RV College of

Engineering

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING

Course Coordinator
Prof. C. T. Puttaswamy
Department of Chemical Engg,
BMSCE
[email protected]

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 Why this course on Sustainable Engineering/Technology

1. Supreme Court Directive (1990s EVS course got introduced everywhere)

2. Sustainable Development: Use the resources available in such a way that future
generation should also have the availability of the resources.

3. India a Developing Country: Demand of resources for development activity

Need to have balanced approach with minimum impact on environment

4. As a future Engineer and professional in the country you may have to make critical
decisions related to developmental activities

5. This provides you basic knowledge for taking a few decisions for an
engineer/doctor/lawyer/or any other professional

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Our Contributions to Mother Earth

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Results of our Contributions to Mother Earth

Air Quality Index

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 Topics Covered:
1. Sustainability Concepts and Evolution

2. Ecological Foot Print

3. Overshoot

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 Earth: 4.6 Billion Years old,

Entire Life of Earth in a 24 Hour scale

1. 1 s = 52,000 Years
2. 1Min = 3.125 Million Years
3. 1 Hour = 187.5 Million Years
Humans on Earth: 4 seconds or 3 to 3 1/2 secs (Imagine the
pollution we have created on Land, Water, Air. Resources we
consumed. Disasters,Climate Changes, Diseases) So its time to
correct ourselves
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Video:
https://youtu.be/R58LlPh2VJs
World Population growth history

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World Population growth history
I) 123 years to reach 2
billion,
II) 33 years to reach 3
billion.
III) 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 billion
were reached in 14, 13,
11, 12, and 12 years,
respectively.
IV) The UN projects that it
will take 15 years to
reach the 9 billion mark
and 21 more years to
reach 10 billion.

This post was originally written in June 2021. It was updated in July 2022 after the United Nations Population
Division released its World Population Prospects 2022 data and publications.
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 Rresource Demands will be more

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Resources:
Now the increase in population creates huge demand for Resources
Urbanisation:
1. 1% land surface
2. 60 to 70% anthropogenic
green house emissions
Concentration of:
1. Population
2. Economic activities
3. Demand for food, water,
energy, materials
Urban areas drive global land use
changes
(No farm lands seen between
cities)
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 Black: Urban (20% lived in Urban areas in 1900
but by 2050 it will be 70%) Data from the
world
Green: Rural, Black: Urban

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Urbanisation
Almost all population growth is expected in cities and towns of
developing countries by 2050
➢>70% Chinas population urban
China will have 30 cities > 1 million people
➢>50% India's population urban
India will have 26 Cities > 1 million people
Urban growth will require 100 to 200 million hectares (~equivalent to
2010 urban global urbanized area. Which means by 40 years urban
population will be doubled and we need double the area used in 2010
Note: Really required to understand the impact of globalization
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Impact of Urbanisation
Lakes in Bangalore:
The city once had 280-285 lakes of which 7 cannot be traced, 7 are reduced to small pools of water, 18 have been
unauthorisedly encroached by slums and private parties, 14 have dried up and are leased out by the Government. 28
lakes have been used by the Bangalore Development Authority to distribute sites and build extensions for residential
areas. The remaining lakes are in fairly advanced state of deterioration.
Examples
•Chenamma tank changed to a burial ground, Banashankari 2nd Stage
•Puttennahalli tank changed to J.P. Nagar 6th Phase
•Kadugondanahalli lake changed to Ambedkar Medical College
•Domlur lake changed to BDA layout
•Challaghatta lake changed to Karnataka Golf Association
•Dharmambudhi tank changed to Majestic bus stand
•Koramangala lake changed to National Games Complex in Ejipura
•Siddikatte Lake has now become KR Market
•Karanji tank is the Gandhi Bazar area
•Kempambudhi is now a sewerage collection tank

Lakes in Chennai: only 30 now (230 to 240 disappeared)

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Human Impact on Environmental system (Pre-common era) & Since1800
Physical Systems: Atmosphere, Climate
Biogeochemical Cycles: N, P, C, Fe These three are interactive and
the impact can be quantified as
IPAT Eqn, I= P A T
Complex and
Interacting Bio-geophysical
Components
Impact = Population x
system Affluence x Technology
(Affluent: means more demand for resources.
More Affluence means more products being
made and more being sold

• Population is going high day by day,

Affluence is also high (high Gross domestic
product (GDP), people are affordable to
buy) Then Technology has to be improved
to reduce Impact.
Natural
Water Resources Biodiversity • It means Technology has to become
Minerals greener or green Technology or sustainable
Fossil fuels technology (they all mean the same) moving
Land productivity towards lesser environmental footprint
pollution Mass extinctions
manufactured products biodiversity loss Localised/Regional/global
6/28/2023 Invasive species. 14
Why and What is Sustainable Development?
Development is some set of desirable goals or objectives for society. It
includes the basic aim of securing a rising level of income per capita or
economic growth (traditionally regarded as the “standard of living”). But
it is much more than just rising incomes and there is emphasis also on the
“quality of life,” which includes sound health, educational standards, and
environmental quality
➢> As per the UNGEO in 2018-19 (GEO-6-2019)
➢Sound scientific knowledge to provide governments, local authorities,
businesses, and individual citizens with the information needed to guide
societies to a truly sustainable world by 2050

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 Healthy Planet, Healthy People : Time to act!
❖ GEO-6 shows that a healthy environment is both a prerequisite and a foundation for economic
prosperity, human health, and wellbeing. It addresses the main challenge of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development: that no one should be left behind, and that all should live healthy,
fulfilling lives for the full benefit of all, for both present and future generations.
❖ Unsustainable production and consumption.
❖ Urgent action and strengthened international cooperation
❖ Past and present greenhouse gas emissions
❖ Air pollution
❖ Biodiversity loss
❖ Marine plastic litter
❖ Land degradation
❖ Natural resources
❖ Antibiotic-resistant
❖ Harmful impact of inappropriate use of pesticides, heavy metals, plastics and other substances
are of significant concern neurotoxins and endocrine-disrupting chemicals is potentially
multigenerational
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 Healthy Planet, Healthy People : Time to act!
❖ Transformative Challenge: A call for systematic and integrated policy action
❖ Governance of Innovations: Innovations in governance.
❖ Harvest time : Knowledge for sustainability

➢ The world has to deal with issues such as climate change, deforestation, biodiversity losses,
and decline in air and water quality.

