Stainable Engineering

Sustainable Engineering

• Sustainable engineering involves designing or operating systems that use energy and resources at a sustainable rate.

• It ensures natural enrichment and supports future generations’ needs.

• UNESCO definition: Using resources without compromising the environment or depleting them for future generations.

• Requires an interdisciplinary approach across all engineering fields.

• Not limited to environmental engineering — all engineering disciplines should integrate sustainability.

• Goal: Improve quality of life for all.

Sustainable design goes beyond reduce, recycle, reuse, or repurpose.

Focus is now on:

Adding value

Designing products with societal benefits

Solving environmental challenges that are viable for businesses

Engineers must develop innovative solutions with the right mindset.

"Engineers must have the mindset to develop innovative solutions." — Dr. Meese

Carrying Capacity

• Carrying capacity: Maximum population size a biological species can be sustained by an environment.

• Based on available food, habitat, water, and resources.

• Also called the environment's maximal load.

• Occurs when births + immigration = deaths + emigration (population equilibrium).

• Modeled using a logistic function.

• Applied in ecology, agriculture, and fisheries.

• Term evolved over time; used for population limits since the 1950s.

• For humans, it relates to the concept of sustainable population.

SDGS

• No Poverty
  End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

• Zero Hunger
  End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

• Good Health and Well-being
  Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

• Quality Education
  Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities.

• Gender Equality
  Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

• Clean Water and Sanitation
  Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

• Affordable and Clean Energy
  Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

• Decent Work and Economic Growth
  Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and productive employment.

• Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

• Reduced Inequalities
  Reduce inequality within and among countries.

• Sustainable Cities and Communities
  Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

• Responsible Consumption and Production
  Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

• Climate Action
  Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• Life Below Water
  Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.

• Life on Land
  Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.

• Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  Promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice, and build strong institutions.

• Partnerships for the Goals
  Strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve the sustainable development agenda.

TRUE

• 21st-century engineers must design for:

  • Energy efficiency

  • Mass efficiency

  • Low environmental emissions

• Goals include:

  • Reduce fossil resource consumption

  • Approach zero waste generation

🔍 Sustainability Questions for Products & Processing

• Will it be made from recycled materials?

• How much energy will it use?

• Will it be powered by battery or solar cells?

• Can it be recycled at the end of its life?

• Does it have toxic metal parts needing disposal?

• Sustainable design requires senior engineering leaders to recommend and refine practices that reduce:

  • Energy use

  • Waste

  • Toxic materials

• Objective: Ensure sustainability for organizations, people, and the planet.

Water Scarcity

• is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet regional demands.

• Caused by both natural factors and human activities.

• Water is unequally distributed over time and space.

• Much of the water is wasted, polluted, or unsustainably managed.

• There is no global water scarcity, but many regions face chronic shortages.

• Global water use has increased more than twice as fast as the population in the last century.

Water Scarcity Prevention

1. Sustainable Water Management

• Improve water infrastructure

• Focus on conservation and efficiency

• Use clean technologies like:

  • Solar desalination

  • Smart irrigation systems

• Especially important in agriculture and farming, the largest water consumers

2. Reclaimed Water

• Utilize rainwater harvesting and recycled wastewater

• Helps reduce scarcity and pressure on natural water bodies

• Apply groundwater recharge – moving surface water to groundwater to maintain supply

  
  
  3. Pollution Control & Better Sewage Treatment

  • Lack of sanitation makes water disease-ridden and unsafe

  • Pollution control and water quality monitoring are essential

  • Improving sewage systems helps prevent worsening scarcity

  4. Awareness & Education

  • Education is key to solving the water crisis

  • Future prevention requires reforming consumption habits

    • From individual use to corporate supply chains

Energy and Climate

• Oil is a finite, non-renewable resource.

• Analysts have predicted when oil production will peak and decline.

• Kenneth Deffeyes (2001) predicted oil peak by 2014.

• Shell forecasted scarcity unlikely before 2025, possibly 2040 with efficiency measures.

• Extending oil availability includes:

  • Increasing vehicle efficiency

  • Reducing household demand

  • Using gas instead of oil heating

• Households must become aware of conserving power resources, just like with home security.

Material Flow Analysis

• Human needs (shelter, food, transport, communication) require materials like:

  • Wood, starch, sugar

  • Iron and steel, copper

  • Semiconductors

• As society and economy grow, material use and disposal increase, causing local and global impacts.

• Examples of local environmental problems:

  • Leaching from landfills

  • Oil spills

• Carbon dioxide, once a minor waste flow, is now a major global concern due to global warming.

• Urban mining in developed countries increases the need to assess:

  • In-use stocks

  • Obsolete material stocks

• A systematic tool is needed to track and display stocks and flows in the anthroposphere.

• Material Flow Analysis (MFA) provides this method and complements economic accounting and modeling.