Engineering Design for Sustainability - Essay Example

Engineering Design for Sustainability The present of Ethics for Professional Engineers contains a provision in Article where it is d that they shall “adhere to the principles of sustainable development in order to protect the environment for future generations." The Code defines sustainable development as “the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resources, industrial products, energy, food, transportation, shelter, and effective waste management while conserving and protecting environmental quality and the natural resource base essential for future development.” Since sustainability has essentially been made an ethical concern for engineers, it is important to understand the history of the Code of Ethics. Brief History of the Code of Ethics for Professional Engineers The Canons was prepared by a joint committee through the sponsorship of the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development, a coordinating body of technical engineering societies. It was published in January 1947, with a revision published in November of the same year, in the American Engineer. In 1948, the Board adopted a motion to encourage state societies to adopt the Canons as amended. In 1952 and 1957, the Board adopted Rules of Ethical Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct, respectively, to support the Canons. Then in June 1964, the Board adopted the National Society for Professional Engineers’ (NSPE’s) Code of Ethics to replace the Canons of Ethics for Engineers and Rules of Professional Conduct. The succeeding years saw several adjustments in the Code intended to attune its provisions to the developing environment. The more recent and pertinent additions to the Code were introduced in January 2003 and January 2006. The 2003 incorporation was a new section that reads: "Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and should keep current in their specialty fields by engaging in professional practice, participating in continuing education courses, reading in the technical literature and attending professional meetings and seminars." The new section was important in that it made it the duty of every professional engineer to keep his training and knowledge current with new developments. The 2006 addition to the Code is section (III.2.d.) which reads: "Engineers shall strive to adhere to the principles of sustainable development1 in order to protect the environment for future generation." While earlier amendments dealt with the formal relationships among engineers, their clients, colleagues, society and their profession, the 2006 amendment is the first vital reference to engineers’ relationship to their socio-ecological milieu. But while the NSPE formally incorporated this into the Code in 2006, as early as 1990, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) adopted the following in their Code of Ethics: “…to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment…” A few years later, the ASCE (American Society for Civil Engineers) in 1996, and the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) in 1998, gave cognizance to this ecological consideration in their respective Codes. (Herkert 2004) The rationale behind the focus on the Engineer and engineering design is apparent, for the unique role engineers play in the moulding of our future way of life. “Engineers have a leading role in planning, designing, building and ensuring a sustainable future. Engineers provide the bridge between science and society.” (Guidelines to Practice Under the Fundamental Canons of Ethics) It would be worthwhile to enumerate at this point the Fundamental Canons of the Code of Ethics of Professional Engineers. It is this declaration that the conduct of a professional engineer should be aligned with, and on its pronouncements would his conduct be based. Fundamental Canons of the Code of Ethics 1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties. 2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence. 3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner. 4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest. 5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others. 6. Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession and shall act with zero-tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption. 7. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision. Reading through canon statements gives one the impression that they appear to be ranked in the order of their priority, with Canon One providing the highest-priority consideration. It enumerates the safety, health and welfare of the public, and compliance with the principles of sustainable development, as the first and highest concern of the engineer. The Importance of Engineering Design in fostering Sustainability According to the Living Planet Report (World Wildlife Fund 2006), it has been determined that all developed nations have an ecological footprint (the area of land needed to support a community and its waste) which is significantly larger than the nation’s geographical area. In short, developed nations consume more than they are producing. In order to maintain this level of consumption, the extra resources are gained by these nations in three ways: (1) embedded in the goods and services of world trade; (2) taken from the past (e.g. fossil fuels); or taken from the future as unsustainable resource usage. It is a given that natural resources are in limited supply in this earth. Water, energy, flora and fauna, the biosphere in general, none of these are infinite. Some may regenerate or replenish at a rate dictated by nature. However, if humans use these resources at a rate faster than the speed at which they are replenished by nature, then the supply is depleted until it, conceivably, ceases to exist. The process is unsustainable. The use of the phrase “sustainable energy” is in contrast to fossil fuels, or energy-yielding substances that are of a finite supply. Fossil fuels are, after all, the remnants of carbon-based organisms which had died millions of years ago, and which were transformed into what we now know as crude oil through an exceedingly long chemical process. Were this limited supply of fuel to be consumed, inasmuch as there are no prospects for replenishment of the same, then the man-made processes that consumed them will necessarily grind to a halt. Engineering design for sustainability thus involves the creation of devices and processes with an eye towards making them more efficient, yielding a greater amount of