➢ The planetary boundaries (PBs) concept is a recent scientific framework that considers global
environmental limits. It identifies a set of nine physical and biological limits of the Earth
system that should be respected in order to maintain conditions favorable to further human
development.

➢ The nine PBs are as follows: climate change, rate of biodiversity loss (terrestrial and marine),
interference with the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean
acidification, global freshwater use, change in land use, chemical pollution, and atmospheric
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aerosol loading etc.
 Layers of the atmosphere Troposphere : contains 80% of all air
Stratosphere: absorbs UV rays
Mesosphere: Protects Earth from meteorites
Thermosphere: Most meteorites burn up here.

Extends from 10 km to 50 km above the ground

Less dense (less water vapor)
Temperature increases with altitude
Almost no weather occurrence Contains high level of ozone
> ozone layer
❑Upper boundary is called stratopause

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 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
O3
a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen
bluish gas that is harmful to breathe
Nearly 90% of the Earth's ozone is in the stratosphere and is
referred to as the ozone layer
Ozone absorbs a band of ultraviolet radiation called UVB

❖ The stratospheric ozone layer in the atmosphere filters out ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the
sun. If this layer decreases, increasing amounts of UV radiation will reach ground level. This can
cause a higher incidence of skin cancer in humans as well as damage to terrestrial and marine
biological systems.

❖ The appearance of the Antarctic ozone hole was proof that increased concentrations of
anthropogenic ozone-depleting chemical substances, interacting with polar stratospheric clouds,
had passed a threshold and moved the Antarctic stratosphere into a new regime. Fortunately,
because of the actions taken as a result of the Montreal Protocol, we appear to be on the path
that will allow us to stay within this boundary.
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 Biodiversity loss and extinctions
❖ Biodiversity, or biological diversity = the sum of an area’s organisms, considering the diversity of
species, their genes, their populations, and their communities
❖ There is no one exact definition of biodiversity; people have conceived of it in many ways.
Components of biodiversity
Biodiversity exists on several levels: Species diversity
Genetic diversity
Ecosystem diversity

Community diversity , Habitat diversity & Landscape diversity

Primary causes spell “HIPPO”:
Biodiversity loss and species extinction
Extinction = last member of a species dies and the species vanishes forever from Earth • Habitat alteration
• Invasive species
Extirpation = disappearance of a particular population, but not the entire species globally
• Pollution
These are natural processes. • Population growth
On average one species goes extinct naturally every 500–1,000 years—this is the background rate of extinction.
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• Overexploitation
99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct.
 Chemical Pollution and the release of novel entities
❖ Emissions of toxic and long-lived substances such as synthetic organic pollutants, heavy metal
compounds, and radioactive materials represent some of the key human-driven changes to the
planetary environment.

❖ These compounds can have potentially irreversible effects on living organisms and on the physical
environment (by affecting atmospheric processes and climate). Even when the uptake and
bioaccumulation of chemical pollution is at sub-lethal levels for organisms, the effects of reduced
fertility and the potential of permanent genetic damage can have severe effects on ecosystems
far removed from the source of the pollution. For example, persistent organic compounds have
caused dramatic reductions in bird populations and impaired reproduction and development in
marine mammals.

❖ There are many examples of additive and synergic effects from these compounds, but these are
still poorly understood scientifically. At present, we are unable to quantify a single chemical
pollution boundary, although the risk of crossing Earth system thresholds is considered
sufficiently
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well-defined for it to be included in the list as a priority for precautionary action21 and
for further research.
 Climate Change/Global warming/Green House gases
❖ Recent evidence suggests that Earth, now passing 390 ppmv CO2 in the atmosphere, has
already transgressed the planetary boundary and is approaching several Earth system
thresholds. We have reached a point at which the loss of summer polar sea-ice is almost
certainly irreversible. This is one example of a well-defined threshold above which rapid
physical feedback mechanisms can drive the Earth system into a much warmer state with sea
levels meters higher than present. The weakening or reversal of terrestrial carbon sinks, for
example, through the ongoing destruction of the world’s rainforests, is another potential
tipping point, where climate-carbon cycle feedbacks accelerate Earth’s warming and
intensify the climate impacts. A major question is how long we can remain over this
boundary before large, irreversible changes become unavoidable.
What are greenhouse gases? Any gases that cause the “greenhouse effect!”

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 Ocean Acidification
❖ What is Ocean Acidification?
International experts define ocean acidification (OA) as a decrease in ocean pH over decades or
more that is caused primarily by uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Because human activities
are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere very quickly, the ocean is taking up CO2 faster today than
it has in the past. This is causing global ocean chemistry to change more quickly than ocean
systems can handle.

❖ Ocean acidification, related to the uptake of CO2 at the ocean surface, causes a relatively
slow, long-term increase in the acidity of the ocean, corresponding to a decrease in pH. Since
the Industrial Revolution, the global average pH of the surface ocean has decreased by 0.11,
which corresponds to approximately a 30% increase in the hydrogen ion concentration.

❖ Beyond a threshold concentration, this rising acidity makes it hard for organisms such as
corals and some shellfish and plankton species to grow and survive. Losses of these species
would change the structure and dynamics of ocean ecosystems and could potentially lead to
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drastic reductions in fish stocks
 Fresh water consumption and the global hydrological cycle
❖ The freshwater cycle is strongly affected by climate change and its boundary is closely linked
to the climate boundary, yet human pressure is now the dominant driving force determining
the functioning and distribution of global freshwater systems.
❖ The consequences of human modification of water bodies include both global-scale river
flow changes and shifts in vapor flows arising from land-use change. These shifts in the
hydrological system can be abrupt and irreversible. Water is becoming increasingly scarce –
by 2050, about half a billion people are likely to be subject to water-stress, increasing the
pressure to intervene in water systems.
❖ A water boundary related to consumptive freshwater use and environmental flow
requirements has been proposed to maintain the overall resilience of the Earth system and
to avoid the risk of “cascading” local and regional thresholds.

