Abstract
PurposeThe study aims to map the links between Industry 4.0 (I-4.0) technologies and circular economy (CE) for sustainable operations and their role to achieving the selected number of sustainable development goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a systematic literature review method to identify 76 primary studies that were published between January 2010 and December 2020. The authors synthesized the existing literature using Scopus database to investigate I-4.0 technologies and CE to select SDGs.FindingsThe findings of the study bridge the gap in the literature at the intersection between I-4.0 and sustainable operations in line with the regenerate, share, optimize, loop, virtualize and exchange (ReSOLVE) framework leading to CE practices. Further, the study also depicts the CE practices leading to the select SDGs (“SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation,” “SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy,” “SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,” “SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production” and “SDG 13: Climate Action”). The study proposes a conceptual framework based on the linkages above, which can help organizations to realign their management practices, thereby achieving specific SDGs.Originality/valueThe originality of the study is substantiated by a unique I-4.0-sustainable operations-CE-SDGs (ISOCES) framework that integrates I-4.0 and CE for sustainable development. The framework is unique, as it is based on an in-depth and systematic review of the literature that maps the links between I-4.0, CE and sustainability.
Highlights
Sustainability issues concerning economic, environmental and social dimensions are a major threat to organizations in the 21st century (Bag and Pretorius, 2020; Dantas et al, 2021; Gupta et al, 2021)
3.4 Results This section presents a summary of the review carried out based on parameters such as (1) number of publications per year, (2) spread of domain and (3) publication sources
This study aimed to bridge a gap in the literature at the intersection between I-4.0 and sustainable operations in line with the ReSOLVE framework proposed by MacArthur
Summary
Sustainability issues concerning economic, environmental and social dimensions are a major threat to organizations in the 21st century (Bag and Pretorius, 2020; Dantas et al, 2021; Gupta et al, 2021) It requires optimization of resources through recycling, reusing the components and products and restoration of the energy inputs for a longer duration, transforming the world’s economies to be more sustainable and environment friendly (Rajput and Singh, 2019). CE has received a lot of attention in recent years, with numerous reviews examining various aspects of its design and implementation It is appreciated as a critical solution to the global problems because of the considerable adverse effects of the current linear economic models on our ecosystem (Kravchenko et al, 2019; Rodriguez-Anton and Alonso-Almeida, 2019; Vinante et al, 2020). The CE enablers have been reviewed in the domains such as textile and apparel (Jia et al, 2020), procurement practices (Sonichsen and Clement, 2020), supply chains (Lahane et al, 2020), product-service systems (Da Costa Fernandes et al, 2020) and manufacturing (Acerbi and Taisch, 2020; Akmal and Batres, 2013)
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