The sustainable manufacturing concept, evolution and opportunities within Industry 4.0: A literature review

• Published in: Advances in mechanical engineering Vol. 12; no. 5
• Main Authors: Sartal, Antonio, Bellas, Roberto, Mejías, Ana M, García-Collado, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-05-2020; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Economic analysis; Economic impact; Economic models; Energy conservation; Environmental impact; Impact analysis; Literature reviews; Manufacturing; Natural resources; Organizations; Social impact; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Industry 4.0; literature review; enabling technologies; Sustainability; manufacturing sustainability
• ISSN: 1687-8132; 1687-8140
• DOI: 10.1177/1687814020925232

Today’s society is becoming aware that a new economic model of production and consumption must take into account its environmental and social impact. Industries are under increasing pressure from stakeholders to be transparent in reporting the environmental and social impacts of their operations. In this context, sustainable manufacturing must minimize negative environmental impacts and consumption of energy and natural resources, while also being socially responsible and economically viable. That is why the sustainable manufacturing concept is gaining increasing attention both in the research community and in organizations, especially in the industrial sector. However, even today, there is a great diversity of interpretations and ideas associated with this term. Accordingly, this article first presents an overview of the main concepts related to sustainable manufacturing, and metrics to evaluate organizations’ sustainability performance, and then an outlook of current trends. Our work highlights the consistencies and inconsistencies in the research community related to the interpretations of sustainable manufacturing and Industry 4.0, as well as the lack of consensus about the true social impact of Industry 4.0. However, the positive ecological and economic impacts of sustainable manufacturing seem fairly widespread. In this way, sustainable manufacturing practices seem to be reinforced by initiatives within the fourth stage of industrialization – the so-called Industry 4.0 – which offers great opportunities for sustainable manufacturing, thanks to digital transformation.