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 Fresh water consumption and the global hydrological cycle
❖ The freshwater cycle is strongly affected by climate change and its boundary is closely linked
to the climate boundary, yet human pressure is now the dominant driving force determining
the functioning and distribution of global freshwater systems.
❖ The consequences of human modification of water bodies include both global-scale river
flow changes and shifts in vapor flows arising from land-use change. These shifts in the
hydrological system can be abrupt and irreversible. Water is becoming increasingly scarce –
by 2050, about half a billion people are likely to be subject to water-stress, increasing the
pressure to intervene in water systems.
❖ A water boundary related to consumptive freshwater use and environmental flow
requirements has been proposed to maintain the overall resilience of the Earth system and
to avoid the risk of “cascading” local and regional thresholds.

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 Land system change
❖ Land is converted to human use all over the planet. Forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other
vegetation types have primarily been converted to agricultural land and urbanization. This
land-use change is one driving force behind the serious reductions in biodiversity, and it has
impacts on water flows and on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
and other important elements.

❖ While each incident of land cover change occurs on a local scale, the aggregated impacts can
have consequences for Earth system processes on a global scale. A boundary for human
changes to land system needs to reflect not just the absolute quantity of land, but also its
function, quality, and spatial distribution. Forests play a particularly important role in
controlling the linked dynamics of land use and climate and are the focus of the boundary for
land system change.

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 Nitrogen and Phosphorus flows to the atmosphere and ocean
❖ The biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus have been radically changed by
humans as a result of many industrial and agricultural processes. Nitrogen and phosphorus
are both essential elements for plant growth, so fertilizer production and application is the
main concern.

❖ Human activities now convert more atmospheric nitrogen into reactive forms than all of the
Earth’s terrestrial processes combined. Much of this new reactive nitrogen is emitted to the
atmosphere in various forms rather than taken up by crops.

❖ When it is rained out, it pollutes waterways and coastal zones or accumulates in the
terrestrial biosphere. Similarly, a relatively small proportion of phosphorus fertilizers applied
to food production systems is taken up by plants; much of the phosphorus mobilized by
humans also ends up in aquatic systems. These can become oxygen-starved, as bacteria
consume the blooms of algae that grow in response to the high nutrient supply.
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 Atmospheric Aerosol Loading
❖ An atmospheric aerosol planetary boundary was proposed primarily because of the influence of
aerosols on Earth’s climate system. Through their interaction with water vapor, aerosols play a
critically important role in the hydrological cycle, affecting cloud formation and global-scale and
regional patterns of atmospheric circulation, such as the monsoon systems in tropical regions.
They also have a direct effect on climate, by changing how much solar radiation is reflected or
absorbed in the atmosphere.
❖ Humans change the aerosol loading by emitting atmospheric pollution (many pollutant gases
condense into droplets and particles), and also through land-use change that increases the
release of dust and smoke into the air. Shifts in climate regimes and monsoon systems have
already been seen in highly polluted environments, giving a quantifiable regional measure for an
aerosol boundary. A further reason for an aerosol boundary is that aerosols have adverse effects
on many living organisms.
❖ Inhaling highly polluted air causes roughly 800,000 people to die prematurely each year

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Remaining within the limits
of the planetary boundaries

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Global Resource Consumption
❖ Biomass extraction has increased 2.7-fold from 1970 to 2017 (9 billion tonnes in 1970 compared to 24 billion tonnes in
2017).
❖ Metal extraction has increased 3.5 times between 1970 and 2017 (2.6 billion tonnes in 1970 to 9.1 billion tonnes in
2017).
❖ Fossil fuel extraction was 2.5 times higher in 2017 than in 1970 (6 billion tonnes in 1970 compared to 15 billion
tonnes).
❖ Nonmetallic mineral (mainly sand, gravel, and clay) extraction was 4.9 times higher in 2017 than in 1970 (9 billion
tonnes in 1970 compared to 44 billion tonnes in 2017).
❖ Over the past five decades, our global population has doubled, the extraction of materials has tripled, and gross
domestic product has quadrupled. The extraction and processing of natural resources has accelerated over the past
two decades and accounts for more than 90% of our biodiversity loss and water stress and approximately half of our
climate change impacts.
❖ On a per capita basis, high-income countries are reliant on 9.8 tonnes of primary materials mobilized elsewhere in the
world. This is 60% higher than the upper-middle income group, and 13 times the level of the low-income groups.
❖ A scenario developed by the International Resource Panel on Historical Trends shows that unless a fundamental change
toward decoupling drives natural resource use away from the status quo, resource use will continue to grow to 190
billion tonnes and over 18 tonnes per capita by 2060. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions increase by 43% from 2015
to 2060, industrial water withdrawals increase by up to 100% from 2010 levels, and the area of agricultural land
increases by more than 20% in that time, reducing forests by over 10%.
❖ Resource efficiency is essential, though not enough on its own. We need to move from linear to circular flows through
a combination of extended product life cycles, intelligent product design and standardization and reuse, recycling 31
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remanufacturing.
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 Three dimensions of sustainable development in the form of a simple Venn diagram as in Figure.

Simple Venn diagram implies that the

economy, society, and environment are of
equal priority. However, within the Earth’s
single planet limit, the environment
supports our human society, which has
invented the economy to serve its needs

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Sustainable development as the process of moving the circles
together so that they almost completely overlap but with the
societal and economic circles enclosed within the environmental
circle, at which point all human activity is sustainable
(Sets limits, the real bottom line)

(Decides objective for development and set values)

(Structured to meet objectives and values set by society)

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Environment is the real bottom line
Sustainable Five Capital Model
Another model that has been developed to provide another way of understanding sustainability,
based on the balancing of social, economic, and social factors is the “five capital model,” which
looks at different kinds of capital from which we derive the goods and services we need to improve
the quality of our lives.
❖ Natural capital is any stock or flow of energy and material that produces goods and services and
also creates amenity and beauty.
❖ Human capital consists of people’s health, knowledge, skills, and motivation.
❖ Social capital refers to the stable relationships between individuals and groups within society and
concerns the institutions that help us maintain and develop human capital in partnership with
others, for example, families, businesses, trade unions, voluntary organizations, and educational
institutions.
❖ Manufactured capital comprises material goods or fixed assets, which contribute to the
production process rather than being the output itself, for example, machines, tools, buildings,
and infrastructure.
❖ Financial capital plays an important role in our economy, enabling the other types of capital to be
owned and traded. However, unlike the other types, it has no real value itself but is representative
of natural, human, social, or manufactured capital, for example, shares, bonds, and bank notes.
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 OVERVIEW OF
❖ The 70th Session of the UN General Assembly held on 25th September 2015 adopted the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) with 17 goals and 169 targets, under the official agenda “Transforming our
world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. India is a signatory to this landmark agreement.
❖ Officially, the SDGs came into effect from 1st January 2016.
❖ Member Countries have the responsibility for follow-up and review the progress made in implementing the
goals and targets.
❖ SDGs is an inter-governmentally agreed set of goals relating to international development which aims
at meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.

