Introduction to Sustainable

Engineering
S-1
Module -I

Sujith S T
Asst Professor
Mechanical Department
 Module-1

Text Book : An Introduction to Sustainable Engineering by Prof. Shibu Krishnan

 INTRODUCTION
The term sustainability is the capacity to endure
(continue to exist in the same state).

Sustainability can be thought of as the goal of

sustainable development

Sustainable development is a process for

meeting human development goals while
maintaining the ability of natural systems to
continue to provide the natural resources.
 Basic Spheres of Sustainability

Environment - Ecological sustainability

Economy - Fair distribution of wealth
Social - Community participation
 United Nations Key Concepts
Inter-generational equity - Inter-generational equity expects
the present generation to hand over a safe healthy and
resourceful environment to the future generation.

lntra-generational equity - Intra-generational equity

emphasizes that technological development should support
economic growth of the poorer section so as to reduce the
gap within nations as well as between nations.
 NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Over exploitation of resources
Accumulation of waste

Sustainability is more concerned over the reckless

exploitation of our natural resources which is leading to
environmental degradation.

Population explosion in the developing world

Unsustainable consumption levels in the developed world
 The sustainability goal is to raise the global standard of living
without increasing the use of resources beyond global
sustainable levels; that is, not to exceed One Planet
consumption.

lt is necessary for all of us to maintain an acceptable standard

of living, at the same time, maintaining sustainable use of
resources.
 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Meeting the needs of current and future generations
through integrating environmental protection, social
advancement and economic prosperity".

Thus sustainability refers to the quality of life which is to be

achieved in a manner that does not harm the quality of life of
future generations.
 For the world to be sustainable, the following four principles
are to be followed:
Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels
Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals and other
unnatural substances
Reduce encroachment upon nature
Meet human needs fairly & efficiently
 The figure shown below illustrates the three spheres of
sustainability (which makes a community sustainable)

Venn Diagram for Sustainability

 CONCEPT OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Social sustainability is a process for creating sustainable,
successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding
what people need from the places they live and work.

Three values that forms the core of social sustainability are:

Quality of life
Growth and
Equality
Hence socially sustainable communities are equitable,
diverse, democratic and provide good quality of life.
 But there is a universal disagreement between nations (not
only between nations, religions, culture, political parties etc.)
on what the quality of life goals should be.

Thus social sustainability is the least defined and least

understood (hence the weakest among the three spheres of
sustainability) as people cant even agree on what quality of
life is.
 CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
Environmental sustainability is improving the quality of
human life while living within the carrying capacity of
supporting Ecosystems.

Currently, environmental sustainability is receiving plenty of

attention from the media and from different governmental
departments.

This is as a result of the amount of research going into

assessing the impact that human activity can have on the
environment.
 When the sum total of natural resources is used up faster
than it can be replenished, degradation of the environment
occurs.
However, if human activity only uses natural resources at a
rate at which they can be replenished naturally,
sustainability occurs.
These situations are summarized below in the form of a table.
 Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and
taking actions that are in the interest of protecting the
natural world especially the capability of the environment to
support human life.

It is not simply about reducing the amount of waste we

produce or using less energy, but is concerned with
development processes that will lead to businesses
becoming completely sustainable in the future.
 CONCEPT OF ECONOMIC
SUSTAINABILITY
The real idea of economic sustainability is to make sure that
the industry/ business is making profit without creating
much environmental harm to the balance of the existing
ecology.

Currently, the average resource consumption in the

developing world is sustainable, at the same time population
is exploding which is totally unsustainable.

In the developed economies, population increase is less

(which is sustainable) but the resource consumption is very
high which is unsustainable.
 The challenge for sustainability is to

Curb and manage western style consumption, at the same time

Raising the standard of living of the developing world,

Without increasing the resource use and environmental impact.

 HELIX OF SUSTAINABILITY
A concept for the manufacturing industries to move to
more sustainable practices.
Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of
convening the linear path of materials (i.e. raw material
extraction, product use and disposal) to a circular material
path (i.e. raw material extraction, product use and reuse)
that reuses material as much as possible.
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Until two decades ago, the world looked at economic status alone
as a measure of human development.

The developed countries not only exploited their own natural

resources rapidly, but also used the natural resources of
developing countries.

The rich countries got richer, while the poor nations got poorer.

Then the developed countries began to realise that their lives are
seriously affected by the environmental consequences because of
the development based on economic growth.
 Development based on economic growth had begun to suffer
from serious environmental problems due to air and water
pollution, solid waste accumulation, deforestation etc, that
seriously affected peoples wellbeing and health.

