Sustainability Management 4.0 - Transformative potentials of digitally-networked production for people, the environment and technology (ProMUT)

Background:

The digitization and networking of production processes (Industry 4.0) has initiated a phase of fundamental transformation for the manufacturing industry. The focus of the current discourse on Industry 4.0 is on concrete technical solutions and the improvement of productivity to support the transformation. The possible environmental consequences of digitization play a secondary role. However, it is undisputed that industrial production has significant impacts on the environment.

Main research question:

ProMut investigates how the increasing digitization and networking of production can be used to improve corporate sustainability management (CSR).

Research objective:

The central outcome of the project is a comprehensive concept for improved sustainability management in a digitized production. This will result in recommendations for action for business and society. The most relevant solutions will be transferred into a demonstrator that combines different media such as video sequences, presentation, or software elements to present the results in a comprehensible way for a wide audience through an application example.