6.1 Purpose & Challenges of Sustainability in Engineering

Sustainability in Engineering is more than just a target set by firms to appear environmentally conscious, it empowers engineers to address real societal challenges. This lesson will describe the purpose of attempting to devise solutions to engineering problems in a sustainable way, and some of the challenges faced by this.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. Operating as an engineer by this principle allows us to consider how we may minimise our impact on the environment, whether that be through emissions, resource use, or social impact, in achieving our goals of today.

A process can be considered “sustainable” if it satisfies the triple bottom line, shown in Figure 1 This is where a process is not seen as damaging or detrimental when considering the social, economic, and environmental impacts, bearing the three traits shown below:

• Bearable: Neither the environment nor the people impacted by the process are negatively affected.
• Equitable: The economics are not unfair, and people or groups are fairly compensated without experiencing hardship.
• Viable: It can be achieved without damaging the environment and makes economic sense, typically viewed as profitable.

The overarching goal of sustainable engineering is to shift away from the current paradigm, which focuses on economic growth with the goal of profit prioritised (sometimes at the cost of the environment) into an ideal scenario where there are no compromises on the triple bottom line of a sustainable process. An example of this is shown in Figure 2, which relates to the energy mix and use of fossil fuels. Whilst the goal presented is an ideal vision, it is unlikely to be achieved without challenge.