ENEN2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Life-Cycle Assessment, Sustainable Design, Triple Bottom Line
11 Jun 2018
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Lecture 12
Sustainability is the goal or end point of a process known as (ecologically) sustainable
development. Reducing human pressure on the planet so we stay within its capacity to
renew itself; while
retaining a civil and just society and a healthy, non-destructive economy.
“ustaiale deelopet is deelopet that eets the eeds of the peset ithout
opoisig the ailit of futue geeatios to eet thei o eeds Budtlad,
Basic Concepts of Sustainable Development
• • Ecosystem, Energy and Material flow
• • Sustainability and sustainable development
• • Inter and intra generational equity
o ➢ Intergenerational Equity: allocating sufficient resources to our future
generations
o ➢ Intra-generational Equity: allocating sufficient resources to the poor and
powerless
of present generation
• • Carrying capacity, ecological footprints
➢ Eologial Footpit: a ouits E.F is total esoue aea of lad i gie eo-
system required to suppot ouits eeds fo food, ate, ood, eeg ad
waste processing capacity.
EF is a easue of hua dead o the Eaths Eosste. EF opaes hua dea
ith the plaets eologial apait to egeeate.
➢ Carrying capacity: the max number of population that an area can sustain indefinitely
without impairing the integrity (growth rate =( reproduction rate*Population size*(carrying
capacity-population size))/carrying capacity).
• • Earth summits
• • Engineers role in sustainable development
International Treaties and Earth Summit Examples
Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro 1992:
• Natioal goeets siged Ageda . – provides a comprehensive plan of action
to attain sustainable development at local, national and global levels. Agenda 21 addresses
the pressing problems of today and also aims at preparing world for next century to deliver
a more sustainable pattern of development.
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World Summit of sustainable development, Johannesburg in 2002:
• Objectives for SD: - 2015 focus: poverty eradication, - 2050 focus: sustainable production
and consumption, - ongoing biodiversity and ecosystem management
United Nations Climate Change Conference, Bali 2007:
• • Main goal: get negotiations underway on a new international climate change
agreement
• • Australia will meet is Kyoto obligations, including set target of reducing emissions
by 60% on 2000
levels by 2050
UN Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen (COP 15)
• • Objectives: to keep the maximum temp rise to below 2 degrees Celsius
• • Commitment to list developed country emissions reduction targets and mitigation
action for
developing countries for 20202
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Indentify hotspots and major pollution contributing
inputs Eco-Efficiency: Reduce energy and material intensity, enhance material
recyclability and product
durability, maximise renewable resources usage, and service intensity
Cleaner Production: Input substitution, technology modification and product
modification. Industrial Ecology: Industrial Symbiosis, green Engineering
Factors 4 and 10
➢ Fato fou – refers to hypothetical fourfold increase i esoue podutit, ought
about by simultaneously doubling wealth and halving resource consumption
➢ Fato – is more applicable for the developed countries, whose resource use needs to
be slashed tenfold if we are to approach sustainability
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Copilatio ad ealuatio of the iputs ad outputs ad the potetials eioetal
ipats of a podut sste thoughout its life le
• • Idetifies the ipats of a podut at ALL stages of life le, fo adle to
gae ❖ From raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture,
distribution and transportation, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or
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find more resources at oneclass.com
recycling.
• • Enables evaluation of those impacts for comparative or improvement purposes
AIM: - identify major environmental impacts of a product throughout its lifecycle
- determine environmental priorities that should be addressed thoughout the design
process
Application
• LCA is a deisio-making tool (cradle-to-grave)
– Can help improve:
• Poduts
– New design
• Poesses
– New/different technology
• Poliies
– Labelling, taxation, etc.
• Maket stateg
– Niche market targeting
• “uppl hai aageet
– Exert up- and down-stream
pressure
• Ifoatio olletio ad dissemination
– Public debate,
Engineering and Indigenous People
TECHNOLOGY: impact of tech on aboriginal poeple
As technology developed further, the need for indigenous people were progressively
displaced
Idigeous Austalias ad the digital diide
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Document Summary
Sustainability is the goal or end point of a process known as (ecologically) sustainable development. E(cid:272)ologi(cid:272)al footp(cid:396)i(cid:374)t: a (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)u(cid:374)it(cid:455)(cid:859)s e. f is total (cid:396)esou(cid:396)(cid:272)e a(cid:396)ea of la(cid:374)d i(cid:374) gi(cid:448)e(cid:374) e(cid:272)o- system required to suppo(cid:396)t (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)u(cid:374)it(cid:455)(cid:859)s (cid:374)eeds fo(cid:396) food, (cid:449)ate(cid:396), (cid:449)ood, e(cid:374)e(cid:396)g(cid:455) a(cid:374)d waste processing capacity. Ef is a (cid:373)easu(cid:396)e of hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) de(cid:373)a(cid:374)d o(cid:374) the ea(cid:396)th(cid:859)s e(cid:272)os(cid:455)ste(cid:373). Ef (cid:272)o(cid:373)pa(cid:396)es hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) de(cid:373)a(cid:374) (cid:449)ith the pla(cid:374)et(cid:859)s e(cid:272)ologi(cid:272)al (cid:272)apa(cid:272)it(cid:455) to (cid:396)ege(cid:374)e(cid:396)ate. Carrying capacity: the max number of population that an area can sustain indefinitely without impairing the integrity (growth rate =( reproduction rate*population size*(carrying capacity-population size))/carrying capacity): earth summits, engineers role in sustainable development. Earth summit, rio de janeiro 1992: (cid:1005)(cid:1011)(cid:1012) natio(cid:374)al go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)ts sig(cid:374)ed (cid:862)age(cid:374)da (cid:1006)(cid:1005)(cid:863). Provides a comprehensive plan of action to attain sustainable development at local, national and global levels. Agenda 21 addresses the pressing problems of today and also aims at preparing world for next century to deliver a more sustainable pattern of development.
