ENG93000: Engineering Management and Sustainable Practices Report

This report investigates the integration of sustainability ideologies in construction projects, emphasizing the crucial role of engineering managers in achieving effective sustainable engineering management practices. It explores the impact of construction on society and the environment, highlighting the need for sustainable design to minimize resource use and energy consumption. The report references several studies, including Ramos et al. and Khalili et al., which emphasize the importance of sustainable development planning in higher education and the role of cleaner production in minimizing environmental impacts. It discusses the significance of LEED certification and the principles of green engineering in promoting sustainable construction. The report also examines the influence of population growth and globalization on sustainability, underscoring the need for innovative design and management approaches to address environmental challenges and ensure the needs of future generations are met.

Engineering Management for Sustainable Future 1
Engineering Management for Sustainable Future
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Introduction
Construction governments, as well as clients have begun to appreciate and recognise the
effects associated with construction, design in addition to occupation of buildings have to the
society as well as the environment. Accordingly, the construction sector as well as
governments have a significant role to play towards driving and ensuring the sustainable
development objective. As a result, sustainability design engineers are working round the
clock with the target to design houses which minimise the use of natural resources. Certainly,
there is need to design building in a manner that decline the consumption of energy and water
as well as refraining from production of excessive usage of petroleum energy. Consequently,
there is need to design energy effective systems which allow for a greener environment.
Indeed, research has shown that good sustainable design stand a better chance to develop
buildings at a low operation costs which is a characteristic that will be greatly to not only
society but also businesses. In this sense, the intent of this paper is to explore the integration
of sustainability ideologies in the construction projects.
Ramos, T.B., Caeiro, S., Van Hoof, B., Lozano, R., Huisingh, D. and Ceulemans, K., 2015.
Experiences from the implementation of sustainable development in higher education
institutions: Environmental management for sustainable universities. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 106, pp.3-10.
Ramos et al. states that sustainable development planning is a vital component that should be
used to allow higher learning institutions to set their goals by taking concrete measures to
implement sustainability. Research has shown that global warming as well as climate change
are posing unequalled threats to all living things. Therefore, the rapid development of the
emerging nations is going to accelerate global warming leading to resource problem
exacerbation. Undeniably, this problem is significant in the long run because a majority of the

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policy makers acknowledge that for most of the developing nations the problem could result
in additional precarious sustainable development challenges which will impact on the welfare
of humans more immediately. According to reports by the Environmental Agency it is stated
that “it is high time there are changes in the building, production energy in additional to
technology make to ensure that it is more efficient since these processes always go hand in
hand with variation in the behaviour as well as the required lifestyle to be able to thrive
instead of surviving climate change” (Becerik-Gerber, Gerber, and Ku, 2011, p. 412). As a
result, it goes without saying that any method that help to fight against climate change is
worthy and should therefore be considered as part and parcel of the progressive sustainable
objective. On the same note, the support for sustainable activities can only be realised
through attaining the right balance between sustainable standards which include
environmental, economic and social implementation of the construction projects.
Subsequently, there is the necessity to advocate for sustainable construction which is relevant
to what is constructed today will help to protect the environment of the upcoming generation.
Thus, in doing so, this will impact the capacity of the forthcoming generation to be able to
realise their needs.
In accordance to Ramos et al. the primary purpose of the Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) was initiated with the target to realise an equilibrium between human
and economic good fortune as well as the cultural traditions in addition to respect for the
planet’s natural resources using educational activities. In general the primary objective of
ESD was to include ecological, economic and environmental elements throughout the long-
term learning process. The focus and gaol of Higher Education for Sustainable Development
was to go past the generation acquiring knowledge so as to be reflect on the extra effects in
addition to decisions and behaviours in a future-driven and international perspective
accountability through inclusion of environmental, economic and ecological features into the

