scholarly journals Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Implications: A Scenario-Based Analysis of the Impacts and Challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bonilla ◽  
Helton Silva ◽  
Marcia Terra da Silva ◽  
Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves ◽  
José Sacomano
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Industrial Process ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Negative Impacts

The new evolution of the production and industrial process called Industry 4.0, and its related technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cyber–physical systems, among others, still have an unknown potential impact on sustainability and the environment. In this paper, we conduct a literature-based analysis to discuss the sustainability impact and challenges of Industry 4.0 from four different scenarios: deployment, operation and technologies, integration and compliance with the sustainable development goals, and long-run scenarios. From these scenarios, our analysis resulted in positive or negative impacts related to the basic production inputs and outputs flows: raw material, energy and information consumption and product and waste disposal. As the main results, we identified both positive and negative expected impacts, with some predominance of positives that can be considered positive secondary effects derived from Industry 4.0 activities. However, only through integrating Industry 4.0 with the sustainable development goals in an eco-innovation platform, can it really ensure environmental performance. It is expected that this work can contribute to helping stakeholders, practitioners and governments to advance solutions to deal with the outcomes emerging through the massive adoption of those technologies, as well as supporting the expected positive impacts through policies and financial initiatives.

scholarly journals STEM Education in Ukraine in the Context of Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Oksana Buturlina ◽  
Serhii Dovhal ◽  
Heorhii Hryhorov ◽  
Tetiana Lysokolenko ◽  
Vadym Palahuta
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Educational Trend ◽  
Development Goals

The conceptual and generalizing experience of STEM education implementation presented in Ukraine reflects the realization of the sustainable development goals through educational innovations. The study is based on the premise that STEM is a component of education for sustainable development. This educational trend focuses on the goals of Education for All (EFA), conforms to the ideas of the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and relates to solving societal challenges in the long run. It is argued that the concept of STEM seeks to offer non-standard solutions to global issues in the field of sustainable development, and STEM education should be seen as a mechanism to accelerate the achievement of all sustainable development goals (SDG) and a strategy to obtain each of them. The specifics of STEM key ideas as global educational trends in the national Ukrainian public space are demonstrated. The consideration of STEM education as a component of the strategy for sustainable development through the detailing of the structure and implementation principles as well as STEM competencies, which are defined as the expected result and key for the person of the XXI century, is proved. The experience of Ukrainian research initiatives in the field of STEM education in the context of sustainable development is summarized. A full-fledged programme complex for comprehensive, equitable and high-quality education is presented, which combines the following links: research and experimental work of different levels, teacher’s professional development, museums and science centres work, implementation of various educational programmes, festivals and projects to attract young people to STEM, ensuring equal access for girls and boys.

scholarly journals Implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on sustainable development

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrija Popović
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Development Goals

We are at the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and its implications on the society are far-reaching. The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive overview of the implications that Industry 4.0 has on the Sustainable Development Goals from the UN Agenda 2030, based on the review and the analysis of the available literature. The paper is structured to give an insight into the basic concepts of Industry 4.0 and Sustainable Development, then moves through the implications of new technologies on the Sustainable Development Goals, and finally, points out the areas that need to be addressed by policymakers. This paper just tapped into the potentials and issues that the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings while leaving the room for in-depth research of any of the analyzed areas.

scholarly journals AI in Context and the Sustainable Development Goals: Factoring in the Unsustainability of the Sociotechnical System

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1738
Author(s):  
Henrik Skaug Sætra
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Large Data Sets ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sociotechnical System ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Negative Impacts

Artificial intelligence (AI) is associated with both positive and negative impacts on both people and planet, and much attention is currently devoted to analyzing and evaluating these impacts. In 2015, the UN set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), consisting of environmental, social, and economic goals. This article shows how the SDGs provide a novel and useful framework for analyzing and categorizing the benefits and harms of AI. AI is here considered in context as part of a sociotechnical system consisting of larger structures and economic and political systems, rather than as a simple tool that can be analyzed in isolation. This article distinguishes between direct and indirect effects of AI and divides the SDGs into five groups based on the kinds of impact AI has on them. While AI has great positive potential, it is also intimately linked to nonuniversal access to increasingly large data sets and the computing infrastructure required to make use of them. As a handful of nations and companies control the development and application of AI, this raises important questions regarding the potential negative implications of AI on the SDGs. The conceptual framework here presented helps structure the analysis of which of the SDGs AI might be useful in attaining and which goals are threatened by the increased use of AI.

