2019_Engineering the transition to sustainability by audrc

Engineeringthetransitiontosustainability

WilliamGrace

AustralianUrbanDesignResearchCentre,UniversityofWesternAustralia,Perth,WesternAustralia

ABSTRACT

Thehumanworldandthebiospherewhichweinhabitwithallotherlifeonearthisacomplex socio-ecologicalsystem.Itisessentialtothinkaboutthesustainabilityproblembyconsidering theinterventionsnecessarytoachieveourobjectiveswithinthatsystem.Thepaperdescribes howtheseventeenSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)canbeplacedwithinasystems configuration.Inthispaper,Ioutlinethedevelopmentofadynamicmodeltoexplorethis systemanditsplausibletrajectoriesovercomingdecadesandcenturies.Theresultsechothe findingsofotherstudies,indicatingthaturgentactionisrequiredtoavoiddecliningaverage globallivingstandardsinthecomingcentury.Thekeypolicyinterventionsrequiredtoavoid thisaredescribed.Thepresentinstitutionsareinsufficienttore-structuretheglobaleconomy inthetimeframerequired,meaningthatourprofessionmustbeelevatedinthepublic discourse,andourvoicesmustbecomelouder.

1.Introduction

TheUNSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)are intendedtobe ‘theblueprinttoachieveabetterand moresustainablefutureforall’.TheWorldFederation ofEngineeringOrganisations(WFEO)andUNESCO signedtheParisDeclarationinMarch2018which statedthecommitmentoftheworld’sengineersto sustainabledevelopment.SubsequentlyWFEOhave releasedanEngineering2030Plantosupportthis commitment(WorldFederationofEngineering Organisations 2018).Therehasbeensomecriticism oftheSDGs’ complexity,internalconsistencyand ambiguity(Swain 2018).Othershavesuggestedthat weshouldsee ‘thesustainabledevelopmentgoalsas anetworkoftargets’(LeBlanc 2015).Myowncriticism relatestotwofailures:creatingaconnectiontothe genesisofsustainabledevelopmentarticulatedinthe Brundtlandreport;andarticulatingthegoalsectorsas elementsofasinglesocio-economicsystem.Isetout analternativesystems-basedperspectiveoftheglobal socio-ecologicalsystem(SES)inthisarticle,comprisingtheinteractionsandfeedbackbetweenitssocial, economicandenvironmentaldimensions.Eachofthe 17sustainabledevelopmentgoalsisplacedwithinthe socio-ecologicalsystemconﬁgurationdescribed. Modellingoftheglobalpopulation – economy –resourcesystembymyselfandothers,suggeststhat abusiness-as-usualapproachwillleadtoseriousecologicaldamageandresourcescarcityduringthelatter partofthiscentury,ultimatelycausingreductionsin populationandlivingstandards.Idiscussthemajor transitionsinenergyandresourceuserequiredto

ARTICLEHISTORY

Received16October2019

Accepted11November2019

KEYWORDS

Sustainability;sustainable developmentgoals;circular economy;energy;materials; engineeringeducation; systems

avoidthisoutcome,includingtheattractionsandlimitationsofthecirculareconomyconcept.

Ialsodiscusstheroleofengineersinpromotingthe transitiontosustainability,notingboththecriticality ofourprofessionalexpertisetotheenterprise,and howthewaythatengineersseethemselveslimits proactivityoftheprofessionasawhole.

2.TheU.N.sustainabledevelopmentgoals In2015,theUNGeneralAssemblyadopted ‘Transformingourworld:the2030Agendafor SustainableDevelopment’ (UnitedNations 2015).The 17SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)covermany facetsofpolicythat,weareinvitedtobelieve,willdeliver sustainabledevelopment.Unfortunately,likemanysuch initiatives,thegoalsreadasawish-listofseparateinitiatives,invitingacontinuationofthe ‘silos’ approachto developmentpolicy.

Mostdisappointingofallisthefailuretoprovide aclearstatementofwhatthecoregoalofsustainable developmentactuallyis.Theword ‘sustainability’ is usedthroughoutthegoalstatements,inrespectof agriculture,economicgrowth(!1),industrialisation, water,energy,consumptionandproduction,cities andcommunities,andmanagementofforestsand oceans.Whatdotheseadjectivesmean?Doesthe achievementoftheseobjectivesinaggregateproduce a ‘sustainable’ world?