This form of development did not add quality of life as the

environmental conditions has begun to deteriorate.
 Theoretical frame work for sustainable
development
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in
Stockholm in 1972 was the first major international gathering to discuss
sustainability at the global scale.

Led to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) as well as the creations of numerous national environmental
protection agencies at the global level.

UNEP aimed to advance Sustainable Development by meeting the

needs of people for natural resources and the environment for
future generations.
 In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and
Development clearly defined the term sustainable
development.

Definition of Sustainable Development:

Development which meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
3 Pillars of Sustainable Development

Social Environment
(Community / Societal Sustainable (Environmental
development that protection that provides
provides food, shelter, Developement pollution free air, water
clothing, education and and soil for the present
health for human beings) and future generations)

Economic
(Economic
development such as
industrial development,
business policy change
and so on for improving
the quality of life).
 The actions of government to implement sustainable
development in their policies may even be considered as the
fourth pillar (Institutional pillar) of sustainable development.

Thus sustainable development is based on

improving the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the
deprived,
which leads to better quality of life
while reducing the impact on the environment
within the carrying capacity of the supporting ecosystems.
 The Earth Summit held at Rio de-Janeiro in 1992 put the world
on the path of sustainable development.

The Rio declaration propagated that eradication of poverty is

indispensable and thus development process and
environment protection must go hand in hand.

The two aspects of Sustainable Development are:

Inter-generational equity - Inter-generational equity expects the
present generation to hand over a safe healthy and resourceful
environment to the future generation.
lntra-generational equity - Intra-generational equity emphasizes that
technological development should support economic growth of the
poorer section so as to reduce the gap within nations as well as
between nations.
 Measures for sustainable development
To promote environmental education and awareness to
develop a feeling of belongingness to our planet.

Three R approach: Three R means reduce, reuse and

recycle i.e we should not only reduce the excessive use of
natural resources but also reuse them again and again.

Appropriate technology: The technology should use less

resource and produce minimum waste i.e it should be eco-
friendly.

Utilize resources as per carrying capacity of the

environment: Once the carrying capacity is exceeded
degeneration starts.
 Frame work to measure Sustainable
Development:

To ensure sustainable development, every activity is expected to bring

about economic growth and also consider its environmental impact so
that it is more consistent with long term growth and development.

There must be a scientifically and honestly carried out Environmental

Impact Assessment (EIA) for every project we carry out.
 NEXUS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Technological innovation can be seen as a double-edged
sword with respect to sustainable development.

On one hand, technology has offered the promise of a better

world through the elimination of disease and material
improvements to standards of living.

On the other hand, resource extraction and pollution of air,

water and soil have created conditions leading to
environmental catastrophe and have already caused
irreversible damage to the biosphere.
 Despite the ongoing technological revolution,

the majority of the world population still lives in extreme

poverty with inadequate food, housing sanitation and
energy, plagued by illnesses

that could be easily cured if clean water and simple drugs

were made available.
 Thus, the focus should be

not only to allow renewable resource withdrawals exceed

the natures regenerative capacity

but also not to generate waste which exceeds the

environmental absorptive capacity.

Technology can support sustainability of natural by:

Reducing waste
Raising efficiency standards
Finding substitutes
 Some of the technological applications towards sustainable
development on various sectors are explained below:
Agricultural Technologies
Energy Technologies
Environmental Technologies
Disease related Bio medical Technologies
Technologies for Local Development
 Agricultural Technologies
The goal of agricultural research and technology development
generally has been
to improve productivity,
soil and water conservation,
improving human nutrition,
food quality, and
safety which contribute to the economy as a whole.
Concerns
The absence of Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) for
pesticides used on various vegetables and fruits in many
countries.
Genetically Modified Crops (GMC)
 Energy Technologies
Energy efficiencies of the developing world is much lower
than in the industrialized countries.
Energy is produced, converted, and used in developing
countries with low technical efficiencies could be improved
through adoption of proven technologies.
Technologies to provide and improve energy services for
developing world include:
more efficient biomass stoves
simple motor-driven systems for pumping water and
grinding grains
energy-efficient pumps, fertilizers, and mechanical
traction to improve agricultural productivity
 Increased emphasis on natural gas and other alternative fuel
sources (e.g., biomass systems and renewable energy) could
reduce adverse environmental impacts compared with
conventional sources, and avoid some of the problems of
large hydroelectric and nuclear projects.
It helps in,
Developing local energy resources and
Reducing imports
Promote rural development
Employment
Concerns
The policy environment that determines patterns of
incentives and disincentives to energy efficiency is crucial
to the adoption of new technologies.
 Environmental Technologies
Environmental awareness and transfer of environmental
technologies can reduce day-to-day operating
inefficiencies, emissions, exposure to hazardous materials
and risks of technological disasters.
For developing countries, provision of basic facilities such
as access to drinking water and proper sanitation,
gaseous liquid and solid waste disposal services are major
environmental priorities.
Technologies such as forest management and improved
agricultural practices are primary environmental needs in
most of the developing countries.
Electric power, chemical, petroleum refining, steel, pulp
and paper, food, textile, etc. are major potential buyers of
environmental technologies.
 Disease- related Biomedical Technologies
A majority of the total deaths are caused by infectious and
parasitic diseases in developing countries.

