Towards Net-Zero Industry X.0: Sustainable Governance, Smart Operations and Digital Twins

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to explore how emerging technologies and governance models can accelerate the transition toward net-zero industrial systems in the context of Industry X.0. As digitalization, automation, and digital twin strategies reshape the industrial landscape, enterprises are under growing pressure to align innovation with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Central to this transformation are smart operations, digital twins, and sustainable governance frameworks, which together enable integrated planning, lifecycle optimization, and ESG-oriented decision-making. This Special Issue seeks to compile interdisciplinary contributions from the fields of industrial engineering, sustainability science, systems management, and information technologies.

We welcome conceptual, empirical, and methodological papers that address the integration of digital tools and sustainable practices in manufacturing, supply chain operations, product–service systems, and enterprise governance.

Special Issue welcomes the submission of original research articles and reviews whose scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Net-Zero Manufacturing
• Industry 4.0/5.0/X.0
• Sustainable Governance
• Smart Operations
• Digital Twins
• Circular Economy
• ESG in Industrial Systems
• Lifecycle Assessment and Management
• Data-Driven Sustainability
• Intelligent Manufacturing Systems
• Sustainable Product-Service Systems
• Resilient Supply Chains

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Jones Luis Schaefer
Prof. Dr. Osiris Canciglieri Junior
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.