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entire process. Accordingly, the introduction of the ESD at university level intent to
implement programs that will allow students to not only develop competency and skills but
also foster attitudes as well as values that they will be required to muddle through with
upcoming sustainable matters as a requirement to realise their responsibility to come up with
sustainable societies. Therefore, through the process of education re-orientation the practice
intent to support the realisation of sustainable development competences through students
learning progression opportunity into an interdisciplinary, self-controlled, problem-based and
trans-disciplinary course. Thus, the benefit related to sustainable development is that it aid on
the development of students who are competencies related to alliance which is realised
through, improved communication capacities, decision-making built of problem solving
critical thinking, conflict management, teamwork and planning.
Through consideration of the education for sustainable development transformation concept,
it shows that there is need to redirect the association and resource amongst shareholders
engaged in higher education institutions so as to reshape the learning and teaching course
according to the principles of sustainability. Therefore, in regard to the latest perception
universities are inspired to encourage dialogue as well as communication about sustainable
subject matters as a way to reorient to the novel strategic theories. Indeed, these strategic
theories are vital to higher learning institutions because the transforming teaching and
environment standpoint. As a result, the teaching perspective are required to be flexible in
readiness to experience upcoming variations.
Khalili, N.R., Duecker, S., Ashton, W. and Chavez, F., 2015. From cleaner production to
sustainable development: the role of academia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, pp.30-43.
Khalili et al. states that cleaner production is a preventive way of regulating the ecological
effects of business procedures and products. Accordingly, cleaner production make use of

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modification in technology resources and processes to minimise waste, health and
environmental risks, as well as environmental damage. Therefore, higher learning institutions
should make use of their mission to research train as well as give service to the society by
strengthening cleaner production in a sustainable development way. Indeed, universities are
supposed to make deeper lifelong goals of a production which will not use a lot of energy and
bio-resources as compared to what nature give freely. Accordingly, in so doing it will said to
restrict pollution in a manner that the surrounding as well as human health will not be harmed
thus the quality of life will progressively improve (Ramos et al., 2015, p. 4). Certainly, this
can be achieved through improving social, economic as well as environmental performance.
Cleaner production has to be advocated at all levels that is in the service industry and
production sectors. Thus, the role of higher learning institutions on cleaner production is
significant towards building nations as well as economies under transition. Surely,
universities should not only produce knowledge by targeting research, instead they should
understand that they are the heart to enhancing environmental awareness as well as literacy
amongst leaners, staff and the society at large.
Research by Ramos et al; and Khalili et al. reveal that higher learning institutions have been
frontline actors in terms of innovation and transformation of the society. Therefore, the call as
well as quest for sustainable development has landed on a fertile ground in the journals,
campuses as well as curricula across the globe. Indeed, researcher in addition to higher
learning institutions have a significant role to play in advancing a sustainable tomorrow
because they are proactively involved in teaching a majority of the professionals that manage,
lead, and teach the society. In addition, universities stand a better chance to becoming
sustainability inventors through research practices and acting as mentor to the community.
There are numerous initiatives which have sprung up in a greatly diverse context which range
from mission and vision statements, sustainability inclusion, to greenhouse gas saving

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programs. Also, multinational proclamation has been produced in making attempts to direct
higher learning institutions to integrate sustainability in the curricula.
Perez-Foguet, A., Lazzarini, B., Giné, R., Velo, E., Boni, A., Sierra, M., Zolezzi, G. and
Trimingham, R., 2018. Promoting sustainable human development in engineering:
Assessment of online courses within continuing professional development strategies. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 172, pp.4286-4302.
According to Perez-Foguet et al. postulate that it is significance to support sustainable
development in metropolitans because they are a major threat to the international ecosystem
as well as settlement among the developing nations which are in need of energy, raw
materials and economic development to counter the primary social and economic challenges.
As a result of trailing sustainable construction activities, a lot of studies have been undertaken
by many scholars. For instance, Perez-Foguet et al. postulate that there should be a
framework in place to realise sustainable construction such that the main elements of the
structure should be included in the project setting evaluation as well as environmental policy.
Accordingly, there are many construction companies which have started to embrace
sustainability in their construction business value since recent studies show that many
property tenants are currently willing to pay more base rents for greener building. Therefore,
building tenants are greatly demanding for that contractors, business consultants as well as
suppliers move towards adopting sustainable regulations in their process of construction.
According to World Environment Agency statistics it indicate that building account for more
than 40 per cent of the total global yearly energy consumption (Kibert, 2016). Thus, a lot of
the globe’s energy that is currently produced is utilised in ways which are not sustainable.
The good news is that one way to decline construction energy consumption is through the
design of structure that are much more economical in their energy consumption. As a result,

