The manufacturing industries have played a stellar role in contributing toward global economy. However, the industrial development of the past decades was built on traditional manufacturing. Nowadays, smart manufacturing approach is desirable for economic growth of the country. In this paper, various emerging approaches are discussed for sustainable and smart machining process. The first four approaches are concerned with the process of machinability enhancement and are used to assess machining performance as well as its economic implications. Novel approaches for designing and modelling of tools that aid in the supply of coolant/lubricant in a smooth and effective manner are discussed. Modelling and setting upgraded fixtures can assist in regulating the production time of machining process. The implementation of developing technologies in futuristic manufacturing is the fifth crucial factor. Furthermore, it aims to figure out how to increase machinability so that it does not affect the employees and results in a more environmentally friendly manufacturing process. The discussed approaches can make industries more productive and efficient to bring ground breaking changes in order to move toward smart and sustainable machining processes that can help in bringing about a cleaner world and a better tomorrow.