Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 for Supply Chain Operations and Production
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 116
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sustainable operations management; circular economy; artificial intelligence technology applications; smart logistics and supply chain; blockchain technology applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: supply chain
Interests: supply chain product development management; collaborative innovation and technological innovation; production and operation management; modern service and industrial engineering; logistics and supply chain management
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The convergence of circular economy (CE) principles and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of supply chain operations and production management. While CE aims to maximize resource efficiency by minimizing waste and keeping materials in use through strategies like reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, I4.0 provides the digital backbone—including the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cyber–physical systems—necessary to enable, optimize and scale these circular strategies. This synergy, often termed "Circular Economy 4.0," holds immense potential for creating resilient, sustainable and intelligent supply chains.
However, the transition towards this integrated paradigm is fraught with complexities. Organizations face significant challenges related to technological integration, data interoperability, business model innovation, supply chain redesign and the development of appropriate performance measurement systems. Furthermore, the behavioral, social and policy implications of adopting CE-I4.0 synergies remain underexplored. There is a pressing need for robust theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to guide practitioners and policymakers in navigating this transition effectively.
This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality, original research that advances the understanding of the interplay between circular economy and Industry 4.0 in the context of supply chain operations and production. We invite papers that investigate the drivers, barriers, enablers and impacts of this integration. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the role of digital technologies in enabling circular product design and lifecycle management; the application of AI and big data for reverse logistics and predictive maintenance; the use of blockchain for circular supply chain transparency and traceability; the development of smart, circular business models and the assessment of environmental, social and economic performances in digitally enabled circular supply chains. By bringing together diverse perspectives, this collection seeks to contribute significantly to the academic discourse and provide actionable insights for building the sustainable and efficient production systems of the future.
Prof. Dr. Xuedong Liang
Prof. Dr. Aijun Liu
Dr. Qingsong Xing
Dr. Na Liu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-blind 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.
Keywords
- circular economy
- Industry 4.0
- sustainable supply chain management
- smart production
- reverse logistics
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