Abstract
Developing sustainable products and processes is essential for the survival of manufacturers in the current competitive market and the industry 4.0 era. The activities of manufacturers and their supply chain partners should be aligned with sustainable development goals. Manufacturers have faced many barriers and challenges in implementing sustainable practices along the entire supply chain due to globalisation, outsourcing, and offshoring. Blockchain technology has the potential to address the challenges of sustainability. This study aims to explain the applications of blockchain technology to sustainable manufacturing. We conducted a systematic literature review and explained the potential contributions of blockchain technology to the economic, environmental, and social performances of manufacturers and their supply chains. The findings of the study extend our understanding of the blockchain applications in sustainable manufacturing and sustainable supply chains. Furthermore, the study explains how blockchain can influence the sustainable performance of manufacturers by creating transparency, traceability, real-time information sharing, and security of the data capabilities.
Highlights
Sustainability and effective balancing of environmental, social, and business outcomes has become an essential requirement of the manufacturing sector [1]
The study aims to answer two research questions: (1) “what are the applications of blockchain technology in sustainable manufacturing?” and (2) “how can blockchain attributes enhance the sustainable performance of manufacturers?” To answer the first research question, the 21 identified articles were reviewed, and the applications of blockchain technology in sustainable manufacturing were identified
The model of sustainable performance developed by Chardine-Baumann and Botta-Genoulaz [40] was used to categorise the contributions of blockchain to the sustainable performance of the manufacturing supply chain
Summary
Sustainability and effective balancing of environmental, social, and business outcomes has become an essential requirement of the manufacturing sector [1]. Blockchain is one of the emerging and fast-growing technologies that can contribute to sustainable manufacturing among digital technologies. Blockchain technology is a decentralised and distributed data structure. Data are shared on a peer-to-peer, open access network and transactions should be certified, verified, and accessed by members of the network community. Blockchain technology is a distributed data structure in which the data are shared on a peer-to-peer network. Blockchain consists of a chain of blocks that record transactions generated by contracting parties. The distributed ledger is a decentralised record of transactions in which the transaction blocks are stored in all computers of the network members and can be seen by anyone in the network. Blockchain can eliminate intermediates from a network and link different parties directly, which may reduce human errors and transaction costs [19]
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