Transcript Slide 1
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 ECONOMY
E
SUN
FOOD
etc.
HUMAN
SOCIETY
E
SUN
GOODS
&
SERVICES
E
WASTE
AGRICULTURE
INDUSTRY
DISPERSED
EMISSIONS
NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
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
THREE DIMENSIONS OF
SUSTAINABILITY
ECO-CENTRIC
CONCERNS
Natural resources
and ecological
capacity
Techno-economic
systems
TECHNO-CENTRIC
CONCERNS
Human capital and
social expectations
SOCIO-CENTRIC
CONCERNS
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 polluted
Land
Land contamination
Deforestation
Desertification
50% of natural resources (fossil fuels,
minerals) have already been consumed
NATURAL RESOURCES:
WHAT DO WE USE?
Energy (CO2)
Cement
Aluminium
Steel
Land
Wood
0
2
4
6
8
10
Number of planets needed to sustain current global consumption in
2050 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 buildings
designing transportation
manufacturing plants
water and food provision systems
introducing ICT to reduce material use,
emissions and waste in products and
services
THE ROLE OF ENGINEERS IN
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Economy
to optimise economic returns
Environment
to 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 industry
Reason: 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 water
1 billion people lack access to clean water
Provision of water to developing countries
Increasing the efficiency of use and reducing
demand for fresh water
e.g. using ‘grey water’ for toilets or to water
the gardens (the example of the eco-house)
Rethinking systems for treating and recycling
water
e.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 resources
provision 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 carbonbased 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)
Materials/ energy (JACKSON)
Timing of Measures
Concept
PREVENTION
Design
Resource
Inputs
Mining And Processing
Manufacturing
END OF PIPE
Product Distribution
Service
Provision
Waste
Management
CONTAINMENT
DISPERSAL
REMEDIATION
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
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM ANALYSIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERVENTIONS
MATERIALS AND
ENERGY
EMISSIONS
AND WASTES
ECONOMIC
SYSTEM
ENVIRONMENT
SERVICES
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
PRIMARY RESOURCES
Wastes
and
Wastes and
E
Energy
conversion
Extraction
Emissions
Emissions
Material
purification
E
E
Manufacturing
Recovery
E
PRODUCT IN USE
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 inputs
outputs as emissions
together 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 impacts
Global warming
Ozone layer depletion
Loss of biodiversity
Summer and winter smogs
Acid rain
Eutrophication
Human and eco-toxicity
PHASES OF LCA
PHASES OF LCA
Life cycle assessment framework
Goal and
scope
definition
Inventory
analysis
Impact
assessment
Interpretation
Direct applications:
-Product development
-Strategic planning
-Public policymaking
-Marketing
-Other
ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS….
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
DESIGN
FOR
ENVIRONMENT
(DFE)
Design for Environment (DFE)
PROCESS
Process
Design
space
Product
strategy
Product
development
Product
specification
DFE STRATEGIES BENEFITING FROM
A LIFE CYCLE APPROACH
Product life extension
Material life extension
Reduced use of materials
(dematerialisation)
Energy efficiency
Pollution minimisation
LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT
Manufacturing
Distribution
Material and
Energy
Extracton
Use
Waste
Management
EARTH
TAKE-BACK
Manufacturing
Distribution
Material and
Energy
Extracton
Use
Waste
Management
EARTH
ASSET RECOVERY
COMPONENT
MANUFACTURE
ASSEMBLY
USE
Partial
Disassembly
MATERIALS
PRODUCTION
Complete
Disassembly
Waste
Raw
Materials
Inspection
FOREGROUND SYSTEM:
Set of processes whose selection or mode of operation
is 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.
PRIMARY
RESOURCES
BACKGROUND
SYSTEM
MATERIALS
AND ENERGY
RECOVERED
MATERIALS
AND ENERGY
FUNCTIONAL
OUTPUTS
SOLID
WASTE
FOREGROUND
SYSTEM
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
EMISSIONS
FUNCTONAL
OUTPUT:
MANAGEMENT
OF WASTE
Figure 1: Distinction between Foreground and
Background Systems
ASSUME
-
-
THEREFORE
-
other products from Foreground are
used in Background
other Functional Outputs from
Background unchanged
other products from Foreground
displace activities in Background and so
avoid some burdens
TOTAL INVENTORY is then:
DIRECT BURDENS from Foreground
plus
INDIRECT BURDENS from Background,
due to inputs to Foreground
minus
AVOIDED BURDENS from Background
displaced by outputs from
Foreground
INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
RESOURCE
EXTRACT
PROCESS
RECYCLE
MANUFACTURE 1
CASCADE
RE-PROCESS
USE 1
RE-PROCESS
RECYCLE
MANUFACTURE 2
RE-USE
WASTE
USE 3
etc.
USE 2
RE-USE
WASTE
USE 3
etc.
RE-PROCESS
INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY FOR PLASTICS
RESOURCE
EXTRACTION &
PROCESSING
POLYMERISATION
BLENDING &
FORMING
USE
RE-USE
FUEL
MECHANICAL RECYCLING
DEPOLYMERISATION
CHEMICAL RECYCLING & PYROLYSIS
ENERGY RECOVERY
DISPOSAL
CONCLUDING REMARKS
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