To reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector, sustainable strategies for managing the in-use phase of buildings must be integrated urgently. Current green certifications present several limitations and, in particular, do not help determine where to focus for reducing the environmental demand of buildings. Among existing indicators, the ecological footprint (EF) is the most useful for assessing the buildings’ environmental performance through impact sources that reveal the over-consumption of resources. The present paper expands EF by taking into account the role of human behavior in over-consumption, and thus the efficiency in buildings’ use. After comparing ecological footprint with the existing green certifications, the paper demonstrates how a new integrated ecological footprint assessment can describe the impact of built-up, energy consumption, water consumption, material consumption, food and drink, mobility, waste generation, recycling potential, and occupants in the environmental efficiency of a building. The application of a case study demonstrates the reliability and the effectiveness of the model and shows that the estimated ecological deficit reflects not only the consumption of energy and materials, but also the behaviors of building users. This highlights the need for integrating a sustainable culture in the users of buildings.

In today’s business landscape, the volume of transaction data is rapidly increasing. This study explores the integration of Point of Sale (POS) and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies to enhance the analysis of customer transactions using big data tools. By leveraging these technologies, businesses can extract valuable insights to improve processes, optimize inventory, and boost customer satisfaction. The research employs an object—subject management approach, which facilitates real-time decision-making by merging retail transactions of the clients with their movement patterns. An experiment involving around 7000 customers demonstrates the effective collection and processing of POS and RFID data, highlighting the benefits of integrating these data streams. Key metrics, such as time spent in different store sections, provide deeper insights into consumer behavior. The findings reveal the potential of these technologies to transform retail services, offering opportunities for demand forecasting, risk management, and personalized customer experiences. The study concludes that merging POS and RFID data opens new avenues for developing management solutions aimed at enhancing customer engagement and the operational efficiency of the retailer. Future research will focus on further elaborating these solutions to maximize the benefits of integrated data analysis.

"S [m2]ART, looking at the city by metro" is an industrial and development research project funded by the MIUR under Smart Cities and Communities and Social Innovation projects on social inclusion and welfare and security topics. Politecnics of Turin and Milan are partners of the project together with Telecom Italia (coordinator), Reply, Metalco, Thema Progetti Group and an ICT company of the ICT industry. The project aims at experimenting with a scalable system of smart urban furnishings, integrated into the city as a network "node", offering innovative services to the inhabitants and at the same time providing the municipal administration with a network of sensors capable of monitor phenomena and dynamics of the urban environment. The role of the research group within the project was to define specific contributions in two areas: the definition of innovative services to be delivered to citizens through S[m2]ART urban furnishings and the definition of requirements relating to the sustainability of materials and materials technologies for the construction and furnishing of furniture. The paper presents the results of the research, describing, in particular, the involvement and collaboration between stakeholders (public administration and end users) and industrial partners. The research results are the framework for the definitive and executive design of intelligent urban furniture that could be installed and monitored later in the cities of Turin and Milan. The research has practical and socio-economic implications [1]. The project is designed in the light of a balance between a service offering able to meet innovative needs [2]and business opportunities of private partners involved with the goal of defining a sustainable business plan[3]. In addition, a network of sensors for the monitoring of urban environment data is envisaged, enabling public administrations to collect useful data to improve the quality of services provided to citizens.