Industrial product service system and environmental sustainability, main challenges and opportunities: a literature review

Industrial product service systems (IPS2) are systems in which products and services are integrated to deliver value in industrial applications. When proposing an IPS2, companies integrate investment goods and industrial services along their lifecycle. IPS2 are often considered a promising paradigm to achieve higher environmental sustainability. Those configurations can decouple value production from resource consumption, in line with the principles of circular economy (CE). In successful configurations, products are designed for a longer lifecycle, optimized thanks to the implementation of services. In addition, the production of waste is reduced, and the usage of energy and resources is optimized. IPS2 are often supported by digital technologies and integrated services can be designed and implemented by leveraging data captured from the products. Nonetheless, IPS2 are not more sustainable than the traditional alternatives by default. IPS2 must be designed and operated with the objective of guaranteeing not only economical sustainability, but also environmental sustainability; otherwise IPS2 offerings could be more environmentally impactful than traditional configurations. Manufacturing companies which are interested in pursuing the servitization paradigm should strategically design and implement IPS2 offerings to achieve both the satisfaction of customers’ requirements and the expected environmental impact improvements. Even though the relevance of IP2 for sustainability is recognized by the literature, few studies focus on the topic and approach it in a structured way. In this paper, the authors aim at covering this gap, investigating, through the execution of a systematic literature review, the current state of the art related to industrial product service systems, sustainability and circular economy. The authors offer an analysis of major challenges and opportunities for the design and application of sustainable IPS2, focusing in particular on best practices and the role of digital technologies.