70 Session of UN General Assembly, New York , 25th Sept.2015

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17 SDGs Goals
❖ GOAL 1: END POVERTY IN ALL ITS FORMS EVERYWHERE

❖ GOAL 2: END HUNGER, ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY AND IMPROVED NUTRITION, AND PROMOTE
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

❖ GOAL 3: ENSURE HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTE WELL-BEING FOR ALL AT ALL AGES

❖ GOAL 4: ENSURE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION AND PROMOTE LIFELONG
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

❖ GOAL 5: ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS

❖ GOAL 6: ENSURE AVAILABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION

FOR ALL

❖ GOAL 7: ENSURE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, SUSTAINABLE, AND MODERN ENERGY FOR
ALL
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17 SDGs Goals
❖ GOAL 8: PROMOTE SUSTAINED, INCLUSIVE, AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH, FULL AND
PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT, AND DECENT WORK FOR ALL

❖ GOAL 9: BUILD RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE, PROMOTE INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE

INDUSTRIALIZATION, AND FOSTER INNOVATION

❖ GOAL 10: REDUCE INEQUALITY WITHIN AND AMONG COUNTRIES

❖ GOAL 11: MAKE CITIES AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS INCLUSIVE, SAFE, RESILIENT, AND
SUSTAINABLE

❖ GOAL 12: ENSURE SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PATTERNS

❖ GOAL 13: TAKE URGENT ACTION TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS

❖ GOAL 14: CONSERVE AND SUSTAINABLY USE MARINE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
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17 SDGs Goals
❖ GOAL 15: PROTECT, RESTORE, AND PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE USE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS,
SUSTAINABLY MANAGE FORESTS, COMBAT DESERTIFICATION, AND HALT AND REVERSE LAND
DEGRADATION AND HALT BIODIVERSITY LOSS

❖ GOAL 16: PROMOTE PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,
PROVIDE ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ALL ND BUILD EFFECTIVE, ACCOUNTABLE, AND INCLUSIVE
INSTITUTIONS AT ALL LEVELS

❖ GOAL 17: STRENGTHEN THE MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND REVITALIZE THE GLOBAL
PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Sustainable Development and the Engineering Profession
❖ Engineering and sustainable development are closely linked, with many aspects of sustainable
development depending directly and significantly on appropriate and timely actions by
engineers.

❖ Products and services that engineers design provide the interface between humans and
environment so that all engineering projects either contribute to sustainability or not. It
requires engineers asking new questions at the right time at each stage of project delivery. The
International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) notes that

“These changes are beginning to fundamentally shift the way engineering project performance
is judged, and they add invisible design criteria that will ultimately affect every engineering
project, whether for products, processes, facilities or infrastructure. The effect of sustainable
development will be to bring broad resources, ecological and social issues into the mainstream of
engineering design and it has become critically important that engineers understand these issues
and look for ways to incorporate these considerations in all that they do. (FIDIC (2013))”

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Sustainable Development and the Engineering Profession Cont…
The Declaration of Barcelona presents a list of engineers’ preferable attributes for sustainable development (EESD, 2004),
which includes the following abilities.

❖ to “understand how their (engineers’) work interacts with society and the environment, locally and globally, in order to
identify potential challenges, risks, and impacts”;

❖ to “understand the contribution of their work in different cultural, social, and political contexts and take those differences
into account”;

❖ to “work in multidisciplinary teams, in order to adapt current technology to the demands imposed by sustainable
lifestyles, resource efficiency, pollution prevention, and waste management”;

❖ to “apply a holistic and systemic approach to solving problems and the ability to move beyond the tradition of breaking
reality down into disconnected parts”;

❖ to “participate actively in the discussion and definition of economic, social, and technological policies to help redirect
society towards more sustainable development”;

❖ to “apply professional knowledge according to deontological principles and universal values and ethics”; and

❖ to “listen closely to the demands of citizens and other stakeholders and let them have a say in the development of new
technologies and infrastructures.”
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Key attributes of the graduate engineer
Developing a professional frame of mind on sustainability begins with engineering education

❖ According to the WFEO, it is critical that engineering graduates are equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills to
effectively address such challenges in society.

❖ Graduate attributes form a set of individually assessable outcomes that are the components indicative of the graduate’s
potential to acquire competence to practice at the appropriate level.

❖ The International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Graduate Attributes and Competences are the foundation for the
accreditation of engineering programs under the Washington Accord (WA) (IEA, 2013)

❖ To be recognized under the WA, the accreditation process must provide assurance that the attributes of graduates of a
signatory’s programs are substantially equivalent to the IEA graduate exemplars.

❖ Sustainable development refers to systemic conditions where both social and economic development takes place within
the carrying capacity of the environment without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
(i.e., maintaining the natural capital which will be passed on to future generations) and ensuring everyone has the same
access to global natural resources.

