I SUSTAINABILITY

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What is Sustainable Development?
 World Commission on Environment Development, (WCED
1987) defines sustainable development as ‘development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

 Foster & Partners have said that ‘Sustainable design creates

buildings which are energy efficient, healthy, comfortable,
flexible in use and designed for long life’.

 The UK Government has gone further and has stated that

‘Sustainable development means a better quality of life now
and for generations to come ...’ with the aim to ‘avoid using
resources faster than the planet can replenish them …’ and
to join up ‘economic, social and environmental goals’.

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 Use only of those raw materials of which there
are ample reserves, in the ground or recycled
from previous use, obtaining and processing them
without excessive environmental impact.
 Economical use of energy in the process of
construction – only use what you need to use.
 Durability or versatility in structures so that they
can serve their purpose effectively for 100 years
or more, or where their life is necessarily shorter,
as an element within a long-term land use plan

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 Adaptability, so that elements of the structure can
be converted or extended to accommodate
future changes in use and technology.
 Ease of demolition, when the structure finally
becomes redundant, in a manner in which
materials can be recycled and the site re-used or
returned to a semi-natural state. Where massive
construction occurs which cannot be demolished
i.e. dams or break waters, its ultimate existence as
a stable landform should be anticipated

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Sustainable Development is founded upon the concept of
the 3 Pillars of Sustainability - a truly sustainable
development addresses each of these areas and seeks to
reconcile their differing priorities and concerns

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 Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own
needs.
 Sustainable Development – The ability to
build the facilities and structures we need
today without depleting resources for the
future

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A Balance of
 Environmental issues
 Economic issues

 Social and safety issues

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 Sustainable structural engineering follows
the basic principle that the energy and
resources consumption due to the
construction and operation of a structure
must be minimized.
 Relating to concrete structures this
principle can be realized by the use of the
material in the most efficient way
considering its strength and durability
within the service life of the structure

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Global environmental issues
Environmental concern and international co-
operation is required to address the major
issues
 Carbon Reduction
 Climate change
 Sustainable construction
 Biodiversity
 Deforestation
 Acid rain
 Alternative Energy

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Impact of Construction on the
Environment
 Extraction of raw materials
 Manufacture of materials and components
 Noise, dust, dirt and disturbance from
construction sites and their resultant
health risks
 Increased pressure on existing services
and infrastructure
 Increased consumption of energy,
increased production of greenhouse gases
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 Construction is one of the largest industries in the world,
contributing around 10% to global GDP (Pearce,A 2012).
 The built environment makes a significant contribution to
environmental degradation. Buildings including
construction, operations and deconstruction impacts, use
approximately:
 15% of the world’s fresh water resources;
 40% of the world's energy;
 approximately 23-40% of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions.
 If a reduction in carbon emissions is required to mitigate
climate change then it follows that the construction
industry must change the way buildings and infrastructure
are designed, constructed, operated and demolished

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 Construction and development can have both
negative and positive impacts on the environment.
Typically it can affect some or all of the following:

 Land Use
 Hydrology and Water Resources
 Vegetation and Forest Cover
 Nature Conservation
 Microclimate
 Soil Erosion, Salinization and Fertility
 Rangeland/Grazing Degradation
 Human Settlement and Population

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Impact on land use
 Loss of actual or potential cultivated land.
 Loss of areas providing functions of direct value to
society i.e. watershed protection, wetlands and
recreation, cultural or historic sites.
 Changes to land tenure and value.
 Land uses displaced or severed, including
resettlement.
 Improved access and settlement
 Changes to livelihoods based on land resource
exploitation.
 Changes to landscape diversity and aesthetic
quality of natural or man-made scenery.

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Impact on Hydrology and
Water Resources
 Deterioration in surface and groundwater
quality i.e. direct and indirect pollution.
 Changes to Hydrologic Flow Regimes i.e. interruption of
drainage, higher flooding incidence, reduced flow or
periodic drying up of perennial rivers, siltation, turbidity
and sedimentation.
 Depletion of surface and ground water
resources i.e. falling water tables, drying up of
boreholes, shrinking lakes.
 Increased epidemiological and public health risks from
water pollution.
 Improvement to the quality of water and
wastewater at constructed or semi-natural
facilities.

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Impact on vegetation and
Forest Cover
 Reduction in vegetation and forest cover area
(absolute and relative).
 Degradation of vegetation and forest cover.
 Fragmentation of former forest cover.
 Absence of natural re-growth.
 Loss of biodiversity.
 Improvements to local eco-systems and
growth patterns due to project related
planting and ecological management

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Impact on Nature Conservation
 Changes to protected areas.

 Increased access to and reduction in wilderness

areas.

 Reduction in biodiversity and critical habitats.

 Decrease in wildlife or changes to behaviour

patterns.

 Changes to special ecological and conservation

areas

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Impact on Microclimate
 Change in air quality related to changed land use i.e.
emissions from buildings/vehicles.

 Localized changes to weather i.e. at very large

reservoirs.

 Changes to local ground and air temperature

regimes.

 Changes to local wind patterns

 Changes in natural light levels due to

overshadowing, shading etc

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Impact on Soil Erosion
 Extent and severity of surface erosion i.e. gullies,
rills and slips.
 Reduction in erosion due to structural measures.
 Rate and loss of soil nutrients and organic matter.
 Evidence of slope instability and mass erosion.
 Improved slope stability due to structures.
 River, lake and reservoir sediment loads.
 Rate of soil loss (tonnes per hectare per year).
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Impact on Settlement and
Population
 Extent and nature of settlement pattern
changes.
 Increases in unit area population density.
 Changes in urban land use i.e.
residential to commercial.
 Changes to built environment i.e. low-
rise to high-rise.
 Access to amenities, transport and
communications.

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