A recent report by SAP, one of the world’s leading software producers, made that connection when highlighting four key benefits those companies who have embraced these advances are now experiencing: radical improvements in productivity and automation; resilience and agility no matter what the market or economy bring; confidence to explore new business models and seize opportunities quickly; and green and sustainable solutions without sacrificing profitability.

Those same benefits are often used to argue that Industry 4.0 leads to green and sustainable manufacturing. But from a sustainability perspective, this only tells half of the story.

It is true that Industry 4.0 and Smart Factory technologies can enable reduced wastage through better control and visibility; better efficiencies leading to energy savings; increased productivity; improved quality through insights from the data collected, and much more. But there is the other half to the story that has a significant impact on the climate emergency.

Productivity is great for companies, but does it help sustainability? I have spent the last ten years devoted to the application of robotics, automation and digital manufacturing technologies to improve productivity usually through the application of robotics to improve quality leading to right-first-time manufacturing. However, productivity improvements usually result in cheaper manufacturing costs or larger volumes, better market competitiveness that can lead to more competitive prices that can ultimately lead to higher consumption and thus a higher sustainability impact…Read more