The role of nature-like technologies in implementing sustainable development of industrial systems

Under the conditions of sanctions restrictions, Russia’s modern macroeconomic system is aimed at technological development, digitalization, sustainable development and greening of production and economic systems. The key problem of the functioning of economic systems is the limited resources, which determines the emergence of “bottlenecks” and queues. As a result, this affects the efficiency of the entire system and its competitiveness. One of the key conditions for achieving the goals of sustainable development is the development of nature-like technologies and their introduction into industry. The purpose of the study is to identify the theoretical aspects of nature-like technologies, to identify their potential for implementation to achieve sustainable industrial development. The scientific origins of the concept of developing the topic of nature-like technologies are analyzed, and the categories “nature-like technologies”, “nature-inspired algorithms”, and “nature-inspired systems” are defined. The principles of nature-like technologies that contribute to solving environmental problems, resource independence, economic efficiency, and technological development are summarized. The transformation of traditional production systems into mesosystems by analogy with natural ecosystems is considered. It is proved that this approach, which underlies the closed-loop economy, allows us to go beyond the introduction of individual “green” technologies and achieve a synergistic effect. To systematize the analysis, a classification of nature-like technologies is proposed and the main directions of their use in industry are identified. The following conclusions are drawn: the introduction of nature-like technologies gives a measurable and significant effect in three areas of sustainable development: 1) economics – reducing costs, creating new value; 2) ecology – reducing emissions, optimizing resources; 3) social sphere – creating safe working conditions and a favorable environment for human life and health. The economic effect of the introduction of nature-like technologies is one of the key drivers of their scaling. When making managerial decisions, it is necessary to consider that the introduction of nature–like technologies is a strategic investment in ensuring the competitiveness of the mesosystem and its resource independence. At the level of the country’s top leadership, it is necessary to develop and implement incentive measures for projects that implement the principles of nature-like technologies at the system level.

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