ETHICS OF GREEN ENGINEERING

Green engineering approaches the design of products and processes by applying financially and
technologically feasible processes and products in a manner that simultaneously decreases the
amount of pollution that is generated by a source, minimizes exposures to potential hazards
(including reducing toxicity and improved uses of matter and energy throughout the life cycle of the
product and processes) as well as protecting human health without relinquishing the economic
efficiency and viability.[1] As such, green engineering is not actually an engineering discipline in itself,
but an overarching engineering framework for all design disciplines.

Principles[edit]
Green engineering adheres to nine guiding principles. A designer must strive to:

1. Engineer processes and products holistically, use systems analysis, and integrate
environmental impact assessment tools.
2. Conserve and improve natural ecosystems while protecting human health and well-being.
3. Use life-cycle thinking in all engineering activities.
4. Ensure that all material and energy inputs and outputs are as inherently safe and benign as
possible.
5. Minimize depletion of natural resources.
6. Strive to prevent waste.
7. Develop and apply engineering solutions, while being cognizant of local geography,
aspirations, and cultures.
8. Create engineering solutions beyond current or dominant technologies; improve, innovate,
and invent (technologies) to achieve sustainability.
9. Actively engage communities and stakeholders in development of engineering solutions.[2][3]

Green engineering approaches design from a systematic perspective, which means that numerous
professional disciplines must be integrated. In addition to all engineering disciplines, green
engineering includes land use planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and other design
fields, as well as the social sciences(e.g. to determine how various groups of people use products
and services. Designers have always been concerned with space. Architects consider the sense of
place. Engineers view the site map as a set of fluxes across the boundary. Planners consider the
combinations of these systems over larger regions, e.g. urban areas. The life cycle analysis is an
important green engineering tool, which provides a holistic view of the entirety of a product, process
or activity, encompassing raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use,
maintenance, recycling, and final disposal. In other words, assessing its life cycle should yield a
complete picture of the product. The first step in a life cycle assessment is to gather data on the flow
of a material through an identifiable society. Once the quantities of various components of such a
flow are known, the important functions and impacts of each step in the production, manufacture,
use, and recovery/disposal are estimated. Thus, in sustainable design, engineers must optimize for
variables that give the best performance in temporal frames.[6]
 GREEN ENGINEERING PRODUCTS

Engineers who want to lower the emissions of their products, develop devices that consume
less energy, create viable renewable energy technologies, or better understand the global
ecosystem need green engineering. Green engineering is the use of measurement and control
techniques to design, develop, and improve products, technologies, and processes that result in
environmental and economic benefits. While green may be the focus today, performing green
engineering is fundamentally no different than any other type of engineering innovation. First,
you need to measure the variables with which you are concerned, and then you can begin the
process of designing or “fixing” products and processes that achieve your desired goal. Green
engineering encompasses common measurements such as power quality and consumption;
emissions from vehicles and factories, such as mercury and nitrogen oxides; and environmental
data, including carbon, temperature, and water quality.

Green Engineering Applied

Green engineering applications span almost every industry and range from monitoring the
health of forests, so ecologists can better understand the effects of global warming, to
retrofitting aging production facilities and machines with new control systems to make them
more efficient. While there are many ways to group these green applications, most fall into the
following five categories:
1. Renewable power generation
2. Power quality
3. Environmental monitoring
4. Machine and process optimization
5. Development and test of green products and technologies
 MOTIVATIONS FOR PRACTICING GREEN ENGINEERING

1. Reduce Energy-Related Costs

Energy and water costs are a prime concern for manufacturers. Focusing on
improvements can reduce these expenses. Often, these improvements are realized
as annual savings as opposed to quicker, short-term cost reductions.

Switching to energy-efficient lighting and adjusting lighting levels in accordance with

your production schedule will reduce your long-term electrical costs. Regular
equipment inspections will also prove beneficial. For example, air compressor leaks
can be a waste of energy and increase expenses. Changing how you package your
products and supplies can provide cost reductions and free up space at your facility.
Solar and wind energy, along with energy efficient equipment and machinery, will
greatly reduce monthly utility bills. Implementing strategies such as recycling and
going paperless will also save on supply costs. Sustainability can improve your
bottom-line.

2. Attract New Customers and Increase Sales

Green and sustainable practices can make your company more marketable.
Consumers are more conscious of the environment, and making improvements will
strengthen your reputation. Whether you’re an OEM or a supplier, highlighting your
initiatives to the public will help you attract a whole new base of customers, resulting
in increased sales. This is important to manufacturers seeking government contracts
where green manufacturing standards are often a factor.

Technology and social media have enabled buyers to easily (and publicly) promote
or criticize companies for their green practices, or lack thereof.

3. Tax Incentives

There are a variety of tax credits and rebates on both the federal and state level for
manufacturers who proactively implement more sustainable improvements. There
may be incentives available to your business.
Check out:
U.S. Department of Energy’s website Database of State Incentives for Renewables
& Efficiency

4. Boost Workforce Morale and Innovations

Sustainability improvements are a collaborative effort. When employees work

together to identify and implement green and sustainable initiatives, it fosters a
culture of teamwork and continuous improvement. Employees work harder when
they are engaged and have a sense of pride in their company. By internally
communicating the importance of changes and the impact they are having on the
business and environment, manufacturers will positively influence their corporate
culture.

