Cyber-Physical Systems as an Enabler of Circular Economy to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Industrialization has brought wealth, prosperity, and abundance to many nations. However, it has had many drawbacks on people’s health and the environment. Several paradigms have been proposed and implemented in an effort to suppress and reverse the adverse impacts of human activities and industrialization. A popular approach that serves as a solution to many of the negative implications of industry today is the circular economy (CE). With today’s top-notch technologies, the transition from the conventional linear economy to CE has been made easier. For example, the implementation of cyber-physical systems (CPSs), an Industry 4.0 (I4.0) tool, within a CE can substantially increase efficiency and reduce waste. This work presents a thorough review on the applications of cyber-physical systems within each of the CE stages, the contribution of different CPS technologies to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and the current state of the CE assessment tools. The contribution of different CPS tools to each CE stage is demonstrated through several practical examples. In addition, this work reveals how the different CPS technologies applications contribute to the attainment of different SDGs set by the United Nations. It is also deduced from the review of the current state of the CE assessment tools that there is a need for a standardized comprehensive CE measuring or rating system to allow businesses on the micro, meso, and macro levels of the economy improve their circulatory.