❖ Achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on climate change requires strong engineering involvement. It has become
critically important that engineers understand sustainability issues and look for ways to incorporate these considerations
in all that they do. It requires ethics and a set of new skills.
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Key concept for sustainable engineering
FACTOR 4 AND FACTOR 10 : THE GOALS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Factor 4 Factor 10
Achieve four times more resource efficiency compared to Achieve ten times more resource efficiency
Goal
current practices compared to current practices
Use only one-tenth of the resources currently
Resource Use a quarter of the resources currently used for the
used for the same level of output or quality of
Usage same level of output or quality of life
life
Encourage sustainable consumption and
Reduce waste, energy consumption, and material usage
production patterns, circular economy
Focus through improved technologies, processes, and
principles, and minimize environmental impacts
management strategies
throughout a product's lifecycle
Design products that use fewer raw materials,
Design energy-efficient buildings, develop lightweight and
generate less waste, and are easily recyclable.
Examples fuel-efficient vehicles, implement industrial processes
Promote renewable energy sources and clean
that minimize waste generation
technologies

Both Factor 4 and Factor 10 emphasize the importance of resource efficiency and reducing environmental impacts. While
Factor 4 sets a goal of four times more resource efficiency, Factor 10 aims for an even more ambitious target of ten times more
resource efficiency. Both concepts require innovative approaches, technological advancements, and a shift towards
sustainable practices. The examples provided illustrate the types of solutions engineers might consider when working towards
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these goals.
Key concept for sustainable engineering
• Sustainability challenges can be understood through the Ehrlich and Holdrens' Master
Equation, often called the IPAT equation.
• IPAT equation: Environmental Impact = Population × Affluence (GDP/person) × Technology
(Environmental Impact/Unit of GDP).
• The IPAT equation highlights the role of population, affluence, and technology in determining
environmental impact.
• To maintain current environmental impact levels, the third term (technology) needs to
increase by 65-80% to offset predicted increases in population and affluence.
• Factor 4 and Factor 10 reductions aim to decrease environmental impact per unit of economic
activity.
• Factor 4 suggests using natural resources four times more efficiently to generate more goods
and services or achieve the same quality of life with fewer resources.
• Factor 10 builds upon Factor 4, emphasizing a tenfold improvement in resource efficiency to
approach sustainability in developed countries.
• Examples of technologies supporting resource efficiency include energy-efficient cars and
buildings.
• The concepts of Factor 4 and Factor 10 offer pathways for transitioning to sustainable
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development and reducing overconsumption of resources.
Key concept for sustainable engineering
• The IPAT equation, developed by Ehrlich and Holdren in 1971, is an environmental impact model that
relates human population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T) to environmental impact (I). It can be
expressed as:

• I=P*A*T

• Here's a breakdown of the components:

• Population (P): The number of people in a given area. Increasing population puts additional pressure on
natural resources and ecosystems, leading to increased environmental impact.

• Affluence (A): The level of consumption and resource use per person. Affluence is typically measured by
indicators such as GDP per capita or energy consumption per capita. Higher levels of affluence generally
result in greater resource consumption and environmental impact.

• Technology (T): The efficiency of resource use and the environmental impact per unit of economic output.
Technological advancements can reduce environmental impact by improving resource efficiency, reducing
pollution, and promoting sustainable practices.
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Key concept for sustainable engineering
• The IPAT equation suggests that the environmental impact (I) is a product of the interplay between population,
affluence, and technology. Any changes in these factors will affect the overall environmental impact. For example:

• Case Study 1: Population Growth

• If a country experiences rapid population growth without significant improvements in technology or reductions in
consumption patterns, the environmental impact is likely to increase. This can lead to deforestation, habitat destruction,
increased energy demand, and greater pollution levels.

• Case Study 2: Technological Innovation

• Suppose a manufacturing industry adopts cleaner production methods and renewable energy sources, improving its
technology (T). Even if the population (P) and affluence (A) remain constant, the environmental impact (I) can decrease
due to reduced resource use, emissions, and pollution.

• Case Study 3: Affluence and Consumption Patterns

• When a developing country undergoes economic growth, leading to increased affluence (A), the demand for goods and
services rises. If this growth is not accompanied by improvements in technology or sustainable practices, it can result in
higher environmental impact. For instance, increased affluence may lead to increased demand for energy, resulting in
higher greenhouse gas emissions.

• The IPAT equation provides a framework for understanding the complex relationship between human activities and the
environment. It highlights the importance of considering population, affluence, and technology when assessing
environmental impacts and formulating strategies for sustainability
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System thinking
• A system is a collection of interacting elements that, when combined, produce outcomes greater than the
sum of its parts.
• Systems thinking involves expanding our awareness to understand the relationships between parts and
wholes, rather than focusing solely on isolated components.
• Systems thinking is valuable in addressing complex situations that cannot be solved by a single entity
(e.g., businesses, individuals, or governments).
• A complex system can only be understood by examining it from different perspectives.
• Systems thinking allows us to see the big picture and identify multiple leverage points to solve problems.
• It helps us recognize the connections between elements in a situation, facilitating coordinated actions.
• In the early stages of an engineering project, a systems thinking approach is crucial to integrating
sustainability into planning and design.
• Instead of addressing only immediate symptoms, a systems approach seeks to understand the underlying
causes of a problem.
• This approach helps prevent burden shifting, where one problem is solved at the expense of creating new
ones.
• For instance, while certain biofuels reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, large-scale
expansion can lead to decreased food crop supply and increased food prices.
• Identifying such side effects early in the decision-making process is essential to promoting sustainable
development.
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Life cycle thinking
• Life cycle thinking (LCT) considers the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a product
throughout its entire life cycle.
• LCT aims to reduce resource use, emissions, and improve the socioeconomic performance of a product.
• The product life cycle consists of various stages, including raw material extraction, manufacturing, use,
and disposal.
• LCT helps minimize negative impacts and prevents burden shifting between life cycle stages or
environmental impacts.
• LCT is valuable in product design, production processes, and decision-making to devise and implement
effective sustainability strategies.

• Examples:

• Instead of focusing only on the production phase of a product, LCT considers the extraction of raw
materials, transportation, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life disposal.
• By adopting LCT, companies can identify opportunities to reduce resource consumption, minimize
emissions, and improve the social and economic aspects associated with a product.
• For instance, when designing a new car, LCT would consider not only the fuel efficiency during use but
also the environmental impact of extracting raw materials, manufacturing processes, and proper disposal
or recycling at the end of the car's life. This holistic approach helps optimize sustainability across the
6/28/2023 entire life cycle of the product. 49
Life cycle thinking

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Typical product life cycle stages 50
The circular economy
• A circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose), aiming to
keep resources in use for as long as possible and extract maximum value from them.
• In a circular economy, products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of their service
life, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles.
• Key aspects include the reusability of products through activities like repairing, reusing, refurbishing, and
remanufacturing, as well as the recyclability of raw materials.
• Manufacturers need to redesign production strategies and business models to create more durable,
reparable, and recyclable products.
• Consumer awareness and engagement are crucial in changing consumption patterns and increasing
demand for reused products and services.
• The circular economy requires system thinking, recognizing that all actors (businesses, people, organisms)
are part of an interconnected network where their actions impact others.
• Transitioning to renewable energy sources supports the circular economy's goals of building economic,
natural, and social capital by eliminating waste, pollution, and regenerating natural systems.

