Abstract
Industry 4.0 and sustainability have both gained momentum in the academic, managerial and policy debate. Industry 4.0 is a new industrial paradigm based on the integration of the virtual and the physical world, thanks to such technologies as cyber-physical systems, big data, Internet of Things, and additive manufacturing. Sustainability is referred to as a holistic approach that involves economic, social and environmental development.
Extant research has shown that most of smart technologies have multifaceted impacts on the environment and people’s life and vice versa. However, previous reviews and conceptual papers that tried to combine Industry 4.0 and sustainability do not cover the interrelations of the two concepts in a systematic way. Consequently, the relationship between these two paradigms is far from clear.
Our paper provides the first systematic literature review on the interplay between Industry 4.0 and sustainability. We identified through a keyword search 52 relevant papers and classified them into four categories: (1) Industry 4.0 and sustainability performances (such as air pollution, wastes, energy/material consumption, stress load in workplace, and job enrichment); (2) Industry 4.0 and sustainability practices; (3) Industry 4.0, sustainability practices and sustainability performances; (4) factors moderating the impact of Industry 4.0 on sustainability performances. Based on the systematic review, we then proposed a set of directions for future research.