Itisinstructivetorecallwhereallthisstarted,which wasthereportoftheWorldCommissionon EnvironmentandDevelopment ‘OurCommonFuture’ , chairedbyGroHarlemBrundtland(WorldCommission

onEnvironmentandDevelopment 1987).Itwasthis reportthatcoinedthemuchreferredtodeﬁnitionof sustainabledevelopment2:

“meetingtheneedsofthepresentwithoutcompromising theabilityoffuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds”3

Althoughtherehavebeenmanyvariationsdeveloped since,asgovernmentshaveparsedtheBruntlanddefinition,formostthisremainstheessenceoftheterm. Despitewhatmanypeoplethink,thisdefinitionidentifies sustainabilityasasocialaspiration,notanenvironmental one.It,somewhatclumsily,speakstotheneedtoensure alltheresourcesthatgiverisetotheachievementof wellbeingremainavailabletofuturegenerations.Ihave suggestedthereforethatasimplegoalstatementforsustainabilityis ‘enduringwellbeing’.Thisisinfactvery similartoGoal3oftheSDGs,whichis:

GoodHealthandWell-being – Ensurehealthylives andpromotewell-beingforallatallages

Anopportunitywasmissedtomakethissentimentthe centrepieceoftheSDGs,creatingcontinuityfrom Brundtlandtothepresent.Ifwellbeingisnotthe centralfocusofsustainabilitypolicy,whatis?Allof theothergoalsarecomponentsofthiscentralgoal4

Whydowewant ‘nopoverty’ ; ‘cleanwater’ ; ‘reduced inequality’ ; ‘economicgrowth;’ and ‘climateaction’ if nottoadvancehumanwellbeing?

3.Seeingtheworldasasocio-ecological system

Moreimportanteventhancreatingacentralfocusfor theSDGsisthefailuretoarticulatethemasinterdependentgoalswithinacomplexsocio-ecologicalsystem(BerkesandFolke 1998).Forexample,itis obviouslynotpossibletomakeadvancesinpoverty andhungerinanynationwithoutaddressingitsexistingandfutureeconomicconditions.Addressingthis deﬁciencyhasfallentoorganisationssuchasthe MillenniumInstitutewhohavedevelopedtheiSDG

systemdynamicsmodel(MillenniumInstitute 2019) whichincorporatestherequiredinterrelationships andfeedbackinordertofacilitateabetterunderstandingofhowanoverarchingnationalplanwillimpact eachofthegoals.

The firstdimensionofthesustainabilityproblem focusesontheinteractionsbetweenthehumanworld andthebiospherewhichweinhabitwithallotherlife onearth,andwhichprovidesthematerialnecessities requiredforadecentstandardofliving.Thesecond dimensionrelatestothepurelysocialinteractionsthat affecthumanwellbeing.Iillustratebothdimensionsin Figure1 whichisknownasacausalloopdiagram.It seekstodepictcauseandeffectandfeedbackin asystemovertime.

Althoughalltheloopsactsimultaneouslyitishelpfultoconsiderthemoneatatime.Thepolarityofthe arrowsindicatestheeﬀectofonevariableonanother. Asexamples,intheabove:

● Higherlivingstandardsleadtohigherlevelsof overallwellbeing(allotherthingsbeingconstant) sothecausationispositive.

● Higherlevelsofeconomicproductionleadto lowerlevelsofnaturalresources(allotherthings beingconstant)sothecausationisnegative.

ForclarityIhaveonlylabelledthenegativecausations. Allunlabelledarrowsindicatepositivecausation.

3.1.Populationandtheeconomy(blueloops)

Thesetwoloopsessential ly dominatethestoryof humanhistorysincethebeginningoftheagriculturalagesome10,000yearsago.Risinglivingstandardsleadtohigherpopulationlevelsleadto higherlevelsofeconomicproductionleadtohigher livingstandardsandsoon(LoopR1). CompoundingthegrowthrateofR1isthatrising livingstandardshavealsoledtomoreeconomic productiononapercapitabasis(LoopR2).

Figure1. Causalloopdiagram5 oftheglobalsocio-ecologicalsystem.

Thesearereferredtoasreinforcingloopsbecause ariseinonevariableleadstoariseintheother, whichinturnleadstoafurtherriseinthe ﬁrst.The behaviourovertimeofsuchaloopiseitherexponentialgrowthorexponentialdecline.Exponential growthisreﬂectedinthedatafromthemodernera (see Figures2 and 3).

3.2.Environmentandnaturalresources(the green loops)

Materiallivingstandardsaredependentonthenonhuman world,throughtheprovisionofso-calledecosystemservices(Gómez-Baggethunetal. 2010)whichwe derivefromnaturalresources.Economicproduction depletesnaturalresources.Theconversionofhabitat (LoopB2)andthecreationofpollution(including

carbon)andwaste(LoopB4)bothlimitnature’sability toprovideecosystemservicesintothefuture(Reidetal. 2005).Thosethatare ﬁnite(e.g.fossilfuels)willeventuallyrunoutcompletely(MaggioandCacciola 2012), andthosethatarerenewablearebeingdepletedatfaster ratesthantheyareregenerated(GrootenandAlmond 2018).Thisscarcitycreatesfeedbackinthesystemwhich, ifandwhenlimitsarereached,willreduceeconomic production,livingstandardsandpopulation(LoopB1).

