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Digitalization and Its Application of Sustainable Development: 2nd Edition

Special Issue Editor

Applied Information Management, School of Computer Science and Information Technology, College of Engineering and Information Technology, Adelaide University, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Interests: digital transformation; AI; data analytics; Internet of Things
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce a new Special Issue of Sustainability entitled ‘Digitalization and Its Application of Sustainable Development: 2nd Edition’.

Sustainability is a core concept in modern society which concerns meeting the needs of the present without compromising the resources of future generations. The concept of sustainability has three primary goals, including environmental protection (e.g., carbon emission, waste management), social development (e.g., human rights, diversity, equity), and economic development (e.g., profitability). Sustainability digitalization, also known as sustainable digital transformation, refers to the process of digitalizing the economy in a long-lasting green way to meet these goals. Digitalization, environmental factors, and social and economic factors are interlinked. Sustainable digitalization relies on innovative technology solutions, such as Industry 4.0, AI, Big Data, and the cloud, to generate unique opportunities and strategically address challenges. For example, the large-scale adoption of the Internet of Things sensor network provides organizations with the capability of making well-informed decisions to efficiently and effectively manage resources. Sustainability digitization also delivers efficiency improvement in varied aspects of policy-making, organization management, innovative engineering, and technology advancement, resulting in new policies, business models, and processes.

However, it must be acknowledged that, at the same time, digitalization presents organizations with challenges, such as data security, resource efficiency, and skill shortage for digital transformation. Therefore, for this Special Issue, we seek papers presenting digitalization methodologies, approaches, and case studies for sustainability applications that provide insightful knowledge that sheds light on how digitalization can assist sustainability improvement.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Digital transformation strategies, practices, and processes.
  • Sustainability digitization innovations and entrepreneurship.
  • Digitization in the circular economy.
  • Sustaining and evaluating digital transformations.
  • Digital transformation governance and risk management.
  • Digitalization enablers and barriers.
  • Smart technology solution design and adoption.
  • Smart Industry initiatives.
  • Digitalization and sustainability in the education system.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Jing Gao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digitalization
  • sustainability
  • digital transformation

