Supply Chain Transformation for Pursuing Carbon-neutrality

Despite the positive outcomes of shifting to renewables and energy efficiency, it is now apparent that the traditional approaches can no longer result in desired improvements; technological transition of the manufacturing sector is necessary to pursuing carbon neutrality and ecological restoration. Adoption of disruptive new technologies that support the green transformation of manufacturing supply chains and the possibilities of employing Negative Emission Technologies in the supply chain is receiving attention among practitioners and academics. Exploring the opportunities and challenges with a focus on carbon peak and neutrality concepts, both in theory and practice, is important for the sustainable development of manufacturing industries.

Frontiers in Sustainability explores innovations in producing and consuming products, empowering scientists to be more involved in the sustainability discussion. This includes an array of research domains with the sustainable development of manufacturing industries being one of the major topics. In this Research Topic, we invite research articles focusing on technological transformation, energy transition, and modernization of manufacturing supply chains. This call is expected to bring together researchers from different backgrounds, but with relevant expertise. Overall, this Research Topic will contribute to the sustainable development goals by providing academics and practitioners with a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the green transition of manufacturing industries.

This Research Topic aims to report the latest progress on the transformation path of supply chains to highlight the obstacles, challenges, opportunities, and perceived needs for adopting new technologies; themes include but not limited to:

 Models for low-carbon technology appraisal and technology selection in the manufacturing sector;

 Conceptual models to investigate the adoption of disruptive new technologies for pursuing carbon neutrality;

 Game modeling of environmental regulation, resource endowment, and energy transition in the manufacturing sector;

 Measurement, evaluation, and modeling for reducing carbon footprint through the adoption of new technologies;

 Simulation, optimization, and decision models for the smooth transition of supply chains;

 Life cycle analysis to evaluate the sustainability performance of additively manufactured products and materials;

 Empirical analysis, laboratory experiments, and case studies to benchmark the additively manufactured products;

 Research on supply chain control towers and transportation visibility for carbon neutrality;

 Research on metaverse – virtual reality – and digital twin for carbon neutrality in upstream and downstream supply chains;

 Research on the applications of big data analysis and machine learning for carbon neutrality;

 Research on Negative Emission Technologies in the supply chain; and,

 Other supply chain transformation-related topics, like 5G and Blockchain technologies with implications for carbon neutrality.

Please note that abstracts are optional but encouraged for authors.

Authors who require financial support can apply to Frontiers' fee support programme. Your request for a fee support will in no way influence whether your submission is accepted or rejected for publication. Frontiers also has a range of institutional partnerships to help support authors financially to publish in this Open Access platform. Authors are recommended to check with their institutional libraries to see if they can benefit from a partial or full fee cover when publishing with Frontiers.