useful product for the same amount of raw materials. It is a shift in machine design such that they rely on sources of energy that are replenished or in relative abundance, such as water and air, rather than those which are in limited quantity, such as fossil fuels. In short, “the sustainable development goal is to raise the global standard of living without increasing the use of resources beyond globally sustainable levels; that is, to not exceed "one planet" consumption.” (Living Planet Report 2006) In its Guidelines to Practice Under the Fundamental Canons of Ethics, the ASCE has delineated specifically its objectives. It mentions that “Sustainable development requires strengthening and broadening the education of engineers and finding innovative ways to achieve needed development while conserving and preserving natural resources.” This two-pronged approach – education and innovation – to attain the twin aims of development with conservation, is detailed in the following implementation strategies: • Promote broad understanding of political, economic, social and technical issues and processes as related to sustainable development. • Advance the skills, knowledge and information to facilitate a sustainable future; including habitats, natural systems, system flows, and the effects of all phases of the life cycle of projects on the ecosystem. • Advocate economic approaches that recognize natural resources and our environment as capital assets. • Promote multidisciplinary, whole system, integrated and multi-objective goals in all phases of project planning, design, construction, operations, and decommissioning. • Consider reduction of vulnerability to natural, accidental, and willful hazards to be part of sustainable development. • Promote performance based standards and guidelines as bases for voluntary actions and for regulations, in sustainable development for new and existing infrastructure. (Guidelines to Practice) The above strategies draw attention to the engineer’s accountability in constructing their designs to withstand or diminish the effects of accidents and calamities, not to attribute the shortcomings of their designs to the caprice of fate, force majeure or acts of God. The selection of these strategies as incorporated in the guidelines show that the formulators have devoted much thought to ensuring the success of their implementation. The Responsibility of Engineers under the Canon on Sustainable Development Taken in the context of the ecology and environment, sustainable engineering should aim towards the preservation of the ecosystem and its ability to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity well into the future (Regional Ecosystem Office). Inasmuch as Canon One bears the admonition to comply with the demands of sustainable development, the supporting provisions under the Canon should be more closely examined. They are reproduced here. CANON ONE. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties. 1. Engineers shall recognize that the lives, safety, health and welfare of the general public are dependent upon engineering judgments, decisions and practices incorporated into structures, machines, products, processes and devices. 2. Engineers shall approve or seal only those design documents, reviewed or prepared by them, which are determined to be safe for public health and welfare in conformity with accepted engineering standards. 3. Engineers whose professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where the safety, health and welfare of the public are endangered, or the principles of sustainable development ignored, shall inform their clients or employers of the possible consequences. 4. Engineers who have knowledge or reason to believe that another person or firm may be in violation of any of the provisions of Canon 1 shall present such information to the proper authority in writing and shall cooperate with the proper authority in furnishing such further information or assistance as may be required. 5. Engineers should seek opportunities to be of constructive service in civic affairs and work for the advancement of the safety, health and well-being of their communities, and the protection of the environment through the practice of sustainable development. 6. Engineers should be committed to improving the environment by adherence to the principles of sustainable development so as to enhance the quality of life of the general public. Each of the explanatory provisions mentioned above is a concrete guideline not only on what an engineer may or may not do, but also on what he may not omit. Consider paragraph 4. In it, the engineer is charged with the duty to report any person or firm who are in violation of the provisions of Canon One. This contains important implications. Firstly, it is thus not only engineers, but “any person or firm,” who is held to be committed to the tenets of Canon One. Secondly, a professional engineer who “may have knowledge or reason” – meaning, even if he has but well-founded suspicions – is duty-bound to bring the matter to the authorities. Finally, he not only has the obligation to report the matter, but also to assist the authorities in any way possible towards the successful resolution of the case. This places a heavy burden of responsibility on the shoulders of the engineer, to ensure that the goal of Canon One – the safety, health and welfare of the public, and the attainment of sustainable development – is attained. The importance of the role of engineers in sustainable development cannot be discounted. “Engineers have a leading role in planning, designing, building and ensuring a sustainable future. Engineers provide the bridge between science and society. In this role, engineers must actively promote and participate in multidisciplinary teams with other professionals, such as ecologists, economists, and sociologists, to effectively address the issues and challenges of sustainable development.” (Guidelines to Practice Under the Fundamental Canons of Ethics) Thus in Canons One and Three require engineers to adhere to the principles of sustainable development, to disclose instances which they have knowledge or reason to believe that such principles are not being complied with, and to be active in civic affairs and in educating the public on matters relating to sustainable development. While the Canon on sustainable development had been in existence formally since 2006, it had, as shown in the foregoing brief history of the Code of Ethics, been in contemplation for decades. It is a matter of concern, therefore, that in