Green technologies and innovations towards sustainable manufacturing

Green technologies have become crucial for sustainability to assist countries and businesses in addressing urgent social challenges, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change. This chapter outlines the historical development of the evolution of green technologies from ancient pollution reduction strategies, such as those for the millennia earlier, to contemporary digital and environmentally friendly technologies. Certain areas that will be focused on include the use of artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, sustainable manufacturing, circular economy models, smart cities (often used as digital sustainability technologies), and renewable energy. Examples of how public policy, financial incentives, and the availability of markets are promoting green technologies include the open and linkable acceptance of blockchain-enabled carbon trading in Europe, and computerized and advanced electronic waste recycling in Japan, as well as solar energy utilization and increased electric vehicle ownership in India and Denmark. This chapter will discuss a myriad of important issues, including technical barriers, patchy regulatory language, poor infrastructure, fragmented social acceptance, and international differences emerging from the increased upfront costs of green technologies. The Green Tech 4.0 paradigm is characterized by digital sustainability and possible scenarios based on a digital world and advanced technologies in energy-positive smart cities, bio-inspiration eco-materials, fusion energy, and circular economy 2.0. The chapter emphasizes the collaboration that is required between governments, businesses, institutions of learning and communities in scaling green technology effectively - using real case studies and ideas from global research.