Sustainable & Net-Zero Manufacturing
Automation and control architectures for sustainable, resource-efficient, regenerative, and net-zero manufacturing, including carbon capture, green fuels production, and renewable energy conversion
IEEE Engineering Management Review · Special Issue
Automation & Control-Driven Sustainability in Manufacturing and Production Management
How can automation & control architectures accelerate the transition to low-carbon, circular economy, and net-zero production? This Special Issue invites contributions that combine automation-driven and control-driven approaches to deliver concrete, measurable sustainability outcomes: reduced resource and energy use, lower carbon footprint, higher circularity, and more resilient value chains.
Topics of Interest
We welcome contributions on the following themes (among others). All contributions should have clear managerial and/or organizational implications.
Circular Manufacturing & Industrial Symbiosis
Automation-enabled industrial symbiosis, reverse logistics, and material recovery for circular manufacturing, including resilient and autonomous control architectures for sustainable value chains under uncertainty
Energy- & Resource-Flexible Operations
Optimization and control of energy, water, and material flows for energy-flexible and demand-responsive industrial operations
Digital Twins & Cyber-Physical Systems
Digital twins and cyber-physical systems as control enablers for real-time sustainability performance management
Control-Based Planning & Scheduling
Control-theoretic approaches to production planning, scheduling, and inventory management for sustainable operations
Real-Time Life Cycle Assessment
Closed-loop life cycle assessment (LCA) enabled by real-time data and automation for dynamic environmental monitoring
For researchers, managers, and practitioners at the intersection of automation, production management, and sustainability, combining methodological rigor with industrially relevant, real-world case studies.
Key date
Express your interest by 30 September 2026
Submission deadline to be announced upon approval. Further details will be sent to you on receipt.
Guest Editors
Send a short note with your intended topic to any of the guest editors, or use the form above.
Francesco A. Cuzzola
Politecnico di Milano
francescoalessandro.cuzzola@polimi.itChunguang Bai
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
cbai@UPC.edu.cnTariq Samad
University of Minnesota
tsamad@umn.edu