scholarly journals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Basis for Innovation Skills for Engineers in the Industry 4.0 Context

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6622
Author(s):  
Felipe Muñoz-La Rivera ◽  
Pamela Hermosilla ◽  
Jean Delgadillo ◽  
Dayan Echeverría
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Professional Performance ◽  
Performance Context ◽  
Education Innovation ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
And Performance

Teaching methods for calculation and project development, focusing on theoretical principles and the reproduction of validated procedures, has been the traditional focus of engineering education. Innovation has been present in universities, mainly in the creation of processes and technologies for the development of products, services, or companies, based on entrepreneurship. Training in innovation has been limited to interested students, and not encouraged for all students, despite how relevant it is for current and future global development. According to the literature research and the opinion of the experts, this research identifies the characteristics of innovation that engineering students should acquire, in response to the challenges of engineering in the 21st century, considering as a basis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the context of the increasingly demanding requirements of industry 4.0. The identification of the relevant aspects in innovation were categorized according to the expertise and academic performance of the authors. In addition to this, the investigation of the representative elements of Industry 4.0, and the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals, establish the basis of this study to guide the development of innovation skills in the process of engineering student education. Furthermore, in order to integrate innovation skills, elements of Industry 4.0 and aspects of Sustainable Development Goals, the concept of competence is introduced, with a conceptual structure that considers knowledge, attitude and performance context, thus this research provides a conceptual framework for those interested in constructing innovation skills in engineering, oriented towards the development of an innovation culture and mentality, as part of the expected professional performance.

scholarly journals The Ethical Balance of Using Smart Information Systems for Promoting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Ryan ◽  
Josephina Antoniou ◽  
Laurence Brooks ◽  
Tilimbe Jiya ◽  
Kevin Macnish ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are internationally agreed goals that allow us to determine what humanity, as represented by 193 member states, finds acceptable and desirable. The paper explores how technology can be used to address the SDGs and in particular Smart Information Systems (SIS). SIS, the technologies that build on big data analytics, typically facilitated by AI techniques such as machine learning, are expected to grow in importance and impact. Some of these impacts are likely to be beneficial, notably the growth in efficiency and profits, which will contribute to societal wellbeing. At the same time, there are significant ethical concerns about the consequences of algorithmic biases, job loss, power asymmetries and surveillance, as a result of SIS use. SIS have the potential to exacerbate inequality and further entrench the market dominance of big tech companies, if left uncontrolled. Measuring the impact of SIS on SDGs thus provides a way of assessing whether an SIS or an application of such a technology is acceptable in terms of balancing foreseeable benefits and harms. One possible approach is to use the SDGs as guidelines to determine the ethical nature of SIS implementation. While the idea of using SDGs as a yardstick to measure the acceptability of emerging technologies is conceptually strong, there should be empirical evidence to support such approaches. The paper describes the findings of a set of 6 case studies of SIS across a broad range of application areas, such as smart cities, agriculture, finance, insurance and logistics, explicitly focusing on ethical issues that SIS commonly raise and empirical insights from organisations using these technologies.

scholarly journals Reviewing the Role of Outdoor Lighting in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12657
Author(s):  
Pedro Tavares ◽  
Dmitrii Ingi ◽  
Luiz Araújo ◽  
Paulo Pinho ◽  
Pramod Bhusal
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Negative Impacts

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at providing a healthier planet for present and future generations. At the most recent SDG summit held in 2019, Member States recognized that the achievements accomplished to date have been insufficient to achieve this mission. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of 227 documents contextualizing outdoor lighting with SDGs, showing its potential to resolve some existing issues related to the SDG targets. From a list of 17 goals, six SDGs were identified to have relevant synergies with outdoor lighting in smart cities, including SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on land). This review also links efficient lighting roles partially with SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (Climate action) through Target 7.3 and Target 13.2, respectively. This paper identifies outdoor lighting as a vector directly impacting 16 of the 50 targets in the six SDGs involved. Each section in this review discusses the main aspects of outdoor lighting by a human-centric, energy efficiency and environmental impacts. Each aspect addresses the most recent studies contributing to lighting solutions in the literature, helping us to understand the positive and negative impacts of artificial lighting on living beings. In addition, the work summarizes the proposed solutions and results tackling specific topics impacting SDG demands.

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