Since eco-efficiency of manufacturing resource has been emphasized, various sensors to measure energy consumption have been developed and machine tool builders also provide data of energy consumption of their own products. Due to the variety and complexity of machine tools, however, an enormous amount of data is generated and can lead to uncertainties in further interpretation. The data relating to energy consumption can be classified into process parameters and machine specifications. In order to estimate the energy use that a new machine tool utilizes, the relationship with various performance indicators of the machine tool and a process plan should be examined. The challenge is how to link the machine specifications and process plan in order to obtain actual energy consumption. This paper proposes an approach for deriving an energy estimation model from general key performance indicators of the sustainability of machine tools. For the detailed application, the proposed methodology is applied to the laser welding process of an automotive assembly line and the milling process of an aircraft part manufacturer. The paper describes the methodology for finding the parameters necessary for calculating energy use and to develop the energy estimation model by utilizing experimental data. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.