• Example:
• Instead of discarding a broken smartphone, a circular economy approach would involve repairing it,
extending its lifespan. If repair is not feasible, components can be salvaged and reused, reducing the need
for new resources. At the end of its life, the smartphone can be recycled to recover valuable materials,
6/28/2023 reducing waste and promoting resource efficiency. 51
The circular economy

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Industrial ecology
• Industrial ecology conceptualizes industry as a man-made ecosystem, mimicking natural ecosystems
where waste from one process becomes an input for another.
• The goal is to establish benign interactions between industrial and ecological metabolisms, inspired by
dynamics observed in natural ecosystems.
• The Kalundborg Industrial Ecosystem in Denmark is a classic example, where industries exchange by-
products and waste as resources (e.g., power plant steam used by oil refinery and pharmaceutical plant).
• The ecosystem involves multiple interconnected activities, such as surplus heat used for town heating,
fish farm heating, and sludge used as fertilizer.
• The concept promotes resource efficiency, reduces environmental impact, and fosters synergies among
industries.
• Partnerships within reasonable transport distances are crucial for successful implementation of
industrial ecology.

• Example:

In the Kalundborg Industrial Ecosystem, the Asnaes power plant supplies processed steam to other
industries like Statoil and Novo Nordisk. The surplus heat from the power plant is used for town heating and
a commercial fish farm. Waste products, such as sludge from the fish farm, are then used as fertilizer by
local farmers. This collaborative and symbiotic relationship between industries minimizes waste, reduces
energy consumption, and maximizes resource utilization, resembling the functioning of a natural ecosystem.
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Industrial ecology

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Zero Pollution and 7Rs Rule
• The rate of waste generated is increasing with population rate and social standards,
i.e. the more advanced and wealthy societies (individuals) produce more waste.
• In the past, people’s dream was to turn sand into gold. Today, the dream is to turn
waste and pollution into gold.
• 6Rs Golden Rule
• That is, the rule aims at Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling waste. The fourth R of the
6Rs Golden Rule emphasizes the Recovering of raw materials from waste through
sustainable treatment.
• The last 2Rs are Rethinking and Renovation where people should rethink about
their waste before taking action for treatment and develop renovation-innovative
techniques to solve the problem.
• Another R should be added at the top to the previous 6Rs, which is Regulation;
without Regulation nothing will be implemented.
Zero Pollution and 7Rs Rule
• So the 7Rs Golden Rule encompasses Regulation, Reducing, Reusing, Recycling,
Recovering, Rethinking and Renovation as the basic tools for zero pollution.
• The rule provides a methodology to manipulate current activities to approach zero
pollution and avoid landfill, incineration and/or traditional treatment.
• Capital investment, running cost as well as adverse environmental impacts of
landfills, incineration and treatment heartens the implementation of the 7Rs
Golden Rule.
• It is very simple, natural and not a newborn theory. Fundamentally, the theory
depends on all kinds of recycling (on-site recycling, off-site recycling, sustainable
treatment for possible recycling, etc.)
• This is mainly because recycling is considered a pivotal income generated activity
that conserves natural resources, protects the environment and provides job
opportunities.
Life Cycle Analysis and Extended Producer Responsibility
• The USEPA has defined life cycle assessment/analysis (LCA) as a method to evaluate the
environmental effects associated with any given industrial activity from the initial
gathering of raw materials from the earth to the point at which all residuals are
returned to the earth, a process also known as cradle-to-grave.
• LCA results will not be promising as long as the evaluation is done for industrial
activities that adopt a cradle-to-grave flow of materials.
• Unfortunately most manufacturing processes since the industrial revolution are based
on a one-way, cradle-to-grave flow of materials; initially by extracting raw materials,
followed by processing, producing goods, selling, utilization by consumers and finally
disposal and waste generation.
• The technological advancements in manufacturing processes and the constantly
increasing variety of materials and products have led to a continuous rise in the
amounts of waste generated. The cradle-to-grave flow of materials has proven to be just
enough to protect the environment but inefficient due to the depletion of natural
resources.
 Traditional life cycle analysis

Extraction and
processing of raw
materials

Safe disposal of waste

Manufacturing

Cradle-to-grave

Use, reuse, and recycling Packaging

Marketing
Cradle-to-cradle Concept

Extraction of raw materials

Off-site On-site recycling

recycling

Manufacturing and processing

Reuse or recycle of raw materials

Cradle-to-cradle

Use of products Packaging

Transportation and marketing

Green and low carbon economy
• Green economy (GE) aims to improve human well-being, promote social equity, and reduce
environmental risks and scarcities.
• It emphasizes the need to align the economy with sustainability goals.
• A low-carbon economy or decarbonized economy relies on low-carbon power sources, minimizing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.
• Countries worldwide are adopting low-emission development strategies to achieve development goals,
reduce GHG emissions, and enhance resilience to climate change.
• The concepts of green economy and low carbon economy are aligned with sustainable development,
highlighting the importance of the economy and innovation in achieving sustainability.

• Example:

• A green economy initiative in a country focuses on developing renewable energy sources, promoting
energy efficiency, and implementing sustainable practices across sectors such as agriculture,
transportation, and manufacturing. This shift to a low-carbon economy reduces greenhouse gas
emissions, enhances environmental sustainability, creates green jobs, and improves social well-being
while supporting long-term economic growth.

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The Natural Step
• The Natural Step, developed by Karl-Henrik Robert, proposes four system conditions that should be followed to eliminate the negative
effects of material practices on human health. These conditions are:

1. Nature's functions and diversity should not be systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the
Earth's crust.

• Example: A society should minimize the extraction and use of fossil fuels, which release harmful substances into the environment and
contribute to climate change.

2. Nature's functions and diversity should not be systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.

• Example: Industrial processes should aim to reduce the release of toxic chemicals and pollutants into the air, water, and soil, thus
minimizing their negative impact on human health.

