Industry 4.0 approaches to sustainability

Industrial revolution 4.0 takes our world forward in recognizing that since the industrial revolution, which was powered by wood and cheap coal-fired energy in the 1760s, the world has externalized the environmental costs of our industrial production, which has resulted in significant levels of environmental destruction and climate change. Industrial ecology and circular economy are approaches that have considered the combination of environmental impact reduction and industrial development for many years. In this chapter it will be shown how the two aforementioned approaches, together with the idea of industrial revolution 4.0, will see the increasing automation and dematerialization of industry and manufacturing with an increased focus on sustainability performance and circular economy thinking.

These issues present the context in which individually and collectively, sustainability education must be considered and developed. They are invariably interlinked and together present some of the most critical resource issues that the 21st century will face, including the scale of environmental impacts that are associated with our increasing production and consumption decisions and the need to consider new paradigms in our economic business models and governance frameworks.