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3063 KB  
Article
Assessment of a Digital Coagulation Management Tool to Support Sustainable Drinking Water Treatment in Regional Operations
by Zhining Shi, Jing Gao, Christopher W. K. Chow, Michael Holmes and Bala Vigneswaran
Sustainability 2026, 18(6), 2891; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18062891 - 16 Mar 2026
Viewed by 397
Abstract
Chemical coagulation is a highly important step of the conventional treatment processes, determination of the optimum coagulant dose to meet the demand of particulate materials and natural organic matters (NOMs) in raw water is crucial for good drinking water quality. WTC-Coag is a [...] Read more.
Chemical coagulation is a highly important step of the conventional treatment processes, determination of the optimum coagulant dose to meet the demand of particulate materials and natural organic matters (NOMs) in raw water is crucial for good drinking water quality. WTC-Coag is a universal non-site-specific coagulant prediction model using three raw water quality parameters, UV254, colour, and turbidity, as model inputs. The empirical model can determine the dose for maximum dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal to achieve the conditions of enhanced coagulation; it also features an operator-selectable input—% setpoint (as % DOC removal)—to establish a dose for the desirable treated water quality. This hybrid modelling and control approach in practice is extremely useful for operators to be able to optimise the process by balancing between water quality and use of resources (chemical and sludge disposal costs) for sustainable operation. This paper discusses the practicality of this hybrid modelling approach via a long-term evaluation by comparing the plant dose against predicted dose using five years historical operations and water quality data. The assessment covered raw water quality change against treatment performance, predictability, usability and operator behaviour in response to the dose change situation. During the study period, five “black water” events were captured, and the performance of the predictability due to operational changes and operator’s response in these extreme events have been analysed. The comparison between the predicted enhanced dose and the plant dose indicated enhanced coagulation would not be always required. Furthermore, the selection of 50% setpoint from the targeted dose option matched well with the plant dose during which the lower-dose situation would be sufficient, with 90% of the predicted doses within ±10 mg/L of the plant dose and 95% of the predicted doses within ±15 mg/L of the plant dose during the normal period. The use of a correction factor to compensate for the particulate demand due to powdered activated carbon (PAC) dose during “black water” events has shown to be effective. The 50% setpoint matches with the plant alum dose over the entire period after accounting for the PAC dose, with 70% of the predicted doses within ±10 mg/L and 80% within ±15 mg/L of the plant dose. All the coagulation-related prediction functions have been evaluated and confirmed their non-site-specific nature. This study is unique in terms of using real operations data for an extended period to evaluate this novel hybrid modelling concept towards the sustainability goal. Full article
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22 pages, 1115 KB  
Article
A Causal Analysis on Digitalization, Sustainability and Performance: IT vs. Non-IT Firms During COVID-19
by Maria Iulia Sobolevschi-David, Raluca-Andreea Popescu-Predulescu, Alma Maria Petcu and Andreea Theodorescu
Sustainability 2026, 18(4), 1790; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18041790 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 426
Abstract
The aim of this study is to ascertain whether digitalization and sustainability engender higher revenues, by identifying the differences between IT firms vs. non-IT firms when confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic. We postulate that firms operating in fields related to information technology face [...] Read more.
The aim of this study is to ascertain whether digitalization and sustainability engender higher revenues, by identifying the differences between IT firms vs. non-IT firms when confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic. We postulate that firms operating in fields related to information technology face different challenges and performance requirements than non-IT firms due to the disparity of technological absorption capacity, compatibility with the business model, necessary infrastructure, and also in terms of the marginal effect of growth. A quantitative analysis is conducted utilizing the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares method on a sample of companies retrieved from the Refinitiv Eikon database. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between digitalization and performance, and also sustainability and performance. Intersectoral analysis pointed out that digitalization had a significant negative impact for non-IT firms during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the critical function of digital technologies in empowering businesses to overcome adversity. Significant relationships are observed between sustainability and revenues, positive in the case of non-IT firms, and negative in the case of IT firms. The contributions of this study are relevant for companies, in the development of strategies, for scholars in deepening the research, and for policymakers in enabling the formulation of legal frameworks and the establishment of necessary infrastructure for sustainable development and digitalization. Full article
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Review

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20 pages, 1885 KB  
Review
Review of Root Intrusions by Street Trees and Utilising Predictive Analytics to Improve Water Utility Maintenance Strategies
by Chizhengping Yang, Faisal Ahammed, Donald Cameron and Christopher W. K. Chow
Sustainability 2025, 17(12), 5263; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125263 - 6 Jun 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2858
Abstract
Tree root intrusion can cause failures of underground sewer pipes and thus represent a major water asset management issue. If tree root intrusion is not detected early, this may lead to the interruption of wastewater services and high costs of repair to the [...] Read more.
Tree root intrusion can cause failures of underground sewer pipes and thus represent a major water asset management issue. If tree root intrusion is not detected early, this may lead to the interruption of wastewater services and high costs of repair to the pipeline. The objectives of this review are to assess the existing maintenance strategies, explore suitable strategies for Australia and similar settings around the world, and identify possible factors and predictive tools. Maintenance strategies can be divided into two categories: reactive and proactive approaches. The current reactive approaches are (1) mechanical techniques to clean the root mass in pipe networks and (2) chemical techniques to remove the root mass and control future growth. The literature suggests that the reactive approaches often provide only partial solutions. The proactive approaches, guided by a predictive model of tree root intrusion and its related factors, showed the potential to improve maintenance and limit the risk of the damage from re-occurring. Predictive models could help to evaluate the risk of planting trees in different conditions and minimise the damage of tree root intrusion after further multifactor investigations. Full article
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