The negative impact of Industry 4.0 on Sustainability: A Delphi study

The literature has identified several positive sustainability impacts of Industry 4.0 technologies in manufacturing companies. In contrast, empirical research on the negative sustainability effects is still scarce and anecdotal. The goals of this study are: (1) to identify the possible negative impacts of digital technologies (e.g., IoT, additive manufacturing, cloud and blockchain) on sustainability; (2) to highlight the underlying motivations and mechanisms; and (3) to identify actions to mitigate such effects. For this purpose, a two-round Delphi study involving 43 experts has been performed. The findings show that there is indeed a “dark side” of Industry 4.0 and suggest various corrective actions at firm, supply chain and policy levels.