3.3.Society(theorangeloops)

Fromtheriseofcivilisation,uptothepresenttimewe have seen,inaverageglobalterms,anincreasein humanhealthandwellbeingonthefoundationof higherlivingstandards(Easterlin 2000).Ofcourse, thereishugevariabilityacrosstheworldandsetbacks atvarioustimes,butthisscenariomoreorless describeshumanprogresstodate.

Theeﬀectoflivingstandardsonglobalpopulation ischanging.Overhumanhistoryrisinglivingstandardshaveincreasedbirthratesandreduceddeath rates,andhaveaccordinglyledtohigherpopulation levels.Thatwouldindicateapositiverelationship betweenwellbeingandpopulation,andthathasbeen thecaseinthepast(LoopR1).Aslivingstandardsrise indevelopingcountriesthenetpopulationgrowthrate (birthsminusdeaths)isdropping,asitalreadyhasin muchofthedevelopedworld

theso-called

Figure2. Globalpopulation(source:UNpopulationdivision).

Figure3. GlobalGDPsource:Maddisonhistoricalstatistics.6

demographictransition(Lesthaeghe 2011).Thisissigniﬁcantlyafunctionofincreasinggenderequality, essentiallytheabilityofwomentocontroltheirown fertility(McNay 2005).Accordingly,inthemodern era,therelationshipbetweenpopulationandwellbeingisreversed – higherlivingstandardswilltend toreducepopulation,hencethenegativesignin LoopB3.

Higherlivingstandardsalsoimprovehumanwellbeingandequality,whichpromotethedemographic transition(LoopB4)andenhancetheeffectofLoop B3.However,theseeffectsareoffsetbyLoopR3.If higherlivingstandardsinthemorerapidlygrowing developingworldincreaseaverageglobalinequality, theywillalsosuppressthedemographictransition whichisaprerequisiteforstabilisingpopulation. Thisresultsinareinforcinglooplinkinglivingstandardsandpopulationviaequalityandthedemographictransition(LoopR3).

Itispossibletoplaceall17ofthesustainabledevelopmentgoalswithinthissimplepictureoftheglobal socio-ecologicalsystem(see Figure4).

4.Aglobalmodel

Thishighlysimplifieddepictionprovidesthebasisfor understandingcauseandeffectintheglobalsocioecologicalsystem.However,therearemanydifferent trajectories(behaviourovertime)forthissystem.You cannottellbylookingatthispicturewhatthefuture stateofthesystemmaybe(bearinginmindthatno modelcanaccuratelypredictthefuture).Clearlygrowth todateduetothereinforcingloopsR1andR2has dominatedthebalancingloopsastheexponential growthinreal-worlddataonpopulation(Figure2), economicgrowth(Figure3)andlivingstandardsshow.

Thesustainabilityquestionisthereforewhatwillhappeninthefutureastheworldpopulationgrowstowards 9billion,poorernationsbecomericher,theeﬀectsof pollution(particularlycarbon)grow,andresources becomedepleted.Toinvestigateplausiblescenariosfor thefuturerequiresafullglobalsystemsmodel.

Thetechniqueofsystemdynamicshaslongbeenused tomodelthelinksbetweeneconomy,environmentand well-beingattheglobalscale,mostfamouslyinthe LimitstoGrowth(LtG)studies ﬁrstpublishedinthe early70s(DonellaH.Meadowsetal. 1972),updatedin the1990s(DonellaH.Meadows,Meadows,andRanders 1992)andearly2000s(DonellaH.Meadows,Meadows, andRanders 2004).Themodelsestablishacausalstructurelinkinglivingstandards(thebasicconstituentof wellbeing)toproductionandconsumptionofrenewable andnon-renewableresourcesandpollutionabsorption capacity.Myownmorerecentworkisasimpliﬁedglobal population – economy – resourcemodelthatexplores thefutureimpactofdecliningresourceavailabilityonthe worldeconomy(Grace 2015).Themodeltracksthelikely futureconsumptionofrenewableresources,fossilfuels andnon-renewablematerialsandtheeconomicimpact ofavailabilityto2300.Themodeliscalibratedagainst datafrom1960to2010.

Thesimulationsproducesimilar findingstothe LTGstudies,namelythatresourcescarcitywilllikely becomeevidentduringthelatterpartofthiscentury andconstraineconomicproduction,reducingincome percapita,livingstandardsandultimatelypopulation. Putsimply,thepresentexploitationofnatural resources(renewableandnon-renewable)is unsustainable inthecommonlanguageuseoftheterm,i.e. thatitcannotcontinueindefinitely.The findingsindicatethatpolicyinterventionsinvolvingarapidtransitionfromfossilfuelstorenewableenergy,reduced resourceintensityandmaterialsrecyclingarenecessarytocorrectthistrajectoryandfacilitateongoing improvementsinglobalaveragelivingstandards. Deliveringthesetransitionsisthecentralroleofengineeringinthe21st century.

