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Can smart factories bring environmental benefits to their products?: A case study of household refrigerators

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  • Wujie Zhang
  • Fu Gu
  • Jianfeng Guo

Abstract

Smart factories have been widely adopted as a new manufacturing paradigm, in which the state‐of‐the‐art technologies are introduced to improve relevant processes. Yet, whether smart factories affect the environmental performance remains unknown. In this article, we examine the environmental performance of a smart refrigerator factory by comparing the environmental impacts of its product to a similar model that is produced in a traditional fashion. This article quantifies and verifies the theoretically predicted impacts of this smart factory on the individual processes. Though the overall differences in the two models are quite minor, we find that this smart factory can notably reduce the values of most impact categories associated with the parts and refrigerator production; the reduction in the value of climate change is 33%. Owing to higher material efficiency—raw material savings in this smart factory contributes to the greatest reductions in most categorized impacts—the contribution to the reduction of climate change is 39%. Yet, all categorized impacts of procurement and delivery are increased due to product personalization and direct delivery. The results of sensitivity analysis show that promoting product modularity, adopting clean energy such as wind power can further improve the environmental performance of the selected refrigerator. The introduction of auxiliary equipment and systems slightly increases the value of each category; yet their impacts are negligible compared to their benefits as facilitating production efficiency. Based on the quantitative results, recommendations are given to improve the environmental performance of smart factory, including optimizing current strategies and promoting horizontal and end‐to‐end integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Wujie Zhang & Fu Gu & Jianfeng Guo, 2019. "Can smart factories bring environmental benefits to their products?: A case study of household refrigerators," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(6), pages 1381-1395, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:23:y:2019:i:6:p:1381-1395
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12928
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    Cited by:

    1. Axenbeck, Janna & Niebel, Thomas, 2021. "Climate protection potentials of digitalized production processes: Microeconometric evidence?," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-105, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Mariusz Cholewa & Luan Huynh Ba Minh, 2021. "PLM Solutions in the Process of Supporting the Implementation and Maintenance of the Circular Economy Concept in Manufacturing Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-28, September.
    3. Jaroslav Vrchota & Martin Pech & Ladislav Rolínek & Jiří Bednář, 2020. "Sustainability Outcomes of Green Processes in Relation to Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-47, July.
    4. Wujie Zhang & Fu Gu, 2021. "Towards Micro-Level Green Growth: A Framework to Recognize Corporate Growth Status, Path and Adopt Eco-Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Stephany Isabel Vallarta-Serrano & Edgar Santoyo-Castelazo & Edgar Santoyo & Esther O. García-Mandujano & Holkan Vázquez-Sánchez, 2023. "Integrated Sustainability Assessment Framework of Industry 4.0 from an Energy Systems Thinking Perspective: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-30, July.
    6. Paweł Kłobukowski & Jacek Pasieczny, 2020. "Impact of Resources on the Development of Local Entrepreneurship in Industry 4.0," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Xiaoxia Chen & Mélanie Despeisse & Björn Johansson, 2020. "Environmental Sustainability of Digitalization in Manufacturing: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-31, December.
    8. Bendig, David & Schulz, Colin & Theis, Lukas & Raff, Stefan, 2023. "Digital orientation and environmental performance in times of technological change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

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