Measuring the Implications of Sustainable Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0

Abstract

Sustainability is increasingly being addressed globally. The manufacturing industry faces various constraints and opportunities related to sustainable development. Currently, there are few methodological frameworks for evaluating sustainable organizational development. Assessing and improving organizational capacity is important for producers and researchers in the field and local, national, and international authorities. This research proposes a hierarchical framework for sustainability assessment of manufacturing industry in Romania. The proposed framework integrates performance elements and measures to improve all the processes and activities from the triple perspective of sustainability. Sustainability assessment captures the entire supply chain of the organization, including stakeholder interests and end-of-life directions for products. To establish the elements to be integrated in the development of the proposed framework, market research (online questionnaire-for the characterization of Industry 4.0) and the Delphi method were used to identify the categories of performance indicators that must be measured to identify organizational capacity for sustainable development. The framework was tested by an automotive manufacturing organization. A number of improvements have been identified that relate to Industry 4.0 facilities and the application of the facilities related to recovering the value of the product at the end of its life cycle. This hierarchical framework can be customized in detail for the specific of each organization and can be adapted in other industries, including banking, retail, and other services. It can be observed that waste management and the interests of the stakeholders are major implications that must be measured and properly motivated.