5.Engineeringandtheeconomy

TheRoyalCharteroftheUnitedKingdom’ s InstitutionofCivilEngineers, firstgrantedbyKing GeorgeIVon3June1828includedadefinitionofcivil engineeringbyoneThomasTredgold(Shergoldand Inkster 1982).Thisdescribedcivilengineeringas being ‘theartofdirectingthegreatsourcesofpower innaturefortheuseandconvenienceofman’.Savefor thereferenceto ‘ man ’ ratherthan ‘humanity’,this definitionholdsupwelltodayasanexpressionofthe roleofengineersmoregenerally.Althoughwethinkof themeansofproductionascomprisinglabourandraw materials,tools,machineryandfacilities,infactthe finalgoodandallintermediateitemsembeddedinit orusedtomakeit,deriveultimatelyfromnatural resources,solarenergyandhumanlabour.This includesfossilfuelswhichderivefromthedecompositionoforganicmatter.Althoughthematerialand energyintensityusuallyinvolvedintheprovisionof ‘services’ isafractionofthatusedinmanufacturing

Figure4. DepictionoftheSDGsinasystemsconﬁguration.

‘goods’,theseservicesarestillproducedinengineered buildingscontainingamyriadofengineeredcomponentsandproducts.Engineeringisessentiallyabout thetransformationofnaturalresources(directlyor indirectly)intothegoodsandservicesusedinthe economy – thebluelinesin Figure5.

Engineeringtasksresidesomewhereinthispictureandalthoughtheworkofmostiswithnatural resourceswhichhavealreadybeentransformedinto othermaterials,components,machines,plantor structures,eachisreliantonthem.Itistheextraction,processingandtransformationofthese resourcesthatprovidethegoodsandservicesthat underpinmodernsociety.Itisalsothesesameactivitiesthatgiverisetothelossofhabitatandbiodiversity,greenhousegasemissionsandother pollutionthatnowthreatenthelivingstandardsof peopleeverywhere.Ourp reoccupationwitheconomic ‘ growth ’ meansthatrateofexploitationof resourcescontinuestorapidlygrow.

TheformerWorldBankeconomistandfounding memberoftheschoolofe cologicaleconomics HermanDalyintroducedtheconceptofasteadystateeconomymorethanthirtyyearsago(Daly 1974 ).

“Asteady-stateeconomyisdeﬁnedbyconstantstocksof physicalwealth(artifacts)andaconstantpopulation, eachmaintainedatsomechosen,desirablelevelbyalow rateofthroughput-i.e.,bylowbirthratesequaltolow deathratesandbylowphysicalproductionratesequalto lowphysicaldepreciationrates,sothatlongevityof peopleanddurabilityofphysicalstocksarehigh.”

Thisisadescriptionofasysteminequilibrium,where inputsandoutputsvaryovertimebutareapproximatelyequal.Inrespectofnaturalresourceexploitationthismeans(Daly 1990):

(1)Therateofharvestofrenewableresources shouldnotexceedtherateofregeneration (e.g.sustainableforestry);

(2)Thegenerationofeconomicby-products (whichwecallwaste)shouldnotexceedthe assimilativecapacityoftheenvironment;and (3)Thedepletionofnon-renewableresources shouldrequirecomparabledevelopmentof renewablesubstitutesforthatresource.

Thisthinkinghasgivenrisetotheconceptofthecircular economy(Stahel 2016)inwhichalifecycleapproachis takentotheexploitationofnaturalresources.Thekey componentsofthisapproacharetoreducetherateof naturalresourcesexploitationthrough:

● extendingservicelife,i.e.improveddurabilityof engineeredproductsandstructuresandreduced builtinobsolescence;

● re-using,repairing,retroﬁttingratherthanreplacingthem;and

● recyclingtheproductoritscomponents.

Toexplorethepotentialofthecirculareconomyconceptitisnecessaryonceagaintoconsiderthe dynamics(behaviourovertime)ofthewholesystem, whichIhavedepictedin Figure6.Thedriverofthis systemiseconomicdemandwhichgivesrisetothe exploitationofmineral(non-renewable)resources, renewable(biological)resourcesandenergyresources.

5.1.Mineralresources

Asmineralresourcesareessentiallynon-renewable(in the temporalscaleofinteresttohumanity)their exploitationnecessarilyreducestheavailableremainingstocks.Andofcourse,therearelossesinvolvedin theexploitationoftheseresources.Asstocksdecline, theeconomicandenvironmentalcostofexploitation inevitablyincreases(Prioretal. 2012).Materials,productsandmachinesmadefromsuchresourceswill degradeovertime.Themodernthrowawayculture meansthatresourcesareunlikelytoberetainedfor Figure5. Flowsofmaterialsandenergyintheeconomy.

eventheireﬀectivedesignlife.Bothfactorsmeanmore resourcesneedtobeexploitedjustbecauseofobsolescence,letalonenewdemand.

