SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING

What it is
How to do it
and
How to measure it

Benoit Cushman-Roisin

ENGS-21 / ENGS-37
6 November 2009

When we see these things,

dont we need to rethink engineering?

Problems are all around us,

on land, in water and in the air.
And those are only the visible ones

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Engineering has spurred and led the industrial revolution.
But, in the process it has created important classes of problems,
including:
Human exposure to toxics in food, air, water and soil

Rising demand for energy for transport, manufacturing,

heating & cooling

Depletion of non-renewable resources (petroleum, metals, phosphorus)

Excessive demand for water for homes, agriculture, and industry

Rising demand for land for housing, food production, and

economic activities (production, retail, transportation)

Ever increasing number and size of landfills

Ecosystem damage and habitat loss due to pollutant discharges

Impact on global climate

and the litany goes on.

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 Definition of Environmental Technology

(according to Bridge to a Sustainable Future, Clinton White House, April 1995)

An environmental technology is a technology that

- reduces human and ecological risks (better for us and nature, during production),

- enhances cost effectiveness (market competitive) ,

- improves process efficiency (more with less material and less energy) , and

- creates products and processes that are environmentally beneficial or benign

(better for us and nature, during use and at disposal).

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There is currently no accepted definition of Sustainable Engineering,

but the concept may be encapsulated as follows:

Engineering in context

Engineering with a conscience

Engineering for a finite planet and the indefinite future

Engineering in context

Engineers must solve problems holistically + 17 guidelines

(Institute of professional Engineers of New Zealand 2004)

Engineers must solve problems holistically and proactively + 8 principles

(Engineers Australia 2005)

Engineers must consider true life-cycle costs

(Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2006)

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 Engineering with a conscience

Engineers should take greater responsibility for shaping the sustainable future
and must commit to: ethics, international cooperation,
(Shanghai Declaration on Engineering and Sustainable Development
World Federation of Engineering Organizations 2004)

In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the
next seven generations from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy and
used as lead inspiration by the Seventh Generation Company.

Engineering for a finite planet and the indefinite future

(and no the other way round!)

Economy
Profit

Ecology
Planet

Equity
People
3Es
or 3Ps

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Traditional Engineering: Sustainable Engineering:

Considers the object Considers the system in which

the object will be used

Focuses on technical issues Integrates technical and non-

technical issues

Solves the immediate problem (now) Strives to solve the problem for
the indefinite future (for ever)

Considers the local context (user) Considers the global context

(planet)

Assumes others will deal with Acknowledges the need for

politics, ethics & societal issues engineers to interact with experts
in other disciplines related to the
problem

Three main challenges:

1. What are the main principles of Sustainable Engineering

and how can they be applied to solve the problems?

2. Where should the boundaries lie? Boundaries are critical because

the wrong scale can hide critical links.

Ex: switching from steel to lightweight composite in an automobile

can boost fuel efficiency but break the recycling system.

So, it would seem that the wider the better, but how wide?

3. How can Sustainable Engineering be taught to the next generation

of engineers? Modules in existing courses? New courses?
New curriculum?

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 The 12 Principles of Green Engineering
(by Anastas & Zimmerman, Environmental Science & Technology, 1 March 2003)

1. Apply green chemistry

2. Prevent rather than treat consequences
3. Design for separation
4. Maximize mass, energy, space and time efficiency
5. Out-pulled rather than input-pushed
6. View complexity as an investment rather than a complication
7. Durability rather than obsolescence
8. Meet need without excess
9. Minimize material diversity
10. Integrate local material and energy flows
11. Design for commercial after-life
12. Renewable and readily available.

A few examples of Sustainable Engineering (SE):

The Navajo Bridge in Arizona:

Simple bridge across Marble Canyon but fierce opposition from local
native tribe and Bureau of Land Management

Solution:
(http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/navajo.htm)

- Talk with all entities involved

before designing anything

- Design with these constraints

in mind: respect for land,
functionality, long term,
aesthetics, etc.

The new Navajo Bridge in Grand Canyon National Park is the only crossing of the Colorado River
for a stretch of 600 miles. The $15 million steel arch bridge carries traffic across Marble Canyon,
470 feet above the Colorado River. The 1929 Navajo Bridge remains a pedestrian bridge. High
strength steel was used in the new bridge in order to be visually compatible with the historic
pedestrian bridge and its setting.