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the United States has advanced a Green Building Council (USGBC) by developing a green
building assessment system referred to as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED). Accordingly, LEED is used for assessing the ecological performance of buildings
with the target to support sustainability in the construction industry. At the same time
construction companies are making stride by making sure that they get LEED certification as
a show that they have addressed the environmental effect of all building they construct.
Certainly, this is a clear indication that there is effective execution of the principles of project
management which aid in the course of securing the environment to attain sustainability.
Cushman-Roisin, B. (2018). 1.4 Principles of Sustainable Engineering | EME 807: [online]
E-education.psu.edu. Available at: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme807/node/688
[Accessed 19 Nov. 2018].
Cushman-Roisin states that sustainable engineering is supposed to be built on standards
which enhance sustainable development since engineering act as an interface between design,
implementation and production. Consequently, sustainable engineering make attempts to
resolve the challenge of unsustainable environment by considering the entire system in the
life-cycle. As a result of the increase in the concern regarding global warming, scarcity of
resources, environmental degradation, upsurge in population as well as globalisation it is
clear that all these aspects are posing a major threat to the planet (Zimmerman, 2006).
Therefore, it is the responsibility of engineering design to be more involved in the effective
design to advance the objective of sustainability. Certainly, this will call for a novel design
structure which will incorporate sustainability components through an explicit performance
gauge. According to Vanegas, (2013) sustainability is the ability to realise the needs of the
present generation by ensuring that it does not interfere with the needs of the coming
generation.

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Therefore, the 12 principles of Green Engineering have been put forth so as to allow a design
protocol responsible for moving the engineering design towards a sustainable future. For
quite a long period of time, the effect of population growth has been seen as a grand
challenge to the progression of the goals of sustainability. Nevertheless, traditionally higher
quality of life and the rise in population have been intricately been associated with the
degradation of the environment as well as the depletion of resources. Nonetheless, studies
shows that the rising human populace is the reason for the upsurge strain on natural resources
utilised for consumption in addition to waste integration (Cushman-Roisin, 2018). While
there is no a suitable index to measure the state of the environment, the relation between the
environment and the population scan be evaluated through aspects like pollution especially
originating from the demand of energy, water quantity, the quality of the environment,
climate change, use of land and biodiversity. Past research indicate that each of these aspects
has been found to support the idea that the increase in population has generally influenced the
environment in a detrimental way. Therefore, the standing challenge is how this lead to
continuous progress and improvement of life quality both to the developed as well as
emerging world minus posing harmful effects to the environment and over utilisation of
resources. Indeed, the objective of green engineering as well as green chemistry is to utilise
science and technology in ensuring quality of life. Certainly, realisation of this objective will
result in dissociation of the traditional connection between populace growth, degradation of
the environment and enhanced quality of life.
Consequently, the 12 Principles of Green Engineering provide a basis for designing novel
product processes, materials, as well as systems which will initiate a new leaf to the health of
humans and the environment. The design that is built on the 12 principles goes past the
engineering foundation of safety and quality specifications related to sustainability
components which have been regarded as the vital elements from the early stages of design

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process, material, building, product and system. Indeed, the 12 principles have been advanced
purposely to operate as international design principles for sustainability for the future
generation.
Kelly, W. (2018). [online] Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Available at:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/970027_Kelly_Engineering
%20Education%20for%20Sustainable%20Development.pdf [Accessed 19 Nov. 2018].
According to Kelly (2018) the World Federation of Engineering Organisation (EFEO)
committee regarding education in engineering is focussed on sustainability. While sustainable
development and sustainability have been in existence for decades there is more need to
emphasis on the same. Accordingly, sustainable development can be realised by encouraging
the WFEO to describe the modifications in engineering education to support sustainable
development. According to the Brundtland report that is “Our Common Future” which was
initiated in 1987 by the Word Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) has
positioned the future sustainable development on the world’s map political plan so as to
relight the public interest towards the environment (Zimmerman, 2006). The primary goal of
the WCED has been to circulate information regarding the international environmental
management.
On the other hand sustainability is a large discipline that provide graduates and students
insights into most elements of the human world from business to social sciences, to
technology and the environment (Gilbertson et al., 2015, p. 5758). Certainly, the main skills
that higher learning institution should impart to students in the contemporary world are skills
that will sallow graduates as they move to the society to considerably minimise carbon
emissions by discovering and developing technologies that support a greener world for the
coming generation (Wong, and Zhou, 2015, p. 156). Sustainability skills as well as

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environmental awareness in the preference in a majority of the companies for graduates.
Thus, with sustainable graduates they will help to ensure that the environment is protected
against further destruction for the betterment of the coming generation.
In accordance to the above literature it suggests that engineering managers are required to
advocate for the design of sustainable processes, materials, and systems. In conclusion, in the
context of architecture engineering in order to realise effective sustainable engineering
management practices engineers in this filed should integrate sustainability ideologies in the
construction projects.

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Bibliography
Becerik-Gerber, B., Gerber, D.J. and Ku, K., 2011. The pace of technological innovation in
architecture, engineering, and construction education: integrating recent trends into the
curricula. Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon), 16(24), pp.411-432.
Cushman-Roisin, B., 2018. 1.4 Principles of Sustainable Engineering | EME 807: [online] E-
education.psu.edu. Available at: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme807/node/688
[Accessed 19 Nov. 2018].
Gilbertson, L.M., Zimmerman, J.B., Plata, D.L., Hutchison, J.E. and Anastas, P.T., 2015.
Designing nanomaterials to maximize performance and minimize undesirable implications
guided by the Principles of Green Chemistry. Chemical Society Reviews, 44(16), pp.5758-
5777.
Kelly, W., 2018. [online] Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Available at:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/970027_Kelly_Engineering
%20Education%20for%20Sustainable%20Development.pdf [Accessed 19 Nov. 2018].
Khalili, N.R., Duecker, S., Ashton, W. and Chavez, F., 2015. From cleaner production to
sustainable development: the role of academia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, pp.30-43.
Kibert, C.J., 2016. Sustainable construction: green building design and delivery. John Wiley
& Sons.
Perez-Foguet, A., Lazzarini, B., Giné, R., Velo, E., Boni, A., Sierra, M., Zolezzi, G. and
Trimingham, R., 2018. Promoting sustainable human development in engineering:
Assessment of online courses within continuing professional development strategies. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 172, pp.4286-4302.

Engineering Management for Sustainable Future 12
Ramos, T.B., Caeiro, S., Van Hoof, B., Lozano, R., Huisingh, D. and Ceulemans, K., 2015.
Experiences from the implementation of sustainable development in higher education
institutions: Environmental management for sustainable universities. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 106, pp.3-10.
Vanegas, J.A., 2013. Road map and principles for built environment
sustainability. Environmental science & technology, 37(23), pp.5363-5372.
Wong, J.K.W. and Zhou, J., 2015. Enhancing environmental sustainability over building life
cycles through green BIM: A review. Automation in Construction, 57, pp.156-165.
Zimmerman, J.B., 2006, February. Sustainable Development through the Principles of Green
Engineering. In Frontiers of Engineering, Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the
2005 Symposium.