THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN INDUSTRY 4.0 AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY: SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Study Objective: The aim of this article is to analyze how the interrelationship between Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy technologies influences sustainability. Methodology/approach: This article was based on an exploratory and qualitative research, using the technique of systematic literature review based on recent articles using the Scopus database. The analysis process aimed to abstract explanations for the studied phenomenon from the studied literature. Originality/Relevance: Industry 4.0 and Circular Economics are two separate disciplines that are widely studied by academia. However, comparatively, the applications of Industry 4.0 in Circular Economy are incipient. In this sense, the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies makes it possible to promote a more eco-efficient society from the perspective of the circular economy. Main results: The analysis allowed us to conclude that the main applications of Industry 4.0 are based on IoT and on the sensing of production and waste management activities. In implementing Circular Economy strategies, we verified the importance of applying digital technologies for their implementation and development, which can be seen in the use of digital twin, machine learning and big data and analytics to model eco-efficient systems. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The main contributions of this work are: 1) the systematization of recent articles, demonstrating the correlation of the two disciplines and the elements of Industry 4.0 cited by the authors; 2) detailing the integration of the ReSOLVE framework in light of Industry 4.0; 3) a suggestion of direction for future surveys.