The current COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the progress towards meeting all SDGs (UN 2020), stressing the need to reverse the recent negative spiral in which Agenda 2030 is caught today (Perkins et al. 2021).  Over the recent past, informatization and communication technologies have proved to be a key ally in fostering the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Still, now more than ever, digitalization is being dramatically part of the remarkable transformation of working, studying, shopping, and even living the post-pandemic era.

The contribution of digitalization regarding the Agenda 2030 is spreading in all kinds of organizations, but mainly in industry settings due to the current resurgence of Industry 4.0.  Industry 4.0 provides an optimum niche to link the Sustainable Development Goals with the digital transformation facing industry sectors (Beier et al. 2020). Over the last decade, the adoption of Industry 4.0 strategies has been paired with information technology systems that generate a vast amount of data via the ambient intelligence space and the internet of things. Given current digital developments, no industry can afford to ignore the sustainability opportunities that the digitalization wave offers. With the support of Industry 4.0 technologies, companies across all sectors may drive progress toward sustainability accounting and reporting (Tiwari, Khan 2020) while enabling them to overcome potential industrial constraints, including those involving quality, cost, and delivery issues (Bag, 2020).

Education is another sector undergoing a critical metamorphosis towards digitalization. Without current informatization and communication technologies, any education level would not have been able to survive to COVID-19. Surprisingly, the adoption of technology in education opened the possibility for creating a new, more diverse, and inclusive education (Passantino 2021). Although students struggle at home with independent learning, most of them show positive attitudes toward education’s new reality (Patston et al. 2021). Unavoidable, there are trade-offs that, unless specific measures are taken, might become a constraint to meet the aforementioned sustainable goals.

We invite any kind of original contribution to this special issue that looks for answers to what role digitalization will play to make SDGs feasible in our post-pandemic world.

Please send the abstracts to:

Luis Velazquez, Industrial Engineering Department, University of Sonora
e-mail: luis.velazquez@unison.mx

or:

Joost Platje
e-mail: johannes.platje@wsb.wroclaw.pl

02 November 2021Deadline for Abstract’s submission
30 November 2021Notification of status invitation to submit the full paper
31 January 2022Deadline for submission of full paper
March or June 2022Publication

The abstracts should have the following structure:

Aim: The author(s) should shortly explain the reason or motivation for taking up the research problem (why is the topic important?), and what is the objective or aim of the research. The aim should be clearly formulated, and be specific enough to be achieved within the range of the paper.

Design / Research methods: The authors should clearly explain the way in which the aim or objective is achieved. The main research methods as well as the approach to the research should be provided that enable effective dealing with the paper’s aim.

Conclusions / findings: What are the main results of the research? The authors should refer to the analysis, discussion or results of the paper in order to show the main findings.

Originality / value of the article: Within the context of the current state of the art in science, what is new or what is the scientific value added of the paper? For whom would the paper be of interest?

Implications of the research (if applicable): How and to what extent can the results of the research be applied to practice? What are the consequences of application of the findings of the research to practice?

Limitations of the research  (if applicable): Does the research imply directions or suggestions for future research? What are the limitations of the research methods used? What are the limitations of the implications of the research findings Keywords:

Keywords:

JEL codes:

Please refer to the Journal information for author guidelines:
https://www.cerem-review.eu/publish-in-cerem/
https://www.cerem-review.eu/research-and-publication-ehtics/

References

Bag S., Pretorius J. (2020) Relationships between industry 4.0, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy: proposal of a research framework, “Int. J. Organ. Anal.”, ahead of print, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-04-2020-2120.

Beier G., Ullrich A., Niehoff S., Reißig M., Habich M. (2020), Industry 4.0: How it is defined from a sociotechnical perspective and how much sustainability it includes – A literature review, “J. Clean. Prod.”. vol. 259, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620309033?via%3Dihub.

Passantino F. (2021), Reflections: diversity, inclusion and belonging in education Post-Covid, “Intercultural Education”, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2021.1857575.

Patston T.J., Kennedy J., Jaeschke W., Kapoor H., Leonard S.N., Cropley D.H., Kaufman J.C. (2021), Secondary Education in COVID Lockdown: More Anxious and Less Creative—Maybe Not?, “Front. Psychol.”, 12:613055. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.613055.

Perkins K., Munguia N., Ellenbecker M., Moure-Eraso R., Velazquez L. (2021), “COVID-19 pandemic lessons to facilitate future engagement in the global climate crisis”, “J. Clean. Prod.”, vol. 290. In press, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125178

Tiwari K., Khan M. S. (2020), Sustainability accounting and reporting in the industry 4.0, “J. Clean. Prod.”, vol. 258, 120783, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120783. United Nations (UN) (2020), The Sustainable development goals report 2020,  New York, NY, USA, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/ [04.12.2020].