5.2.Renewableresources

Theecologicalfootprint(WackernagelandRees 1998) is aratiomeasureoftherateofnaturalresource exploitationtotherateofregenerationofthose resources(biocapacity).Ifthefootprintratioisgreater thanone,thenresourcesarebeingexploitedfaster thantheyareregenerating.Further,asstocksof renewableresourcesdecline,therateofregeneration also(generally)decreases(Arrowetal. 1995). Accordingly,weneedtobeconcernedwithboththe rateofexploitationandthelevelofstocks(e.g.tropical forestcoverage, ﬁshstocks).Currentlytheecological footprintis1.7(GlobalFootprintNetwork 2019),i.e. weareusingtheseresourcesat1.7timestheratethat theyarebeingreplenishedbynature.Ecologicalsystemsunderpinalllifeonearth.

5.3.Energy

heexploitationofrawresourcesofallkindsrequires the inputofenergy,asdoestheirtransformationinto machines,productsandstructures,andtheoperation ofthosemachines,productsandstructures.Measures thatseektoreducethematerialthroughputofthe economysuchasreuseandrecyclingalsorequire energytobeexpended.Thetraditionaluseoffossil fuelsfortheproductionofthisenergyisresponsible forglobalwarming(Bruckneretal. 2014).Asfossil fuelsarealsoanon-renewableresource(againatthe temporalscalerelevanttohumanity),theirexploitationinevitablyreducesremainingstocks.Asstocks decline,theirongoingexploitationinvolveshigher economicandenvironmentalcostsirrespectiveof

greenhousegasemissions.Theonlylong-termsolutionisatransitiontoapurelyrenewableenergypoweredeconomy.Whilethepureenergysourcesofwind andsolarareinexhaustible(atleastforthenext fewbillionyears)themachinesthatexploitthem, includingbatteries,requirematerialinputs,which areallcurrentlymineralresources(iron,cadmium, titanium,lithiumetc).Andofcourse,energyisalso required.

Itisimportanttounderstandthatthisis asinglesystemwithinterdependenciesandfeedbackthroughout.Policiesthatdealwithonespeci ﬁ csub-systemwithoutunderstandingthe implicationsfortherestofthesystemare ﬂ awed andwillfail.

Whileindividualengineersmayonlyplayadiscrete rolesomewhereinthesystem,engineeringas aprofessionneedstoaddresstheentiresystemto playanymeaningfulroleinatransitiontoglobal sustainability.Thissystempicturesetsoutthekey objectivesandchallengesforengineeringtoaddress insupportofthesustainabledevelopmentgoals.

Objectives

(1)tominimisetheenvironmentalimpactsof resourceexploitationintheeconomyinorder tostabilisekeyecologicalstocksatanacceptableleveltosupportlifeonearth(i.e.therateof exploitationisequalto,orlessthantherateof regeneration);

(2)tominimisetheeconomiccostsofresource exploitationwhicharea(necessary)overhead inseekingtoretainhighlevelsofhumanwellbeingforthosethathavethem,andobtain themforthosewhodonot;

(3)tominimisegreenhousegasemissionsthough increasinguseofrenewableenergywhilealso minimisingtheeconomiccostsofenergy.

Figure6. Causalloopdiagramoftheresource-energysubsystem.

Thechallenges

Achievingtheobjectivesrequiressimultaneous actiontomanagethosevariablesthataﬀectthem, withaminimisationoftrade-oﬀs:

(1)eﬃciencymeasuresofonekindortheother (includinghighlevelsofdurabilityandlonger lifecycleproducts);

(2)re-purposing,reusing,orrecyclingthecomponentsthemselvesorthematerialsembodiedin theproducts,machinesandstructures;

(3)substitutingmineralresourceswithrenewable resourceswherethisispossible(e.g.substitutinghydrocarbon-basedplasticswithnatural polymers);

(4)reducingtheenergyintensityofproductionin, andoperationoftheeconomy;and (5)transitioningtorenewableenergy.

Itisimportanttorememberthesecondlawofthermodynamicsinallofthis.Theadoptionofthese measuresreducestherateofexploitationofnonrenewableresourcesandtheassociatedenvironmental costsbutnottozero.Reducingtherateofnonrenewableresourceexploitationthroughrecycling requiresmoreenergyinput.Thesubstitutionofnonrenewableresourceswithrenewableresources increasestheecologicalfootprint.Theexploitationof renewableenergyrequiresmineralresourcestobuild themachines.Becauseofthistherecanbenocompletelycirculareconomy,unlessoruntiltheworld operatesonpurelyrenewableenergyandrenewable resources,andtheecologicalfootprintisreduced belowunity7.Althoughthatmaynotberealisedfor manydecadesorevencenturiestocome,ifever, recognisingthatultimateaimidentiﬁesthedirection inwhichwemusttravel.

