Evaluating Industry 5.0 Adoption: Insights on Industrial IoT and Sustainability in Italian Manufacturing

The challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have led to the emergence of Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0, two paradigms rooted in sustainability, social responsibility, and the reintegration of people into production. These frameworks address global environmental challenges such as climate change and the shift to a low-carbon economy, supported by initiatives like the European Green Deal and the UN 2030 Agenda. In this context, Italy launched the Transition 5.0 Plan in 2024 as part of the Piano Nazionale Ripresa Resilienza (PNRR), promoting a “Twin Transition” by combining energy efficiency and digital transformation through tax credits based on investment and energy savings. However, the plan’s impact on Italian industry remains unclear. A review of the IoT-driven transformation in manufacturing highlights emerging business models focused on digital servitization, ecosystems, and platforms, while also identifying a need for more analysis of Industrial IoT adoption across company sizes and its environmental contribution. This research addresses these gaps through a survey of over 160 Italian manufacturing firms, 19 interviews, and a quantitative model estimating potential CO₂ reductions under different participation scenarios. A theoretical case study further evaluates economic returns and payback periods, offering guidance for aligning financial and sustainability goals.