An Industry 4.0 research agenda for sustainable business models

In the Industry 4.0 world that is digitalizing and automating, sustainable business models exist but have not become mainstream. Opportunities for sustainable offerings exist by designing products for longevity, repair and recycling, such that sustainability is not only focusing on being more efficient, but also on using less raw materials and recycling more products. This changes the value proposition, supply chain, relation with the customer and financial justification of a business model. This paper discusses potential sustainable business scenarios, and proposes an agenda for research into how Industry 4.0 can be used to create sustainable business models. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.