Identifying the Equilibrium Point between Sustainability Goals and Circular Economy Practices in an Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Context Using Eco-Design

Abstract

For manufacturing companies, the transition to circular business models (CBMs) can be hampered both by the lack of relevant data and by operational tools. Eco-design, associated with Industry 4.0 IoT (Internet of Things) technologies, can be an effective methodological approach in developing products that are consistent with the principles of the circular economy. The reason is that, in the design phase, decisions are made that can significantly influence the degree of sustainability of products during their lifecycle. Therefore, in the manufacturing environment, eco-design represents an innovative approach to include sustainability among the traditional industrial variables such as functionality, aesthetics, quality, and profit. This study aimed to test eco-design as a tool to define the equilibrium point between sustainability and circular economy in the manufacturing environment of ceramic tile production, and to demonstrate how new business opportunities can be created through evolution from a linear to a circular business model, thanks to IoT and Industry 4.0 technologies used as enabling factors. The main result of this paper was the empirical validation in a manufacturing environment of sustainability paradigms through eco-design tools and digital technologies, proposing the circular business model as an operational tool to promote the competitiveness of enterprises.

A Structured Literature Review on Obsolete Electric Vehicles Management Practices

“…Satisfying human needs in the most sustainable way (and without further impacting the climate) is the greatest challenge of the 21 st century. The experts demonstrated in several works that both renewable energies and waste management strategies (either individually or together) can guarantee improvements in this sense [105][106][107]. Obsolete EV management practices represent a good example because several types of data (e.g., EV configurations, battery energy sources, electrical machines, charging systems, optimization techniques) are required [108,109].…”

Adopting a Circular Economy: Current Practices and Future Perspectives

“…In addition, a recycling process was proposed for the fired waste generated during the production phase. Findings show that eco-design associated with Industry 4.0 Internet of Things technologies can reach the equilibrium point between sustainability and CE (Garcia-Muiña et al 2019).…”

Sustainability Transition in Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing with the Triple-Layered Business Model Canvas

“…Due to the data acquisition tools, it was possible to collect important process data that allowed us to complete the inventory analysis, on the basis of the LCA environmental impact analysis. The presence of a company ERP system easily connected to the company data collection systems has also facilitated economic impact assessments, through the Life Cycle Costing tool and social impact assessment, through the Social Life Cycle Assessment tool [69]. Industry 4.0, with the role of supporting the manufacturing process impact assessment, has thus favored the implementation of sustainability within the company analyzed.…”

“…The heading "production" incorporates the key activities of the traditional business model and focuses on the activities of transforming material inputs into a finished product output. In the case of the ceramic tile manufacturer, it was decided to divide the production process into process steps following the literature on the subject [69]. The selected process steps are ceramic body milling, atomization, drying, glazing and decoration, firing, cutting and shaping, flatness control and sorting and packing.…”