Roland Clift

Centre for Environmental Strategy

University of Surrey

OVERVIEW What is sustainable development? What are the issues? How does this relate to the role of engineers? Examples Exercise

Sustainable Development is

“ … development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford

University Press (1987) (“The Brundtland Report”)

The overarching goal of sustainable development is

“… enabling all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations”

One Future – different paths,

UK Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development, 2005

THE HUMAN ECONOMYE

E E

SUN SUN

WASTE

HUMAN

SOCIETY

AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY

DISPERSED

EMISSIONS

NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES

FOODetc.

GOODS&

SERVICES

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:THE APPROACH

An approach which seeks to reconcile human needs and the capacity of the environment to cope with the consequences of economic systems

ECO-CENTRICCONCERNS

Natural resources and ecological

capacity

TECHNO-CENTRICCONCERNS

Techno-economic systems

SOCIO-CENTRICCONCERNS

Human capital and social expectations

THREE DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Natural resources

Water 1 billion people lack access to clean water 2.5 billion people (more than 1/3 of population)

lack adequate sanitation Air

Air in most cities in the world is pollutedLand

Land contamination Deforestation Desertification

50% of natural resources (fossil fuels, minerals) have already been consumed

NATURAL RESOURCES:WHAT DO WE USE?

Number of planets needed to sustain current global consumption in Number of planets needed to sustain current global consumption in 2050 if all countries consumed as Britain does today2050 if all countries consumed as Britain does today

WHO USES WHAT? Inequitable distribution of resources between

nations

The US, Japan, Germany, Canada, France, Italy and the UK (less than 12 % of the world's population) consume:

43% of the world's fossil fuel production, 64% of the world's paper, and 55-60% of all the aluminium, copper, lead, nickel and tin

20% of the population in the developed nations consume 86% of the world’s resources

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES Population increase

current 6 billion to 10 billion in this century? Income distribution and poverty

The richest 20% (1.2 billion) of the world’s population receive nearly 83% of total world income

At the same time, the poorest 20% of the population receive 1.4% or less than $1 a day

Almost half of the world's population of six billion lives on less than $2 a day

About 790 million people are hungry and food insecure

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING Sustainable engineering means providing for human

needs and improving quality of life without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Engineers can contribute to sustainable development in many ways, e.g.designing sustainable buildingsdesigning transportationmanufacturing plantswater and food provision systemsintroducing ICT to reduce material use, emissions and

waste in products and services

THE ROLE OF ENGINEERS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Economyto optimise economic returns

Environmentto optimise the use of natural resources and

minimise environmental impacts Society

to supply human needs and improve quality of life

Examples of human needs: Housing, food, health, energy,

communication, mobility…

CONSTRUCTION: BUILDINGS

Energy use in buildings constitutes 30-50% of total energy requirements of a society

This energy use contributes to more CO2 emissions than traffic or industryReason: poor insulation

and inefficient combustion systems

Relatively cheap fuels and profligate use of energy

ICT: TELECOMMUTING For Cambridgeshire CC

Commute miles down by up to 500,000-1.25 million per year

Commute hours could be reduced by 40,000 – 75,000 per year

Reductions in emissions 26,200 kg CO, 323,000 kg CO2 and 4,500 kg NOx per year

Positive high quality of life Self-reported health benefits Greater use of local services see www.sustel.org and www.flexibility.co.uk

ICT: INTERNET SERVICES

Online services: home shopping, banking, entertainment, even learning

Traffic reduction is difficult to measure. RAC (1997) predicted that by 2007 will cut shopping travel by 17%

Possible dematerialisation e.g. online subscriptions for software updates

Social inclusion Better accountability of service providers Has made the world far smaller Information transfer: news and media

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING:FRESH AND WASTE WATER

The supply problems - shortage of water1 billion people lack access to clean water

Provision of water to developing countries Increasing the efficiency of use and reducing

demand for fresh watere.g. using ‘grey water’ for toilets or to water

the gardens (the example of the eco-house) Rethinking systems for treating and recycling

watere.g. sea water desalination

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING: WASTE Developed countries, each person 500kg p.a. Prevention of waste generation

increased process efficiencies reduced consumption of materials

Re-use and recycling turning waste into valuable resourcesprovision of facilities for recycling

Leasing rather than buying products Waste-to-energy schemes

Incinerating municipal solid waste A plant in Sheffield provides heating to 3,000 homes

and 90 buildings Saves 200,000 MW of fossil fuel and 60,000 t of CO2

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING:FUELS AND ENERGY

Global warming and limited supply of carbon-based fuels will require the use of non-carbon energy sources

Wind and solar power Biomass Hydrogen (generated by using solar energy or

nuclear power) Electric batteries Fuel cells Also more security of supply

EXERCISE: YOUR CONTRIBUTION?

Write down three ways in which you will be able to contribute, as an engineer, to sustainable development in future.

Discuss your choices with your neighbour. Write a combined list of six ways you can contribute. Pass your list down to the front, to be collated. See if your ideas change by the end of the semester.

LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT

Introduction

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Concepts: : setting goals for environmental management activities e.g.Dematerialisation, energy efficiency Sustainable Development, Product

Stewardship, Producer Responsibility. Tools: : measure progress towards goals e.g.

Environmental Auditing, Environmental Impact Assessment, Risk Assessment, Life Cycle Thinking, Life Cycle Assessment

MATERIALS/ENERGY (JACKSON)

A NEW APPROACH

Increased material efficiency: reducing raw material inputs and waste outputs

Removing hazardous materials for a more acceptable alternative.

Designing service systems to minimise environmental impacts

PURCHASING DECISIONS FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Often driven by immediate criteria e.g. price, functionality, appearance, etc.

There is another way of thinking:chain of processes upstream and downstream

from the product in the shop e.g. mobile phone

What happens before you purchase?How is it used?What happens when it reaches end of life?

Implications for design

ENVIRONMENTALINTERVENTIONS

ECONOMICSYSTEM

ENVIRONMENT

SERVICES

MATERIALS ANDENERGY

EMISSIONS AND WASTES

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM ANALYSIS

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

PRIMARY RESOURCES

Energyconversion

Extraction

Materialpurification

Manufacturing

PRODUCT IN USE

Recovery

Wastesand

Emissions

Wastes and

Emissions

E

E

E

E

FOOD MILES e.g. BEANS FROM KENYA

LIFE CYCLE THINKING Thinking qualitatively about impacts:

upstream and downstream Application of systems analysis “Cradle to grave” quantification of:

material and energy inputsoutputs as emissionstogether known as “environmental

interventions” of the system Avoids displacing environmental problems Promotes responsible product design Formal environmental management tool: LCA

WHAT IT DOES

Life cycle thinking examines the environmental interventions and potential impacts throughout a product’s life (i.e. cradle-to-grave) from raw material acquisition through production, use and disposal.

The general categories of environmental impacts needing consideration include resource use, human health, and ecological consequences.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Environmental impactsGlobal warming Ozone layer depletionLoss of biodiversitySummer and winter smogsAcid rainEutrophicationHuman and eco-toxicity

PHASES OF LCA

DfE Design for the Environment

IPPC Integrated Pollution Prevention & Control

EoL End-of-Life

WEEE (EEE) Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment

ELV End-of-Life Vehicles

IPP Integrated Product Policy

EPD’s Environmental Product Declarations

ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS….

DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT (DFE) PROCESS

DFE STRATEGIES BENEFITING FROM A LIFE CYCLE APPROACH

Product life extensionMaterial life extensionReduced use of materials

(dematerialisation)Energy efficiencyPollution minimisation

Material andEnergy

Extracton

WasteManagement

Manufacturing Distribution Use

EARTH

LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT

Material andEnergy

Extracton

WasteManagement

Manufacturing Distribution Use

EARTH

TAKE-BACK

COMPONENTMANUFACTURE

MATERIALSPRODUCTION

ASSEMBLY

USE

RawMaterials

PartialDisassembly

CompleteDisassembly

Inspection

Waste

ASSET RECOVERY

FOREGROUND SYSTEM:

Set of processes whose selection or mode of operationis affected directly by decisions based on the study.

BACKGROUND SYSTEM:

All other processes which interact directly with the foreground system, usually by supplying material or energy to the foreground or receiving material energy from it. A sufficient (but not necessary) condition for a

process or group of processes to be in the background is that the exchange with the foreground takes place through a homogeneous market.

BACKGROUNDSYSTEM

PRIMARYRESOURCES

MATERIALSAND ENERGY SOLID

WASTE

FOREGROUNDSYSTEM

WASTEMANAGEMENT

EMISSIONS

RECOVEREDMATERIALS

AND ENERGY

FUNCTIONALOUTPUTS

FUNCTONALOUTPUT:

MANAGEMENTOF WASTE

Figure 1: Distinction between Foreground andBackground Systems

ASSUME - other products from Foreground are used in Background

- other Functional Outputs from Background unchanged

THEREFORE - other products from Foreground displace activities in Background and so avoid some burdens

TOTAL INVENTORY is then:DIRECT BURDENS from ForegroundplusINDIRECT BURDENS from Background,

due to inputs to ForegroundminusAVOIDED BURDENS from Background

displaced by outputs from Foreground

INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY

WASTE

USE 3etc.

RE-USEWASTE

USE 3

etc.

RE-PROCESS

CASCADE

RE-USE

RECYCLE

RESOURCE

USE 1

PROCESS

MANUFACTURE 1

EXTRACT

MANUFACTURE 2

USE 2 RE-PROCESS

RE-PROCESS

RECYCLE

INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY FOR PLASTICS

RESOURCE

EXTRACTION &PROCESSING

POLYMER-ISATION

BLENDING &FORMING

USE

DISPOSAL

FUEL

ENERGY RECOVERY

CHEMICAL RECYCLING & PYROLYSIS

DEPOLYMERISATION

MECHANICAL RECYCLING

RE-USE

Life cycle approaches are here to stay…

Skill base is insufficient

Open range for consultants

Professional bodies need to recognise Environmental System Analysis as an essential body of skills and tools

CONCLUDING REMARKS