5.4.Cradletocradle

Mostofthecurrentapproachestorecyclingareactual lydowncycling(Korhonen,Honkasalo,andSeppälä 2018),e.g.theconversionofplasticsorpaperto lowerqualityproducts,aprocessthatcanonly recurafewtimes.Thisprocessonlydelaystheeventuallossoftheresource.Theapproachchampioned byMcDonoughandBraungartin CradletoCradle: RemakingtheWayWeMakeThings (2002)relieson theconceptof ‘biological’ and ‘technicalnutrients’ Innature,biologicalnutrientsareretainedinanendlesscycleoftransformationinvolvingthecreation anddecompositionoflivingtissue.Manyofthe productsthatpresentlyusemineralresources,such assingleuseplasticsthataremainlyresponsiblefor theenvironmentalcrisisinouroceans(Andrady 2015),canbesubstitutedwithnaturalpolymers (fromplantandanimalderivedmaterials),biomass

based,compostable,syntheticbiopolymersandreusabledurablenon-plasticmaterials(Kershaw 2018).Suchmaterialswillberecycledbynature.It isnotsosimplewithproductsthatincorporatemultiplemineralorhydrocarbon-basedmaterials. Althoughitisphysicallypossibletoseparatethe elementsattheendoflife(e.g.inelectronicequipment),todosowouldusesignificantamountsof (presentlyfossilfuelled)energyandpotentially releasetoxicchemicalsintotheenvironment. McDonoughandBraungart’ssolutiontothisproblemisforproductstobemadeofso-called ‘technicalnutrients’ thatcanbere-usedinthesameway thatnaturere-uses ‘biologicalnutrients’.AsanexampleofthistheauthorscitePhilips’ Econovatelevision whichwasreleasedin2010,andwasdesignedfor ‘almostcompletedisassembly’ (Braungartand McDonough 2013).Thecradle-to-cradle(C2C)concepthasspawned TheCradletoCradleProducts InnovationInstitute8,thatadministersthe Cradleto CradleCertified™ ProductStandard.Atthetimeof writingover400productshavebeencerti fied.

5.5.Thefourthindustrialrevolution

Wearenowenteringtheso-calledfourthstageofthe industrial revolution(Bloemetal. 2014)thatcommencedinthe18th centurywithsteampoweredproduction(firstphase),wasfollowedintheearly20th centurybymassproduction(secondphase),andacceleratedbyelectronicsandautomationmorerecently (thirdphase).Thefourthphaseischaracterisedbythe integrationofinformationtechnology(IT)andoperationaltechnology(OT)intoso-called ‘Cyber-Physical Systems’.Accordingtoadvisory firmGartner(2019), OTis ‘hardwareandsoftwarethatdetectsorcauses achangethroughthedirectmonitoringand/orcontrol ofphysicaldevices,processesandeventsintheenterprise’.AccordingtoBloemetal,theconvergenceofIT andOT,coupledwiththeinternetofthings(IoT)9,has threemajorbenefits:

(1)Machine-to-Machinecommunication,sothat humanworkcanbereducedandimportantcontributionstoeﬃciencyandsecuritycanbemade.

(2)Maintenance,preferablyPredictive Maintenanceofmachinesandapplianceson thebasisofdirectstatusreportsandpossibly alsoremoterepairs.

(3)Engagementorclientinteractionviatheuseof productsbyconsumersorprofessionals.

Sohowcanthisrevolutionadvancetheobjectivesof thecirculareconomyandcradletocradle?Inareport preparedbytheWorldEconomicForumandadvisory ﬁrmAccenture,theopportunitiesaﬀordedbythe emergingtechnologiesforthreeindustrialsectors

(automotive,electronics,foodandbeverage)oﬀer aglimpseofthefuture(LeurentandAbbosh 2018):

● Shortlooprecycling,i.e.retainingrecyclingprocesseswithineachmanufacturingsectorforremanufacturing,formaterialssuchassteel,copperand plasticsbycombiningphysicalanddigitaltechnologies(e.g.digitaltrack-and-traceformonitoring andmanagingmaterialandcomponent ﬂows),supportedbyadvancedmaterialsortingandeﬃcient robotic,coboticorworker-assisteddisassembly systems;

● Roboticdisassemblyforremanufacturing: expandingtheuseofrobotsbeyondinitial manufacturing;

● Greenelectronicmaterials:theuseofsynthetic biologicalmaterialscomponents(e.g.sensors, computingdevicesandcomponentsofsolar panels);

● Precisionagriculture:integratingdataandanalyticsusingGPSsoilsensorsandweatherdatato improvedecisionsrelatedtofertiliser,irrigation, harvestingtimeetcetera.

Thesedigitalinnovationswillbesupportedbygreen chemistry;i.e.biologicalsolutionstoreplacechemicals usedinmanufacturingandagriculture.