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 Designing a new computer infrastructure:

- Traditional engineering:

Focus on performance

- Sustainable Engineering:

How will widespread use

impact electricity demand
and electronics recycling?

(http://www.cs.cmu.edu/pics/campus/images/servers.jpg)

Designing a new arsenic-based wood preservative:

- Traditional engineering:

How effective is it in my wood product?

- Sustainable Engineering:

How will wide use affect the

construction industry?

How will the chemical affect (Photo: Beauchemin Lumber)

demolition waste/recycling?

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 - Traditional engineering:

How can I make a tire that better

resists sand abrasion and heat?

- Sustainable Engineering:

Where will all the rubber for this

come from?

Where will all these tires go

at the end of their useful life?

Some tools are already available:

- Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs)

- Pollution Prevention (P2)

- Design for Environment (DfE)

- Life-cycle Assessment (LCA)

- Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)

and more tools could be developed:

- Total Cost Accounting

- Sustainability Indicators (Walmart making a start!

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Eco-Industrial Parks:

Basic idea: Mimic nature by gathering industrial activities in one location to

promote interactions and close-loop practices, like in natural ecosystems.

Systems
thinking
required !

Flow resources in the

integrated biosystem
of Montford Boys
Town in Suva, Fiji

Pollution Prevention:

Basic idea: Avoid waste pollution in the first place, as much as possible

3P at 3M
Pollution Prevention Pays,
since 1975

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 Example from 3M: The manufacture of Scotch tape

primer adhesive plastic film

primer
backing

4 layers, each using a solvent for its application !

One of 3Ms primary strategies for continuing to reduce air emissions has been the
development of solventless technologies, for a variety of products including tapes.

Some new processes are hot-melt technology, ultraviolet curing and caustic wash
materials.

Design for Environment:

Basic idea: Include environmental considerations at the very beginning of

the design process, together with performance, manufacturability, cost and
safety.

Considerations:

- Less material
- Less material variety
- Recycled materials
- Recyclable materials
- Ease of disassembly
- Less energy consumption
- Longevity
- Modularity

etc.

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 Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA):

Basic idea: Consider the entire product

cycle from cradle to grave (procurement
of raw materials, manufacture,
distribution, use and disposal)

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED):

Basic idea: Guidelines to build green buildings

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is
the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high performance
green buildings.

LEED gives building owners and operators the tools

Rendering of new Life Sciences Center
at Dartmouth College
they need to have an immediate and measurable
now under construction impact on their buildings performance.

LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing

performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site
development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor
environmental quality.

LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building
type and phase of a building lifecycle.

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 Well, that was all about HOW to design and build stuff.

But, WHAT should we actually build?

What should be our priorities?

To start answering this last question, let us consider where the

biggest impacts are. A good place to start is energy consumption.

Indeed, energy consumption is related to many environmental

problems, some upstream (depletion of non-renewable energy
sources & oil spills) and some downstream (air pollution and
greenhouse gases).

Energy consumption thus serves as a good proxy for overall

environmental impact.

A look at how we
consume energy in the
United States is quite
telling.

Two things stand out:

- Heating of buildings

- Road transportation.

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 A regenerative building?

Want to know more about this?

Take ENGS-44 Sustainable Design

A zero-emissions city on the desert: Madar Abu Dhabi

Construction cost of city: $22 billion

Completion date: 2016

Area: 2.3 square miles

Population: 50,000 residents and 40,000

commuters

Office space: 65 million square feet

Estimated temperature: 20 degrees cooler

than the surrounding desert

Resources used compared with a city of

similar size: 60% less water, 75% less
electricity, and 98% less landfill space

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 A green vehicle? One answer: Fuel-cell engines
with a hydrogen economy

(http://www.fair-pr.com/meet-aae/grove2005/exhibition.php)

Want to know more about this? Take ENGS-171 Industrial Ecology

Measuring the
environmental impacts
of your designs:

A basic life-cycle approach

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 Charts of Okala millipoints

An application example
of the Okala method:

Button vs. Zipper?

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 So, which one is better for the environment?

A closing thought:

Engineering is not just an activity, it is a profession.

A profession rises above an occupational specialty by including both

- the cultivation of specialized knowledge, and

- the use of that knowledge toward the Common Good.

(Daniel R. Lynch, 2006)

Reminder: Thayer School exists

to prepare the most capable and faithful for the
most responsible positions and the most difficult
service. Sylvanus Thayer

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