How the combination of Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 can contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 213-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.E.T. Dantas ◽  
E.D. de-Souza ◽  
I.R. Destro ◽  
G. Hammes ◽  
C.M.T. Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals

scholarly journals Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Implications: A Scenario-Based Analysis of the Impacts and Challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bonilla ◽  
Helton Silva ◽  
Marcia Terra da Silva ◽  
Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves ◽  
José Sacomano
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Industrial Process ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Negative Impacts

The new evolution of the production and industrial process called Industry 4.0, and its related technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cyber–physical systems, among others, still have an unknown potential impact on sustainability and the environment. In this paper, we conduct a literature-based analysis to discuss the sustainability impact and challenges of Industry 4.0 from four different scenarios: deployment, operation and technologies, integration and compliance with the sustainable development goals, and long-run scenarios. From these scenarios, our analysis resulted in positive or negative impacts related to the basic production inputs and outputs flows: raw material, energy and information consumption and product and waste disposal. As the main results, we identified both positive and negative expected impacts, with some predominance of positives that can be considered positive secondary effects derived from Industry 4.0 activities. However, only through integrating Industry 4.0 with the sustainable development goals in an eco-innovation platform, can it really ensure environmental performance. It is expected that this work can contribute to helping stakeholders, practitioners and governments to advance solutions to deal with the outcomes emerging through the massive adoption of those technologies, as well as supporting the expected positive impacts through policies and financial initiatives.

scholarly journals Relationship between tourism and Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: Circular Economy as a future bet

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Miguel Rodríguez-Antón
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
Development Goals

No one has the slightest doubt about the enormous potential that the African continent has as a tourist destination. The diversity of cultures, the great biodiversity that it possesses, the multiple artistic manifestations that it offers and the beauty of the seas that surround it are key pieces in continuing to promote its capacity as a tourist attraction, which is approximately 60 million tourists per year who generate seven percent of exports and employment. However, in order for Africa to take off, it is necessary that a number of conditions related to security, health, education, eradication of poverty, reduction of inequalities, peace and justice and quality of its waters, among others, are intimately related to the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda. In this context, we maintain that the implementation of the Circular Economy in Africa will be a key tool in this process of improving the sustainability of this continent in its three aspects, economic, social and environmental, and raising its level of tourism competitiveness.

scholarly journals Sustainable development goals and SMEs decisions: Czech Republic vs. Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarmila Šebestová ◽  
Włodzimierz Sroka
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Selling Point

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a “major engine” of economic growth and socioeconomic development, and reaching many sustainable development goals (SDG). They should make the SDGs a prominent selling point to demonstrate why consumers should buy from them to reduce waste and enhance recycling. If a consumer sees an SME engaged in the SDGs (goal 8,9 and 12), it will be motivated for further support. Given these facts the paper compares Czech and Polish approaches to the circular economy by quantitative evaluation based on primary research (Czechia, 210 respondents) and qualitative context comparison in Poland. Our research has confirmed that there are differences in both countries in relation to the sustainable development goals, with SMEs decisions in the Czech SMEs sector being on level business sustainability 1.0, and that in Poland being below 1. Additionally, Czech entrepreneurs have more knowledge and practice in “green” methods than do Poland’s.

scholarly journals Implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on sustainable development

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrija Popović
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Development Goals

We are at the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and its implications on the society are far-reaching. The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive overview of the implications that Industry 4.0 has on the Sustainable Development Goals from the UN Agenda 2030, based on the review and the analysis of the available literature. The paper is structured to give an insight into the basic concepts of Industry 4.0 and Sustainable Development, then moves through the implications of new technologies on the Sustainable Development Goals, and finally, points out the areas that need to be addressed by policymakers. This paper just tapped into the potentials and issues that the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings while leaving the room for in-depth research of any of the analyzed areas.

scholarly journals BiOnto: An Ontology for Sustainable Bioeconomy and Bioproducts

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4265
Author(s):  
Chiara Bicchielli ◽  
Noemi Biancone ◽  
Fernando Ferri ◽  
Patrizia Grifoni
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Information Access ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Structured Information ◽  
Development Goals

