The influence of I4.0Ts in promoting the Circular Economy. The case of Schneider Electric

In the last decade, the Circular Economy (CE) paradigm, lastly articulated in the 7Rs (Reduce, Reusing, Recycle, Recover, Rethink, Repack, Refurbish) (Jestratijevica et al.,2022; Bagnoli et al., 2021; Kirchherr et al., 2017; Vermeulen et al., 2014), has been implemented by companies oriented to reducing resource consumption and the generation of emissions (Laskurain-Iturbe et al., 2021), in order to pursue the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The adoption of circular business models (CBMs) by companies represents a key tool to achieve CE, which could benefit from the technological innovations offered by Industry 4.0 Technologies (I4.0Ts) (Parmentola et al., 2021; Rosa et al., 2020; Frank et al., 2019; Bagnoli et al., 2018). I4.0Ts enable efficiency gains by minimizing transaction costs and waste and representing a key accelerator of CE. For example, companies are taking advantage of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), to quickly filter information by facilitating a shift from linear to CE-driven production (Dalenogare et al., 2018). Indeed, the Italian legislature in 2021 issued the “National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR)” to fund I4.0Ts development and implementation, also in the direction to support a sustainable finance and development. Along the same line, the regional Law 2016/12 promoted the attractiveness of the Campania region to encourage the establishment of innovative digital enterprises with a focus on enabling technologies for industrial development in the 4.0 key, to ensure the transition of the manufacturing production system to the “Intelligent Factory” model (Calza et al.,2016; Ambec and Lanoie, 2008; Porter and Van der Linde, 1995). Despite the potential of I4.0Ts in encouraging CE, there are few studies on the relationship between I4.0Ts and CE (e.g., Bag and Pretorious, 2020; Piscitelli et al.,2020). The present research seeks to fill this gap by adopting of a case-study methodology. More specifically, we conducted various semi-structured interviews (Dearnley, 2005) with key board members and professionals acting within the Schneider Electric company. The results of the study indicate that I4.0.Ts have a significant influence on the CE. More specifically, our paper identifies the link between the different I4.0Ts adopted by the sample company and CE, suggesting to companies how the various I4.0Ts implemented could be used to improve the 7Rs. Moreover, seeing I4.0Ts as accelerators of CE, this paper proposes that policymakers should promote the emergence of structures that can encourage both privately and publicly to use these technologies in business processes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.