (constructs) targetable by education, their specific impact evaluation being the subject of a survey among education professionals. Finally, to reach a mapping of efficient interventions with low costs, high impact and fast results criteria, educational interventions and behavioral factors were correlated by the QFD method on three dimensions addressing: teachers and trainers, contents and tools, respectively the national & institutional level. The current research results are focused particularly on changing recycling behaviors, but the overall concept and methodology can be expanded to incorporate any preoccupation in the areas of environment and health, as long-term drivers of public well-being.

This paper addresses the degree of readiness of manufacturing companies in the well-defined area of Transylvania, Romania for tackling the challenges of the low-carbon economy (LCE) in view of the ambitious goals of the European Union. The presented survey aims to provide a better understanding about the management and reduction in the carbon footprint among production companies in Romania, as this sector is not usually included official strategies or studies. One hundred and three companies, selected based on voluntary sampling responses, were investigated using a 40-item questionnaire. The survey was applied to the manufacturing sector, including automotive, furniture production, and metal processing domains, which are locally representative and a good approximation of what small- and medium-sized firms look like across the EU, thus furnishing a good view of what takes place in other countries as well. The results obtained were analyzed using univariate descriptive statistics, multi-variate item analysis, and hypothesis testing to arrive at conclusions with a high degree of applicability. The purpose was to obtain an accurate overview about the actual situation and help companies find solutions in order to reduce the carbon footprint in the production field and achieve sustainable manufacturing. We arrive at the conclusion that manufacturing firms have a high degree of interest in decarbonization, but understand the efforts required to the same degree they understand the opportunities it brings. For example, 55% of respondents are interested in the benefits of LCE, while 90% of them observe at least one environmental standard, and ca. 70% implement at least common decarbonization measures, such as electricity savings or process optimization. While raising awareness and improving technological processes are accepted and embraced, other issues (i.e., involvement in RDI and CSR, change management, as well as financing investment efforts) should be addressed by proper policies.

In an ever changing business environment, in order to bring value, security risk management must keep engaged at pace with the company, by following the enterprise goals and using the same methodologies as core business units. This paper analyses how information security risk management can be automated and interlinked with the processes in a software development company, using an Agile approach with Kanban. The methodology used has been tested (Proof of Concept) applying relevant information security risks for an e-commerce business, the results showing an increase in efficiency of the risk management team, better business response and improvements of the defined risk management SLAs (Service Level Agreement).

The first steps for introducing an ERP solution to a small or medium sized company are essential for implementation success or failure. In this paper a structured approach to ERP evaluation and selection is proposed. The developed roadmap for ERP selection combines quality management specific approaches to the mains authors’ practical experience in the selection and implementation of business related software. This methodology is based on the “keep it simple” principle whilestill addressing multiple relevant dimensions and criteria in the selection process.It is mainly practice oriented focusing on the ease of adoption and use of SME's, its main target beingcompany representativesresponsible for leading the selection process.Empirical evidence form a mid-sized distribution company is provided in order to illustrate how the proposed approach is applied in practice