3. Nature's functions and diversity should not be systematically impoverished by overharvesting or other forms of ecosystem
manipulation.

• Example: Sustainable forestry practices should be adopted to prevent deforestation and maintain the ecological balance of forests, which
play a crucial role in air purification and biodiversity conservation.

4. Resources should be used fairly and efficiently in order to meet basic human needs globally.

• Example: Access to essential resources like clean water, food, and healthcare should be ensured for all individuals, regardless of their
geographical location or socioeconomic status, to promote global equity and well-being.
• By adhering to these four system conditions, the Natural Step framework aims to guide societies towards sustainable practices that protect
6/28/2023 human health and minimize negative environmental impacts 61
Resources efficiency and Decoupling
• If the world continues with the current consumption rate, annual global resource extraction could triple to
140 billion tons by 2050.
• This scenario is unsustainable in terms of resource use, emissions, and environmental impacts.
• Resource efficiency is essential to meet human needs while respecting the Earth's ecological capacity by
producing more well-being with less material consumption.
• Resource efficiency encompasses:
• Technical efficiency: achieving more useful output per unit of input (e.g., energy or material).
• Resource productivity: adding economic value to resources per unit of input (e.g., useful output or value
added per unit of resource).
• Environmental impact reduction: minimizing negative impacts caused by resource extraction or use.
• The rate of resource productivity should improve faster than the economic growth rate, aiming to do more
with less.
• "Decoupling" is the idea that economic growth can occur without a proportional increase in natural resource
use.
• Decoupling involves two aspects:
• Resource decoupling: reducing the rate of resource use per unit of economic activity.
• Impact decoupling: maintaining economic output while reducing the negative environmental impact of
economic activities.
• By achieving decoupling, economies can grow sustainably without depleting natural resources or degrading
the environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zYEpPjYmJw
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Resources efficiency and Decoupling

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Eco-efficiency
• The concept of eco-efficiency, originated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) in 1992, focuses on incorporating environmental impacts and costs into business efficiency
calculations. Here are the key points about eco-efficiency:

• Eco-efficiency considers environmental impacts and costs as factors in measuring business efficiency.
• It is a management concept that links environmental and economic performance.
• Unlike sustainability, eco-efficiency does not measure social aspects.
• Businesses that adopt eco-efficiency principles tend to be more profitable and competitive.
• Eco-efficient businesses achieve these benefits by:
• Using fewer resources.
• Generating less waste and pollution.
• Improving production methods.
• Developing new products or services.
• Using or recycling existing materials.
• Extending product durability.
• Increasing the service intensity of goods and services.
• Eco-efficiency applies to all aspects of a business, including purchasing, production, marketing, and
distribution.
• In summary, eco-efficiency helps businesses reduce their environmental impact and costs while improving
their overall efficiency and competitiveness. By integrating environmental considerations into their
6/28/2023 operations, businesses can achieve financial success while contributing to sustainability goals. 64
Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
• The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, coined by John Elkington, expands the measurement of a company's
performance beyond financial profit margins. It includes social and environmental factors, measuring the full
cost of doing business. According to the TBL theory, companies should focus on three bottom lines
simultaneously:

1. Profit: Traditional measure of corporate profit through the profit and loss (P&L) account.

• Example: Calculating revenue, expenses, and net income to determine financial profitability.

2. People: Measures the social responsibility of an organization throughout its operations.

• Example: Evaluating employee well-being, community engagement, labor practices, diversity and
inclusion efforts, and impact on stakeholders.

3. Planet: Measures the environmental responsibility of a firm.

• Example: Assessing the company's environmental impact, resource usage, carbon emissions, waste
management, and efforts towards sustainability and conservation.

• By considering these three bottom lines, companies can assess their overall performance, beyond financial
6/28/2023 gains, and ensure a more comprehensive approach to sustainability in their business practices. 65
Guiding Principles for Sustainable Engineering
• Engineers need to incorporate sustainable development principles into their professional
practice.
• Sustainable development goes beyond just environmental protection and includes goals
like poverty alleviation and social justice.
• Several academic and professional institutions have established sustainable engineering
principles.
• The overarching goal of sustainable engineering is to find balanced solutions to
engineering problems.
• Engineering projects should consider all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental,
social, and economic.
• Engineers should apply physical principles like conservation of mass, energy, and
momentum to their decision-making process.
• Guiding principles for sustainability should be used to guide engineering choices and
decisions.
• The WFEO (World Federation of Engineering Organizations) Model Code of Practice for
Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship connects the Code of Ethics
with professional practice.
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Ten principles that guide engineering practice
1. Understand and improve knowledge of environmental stewardship and sustainability in
your field.
2. Seek help from experts when you lack knowledge to address environmental issues.
3. Consider global, regional, and local values and concerns in your work, including
community and cultural values.
4. Implement sustainability measures early on using relevant standards and criteria.
5. Evaluate the costs and benefits of environmental protection and sustainability, including
the impact of climate change.
6. Integrate environmental stewardship and sustainability planning throughout the life cycle
of your activities.
7. Strive for innovative solutions that balance environmental, social, and economic factors.
8. Involve stakeholders in an open and transparent manner, addressing their concerns and
disclosing relevant information.
9. Comply with regulations and aim to exceed them using the best available technologies
and procedures.
10. Take action to minimize environmental damage when there are threats, even if there's
uncertainty about the extent of the damage.
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Principles of life cycle analysis tools- Sandestin Sustainable Engineering Principles
1. Engineer processes and products with a holistic approach:
▪ Analyze systems and consider environmental impact assessment.
▪ Integrate tools to assess environmental impact.
2. Conserve and enhance natural ecosystems while safeguarding human health and well-
being:
▪ Protect and improve the health of natural ecosystems.
▪ Prioritize human health and well-being in engineering practices.
3. Adopt life cycle thinking in all engineering activities:
▪ Consider the entire life cycle of products and processes.
▪ Evaluate the environmental impact from extraction to disposal.
4. Ensure safe and benign material and energy inputs and outputs:
▪ Strive for materials and energy sources that are inherently safe and environmentally
friendly.
▪ Minimize risks and negative impacts on human health and the environment.
5. Minimize depletion of natural resources:
▪ Reduce the consumption of natural resources.
▪ Promote sustainable resource management practices.
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Principles of life cycle analysis tools
6. Strive to prevent waste:
▪ Focus on waste prevention rather than waste management.
▪ Implement strategies to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials.