Progressingtheinitiativessetoutabovewillclearly involvethefullrangeofengineeringskillsandcapabilities.Ihavenodoubtthatindividualengineerswill respondtothesignalsprovidedtothembytheir employerswhetherintheprivateorpublicsector,as theyhavethroughoutthepreviousphasesofthe industrialrevolution.Somewilltakeleadershiproles intheirorganisations,industriesorprofessional bodies.Whethertheprofessionofengineeringwill havemuchinﬂuenceonthisprocess,however, remainstobeseen.

6.Re-engineeringourprofession

Whatkindofanimalisanengineer?Andersonetal. (2010)carriedoutresearchtounderstandtheidentity ofengineersbyinterviewingpeopleinanumberofUS ﬁrms.Althoughthesamplewasrathersmall,the ﬁndingsresonatewithmyexperiencesintheworkplacein severalcountriesoverfourdecades.

“Inessence,engineersvaluethethrillofdiscovery –ﬁguringsomethingout,solvingachallengingproblem, ormakingsomethingwork.Inshort,wecametosee thattheseengineerswalkedaroundwithanunstated equationintheirheads:Problemsolver+teamplayer +life-longlearner=Engineer.

....mostoftheengineersinourstudydidnotsee themselvesasbeingengineersinordertocontributeto thegeneralpublicgood.Theiridentitywasmorelikely tobegroundedinsolvingproblemswell – for

themselves,fortheirteam,fortheirorganization,and fortheirclient.”

Inapreviouslifeasasustainabilitymanagerinalarge engineeringconsultancy,IwassurprisedattheresistanceIoftenencounteredfromexperiencedengineers toconsideringsustainabilityinourprojectwork.It wasnotsomuchthattheindividualsthemselveswere climatedeniersorresistanttoenvironmentalprotection,ratherthatitwasnotreallyourbusinessto incorporatethesenon-engineeringfactorsintoour workforclientsunlesstheyspeciﬁcallyaskedforit10. Asabroadgeneralisation,engineersseemtoseethemselvesasveryimportantcogsinthewheelofthe economybutnotresponsibleforturningthatwheel inanyparticulardirection.Manyengineershave strongviewsaboutcontemporarysocialandenvironmentalissuesbutseemtoparkthematthedoorwhen theygotowork.AndrewJamison,EmeritusProfessor ofTechnology,EnvironmentandSocietyatAalborgin Denmarktellsthestoryofengineersbeingexcitedto designandbuildwindfarmsbutdoinglittletomake Denmarksustainable(Jamison 2013).

“Whiletheyhavelearnedhowtosolveproblemswith technicalsolutions,theyhavenotlearnedmuchabout theproblemsthatneedtobesolved.Morespeciﬁcally, theyhavebeengiventoofewopportunitiesintheir educationtolearnaboutthesocialandculturalcontextsinwhichtheirscientiﬁcknowledgeandengineeringskillsareactuallyused.”

Ifthisisindeedareasonablyaccurateinterpretationof howengineersseethemselves,itisnotsurprisingthat weseelittleproactiveinvolvementoftheprofessionin drivingsocietytowardssustainability.Whileourprofessionalinstitutionsnearlyallhaveappropriatepoliciesandunderstandtheimportantroleofengineering fortheachievementofthesustainabledevelopment goals,thevoiceoftheprofessioninsocietyasawhole isweak.Unlikeourcolleaguesinscience,thereisno ‘UnionofConcernedEngineers’11.Thereisnostrong advocacyonsocialandpoliticalissuesasevidencedby lawyersthroughthelawsocieties,ordoctorsthrough thevariousnationalmedicalassociations.The SustainableEngineeringSocietywithinEngineers Australia(EA)comprisesmanyengineerswhoare dedicatedtoadvancingsustainabilityintheirwork andadvocatingforit,buthasonly630membersout of100,000overall(lessthan1%).AlthoughEAitself hasanumberofpolicypositions,thesetendtobe focussedmainlyoneconomicissuessuchasproductivity,skillsandinfrastructure.Theproblemiscultural andculturetakestimetochange.Thatiswhyour focusmustbeonthenextgenerationofengineers.

AndrewJamisonhasdedicatedhisacademiccareer toexpandingtheeducationofengineerstodevelop whathecallsa ‘hybridimagination’ (2013).

“Ahybridimaginationcanbedefinedasthecombinationofascientific-technicalproblemsolvingcompetencewithanunderstandingoftheproblemsthat needtobesolved.Itisamixingofscientificknowledge andtechnicalskillswithwhatmightbetermedcultural empathy,thatis,aninterestinreflectingontheculturalimplicationsofscienceandtechnologyingeneral andone’sowncontributionasascientistorengineer,in particular.”

