Technological Innovation and Green Industrial Transformation

Dear Colleagues,

We are preparing a Special Issue in the research field of Technological Innovation and Green Industrial Transformation in the new world context.

We all face difficult situations and challenges: the pandemic, the war, and the energy crisis. All this influences the way we live, work, and develop. In these conditions, the problems related to sustainable economic development are more present than ever, and require that we find innovative, viable and feasible solutions that can contribute to a fundamental industrial green transformation.

What are the significant challenges? What will the future look like?

Climate change risks and social and economic concerns are continuous provocations. The Green Economy becomes a sustainable alternative for growth and development through innovation and industrial transformation.

More than ever, in the current economic crisis, eco-innovation has become one of the effective ways to support green growth. New challenges related to sustainable technological changes should be identified and analyzed. These challenges can be important lessons and sources for research and development, from academics and researchers to policymakers, experts and professionals. In this context, green innovation is one of the key tasks of developing greener and low-carbon circular economic systems. Innovation and related creative processes also lead to new valuable ideas. Thus, technological innovation advancements can have a substantial positive impact on the environment. The resulting green innovations can help industry to achieve balance between economic and environmental performance and high-quality green development. Therefore, technological innovation is a continuous source for sustainable development and the transformation of industries and the worldwide economy.

This Special Issue aims to bring together various research achievements and results on technological innovation and industrial transformation processes that can foster green, sustainable development in the context of a circular economy.

We are inviting academicians and researchers to submit high-level original research, state-of-the-art reviews or evidenced-based case studies contributing to fostering technological innovation and the green industrial transformation of our society. Papers on topics including (but not restricted to) the following topics:

• Impact of technological innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
• Eco-friendly technologies for a green environment;
• Green technologies and products supply chain;
• Technological trends for a sustainable fashion and clothing industry;
• Solutions for decarbonizing manufacturing systems and industrial processes;
• Key sustainability issues for small and medium enterprises (SMEs);
• Greenhouse gas emissions related to products, services and supply chains;
• New business models toward resilience and green industrial transformation;
• Accelerated and co-created innovation;
• Innovative R&D ecosystems for green digital economy;
• Digital transformation and transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0;
• Assessment of climate change risks related to technological innovation;
• Impact of the green industrial transformation on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems;
• Resources efficiency, material compliance and life-cycle assessment;
• Environmental product performance within design and manufacturing processes;
• New educational initiatives in circular economy, digital and green transformation;
• Up-skilling and re-skilling the workforce for a sustainable industrial transformation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Antonela Curteza
Prof. Dr. Aura Mihai
Prof. Dr. Manuela Avadanei
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

• innovation
• technologies
• transformation
• green
• digital
• risks
• assessment
• efficiency
• performance
• circular economy