Relevance of the sustainability aspects in 'Industry 4.0'

This study was designed to set out the strengths and weaknesses of 'Industrie 4.0' in terms of environmental protection and sustainability aspects. To this end, the research projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) were evaluated on the basis of available project data sheets and project descriptions, using an evaluation grid. Furthermore, the programmes of the relevant industrial platforms were reviewed. The evaluation criteria applied should take account of the aspects of material efficiency and the economic use of raw materials in production and products, of the impact on logistics and transport, changes in the world of labour and in value added chains and, where appropriate, consumption patterns up to the end-of-life stage of products as well as of data protection aspects (trade secrets, the protection of individual interests with regard to privacy and the right to data protection).