a recent survey it was determined that only 12% of engineers claim to be familiar with the issue of sustainability, although 54% say the issue is enforced in their company. Reconcile this with the fact that 81% claim to have knowledge of the sustainability issue and almost 100% are involved in sustainability issues at their workplaces, which range from high-level strategy (12%) and objective setting (20%) to implementation (36%) and product development (22%). “Despite these facts, 48% claim that sustainability is not relevant to their products or business and 28% are waiting to see if it gains traction with customers or competitors.” (Greenfield, 2008). Discounting the remote possibility that the respondents are not honest nor knowledgeable in their responses, this point to the dismal picture that the present-day professional engineers are lacking in their commitment to the cause of sustainability. In the exercise of these obligations, one of the most important controversies addressed by an engineer is the conflict of interests that occasionally arise between the engineer’s social responsibility as required by the Canons, and his professional duty to meet his employer’s demands. It should not be denied that the engineer has a need to comply with his employer’s expectations, which is to maximize profits and minimize costs. After all, “[a]t its core, sustainability is really about viable business operation. As the word suggests, it is about sustaining the business as much as it is about sustaining the resources you need to operate the business. That’s why it is such a critical matter for engineers.” (Greenfield 2008) If the business fails, so does the enterprise that sustains the engineer and the reason for his labors. There of course is no hard and fast rule for addressing such a problem should one come up, and the engineer would have to use his judgment to arrive at a decision. Where the apparent conflict is reconcilable, it is his duty to find a way by which his employer’s needs may be met without violating his responsibility to comply with his obligations to the profession. This would require a bit of ingenuity, and much research and study, but for most instances this should be attainable. After all, the interests of a business should not be so diametrically opposed to the public interest, because all legitimate businesses thrive only in the context of the public good. Consider the following explanation offered by the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Knowledge Hub in the article “The Relevance of Ethics and Sustainability to Marketing”: “Responsible marketing, in other words is also all about helping business avoid and eliminate waste as well as manage natural or man made resources. This is an important role for marketers and one that has not been fully recognised or appreciated in terms of potential to create innovative solutions.” However, in matters where no workable solution towards this end is possible, then the engineer would have to choose the public good over his employer’s benefit. The canon is specific in that the engineer, as agent of his employer or client, shall act with the latter’s best interest in mind. However, he is not required to act as such all the time, but only in professional matters. Where the conflict transgresses into a serious compromise of the public good, the latter takes precedence, having been enshrined in the earlier Canon One. The engineer, however, is required, by paragraphs one and three of Canon Four, to inform their employer and client of the controversial issue and to advise him of its consequences. If after advice, the conflict is not resolved and the employer or client insists on his, then Dodds and Venables of the Royal Academy of Engineering take the uncompromising position that “engineers must recognise and exercise their responsibility to society as a whole, which may sometimes conflict with their responsibility to the immediate client or customer.” (2005) Herkert (2004) is much more emphatic in his statement: “Engineers should have the right to organizational disobedience with regard to environmental issues, as this is required by their own personal beliefs or their own individual interpretations of what professional obligation requires. (p. 227)” Conclusion The world has indeed shrunk into a closely knit global community. What one nation undertakes directly impacts on all other nations, particularly on matters concerning the environment. The resources of the planet are finite, and the delicate balance of nature is needed to maintain our very existence. The engineer, because of his special knowledge of what is obscure to the general populace and his special place in making decisions that change lives, is also inescapably burdened with the task of acting as the environment’s steward. It is fitting to conclude this discussion on sustainability with the words of the World Commission on Environment and Development, written more than two decades ago: “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” - From Our Common Future (The Brundtland Report) – Report of the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development References Dodds R. and Venables R., ed. (2005), Engineering for Sustainable Development:Guiding Principles, The Royal Academy of Engineering. Greenfield, D (2008), “Engineers Weigh In On Sustainability: A recent survey of Control Engineering subscribers illustrates the contradictions that exist in process and manufacturing plant engineers’ perspectives of sustainability as an industrial initiative.” Control Engineering, Nov. 1, 2008. Guidelines to Practice Under the Fundamental Canons of Ethics Herkert, J. (2004), Engineering Research and Animal Subjects, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. Herkert, J.R. (1997) Sustainable Development and Engineering: Ethical and Public Policy Implications, International Symposium on Technology and Society at a Time of Sweeping Change Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning (2002), Volume 2 Issue 1, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. “Our Common Future (The Brundtland Report)” – Report of the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development “The relevance of ethics and sustainability to marketing,” The Chartered Institute of Marketing Knowledge Hub as seen in https://secure1.cim.co.uk/KnowledgeHub/MarketingKnowledge /Ethics%20and%20Sustainability/About%20This%20Canon/The%20relevance%20of%20ethics%20and%20sustainability%20to%20marketing.aspx World Wildlife Fund (2006), Living Planet Report 2006. Read More