TY - JOUR
T1 - Industry 4.0 enabling sustainable supply chain development in the renewable energy sector
T2 - a multi-criteria intelligent approach
AU - Mastrocinque, Ernesto
AU - Ramirez, Francisco Javier
AU - Honrubia-Escribano, Andres
AU - Pham, Duc
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - The aim of this paper is to provide a multi-criteria decision-making intelligent approach based on Industry 4.0 and Triple Bottom Line principles for sustainable supply chain development in the renewable energy sector. In particular, the solar photovoltaic energy supply chain is used as a case study, encompassing the entire energy production process, from supply to disposal. An exhaustive literature review is conducted to identify the main criteria affecting social, economic and environmental sustainability in the photovoltaic energy supply chain, and to explore the potential impact of Industry 4.0 on sustainability. Subsequently, three Fuzzy Inference Systems combining quantitative and qualitative data are built to calculate the supply chain's social, economic and environmental sustainability. Experts' opinions are used to identify the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the three pillars of sustainability for each supply chain stage. Finally, a novel sustainability index, Sustainability Index 4.0, is formulated to compute the overall sustainability of the photovoltaic energy supply chain in seven countries. The results show the applicability and usefulness of the proposed holistic model in helping policy makers, stakeholders and users to make informed decisions for the development of sustainable renewable energy supply chains, taking into account the impact of Industry 4.0 and digital technologies.
AB - The aim of this paper is to provide a multi-criteria decision-making intelligent approach based on Industry 4.0 and Triple Bottom Line principles for sustainable supply chain development in the renewable energy sector. In particular, the solar photovoltaic energy supply chain is used as a case study, encompassing the entire energy production process, from supply to disposal. An exhaustive literature review is conducted to identify the main criteria affecting social, economic and environmental sustainability in the photovoltaic energy supply chain, and to explore the potential impact of Industry 4.0 on sustainability. Subsequently, three Fuzzy Inference Systems combining quantitative and qualitative data are built to calculate the supply chain's social, economic and environmental sustainability. Experts' opinions are used to identify the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the three pillars of sustainability for each supply chain stage. Finally, a novel sustainability index, Sustainability Index 4.0, is formulated to compute the overall sustainability of the photovoltaic energy supply chain in seven countries. The results show the applicability and usefulness of the proposed holistic model in helping policy makers, stakeholders and users to make informed decisions for the development of sustainable renewable energy supply chains, taking into account the impact of Industry 4.0 and digital technologies.
KW - Fuzzy logic
KW - Industry 4.0
KW - Multi-criteria decision-making
KW - Renewable energy
KW - Sustainable supply chain
KW - Triple Bottom Line
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132127379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121813
DO - 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121813
M3 - Article
SN - 0040-1625
VL - 182
JO - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
JF - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
M1 - 121813
ER -
