Sustainable Engineering for Industry 4.0: Digitization and Circularity in Manufacturing
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 6 April 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editors
Interests: rationalization of production processes; sustainable manufacturing; industrial, occupational, and environmental ergonomics in manufacturing; ergonomic rationalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: industrial engineering; mechanical engineering; industry 4.0; industry 5.0; ICT; composites; waste materials; manufacturing; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, "Sustainable Engineering for Industry 4.0: Digitization and Circularity in Manufacturing", addresses two significant areas—the digitization of manufacturing processes and the circular economy—which represent fundamental pillars of the industry's transformation toward sustainability. Their parallel development enables not only technological progress, but also essential ecological and social change within industrial systems.
Digitization serves as a tool for the systematic collection, analysis, and utilization of data to optimize production processes. It allows for the precise monitoring of resource consumption, improves traceability across supply chains, and supports informed decision-making in areas such as planning, maintenance, and environmental impact assessment. Furthermore, digitization plays a crucial role in implementing ergonomic principles through sensor systems, data analytics, and digital modeling. It is possible to design workspaces that reflect the physical and cognitive needs of workers. This not only increases efficiency, but also enhances safety, comfort, and the long-term sustainability of work environments.
Building on this technological foundation, the concept of circularity focuses on waste prevention, efficient resource use, and the closing of material loops throughout the entire product life cycle. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight how circular economy principles and digitized processes can be applied from the early stages of production to distribution and reverse logistics, thereby creating the conditions for regenerative industrial models.
By integrating these domains, this Special Issue aims to establish an interdisciplinary framework that offers both practical and theoretical insights for the implementation of modern and sustainable manufacturing systems. The context of individual contributions is expected to expand current theoretical understanding and inform practice, demonstrating how technological innovations can be leveraged to promote environmental efficiency, human factors, and the circular transformation
Dr. Darina Dupláková
Dr. Lucia Knapčíková
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- sustainable engineering
- Industry 4.0
- digitization
- circular economy
- manufacturing processes
- real-time monitoring
- ergonomics
- waste reduction
- human-centric design
- industrial sustainability
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