Opening of International Health Research Centers (IHRCs)

could make a large contribution in improving the health
care/ maintenance systems in developing countries.

They could identify and analyze the sources of health

problems as well as conduct local research on design and
delivery of health maintenance systems.

Better sanitation and cleaner water would have

tremendous benefits for controlling diseases.
 Technologies for Local Development
Projects such as solar greenhouses, small farm systems,
farmers markets, resource recovery from municipal solid
wastes, wastewater treatment, etc. could be developed at
the community level.

These projects can be developed only with the help of

public interest, proper financing, technical information
and expertise.

These technologies need to be shared with other local

communities as well in order to bring out the best of the
technologies.
 TECHNOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The fundamentals to the pursuit of sustainable development
are : a. INFORMATION
b. EDUCATION
c. COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
a) Sharing of Information and appropriate technologies with
sister institutions in developing countries is very essential.
However, with intellectual property rights protection,
technology developers may be not willing to invest in
research and development.
Hence, the creation of international centres for sustainable
development that would be funded is the need of the
hour.
b) Education is one mechanism through which the objectives
of sustainable development might be realized.

Educational programs at all levels that teach the

relationship among poverty, population growth,
unsustainable production, environmental degradation
should be imparted.
c) Communication technologies are playing an important
role in business, trade, health and education.

Satellite based personal communication systems and

wireless technology are extremely costly and
sophisticated.

In order to improve its availability widely, the United

Nations Sustainable Development Network (SDN) is
working make the modern technologies accessible to
developing nations.

The SDN is just one goal as to how information and

communication can be linked to assist decision makers and
to promote education
 Some new and emerging technologies such as recycling,
renewable energy and low-input agricultural production
systems have been generated primarily to reduce waste.
 CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
i. Misconception about sustainable development: The
popular perception that undertaking a sustainable
development path hinders developmental activities.
ii. Population explosion in the developing economies (requires
more food, energy, goods etc.).
iii. Poverty (To achieve sustainable development, eradication of
poverty is indispensable).
iv. Absence of adequate political and industrial will for
moving towards a sustainable future .
v. Over exploitation of natural resources in the developed
countries
vi. Corruption and misuse of sustainable development
assistance funds.
vii. Poor solid waste management (Focusing on mere waste
disposal )
viii. High cost of the appropriate technology to tap renewable
energy resources .
ix. Lack of co-ordination between the three pillars of
sustainable development is one of the biggest challenge in
finding long- term solutions that combine economic growth,
social needs and environmental protection .
x. Unsustainable urbanization results in slums, congestion of
living space, inadequate food, poverty and so on.
xi. Fresh water scarcity (According to a United Nations report,
one out of six persons in this planet lacks access to safe
drinking water and around 2.4 billion lack access to
adequate sanitation)
xii. Loss in biodiversity.
xiii. Over dependence on fossil fuels leading to global warming
and climate change.
xiv. Absence of strict environment laws and legislations, to
curb the menace of pollution .
xv. Lack of broad based public awareness towards sustainable
development .
 MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL
AGREEMENTS AND PROTOCOL
A multilateral environmental agreement is a legally binding
agreement between two or more nations which contains
commitments to meet specific environmental objectives.
The first international enlightenment towards the problems of
environmental pollution was the United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1972
which laid the foundation of modern environmentalism.
The key events were the Villach Conference (October 1985), the Toronto
Conference (June 1988), the Ottawa Conference (February 1989), the Tata
Conference (February 1989), the Hague Conference and Declaration
(March 1989), the Noordwijk Ministerial Conference (November 1989),
the Cairo Compact (December 1989), the Bergen Conference (May 1990),
and the Second World Climate Conference (November 1990).
 The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), was held in Rio-de-Janeiro from 3rd
to 14 June 1992 and around 172 countries participated.
An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate
Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol
(1997).
KYOTO PROTOCOL
Among these conferences, the one held in 1997 at Kyoto,
Japan has established legally binding obligation to developed
countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission.

