The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the implementation of Lean & Green (L&G) in an Industry 4.0 (I4.0) environment can enhance the potential impact of the L&G approach and help manufacturing companies moving towards higher operational and sustainable performances. The research work developed here shows that although a proper definition of L&G is neither exposed worldwide nor explicitly implemented under that name, the current industrial firms are deeply concerned about the demanding challenge of keeping businesses flexible and agile without forgetting strategies to minimize the acceleration of climate change. So, one contribution of this paper is the identification and characterization of L&G drivers and design principles, supporting a robust and well-informed L&G systems implementation. As inferred from the research work, this challenge demands high quality and updated data together with assertive information. Thus, the implementation of L&G in I4.0 contexts is the answer to overcome the identified barriers. Likewise, an L&G system contributes to overcoming the challenges of I4.0 implementation regarding the triple bottom line sustainability concept. Consequently, another contribution of this paper is to depict why an L&G system performs better in the I4.0 context.

In recent years, the Twin-Transition reference model has gained notoriety as one of the key options for decarbonizing the economy while adopting more sustainable models leveraged by the Industry 4.0 paradigm. In this regard, one of the most relevant challenges is the integration of data-driven approaches with sustainability assessment approaches, since overcoming this challenge will foster more agile sustainable development. Without disregarding the effort of academics and practitioners in the development of sustainability assessment approaches, the authors consider the need for holistic frameworks that also encourage continuous improvement in sustainable development. The main objective of this research is to propose a holistic framework that supports companies to assess sustainability performance effectively and more easily, supported by digital capabilities and data-driven concepts, while integrating improvement procedures and methodologies. To achieve this objective, the research is based on the analysis of published approaches, with special emphasis on the data-driven concepts supporting sustainability assessment and Lean Thinking methods. From these results, we identified and extracted the metrics, scopes, boundaries, and kinds of output for decision-making. A new holistic framework is described, and we have included a guide with the steps necessary for its adoption in a given company, thus helping to enhance sustainability while using data availability and data-analytics tools.

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