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Sustainable engineering applies engineering and design principles to promote positive social and economic development while minimizing environmental impact. It can be applied to various industries, including energy systems, waste management, and environmental remediation. Engineers evaluate energy and resource usage to improve function and performance, and suggest changes to existing designs. Sustainable design recommendations include geothermal construction, solar and wind lighting, and waste water and heat recovery systems. Sustainable engineering is a global movement with international organizations promoting sustainability for future generations.
Sustainable engineering is the science that applies the principles of engineering and design in a way that promotes positive social and economic development while minimizing environmental impact. This mission is largely accomplished through efforts to redesign and adapt existing systems based on an analysis of current operations, manufacturing quality, and functional deficiencies that could potentially impede these processes. Sustainable engineering practices can be applied to a variety of industries, including manufacturing, new and existing construction, energy systems, transportation, waste management, and environmental remediation. In short, any sector where energy is spent or resources are consumed can benefit from responsible sustainable development.
In terms of existing energy systems, buildings, and industrial processes, civil and environmental engineers specializing in sustainable engineering typically review and compare energy and resource usage over a period of time for the purpose of evaluating function and performance. This also helps act as an indicator for benchmarking between similar systems or structures. The engineer can then look for ways to improve function and performance by identifying and prioritizing measures that promote sustainability and reduce dependency on non-renewable resources. In effect, this equates to increasing overall profitability through realized savings in operating costs. It is also usually necessary for the engineer to suggest necessary changes to the existing design or construction in order to implement these strategies.
New construction and development is another thing. In fact, it’s generally much easier to reap the benefits of sustainable engineering when you’re designing from scratch, so to speak. Additionally, operational savings are usually recognized first simply based on the fact that installing sustainable systems at startup improves the performance and lifecycle of the equipment or building materials involved from day one. Sustainable design recommendations are likely to include consideration of geothermal construction, solar and wind lighting, heating and cooling systems, waste water and heat recovery systems, and other “green” initiatives.
In the United States, sustainable engineering is a growing industry and many colleges and universities now offer undergraduate study programs in this field. However, sustainable engineering is a global movement with an international community exercising practices that go beyond environmental conservation and restoration. Indeed, the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development (WEPSD) and the World Commission on Environment and Development have both been instrumental in the development of the Earth Charter, an international agreement intended to provide guidance towards establishing global sustainability as a means of promoting peace in the world and the safeguarding of human rights and biodiversity for future generations.
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