Sustainability can also ignite innovation. For example, if you challenge your
engineers and machinists to reduce material scraps or recycle more waste during
the manufacturing process, it often leads to additional ideas for operational
improvements.

5. Societal Impact

In addition to helping your company’s profitability, your actions can make a real
difference. By implementing changes, you will have a smaller carbon footprint and
reduce the number of toxins released into the atmosphere. Future generations
ultimately benefit from improved air and water quality, fewer landfills and more
renewable energy sources.
 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS ON GREEN ENGINEERING

While the benefits of owning and operating green certified buildings are often discussed,
the legal implications of their design and construction can be overlooked. Clear-eyed
owners should weigh some practical considerations before entering into design or
construction agreements aimed at green certification. Here are five factors you should
discuss with your construction lawyer about your next green project.

1. Costs of Navigating Sustainability Certification

2. Standard of Care and Professional Liability Coverage
3. Cost Control and Potential Overruns
4. Waiver of Consequential Damages and Other Contractual Provisions
5. Economic Loss Rule
 FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS ON GREEN ENGINEERING

Modular construction and prefabrication are two examples of process that have been
established as sustainable due to being economically beneficial[16] . These methods
of construction make more efficient use of materials, labor, and design. Such mass
production makes the units created much more economically feasible. Waste
material reduction makes the products more environmentally friendly. However, the
social acceptance of modular construction for housing is harder to obtain as mass
uniformity is not viewed highly. These structures have been deemed sustainable,
however, as the economic savings sways people to accept the final product
regardless of the negative attitudes toward mass uniformity. Financial considerations
have been the main driving force that makes modular construction and
prefabrication considered a sustainable building method. Solar panels and
photovoltaics are an example of constructed items that have been deemed
sustainable regardless of financial considerations[17] . Solar panels have been
deemed to be environmentally sustainable as they turn sunlight into electrical energy
rather than relying on fossil fuels. Marketing has been successful enough that the
general population views them as socially acceptable. However, the initial cost is
quite extensive, making the economic stability of the solar panels questionable for
structures that are near the power grid. Even though the financial considerations
make such technology a low option, the economic and social sides are strong
enough to have the technology be considered sustainable.
 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ON GREEN ENGINEERING

The call for engineers to be moral agents in helping to solve society’s ethical
problems may result in an increase in practice based engineering education
reminiscent of medicine and nursing education 16. This approach to teaching
professional responsibility is at the core of the pedagogy for this course and an
integral part of most engineering design courses. In the process of “learning by
doing” students are encouraged to develop conscientious habits and the importance
of ethical issues to their work is reinforced at every opportunity. Unfortunately as
pointed out below the ethics education of engineering students is still severely
lacking. There are many reasons for this deficit but one primary reason is the failure
to foster critical thinking on the part of students regarding the application of
engineering ethics principles in the context of competing positions of various
stakeholders. The worldview (“common sense”) of a typical engineering student is
strongly influenced by their perceived hierarchy of engineering knowledge and
epistemological assumption that the authority lies with the professor and textbook to
determine what is correct and incorrect. This worldview applied to engineering ethics
is reinforced by the way that micro-ethics are taught to engineers. For example the
Fundamentals of Engineering Exam offers multiple choice ethics questions
suggesting that ethics problems can be solved in an analytical fashion like other
engineering problems. This worldview is problematic for learning macro-ethics where
there is often no single, precise “right answer” and where the power to decide what
is right or wrong lies in the broader society. This worldview left unchallenged largely
precludes critical thought and reflective judgment regarding macro-ethics because it
shores up the paradigm that “technology is neutral” and this leads inexperienced
engineers to believe that engineering principles can be applied in abstraction and
separate from the larger societal picture 17. Experienced engineers know that this is
the realm of abstract science and have learned to negotiate the societal aspects of
the larger role of the engineer. In this context it becomes clear that the goal of the
pedagogical approach in practical terms is to teach student’s aspects of this
particular skill-set that experienced engineers learn in the “school of hard knocks”. A
valid pedagogical approach to encouraging critical thought and reflective judgment is
to use a critical lens for looking at the world. This approach has its roots in critical
pedagogy and in this case the critical lens that challenges the world view of
engineering students regarding macro-ethics is the case studies presented that
involve environmental justice issues. The EIA course case studies and associated
assignments are fashioned to espouse a transformative learning experience for
students by challenging their perceptions of themselves and their future profession.
This approach can be explained in terms of transformational learning theory (TLT).
Mezirow, 2000 describes TLT as follows: “The focus of TLT is on how we learn to
negotiate and act on our own purposes, values, feelings, and meanings rather than
those we have uncritically assimilated from others—to gain greater control over our
lives as socially responsible, clear-thinking decision makers” 18, 19. This
pedagogical approach is a practical response in light of the short comings of
traditional engineering education and a growing awareness that engineers need an
expanded skill set regarding engineering ethics that allows them to participate in
providing solutions to society’s ethical issues.