The fourth industrial revolution, also labelled Industry 4.0, was beget with emergent and disruptive intelligence and information technologies. These new technologies are enabling ever-higher levels ...of production efficiencies. They also have the potential to dramatically influence social and environmental sustainable development. Organizations need to consider Industry 4.0 technologies contribution to sustainability. Sufficient guidance, in this respect, is lacking in the scholarly or practitioner literature. In this study, we further examine Industry 4.0 technologies in terms of application and sustainability implications. We introduce a measures framework for sustainability based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; incorporating various economic, environmental and social attributes. We also develop a hybrid multi-situation decision method integrating hesitant fuzzy set, cumulative prospect theory and VIKOR. This method can effectively evaluate Industry 4.0 technologies based on their sustainable performance and application. We apply the method using secondary case information from a report of the World Economic Forum. The results show that mobile technology has the greatest impact on sustainability in all industries, and nanotechnology, mobile technology, simulation and drones have the highest impact on sustainability in the automotive, electronics, food and beverage, and textile, apparel and footwear industries, respectively. Our recommendation is to take advantage of Industry 4.0 technology adoption to improve sustainability impact but each technology needs to be carefully evaluated as specific technology will variably influence industry and sustainability dimensions. Investment in such technologies should consider appropriate priority investment and championing.
The circular economy concept is much discussed in the European Union (EU), but only limited progress has been accomplished so far regarding its implementation. Most scholarly studies blame this on ...various technological barriers. Our work rebuts these studies. We present the first large-N-study on circular economy barriers in the EU (208 survey respondents, 47 expert interviews). We find that cultural barriers, particularly a lack of consumer interest and awareness as well as a hesitant company culture, are considered the main circular economy barriers by businesses and policy-makers. These are driven by market barriers which, in turn, are induced by a lack of synergistic governmental interventions to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy. Meanwhile, not a single technological barrier is ranked among the most pressing circular economy barriers, according to our research. Overall, our work suggests that circular economy is a niche discussion among sustainable development professionals at this stage. Significant efforts need to be undertaken for the concept to maintain its momentum.
•The first large-N-study on barriers to the circular economy (CE) in the European Union (EU).•The core barriers are cultural (lack of consumer interest/awareness, hesitant company culture).•The CE concept is still a niche discussion among sustainable development professionals.
Blockchain technology has gained global attention with potential to revolutionize supply chain management and sustainability achievements. The few applied ongoing use cases include blockchain for ...food, healthcare, and logistics supply chains have emphasized blockchain's untapped potential. Potential support for supply chain and sustainability issues include improving efficiency, transparency, and traceability in addition to billions of dollars in corporate financial savings. Given its promise, the adoption of blockchain technology, although hyped for years, has not seen rapid acceptance. In this study, the technology-organization-environment framework and force field theories are utilized to investigate blockchain adoption barriers. Using various literature streams on technology, organizational practices, and sustainability, a comprehensive overview of barriers for adopting blockchain technology to manage sustainable supply chains is provided. The barriers are explored using technology, organizational, and environmental – supply chain and external – framework followed by inputs from academics and industry experts and then analyzed using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) tool. The results show that supply chain and technological barriers are the most critical barriers among both academics and industry experts. We further determine the similarities and differences among academics and practitioners in perceiving the barriers. This exploratory study reveals interesting relative importance and interrelationships of barriers which are necessary, theoretically and practically for further adoption and dissemination of blockchain technology in a sustainable supply chain environment. It also sets the stage for theoretical observations for understanding blockchain technology implementation in sustainable supply chains. A series of research propositions and research directions culminate from this exploratory study.
•Blockchain adoption barriers for sustainable supply chain management are examined.•Technology-Organization-Environment framework and force field theories inform study.•Technology barriers dominate blockchain and sustainable supply chain barriers.•Academic and practitioner perspectives are evaluated.•Research propositions provide guidance for further investigation.
•Presents a review of emerging literature on intermediaries in transitions.•A definition for transition intermediaries is provided.•Five transition intermediary types proposed with differing goals ...and actions.•Tentative conclusions are presented on the nature of intermediaries in transitions.•Policy has a role in making sure that necessary intermediaries exist.
Intermediary actors have been proposed as key catalysts that speed up change towards more sustainable socio-technical systems. Research on this topic has gradually gained traction since 2009, but has been complicated by the inconsistency regarding what intermediaries are in the context of such transitions and which activities they focus on, or should focus on. We briefly elaborate on the conceptual foundations of the studies of intermediaries in transitions, and how intermediaries have been connected to different transition theories. This shows the divergence – and sometimes a lack – of conceptual foundations in this research. In terms of transitions theories, many studies connect to the multi-level perspective and strategic niche management, while intermediaries in technological innovation systems and transition management have been much less explored. We aim to bring more clarity to the topic of intermediaries in transitions by providing a definition of transition intermediaries and a typology of five intermediary types that is sensitive to the emergence, neutrality and goals of intermediary actors as well as their context and level of action. Some intermediaries are specifically set up to facilitate transitions, while others grow into the role during the process of socio-technical change. Based on the study, as an important consideration for future innovation governance, we argue that systemic and niche intermediaries are the most crucial forms of intermediary actors in transitions, but they need to be complemented by a full ecology of intermediaries, including regime-based transition intermediaries, process intermediaries and user intermediaries.
