A systematic review of empirical studies on green manufacturing: eight propositions and a research framework for digitalized sustainable manufacturing

Figures & data

Figure 1. Number of publications in the resulting sample for each step of the study.

Table 1. List of keywords, their combination using Boolean and proximity operators.

1-Study	2-Sector	3-Method	4-Topic	5-Topic
empirical OR ‘case stud*’	manufactur* AND NOT construction	assess* OR evaluat* OR measur* OR quantif* OR manag* OR improv*	sustain* OR environment*	performance OR impact
Scopus search query: TITLE-ABS-KEY (set1 AND set2 AND (set3 W/2 (set4 W/2 set5)))

Table 2. Categories of labels and questions used for the screening and subsequent analysis.

Category and questions	Labels and their description
1. Type of study What type of study design was used by the authors?	CS: case study, single or multiple in-depth case studies CC: cross-case analysis or meta-analysis TD: tool or method development
2. Research area What is the authors’ field of research? What field of research do they contribute to?	LC: life cycle studies RE: resource efficiency, eco-efficiency CSR: corporate social responsibility LEAN*: lean (repeated in cat. 3) SCM: supply chain management DES*: design (repeated in cat. 4) SERV: servitization CE: circular economy DIG: digitalization
3. Type of method What type of assessment or improvement methods were used? How was the environmental impact/sustainability performance managed?	IND: indicators and indexes related to environmental performance LCX: life cycle methods; e.g. life cycle assessment, life cycle inventory, life cycle costing, sustainability life cycle assessment, etc. M&S: modelling and simulation MCDA: multi-criteria methods; e.g. multi-criteria decision analysis, analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy logic, etc. LEAN: lean and Six Sigma tools (linked to cat. 2); e.g. value stream mapping, just-in-time, 5S, total productive maintenance, Six Sigma, etc.
4. Type of measure What type of measures, practices or improvements are proposed and implemented in manufacturing?	TEC: engineering, operational or technical measures BUS: business, strategic or managerial measures DES: sustainable design (linked to cat. 2); e.g. eco-design, DfE, DfX, etc. INST: institutional measures and policy instruments; e.g. governance, regulations, standards, etc.
5. Unit of analysis What is the focus of the assessment? What is the ‘system’ being assessed?	PROD: product or service PROC: process or manufacturing technology MAT: material, energy, water, waste SC: supply chains CORP: company
6. Scope What is the scope of the assessment?	C2Gv: cradle-to-grave C2Gt: cradle-to-gate G2G: gate-to-gate
7. Sustainability dimensions Which dimensions of sustainability are directly impacted by the solution(s)?	ENV: environmental ECO: economic SOC: social

Figure 2. Publication year of the articles in the initial sample collected and final sample reviewed.

Figure 3. Geographical distribution of the articles in the initial sample per continent and number of articles reviewed for the final sample.

Figure 4. Subject areas of articles in the initial sample collected and final sample reviewed.

Figure 5. Sources of articles in the initial sample collected and final sample reviewed.

Figure 6. Distribution of methods against type of measure, unit of analysis, scope and sustainability dimensions.

Figure 7. Proposed research framework for Digitalized Sustainable Manufacturing: four research themes (R1–4) and eight propositions (P1–8) to align digitalization and sustainability goals.