Inmostengineeringfacultiesitisnotpossibletoget suchaneducation.However,therearesomeleading examples,suchastheTechnicalUniversityofDelft (TUD)whichhasadoptedastrategytopromote Jamison’ s ‘hybridimagination’ throughthreecomplementaryapproaches(Kamp 2006):

(1)Introducinganelementarycourse ‘Technology insustainabledevelopment’ whichismandatoryforallTUDstudents;

(2)Intertwiningtheconceptofsustainabledevelopmentintoallengineeringcourses;and

(3)Developmentofthepossibilitytograduatewith asustainabledevelopmentspecialisation,takingbetweenthreeand ﬁvesustainabilityrelated coursesinvolvingsome ‘400studyhoursplus athoroughsustainabilityanalysisofthesubject withinthestudent’sthesis’ .

Althoughthereareotheruniversitieswithsimilar programmes12,studentsofengineeringinmostuniversitieshavebeendirectedtomoreandmorespecialisttechnical ﬁeldsatatimewheninterdisciplinarityis mostneededtosolvesociety’sproblems.Ifengineers aretaughtthatsolvingthoseproblemsisalsotheir socialresponsibility,thetransitiontosustainability willbeaccelerated.As ﬁnalyearengineeringstudents respondedwhenaskedthequestion ‘What’sanengineer?’ byLeeShulman,aformerPresidentoftheU.S. NationalAcademyofEducation(Sheppard 2009):

‘Anengineerissomeonewhousesmathandthe sciencestomesswiththeworld – bydesigningand makingthingsthatpeoplewillbuyanduse;andonce youmesswiththeworld,youareresponsibleforthe messyou ’vemade’

Notes

1. ‘Sustainable growth’ isanoxymoron,aspointedout bytheWorldBankeconomistHermanDalythirty yearsago(Daly 1990). ‘Sincethehumaneconomyis asubsystemofa ﬁniteglobalecosystemwhichdoesnot grow,eventhoughitdoesdevelop,itisclearthat growthoftheeconomycannotbesustainableover longperiodsoftime ’

2. Theterm ‘sustainable development’ wasprobably ﬁrst usedasthesub-titleforthe ‘WorldConservation Strategy:LivingResourceConservationfor SustainableDevelopment’ (InternationalUnionfor

ConservationofNature,andWorldWildlifeFund, 1980).

3. Infact,thereportitselfdoesnotusethesewordsin adeﬁnitionalsensebutaspartofanopeningclause undertheheadingofSustainableDevelopment.The fullsentencereads: ‘Humanityhastheabilitytomake developmentsustainabletoensurethatitmeetsthe needsofthepresentwithoutcompromisingtheability offuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds ’

4. Ofcourse,therearestillproblemswiththestatement as drafted.Doweonlywantto ‘promotewellbeingfor all’?Surely,wewantto ‘achievewellbeingforall’

5. Anexplanationofcausalloopdiagramsisavailableat (Kirkwood 1998) Chapter1.

6. Sourcedfrom(GroningenGrowthandDevelopment Centre 2010).

7. Asitdidinpre-industrialtimes.

8. (Cradletocradleproductsinnovationinstitute 2019).

9. i.e.,theinterconnectionviatheInternetofcomputing devices embeddedineverydayobjects,enablingthem tosendandreceivedata.

10. Theironywasthatinmanycasestheclientorganisation wasveryinterestedinsustainabilityatthesenior levelbutthesemessageshadnottrickleddowntothe peoplethatmycolleagueswereservicing.

11. InfactsomeengineersaremembersoftheUnionof Concerned Scientists.

12. TheTimesHigherEducationUniversityRankings now includeanevaluationofhowuniversitiesaround theworldarecommittingtotheSDGs.Thisranking however,relatestotheUniversityasawholerather thanreﬂectengineeringeducation.

Disclosurestatement

Nopotentialconﬂictofinterestwasreportedbytheauthor.

Notesoncontributor

WilliamGrace isaFellowofEngineersAustralia,anindependent sustainabilityadviser,researcherandconsultant, andanAdjunctProfessorattheUniversityofWestern Australia’sAustralianUrbanDesignResearchCentre.

Billworksattheinterfaceofeconomicsandsustainability,providingstrategicadvicetostateandlocalgovernment agenciesonthesustainabilityaspectsofurbanandcity development,includingintegratedurbanwatercyclemanagement,sustainableenergy,materialsandwastemanagementandgreenbuildingdesign.

BillwaspreviouslyDeputyChairmanoftheWestern AustralianSustainabilityRoundtable,whichwascharged withprovidingadvicetoPremierGalluponimplementation oftheStateSustainabilityStrategy.Hehasalsoservedonthe WesternAustralianPlanningCommittee’sStatutory PlanningCommittee.Hewasamemberoftheprevious federalgovernment’sExpertWorkingGroupfor SustainableRegionalPlanning,developingmethodologies forstrategicplanningofregionalgrowthcentres.

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