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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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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