Industry 4.0 Technologies for Environmental Sustainability: Intended and Unintended Consequences

Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to have a positive impact on the global economy by promoting autonomous interoperability, agility, flexibility, decision-making, efficiency or cost reduction, which are also expected to be resource efficient. Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to have a positive impact on the global economy by promoting autonomous interoperability, agility, flexibility, decision-making, efficiency or cost reduction, which are also expected to be resource efficient. However, new and emerging technologies can also have potentially harmful social and environmental impacts that must be considered. The goal of this book is to provide a deeper understanding of how Industry 4.0 technologies can benefit or harm the environmental sustainability of companies. To this end, it presents a classification of Industry 4.0 technologies and evaluates for each typology the positive and negative aspects of their implementation. Thus, the book considers Industry 4.0 technology and environmental sustainability from the perspective of management on the one hand and from the perspective of technology users on the other. The book is of interest to researchers from various disciplines who approach Industry 4.0 technologies from a business perspective, and on the other hand to managers and strategic consultants who want to promote sustainable change in their companies. Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to have a positive impact on the global economy by promoting autonomous interoperability, agility, flexibility, decision-making, efficiency or cost reduction, which are also expected to be resource efficient. However, new and emerging technologies can also have potentially harmful social and environmental impacts that must be considered. The goal of this book is to provide a deeper understanding of how Industry 4.0 technologies can benefit or harm the environmental sustainability of companies. To this end, it presents a classification of Industry 4.0 technologies and evaluates for each typology the positive and negative aspects of their implementation. Thus, the book considers Industry 4.0 technology and environmental sustainability from the perspective of management on the one hand and from the perspective of technology users on the other. The book is of interest to researchers from various disciplines who approach Industry 4.0 technologies from a business perspective, and on the other hand to managers and strategic consultants who want to promote sustainable change in their companies.