7. Develop engineering solutions that consider local geography, aspirations, and cultures:
▪ Adapt engineering approaches to the specific context and characteristics of the local
area.
▪ Respect and integrate local aspirations and cultural values.

8. Foster innovation and invent technologies to achieve sustainability:

▪ Go beyond current technologies and challenge dominant practices.
▪ Improve and create new technologies that promote sustainability.

9. Engage communities and stakeholders in engineering solutions:

▪ Involve and actively collaborate with communities and stakeholders.
▪ Incorporate their perspectives and expertise in the development of sustainable
engineering solutions.
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Royal Academy of Engineering of UK (2005)- 12 guiding principles
1. Look beyond your own locality and the immediate future: In considering the effects of our
decisions on the wider world we need to:

(i) identify the potential positive and negative impacts of our proposed actions, not only
locally and soon but also outside our immediate local environment, organization and context,
and into the future;
(ii) seek to minimize the negative, while maximizing the positive, both locally and more
widely, and into the future.

2. Innovate and be creative: A sustainable development approach is creative, innovative and

broad, and thus does not mean following a specific set of rules. It requires an approach to
decision-making that strikes a balance between environmental, social, and economic factors.

3. Seek a balanced solution: Approaches like the “three pillars” and the “five capitals” seek to
deliver economic, social, and environmental success all at the same time, and so seek to avoid
any product, process, or project that yields an unbalanced solution.
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Royal Academy of Engineering of UK (2005)- 12 guiding principles
4. Seek engagement from all stakeholders: Society will ultimately say what is needed or wanted for any
development, sustainable, or otherwise.

5. Make sure you know the needs and wants: Effective decision making in engineering for sustainable
development requires clear identification of the problem, including legal requirements and constraints.
Teamwork and collaboration with colleagues help improve problem definition.

6. Plan and manage effectively: In planning our engineering projects, we need to express our aims in
sufficiently open-ended terms so as not to preclude the potential for innovative solutions as the project
develops.

7. Give sustainability the benefit of any doubt: Precautionary principle: Prioritize prevention over cure by
taking anticipatory action to avoid harm in the presence of scientific uncertainty.

Example: When introducing a new chemical, the precautionary principle requires conducting thorough
research on its potential environmental and health impacts before widespread use, to avoid irreversible
damage.

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Royal Academy of Engineering of UK (2005)- 12 guiding principles
8. If polluters must pollute … then they must pay as well: The adverse, polluting effects of any decision
should, in some way, be paid for or compensated for by the proponent of an engineering project, scheme,
or development; they should not be transferred to others without fair compensation.

9. Adopt a holistic, “cradle-to-grave” approach: To deliver this approach, the effects on sustainability
throughout the whole life cycle of a product or infrastructure scheme should be systematically evaluated.

10. Do things right, having decided on the right thing to do: Follow sustainable principles in decision-
making and implementation to achieve desired outcomes. For example, when designing a new product,
consider its environmental impact and ensure sustainable practices are maintained throughout its
production and distribution.

11. Beware cost reductions that masquerade as value engineering: Don't compromise sustainability for
cost-cutting measures; evaluate value engineering decisions carefully to ensure desired outcomes are
maintained.

12. Practice what you preach : Be prepared to be accountable for your design and engineering and uphold
by example the beliefs it reflects. Change yourself before you seek to change others.
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Frameworks for sustainable engineering
8. If polluters must pollute … then they must pay as well: The adverse, polluting effects of any decision
should, in some way, be paid for or compensated for by the proponent of an engineering project, scheme,
or development; they should not be transferred to others without fair compensation.

9. Adopt a holistic, “cradle-to-grave” approach: To deliver this approach, the effects on sustainability
throughout the whole life cycle of a product or infrastructure scheme should be systematically evaluated.

10. Do things right, having decided on the right thing to do: Follow sustainable principles in decision-
making and implementation to achieve desired outcomes. For example, when designing a new product,
consider its environmental impact and ensure sustainable practices are maintained throughout its
production and distribution.

11. Beware cost reductions that masquerade as value engineering: Don't compromise sustainability for
cost-cutting measures; evaluate value engineering decisions carefully to ensure desired outcomes are
maintained.

12. Practice what you preach : Be prepared to be accountable for your design and engineering and uphold
by example the beliefs it reflects. Change yourself before you seek to change others.
6/28/2023 73
Principles for sustainable engineering.

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A sustainability framework
for engineering

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6/28/2023 76
 Life cycle engineering framework.
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(Reprinted with Permission from Hauschild et al., 2017) 77
Case Study: Conserving materials for next mobility revolution
GEM Co. Ltd (GEMChina) is a publicly listed urban mining, resource recycling, and WEEE recycling business founded in 2001
in Shenzhen.
GEMChina has comprehensive industrial chains for resource collection and recycling across five categories: batteries,
cobalt, nickel, tungsten, and carbide; electronics; scrap automobile parts; and waste residues, mud, and wastewater.
In 2016, GEMChina processed three million tonnes of waste, recycled 37 resource categories, and avoided 7.5 million
tonnes of carbon emissions, saving 14 million barrels of fossil fuel and 18 million acres of forests.
The Chinese government has set a target to increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) by five million by 2020.
GEMChina has the highest used battery recycling capacity in China, processing over 10% of the total waste battery or about
300,000 tonnes of waste battery per year.
GEMChina's technology enables the recycling of scrapped lithium batteries from EVs, extracting valuable resources like
nickel and cobalt.
China is the world's largest producer of consumer electronics and household appliances, generating around 40% of global
output.
GEMChina has invested CNY 2 billion (USD 300 million) to build eight treatment centers in China, with a combined annual
processing capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of used household appliances, 30,000 tonnes of circuit boards, and 10,000 tonnes
of waste plastics.
The Chinese government has set ambitious targets for EV sales, which could position China as a dominant player in the
global EV industry and battery recycling.
The battery recycling market in China could be worth CNY 31 billion (USD 5 billion) by 2023.
GEMChina holds a leading position in the high-tech recycling market in China and could contribute to the development of
standardized designs for easy disassembly and reuse of end-of-life products.
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