Sustainability and Sustainable Development

Transcription

1 Sustainability and Sustainable Development Origins, Concepts, and Principles CVEN 4700L21

2 Concept of sustainable development is based on two central questions: Is it possible to increase the basic standard of living of the world s population without depleting our finite natural resources and further degrading the environment? Can humanity step back from the brink of environmental collapse and at the same time lift its poorest members up to the level of basic human health and dignity

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4 Salient Events in the Movement Towards Sustainability Club of Rome, 1972 Limits to Growth Silent Spring Published, 1962 Santa Barbara oil spill OPEC Oil Shock Seveso Disaster Discovery of Love Canal Ozone depletion of CFCs 3-Mile Island incident Bhopal explosion Chernobyl explosion Exxon Valdez oil spill Belgian food products scare Spread of mad cow disease Industrial Age Today Ecological Age Earth Day, 1970 Brandt Commission North-South Report, 1980 Stockholm Conf Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, UNCED, 1992 and Agenda 21 Kyoto Protocol, 1997 Rio plus Ten Summit, 2002 Earth Charter launched, 2000 Bruntland Commission (WCED) Report, Adapted from Wallace (2001)

5 From World Watch (2002)

6 (From Dorf (2001) pp. 41)

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8 From Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare (2001)

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10 Engineers as Facilitators of Sustainable Development Resource Development and Extraction Processing and Modifying Resources Design and Building Transportation Infrastructure Meeting the Needs of Consumers Recovering and Reusing Resources Environmental Restoration Producing and Distributing Energy Agenda 21 (1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development): 2500 issues in 40 chapters. 241 have major engineering implications

11 Questions Do we have a clear definition of sustainability? What represents a sustainable system, structure or community? How does a business move toward sustainability and simultaneously retain or improve its profitability? Can sustainability be possibly quantified? Is sustainability just another one of those contemporary buzzwords?

12 Sustainability The word sustainability comes from sustain which comes from a Latin word that means to hold up and prolong, to keep in existence, to endure and withstand.

13 What do we want/need to sustain, hold up or prolong? The natural environment (air, water, land, biota) The human race and its basic organizations (family, individuals, communities). Critical issues are body, mind, soul The built environment (facilities, infrastructure systems) Production systems (goods, products, services) Resource base (different types of capital)

14 With two additional levels of complexity Spatial scale of sustainability (site, local, state, regional, national, global footprint, etc.) Temporal scale of sustainability (today, 1 yr., 1-5 yr., 5-10 yr., etc.)

15 Sustainability What kind? Economic sustainability Social sustainability Financial sustainability and.. Ecological sustainability

16 Sustainability and Sustainable Development Definitions - Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs World Commission on Environment and Development or Brundtland Commission Report (1987): 23 members from 22 countries started in Questions: How are needs (present and future) defined? How are they prioritized?

17 Sustainability and Sustainable Development - Definitions (2) Sustainability is an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations (Hawken, 1993). Economic Golden Rule: Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do (Hawken, 1993)

18 Sustainability and Sustainable Development - Definitions (3) Not borrowing against the future (Topping, 1998) Sustainable development avoids or minimizes irreversible long-term negative environmental, economic, and social consequences (Topping, 1998)

19 Sustainability and Sustainable Development - Definitions (4) Sustainable development implies a new and healthier balance in how we conduct our human affairs, one that celebrates depth along with surfaces, community along with individuality, spirituality along with materialism, art along with linear technique. a new humanism (K. Frankel)

20 Sustainability and Sustainable Development - Definitions (5) Sustainable development is the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resources, industrial products, food, transportation, shelter, and waste management while conserving and protecting environmental quality and the natural resource base essential for future development (Policy Statement, ASCE TAC Subcommittee on Sustainability, 2001)

21 Sustainability and Sustainable Development - Definitions (6) Sustainable human communities meet their current needs without comprising other species and future generations International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives

22 Definition of Sustainable Development (from Nature s Point of View) It would include humans as part of its definition What is good for the comprehensive community of life on Earth is good for the human.

23 Sustainability and Sustainable Development (What it is not) Development that substantially or totally depletes natural resources Development that eliminates options for the future Development that escalates costs to prohibitive levels Development that increases the probability of catastrophic future disaster either natural or technological. (Topping, 1998)

24 We need to accept that there is a lack of a Unified Theory of Sustainability. There is no clear definition of sustainability. Sustainability can be expressed in multiple forms: Principles Concepts Indices Strategies Guidelines Specifications Standards Tools Best Practices Lessons Learned Which of these forms of Sustainability must/should/could we use?

25 Sustainability is the right thing to do

26 The three E s (or 3 P s) of Sustainability Equity (People) Sustainability Environmental (Planet) Economic (Profit) Triple-Bottom Line

27 Sustainability as a Continuum Sustainability is more a transitional process (a mindset) along a continuum than an end in itself. Along that continuum, conscious choices need to be made, changes must be welcomed in an incremental way, and more importantly changes need to be integrated. In other words, a transition to sustainability requires work and commitment for change. Make a conscious evolutionary decision to become sustainable, then move forward step-by-step Need of developing a positive vision Need to move from the theory to practice Need to develop measurement and feedback

28 To be sustainable, the future mode of human presence needs to be coherent and integral with the ever-renewing processes of the Earth. It has also become clear that sustainability should not be seen as deterrent to progress but rather as a tool to manage progress so that it is less harmful to natural systems. Indeed, studies have shown that sustainability presents radical new opportunities for research, education, technology, and business for developed and developing countries alike.

29 Sustainable Engineering Processes Do no harm to the people and natural systems Help restore and reconstruct what has been lost Allow ALL humans to enjoy a quality of life where basic needs of water, sanitation, nutrition, health, safety, and meaningful work are fulfilled. Do not diminish the diversity of natural systems Work in harmony with the assimilative and regenerative capacity of the Earth s systems Help reduce substantially mankind s footprint Create, increase, nourish and enhance life on Earth

30 Sustainable Engineering Takes responsibility for its effects on the natural world Create structures and systems of durability and long term utility whose ultimate use or disposition will not be harmful to future generations Changes consumers to customers through education Deliver services to the client that reduces consumption, energy use, distribution costs, economic concentration, soil erosion, atmospheric pollution and other forms of environmental damage. Considers what it takes, what it makes and what it wastes Highly efficient and resource-conserving Is the solution to what was once a problem

31 and many are considering sustainability The National Academy of Engineering American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) International Council for Innovation and Research in Building and Construction (CIB) International Road Federation (IRF) American Association of Environmental Professors and Scientists (AAEPS) World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development (WEPSD) Associations of architects (AIA) and engineers (ASES, ASME, and ASHRAE) Green Building Information Council (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating) World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)

32 Sustainability Principles and Concepts Triple-Bottom Line CERES principles Enlibra Caux Round Table: Hannover principles: