Sustainable Development Committee
The Sustainable Development Committee provides leadership and expertise to the CSCE with respect to sustainable development and in particular with respect to sustainable engineering practice.
Committee Chair:
Catherine Mulligan
mulligan@civil.concordia.ca
“Entrusted to Our Care”
CSCE Guidelines for Sustainable Development
Alan Perks, Brian Burrell, Bob Korol, Ata Khan, Jean Heroux, and Laurie Ford
Members of the CSCE Task Force on the updating of the CSCE Guidelines on Sustainable Development
The profession of civil engineering has contributed much to human development and quality of life through the provision of basic water supply, pollution control, transportation, industrial/commercial, and urban infrastructure. Each of these civil engineering activities contributes to human comfort, convenience, accessibility, health and longevity of life. But now that same infrastructure, and the economies and standard of living that it supports, is contributing to environmental degradation due to its sheer size and the scale of its effects. There are ubiquitous signs that the human population is now impacting the global environment, and threatening our life-support systems. Civil engineers are faced with an increasingly complex and interrelated world; a world that is growing rapidly in population, and becoming more urbanized and economically developed. The civil engineer's role in guiding the development process towards sustainability is now more important than ever.
Civil engineering can offer needed solutions to global society and the environment in an increasingly populated and technology-dependant world. There is no going back! Civil engineers must participate fully in the development process, becoming more aware of social, health, environmental and economic issues, and advocating for sustainable development in the true sense of the word. Civil engineers are in a position to make a tremendous difference – one that has to be made in order to continue to have the quality of life that we have come to expect. This is truly the challenge of our generation.
The CSCE Guidelines for Civil Engineering Practice – “Entrusted to Our Care” is the Society’s effort to promulgate these concepts to members of the civil engineering profession, other professions, all levels of government and the public. These guidelines communicate the priority areas, summarized as follows:
1. Natural Environment: The imperative of protection and enhancement of the environment, minimization of the environmental impacts of civil works, reduction of waste and efficient energy use.
2. Financial and Economic Sustainability: The financial and economic sustainability in the provision of infrastructure, including the full life cycle costs of civil infrastructure.
3. Green Construction: Construction that achieves the lowest possible consumption of raw materials and energy, and generation of waste, both during and after construction and use.
4. Human Resources: The need for continuing education and professional development of human resources as integral to sustainable development.
5. Social, Regulatory, and Health Concerns: The importance of basic human services and poverty reduction through transparency and accountability in civil engineering projects.
6. Ethics: The public welfare, and inherently, the protection of the environment, as the prime responsibility of the civil engineer in the planning, design, construction and operation of public infrastructure.
7. Participation. The interdisciplinary nature of the issues, and therefore the need for participation by other professionals, public agencies, civil societies, and the general public in project development.
8. Implementation. The importance of operations and maintenance in civil infrastructure projects.
Civil engineering will become an increasingly vital profession – a profession that impacts health and security, basic human services (water, wastewater, energy, transportation), and environmental protection and enhancement for the burgeoning global population that will increase markedly in numbers and demands... Therefore, civil engineers need to strive to incorporate sustainability in all aspects of their work if humankind is to adapt and survive into the next millennium.
The role and benefits of sustainable civil engineering activities must be communicated effectively to civil engineering practitioners, the public, other stakeholders, regulatory agencies, infrastructure owners and developers, and politicians so that the serious, urgent and growing problems faced by the world’s burgeoning population can be effectively addressed.
TO VIEW COMPLETE CSCE GUIDELINES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, CLICK HERE
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S.D. Committee Areas of Interest:
- Water Conservation
- Energy Conservation
- Sustainable Transportation (e.g., Mass Transit Systems)
- Green Planning and Urban Development
- Urban Sustainability
- Brownfield Remediation
- Naturalized Stormwater Management (e.g., Porous Pavements, Constructed Wetlands)
- International Sustainable Development
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
- Disaster Mitigation Planning
- Resource Conservation
- Resource Efficiency
- Integrated Waste Management
- Infrastructure Management
- Historical Building Conversion and Renovation\
- Green Building Design (e.g., Roof Gardens)
Tools and Approaches to Sustainable Development:
- Environmental Life Cycle Analyses
- Material Flow Analyses
- Full-cost Accounting
- Economic Life Cycle Analysis
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Environmental Planning and Monitoring