Kyoto Protocol requires developed economies listed in its

annexure Ito reduce their collective emissions of six important
greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, set of per fluorocarbons, and hydro fluorocarbons by
at least 5.2% as compared to 1990 level during the period
2008-2012.

As per the Kyoto Protocol emissions of greenhouse gases

needs to be cut by 25% below the current level by 2050, so
that the growth of countries is not compromised.
 CLEAN DEVELOPMENT
MECHANISM(CDM)
The Clean Development Mechanism is a key component of
the Kyoto Protocol a legally binding global agreement by
192 countries to combat climate change through a reduction
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol follows the fundamental UNFCCC principle
of "common but differentiated responsibility" which
recognizes that the burden of responsibility should fall
heaviest on the countries .
The CDM is a market-based mechanism. It entices private
companies to fund GHG-reducing projects in developing
countries by awarding these projects Certified Emission
Reductions (CERs).
 PURPOSE OF CDM
The stated purpose of the Clean Development Mechanism is
to help developing countries achieve sustainable
development, and assist industrialized countries in complying
with their emission reduction commitments.

They must also meet sustainable development criteria and

the "additionality' requirement, which means the emission
reductions made must be "additional' to what would have
been possible without CDM funding.

The CDM allows countries to continue emitting greenhouse

gases. so long as they pay for reductions made elsewhere.
 ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATIONS IN INDIA
Laws that regulate the human interaction with the environment are
termed environmental laws.
We have over 200 environmental laws available in India today.
It was in the year 1976, the 42nd amendment was incorporated into
the Constitution by means of two important articles.
Article 48 - A of the constitution comes under Directive Principles of
State Policy. It states that it is the responsibility of states to protect
and improve environment and to safe guard the forests and wildlife
of the country.
Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution comes under the Fundamental
Duties of citizens. It states that it is the fundamental duty of every
citizen to protect and improve the environment including forests,
lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.
 The different legislations in India are as follows:
a. The Serais Act 1867
b. The North Indian Canal and Drainage Act 1873
c. Obstruction in Fairways Act 1881
d. Indian Easements Act 1882
e. The Indian Fisheries Act 1897
f. Indian Ports Act 1908
g. The Damodar Valley Corporation Act 1948
h. The Factories Act 1948 The Mines Act 1952
i. The River Boats Act 1956 The Merchant Shipping Act 1958
Other Acts include:
i. Indian Forest Act 1927
ii. Wildlife Protection Act 1972
iii. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974
iv. Forest Conservation Act 1980
v. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981
 WATER ACT, 1974
This is an Act to provide measures for the prevention and
control of water pollution and maintaining or restoring the
wholesomeness (purity) of water.

The Act defines terms like pollution, sewage effluent, trade

effluent, stream and boards.

The Act prohibits disposal of any poisonous, noxious or

polluting matter or any matter causing obstruction to proper
flow of water in a stream.
 Some of the salient features of the water act are listed below

a) Establishment of Boards / Authorities Central and State level .

b) Mandates prior approval of PCB for operating. establishing and

expanding industrial activities leading to discharge of industrial
effluents.

c) Empowers PCBs to enter into industrial plants, factories

establishment etc. and inspect plant/ factory records, registers
and documents.

d) Empowers PCBs to take samples of industrial effluents wastewater

(discharges) and its subsequent analysis.

e) Provides for criminal liabilities

 AIR ACT, 1981
This Act (commonly known as Air Act) was passed under
Article 253 of the Constitution of India which provide
measures for the prevention, control and abatement of air
pollution.

The Act defines relevant terms such as air pollution, air

pollutant, automobile, industrial plant etc..

As per this Act, Air pollution is defined as the "presence of any

liquid or gaseous substances in the atmosphere in such
concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human
beings or other living creatures or plants or property or
environment".
 Some of the salient features of the Air act are listed below:
a) Empowers PCBs to take appropriate measures for the
prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
b) Mandates prior approval of PCB for operating, establishing
and expanding industrial activities leading to discharge of
emissions and air pollutants to the atmosphere.
c) Empowers PCBs to enter into industrial plants, factories
establishment etc. and inspect plant / factory records,
registers and documents
d) Empowers PCBs to give direction for closure of any industry,
operation and regulation of supply of electricity, water or any
other service.
e) Empowers PCBs to take samples of ambient air, stock
(chimney) emissions.
f) Provides for criminal liabilities