Circular economy (CE) is currently a popular concept promoted by the EU, by several national governments and by many businesses around the world. However, the scientific and research content of the ...CE concept is superficial and unorganized. CE seems to be a collection of vague and separate ideas from several fields and semi-scientific concepts. The objective of this article is to contribute to the scientific research on CE. First, we will define the concept of CE from the perspective of WCED sustainable development and sustainability science. Second, we will conduct a critical analysis of the concept from the perspective of environmental sustainability. The analysis identifies six challenges, for example those of thermodynamics and system boundaries, that need to be resolved for CE to be able to contribute to global net sustainability. These six challenges also serve as research themes and objectives for scholars interested in making progress in sustainable development through the usage of circular economy. CE is important for its power to attract both the business community and policy-making community to sustainability work, but it needs scientific research to secure that the actual environmental impacts of CE work toward sustainability.
•Our paper addresses a conceptual gap by focusing on the policymaking processes that underpin policy mixes for sustainability transitions.•We combine insights from the policy feedback literature with ...research on policy mixes and politics in the sustainability transitions literature.•We introduce a novel conceptual framework for analysis of the co-evolutionary dynamics of policy mixes and socio-technical systems•The paper illustrates the framework using the empirical example of the zero carbon homes policy mix in the UK, demonstrating its usefulness.•We suggest policy mix design considerations that may influence prospects for the maintenance of political support over time.
Understanding how policymaking processes can influence the rate and direction of socio-technical change towards sustainability is an important, yet underexplored research agenda in the field of sustainability transitions. Some studies have sought to explain how individual policy instruments can influence transitions, and the politics surrounding this process. We argue that such individual policy instruments can cause wider feedback mechanisms that influence not only their own future development, but also other instruments in the same area. Consequently, by extending the scope of analysis to that of a policy mix allows us to account for multiple policy effects on socio-technical change and resultant feedback mechanisms influencing the policy processes that underpin further policy mix change. This paper takes a first step in this regard by combining policy studies and innovation studies literatures to conceptualise the co-evolutionary dynamics of policy mixes and socio-technical systems. We focus on policy processes to help explain how policy mixes influence socio-technical change, and how changes in the socio-technical system also shape the evolution of the policy mix. To do so we draw on insights from the policy feedback literature, and propose a novel conceptual framework. The framework highlights that policy mixes aiming to foster sustainability transitions need to be designed to create incentives for beneficiaries to mobilise further support, while overcoming a number of prevailing challenges which may undermine political support over time. In the paper, we illustrate the framework using the example of the zero carbon homes policy mix in the UK. We conclude with deriving research and policy implications for analysing and designing dynamic policy mixes for sustainability transitions.
This article examines how addressing climate-related risks and supporting mitigation and adaptation policies fit into central bank mandates. We conduct an analysis of mandates and objectives using ...the IMF's Central Bank Legislation Database and compare these to sustainability-related policies central banks have adopted in practice. Out of 135 central banks, only 12% have explicit sustainability mandates, while 40% are mandated to support the government's policy priorities, which mostly include sustainability goals. However, given that climate risks can directly affect central banks' traditional core responsibilities, all institutions ought to incorporate climate-related physical and transition risks into their policy frameworks to safeguard macro-financial stability.
•First systematic study of central bank mandates regarding sustainability objectives•Review of IMF Central Bank Legislation Database and sustainability-related policies•70 out of 135 central banks have a ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ sustainability mandate•Climate risks can directly affect central banks' traditional core responsibilities•All institutions ought to incorporate climate risks into their policy frameworks
In the last few decades the Circular Economy has increasingly been advertised as an economic model that can replace the current “linear” economy whilst addressing the issues of environmental ...deterioration, social equity and long-term economic growth with the explicit suggestion that it can serve as a tool for Sustainable Development. However, despite the individual prominence of the Circular Economy and Sustainable Development in the academic and wider literature, the exact relationship between the two concepts has neither been thoroughly defined nor explored. The consequent result is various inconsistencies occurring across the literature regarding how the Circular Economy can serve as a tool for Sustainable Development and an incomplete understanding of how its long-term effects differ from those of the “linear” economy. A literature review was conducted to interpret the current conceptual relationship between the Circular Economy and Sustainable Development. The review highlights numerous challenges concerning conceptual definition, economic growth and implementation that inhibit the use of the Circular Economy as a tool for Sustainable Development in its current form. The review concludes by providing suggestions for how research concerning the Circular Economy should proceed if it is to provide a potential approach for achieving Sustainable Development.
Is Green Growth Possible? Hickel, Jason; Kallis, Giorgos
New political economy,
06/2020, Letnik:
25, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The notion of green growth has emerged as a dominant policy response to climate change and ecological breakdown. Green growth theory asserts that continued economic expansion is compatible with our ...planet's ecology, as technological change and substitution will allow us to absolutely decouple GDP growth from resource use and carbon emissions. This claim is now assumed in national and international policy, including in the Sustainable Development Goals. But empirical evidence on resource use and carbon emissions does not support green growth theory. Examining relevant studies on historical trends and model-based projections, we find that: (1) there is no empirical evidence that absolute decoupling from resource use can be achieved on a global scale against a background of continued economic growth, and (2) absolute decoupling from carbon emissions is highly unlikely to be achieved at a rate rapid enough to prevent global warming over 1.5°C or 2°C, even under optimistic policy conditions. We conclude that green growth is likely to be a misguided objective, and that policymakers need to look toward alternative strategies.
Digital technologies for Industry 4.0, such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data and analytics, have attracted much attention from both researchers and practitioners. Based on ...information processing theory, this study intends to explore how digital technologies influence economic and environmental performance in the new era of Industry 4.0. The mediating effect of digital supply chain platforms and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism are proposed and evaluated using a survey of Chinese manufacturing firms. The results indicate that digital supply chain platforms mediate the effects of digital technologies on both economic and environmental performance and that the mediating effects are enhanced under a high degree of environmental dynamism. This study offers an enhanced understanding of the performance implications of digital technologies and provides managerial insights into how to promote economic and environmental sustainability in the era of Industry 4.0.
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