Sustainable bioeconomy and circular economy are more and more connected to sustainable development goals. This requires engaging all the different stakeholders to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. Therefore, information access is a key challenge related to all the sustainable development goals. This article considers ideas, approaches and concepts related to sharing knowledge on Bioeconomy and collaborative ecosystems based on an ontology, aiming to facilitate information and services access. This ontology has been defined starting from the experience of the BIOVOICES project and from the need to establish a common terminology shared among scientists, enterprises, policymakers and civil society organisations on the bioeconomy. Indeed, the ontology provides a structured information of the BIOVOICES multi-stakeholders social platform’s content, facilitating accessing and sharing it. The building process and the validation of the ontology have been described.

scholarly journals Articulation of the Sustainable Development Goals with de circular economy paradigm

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-194
Author(s):  
Patricia Rivera Acosta ◽  
Rosa Elia Martínez Torres
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Estudio De Caso

Con base en diversas investigaciones de las autoras en el ramo medioambiental de la Industria Minero-Metalúrgica de México, se plantea un estudio que tiene como objetivo describir desde la perspectiva teórica de la Economía Circular, indicadores en función de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: Industria, Innovación e Infraestructura y Producción y Consumo Responsable en relación a las fases del Modelo de Economía Circular (MEC), para formular propuestas de medición de productividad en búsqueda del equilibrio económico, social y ambiental, que promueve la Sustentabilidad. A partir de una metodología de corte cualitativo basada en un Estudio de Caso realizado en una unidad minera, se obtienen resultados que permiten establecer indicadores en relación a cada fase del MEC, generando conclusiones que dirigen a mediciones particulares que en conjunto permitirán la obtención de valores de productividad ligados a la circularidad gestando acciones sustentables.

scholarly journals From the circular economy to the sustainable development goals in the European Union: an empirical comparison

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Miguel Rodríguez-Antón ◽  
Luis Rubio-Andrada ◽  
María Soledad Celemín-Pedroche ◽  
Soraya María Ruíz-Peñalver
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe European Union (EU) is trying to accelerate the transition from the current linear economy to a circular economy (CE). In fact, the CE is considered a tool to attain sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this sense, this paper aims at analysing the interaction between the CE and SDGs in the context of the new 2030 Agenda and the European CE strategy; thus contributing to the scarce empirical literature that links the potential of the European CE strategy to the achievement of the SDGs set by the 2030 Agenda. Three specific research questions have been formulated. First, could the objectives defined in the 2030 Agenda be considered homogeneous, and could they uniquely measure the concept of sustainability? Second, are there significant correlations between the implementation of a CE in the EU and the SDGs? Finally, is the behaviour of the 28 countries that make up the EU homogeneous in terms of the results of the initiatives aimed at the implementation of a CE? From these questions, nine hypotheses are put forward concerning the possible relationships between a CE implementation and the fulfilment of SDGs in the EU. Using a correlation analysis, an exploratory factor analysis, and a cluster analysis, it has been demonstrated that (a) SDGs do not univocally measure the concept of sustainability; (b) there are significant relationships between CE and SDGs in the EU; (c) the behaviour of these European countries is not homogeneous.

scholarly journals Transdisciplinary resource monitoring is essential to prioritize circular economy strategies in cities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Petit-Boix ◽  
Defne Apul ◽  
Thomas Wiedmann ◽  
Sina Leipold
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Urban Metabolism ◽  
Resource Monitoring ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Resource Management ◽  
Development Goals

Abstract Seeking to meet sustainability targets, cities are promoting a number of circular economy initiatives. Whether or not these actions help cities to approach sustainable resource management is often unclear. To identify, prioritize and monitor resource-efficient strategies, cities can look for targets and indicators among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the SDGs provide useful goals, they lack applicable and accurate indicators for cities. To address this shortcoming, we link the SDGs to the urban circular economy by looking at the urban metabolism and identify monitoring needs and gaps. Although consumption-based footprint indicators are the most suitable approach, these are barely covered in the SDGs. We propose a framework facilitating transdisciplinary projects and experimentation to assess resource footprints and prioritize circular strategies in cities. Our discussion will guide practitioners and academics towards a sustainable circular transformation in cities.

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