What is the role of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in the context of sustainable development?

IIoT is a catalyst for industrial sustainability, using interconnected systems to collect and act on real-time data in ways that raise resource efficiency, optimize energy use, improve transparency, and cut environmental impacts. It enables data-driven environmental governance, allowing industries to align with UN SDGs and the European Green Deal. Through technologies like AI-driven predictive maintenance, sensor-based digital twins, and real-time analytics, IIoT supports waste reduction, emissions tracking, and footprint minimization in resilient, circular production systems.

The Industrial Internet of Things represents a key step in digital transformation because it lets industrial operations gather, analyze, and respond to real-time data across interconnected systems. In sustainable development, this capability translates into significant gains in resource efficiency, circular economy practices, energy optimization, and production transparency. Evidence presented in the chapter describes IIoT as a catalyst for industrial sustainability that boosts productivity while lowering environmental harm and as an enabler of data-driven governance aligned with frameworks such as the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal. In practice, the role spans the entire sustainability cycle. In smart manufacturing, AI-powered predictive maintenance and energy optimization are used to reduce downtime and improve efficiency. Sensor-based monitoring and digital twins support waste reduction and material efficiency, while big data and machine learning analytics allow emissions tracking and footprint minimization. Looking forward, the chapter highlights circular economy integration, digital twins, edge AI, federated learning, and policy-driven roadmaps as ways to build resilient, scalable IIoT ecosystems that support long-term global sustainability goals.