W1 & W2 intro to sustainability

Course Overview

Course Code: ENVE4610

Title: Engineering the Circular Economy

Module Goals

• Overview of sustainability assessment tools on personal and project levels.

• Preparation for the use of tools like footprint analysis and the Five Capitals model in assessments.

Key Concepts in Sustainability

• Anthropocene Era: Marked by increased resource use and waste generation.

• Brundtland Definition of Sustainability: Meeting present needs without compromising future needs.

• Circular Economy: Seeks to decouple economic growth from resource consumption (Ghisellini et al., 2016).

Sustainability Framework

• Sustainability Areas: Encompasses environmental, social, and economic components.

• Planetary Boundaries: Establish thresholds for Earth's stability, including climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Established by the UN in 2015, comprising 17 goals aimed at global transformation by 2030, including:

  • Goal 1: No poverty

  • Goal 2: Zero hunger

  • Goal 3: Good health and well-being

  • Goal 13: Climate action.

CO2e

• A CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) is a unit of measurement that is used to standardise the climate effects of various greenhouse gases

• Eg. How do you estimate Canada’s CO2 emissions in 1900?

  • Step 1: Gather industrial data on how much coal, brown coal, peat and crude oil Canada extracted in 1900. This tells us how much energy it could produce if it used all of this domestically.

  • Step 2: You cannot assume that Canada only used fuels produced domestically—it might have imported some fuel, or exported it elsewhere. To find out how much Canada actually burned domestically, we therefore have to correct for this trade. If we take its domestic production (account for any fuel it stores as stocks), add any fuel it imported, and subtract any fuel it exported, we have an estimate of its net consumption in 1900. Coal burned = Coal extraction − Coal exported + Coal imported − Coal stored as stocks

  • Step 3: Convert energy produced to CO2 emissions. You know, based on the quality of coal, its carbon content and how much CO2 would be emitted for every kilogram burned (i.e. its emission factor from tables). Canada’s CO2 emissions from coal in 1900 = quantity of coal burned X its emission factor

  • Step 4: doing this calculation for all fuel types, we can calculate Canada’s total emissions in 1900.

Earth3 Model

Provides a framework for evaluating the environmental and social impacts of projects, emphasizing sustainability and responsible consumption. It integrates resource use, waste management, and social equity into scenario planning and decision-making processes.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Vital for identifying and managing stakeholder impacts on sustainability projects using the Five Capitals Model.

• Examples of impacts from landholders, government, traditional owners, and local businesses categorized under natural, social, human, manufactured, and financial capitals.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

• An essential tool for sustainability assessment involving goal definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and result interpretation. It focuses on the entire life cycle from resource extraction to disposal and recycling.

Mitigation and Enhancement Strategies

• Strategies aimed at reducing negative impacts while enhancing positive outcomes in sustainability projects, applying a hierarchical approach to avoid, reduce, or rehabilitate impacts.

Project Case Study: Brisbane Olympics

• The anticipated economic boost is $8.1 billion to Queensland, with a focus on sustainable upgrades and innovations in infrastructure. Engagement with stakeholders is critical for reviewing project impacts and developing sustainability plans.

Extra Conceps

• Carbon Credits vs. Carbon Offsets: Carbon credits are permits that allow the holder to emit a certain amount of CO2 or other greenhouse gases, while carbon offsets allow for reduction of greenhouse gases through external projects, effectively balancing emissions.

• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accounting: The process of measuring and reporting the greenhouse gases emitted by an organization or project to manage its impact on climate change.

• GHG Inventory: Steps generally involved include identifying the sources of emissions, documenting the amount of each greenhouse gas released, and calculating total emissions using conversion factors.

• Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions:

  • Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

  • Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting organization.

  • Scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain.

• Earth Carrying Capacity: The maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain indefinitely without degrading the environment.

• Environmental Footprinting: A measure of the impact of human activities on the environment, expressed as a certain area of land required to sustain those activities.

• Industrial Ecology: A field that examines material and energy flows through industrial systems, focusing on the closed-loop processes that can lead to sustainable and cleaner production practices.

• Cleaner Production: An approach to enhancing the efficiency of resource use and minimizing waste in industrial processes by adopting cleaner technologies and sustainable practices.

• Scenario Planning: A strategic method organizations use to envision potential futures based on varying conditions, aiding in assessing different sustainability strategies and identifying opportunities and risks linked to circular economy initiatives.

• Five Capitals Model:

  1. Natural Capital: Resources/services from nature.

  2. Social Capital: Relationships and community engagement.

  3. Human Capital: Skills and experience of individuals.

  4. Manufactured Capital: Human-made infrastructure.

  5. Financial Capital: Monetary resources for sustainable investment.

Schedule Breakdown

• Week 1 (24 Feb): Course overview and introduction to sustainability, including assessment information and group formation.

• Week 2 (3 Mar): Continuation of sustainability discussions, simple calculations, and project planning.

• Week 3 (10 Mar): Introduction to the Circular Economy with a focus on stakeholder analysis related to the Brisbane Olympics project.

• Week 4 (17 Mar): Discussion of Circular Economy examples and an invited speaker session on circular projects; Assessment 1 (20%): Sustainability calculations.

• Week 5 (24 Mar): Tools for assessing circularity, sustainability, and environmental impact.

• Week 6 (31 Mar): Continued focus on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software and sensitivity analyses in projects.

• Week 7 (7 Apr): Detailed examination of LCA examples.

• Week 8 (14 Apr): Tools for a holistic approach to circular projects; Assessment 2 (20%): Detailed case studies.

• Mid-Sem Break (21 Apr): No classes.

• Week 9 (28 Apr): Invited lectures and practical sessions on circular projects.

• Week 10 (5 May): Optional session for project draft reports.

• Week 11 (12 May): Continued project sessions and invited lectures.

• Week 12 (19 May): Final project sessions; Assessment 3: Circular project report due (30%).

• Week 13 (26 May): Course review and exam revision.

• Final Exam: Weighted at 30%.