Dr.

Douglas Aghimien
Department of Civil Engineering Technology
University of Johannesburg
Doornfontein
MODULE OUTLINE

• Introduction to Sustainability
• Defining and Understanding the concept of sustainability and sustainable
development. Defining of sustainability related terms
• History of Sustainability
• History of Unsustainability, theoretical advances and institutionalisation of
sustainability
• Global Challenges as ‘Wicked’ Problems

• Principles and Concept of Sustainability

• Sustainability Issues – Social, Economic and Environment

• Frameworks for Strategic Sustainable Development

• Decision Making tools for sustainable development

• Role of the construction industry and civil engineers in sustainable

development
Opposing Perspectives of Sustainability

To effectively understand sustainability and fully implement its

concept, the following perspectives are crucial to note.

1. Status quo Vs Change polarization

2. Fragmentation Vs Holism polarization
3. Masters Vs equals perspective
4. Weak Vs strong sustainability
 1. Status quo Vs Change polarization
This perspective asks whether sustainable development is
achievable within the existing economic and social structures.

Status Quo
Advocates of this perspective aim to reach sustainability through
incremental changes and simple increases in efficiency of the
existing systems and structures.

Change
Change-based sustainability considers the existing systems
shortfall and advocates drastic systemic changes to reach a truly
sustainable world development
 2. Fragmentation Vs Holism polarization
(Jones, 1987)
This perspective ask whether sustainable development can be
reached by solving sustainability problems in isolated systems.

Fragmentation approach
Economists make the economy sustainable, while sociologists
make the society sustainable and ecologists deal with the natural
environment.

Holistic approach
In a holistic approach - societal, economic and environmental
dimensions are viewed as one system that can only be sustainable
if analyzed and changed holistically
 3. Masters Vs Equals perspective
This perspective asks whether human beings should be owners
and masters of the nature or just an equal in the global ecosystem.

Masters
The masters perspective is reflected well by this statement: “The
world is made for man, not man for the world”, attributed to the
father of modern science, Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

Equals
The perspective of humans as an equal in the ecosystem can be
best described by the question as posted by Stone (1972):
“Should natural objects, such as animals, forests, and ecosystems
have rights of their own and be treated with responsibility and
respect, similar to the way we treat other human beings?”
4. Weak Vs strong sustainability
Weak Sustainability
• It aims at reaching a sustainability where business
controls the language and practice of sustainable
development with its own interests (usually economic)

• Here, business strategies and activities must meet the

need of the organization first

• It perceives business as mastering nature, aims to

achieve sustainability without changing existing
systems and structures, and considers social and
environmental capital as substitutable.

• It is believed that the pursuit of isolated economic,

social, and environmental sustainability will result in
globally sustainable development (Kearins and
Springett, 2003)
Strong Sustainability
• Strong sustainability takes unconventional stances and
approaches to criticize, challenge, and change existing beliefs
and structures

• It maintains that society cannot simply let economic activity

result in a continual decline in the quality and functions of the
environment and of life in general (Kearins and Springett, 2003)

• It views humanity as equal living beings in the global ecosystem,

promotes disruptive systemic change, considers social and
environmental capital as non-substitutable, and achieves
sustainable development holistically.
THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE (TBL)
framework for Sustainability measurement

The Brundtland report outlined three key underlying dimensions

of sustainability:
Social, environmental, and economic conditions that are necessary
for needs satisfaction of future generations.

• Central topics include ecosystems, population growth and

industry development (UN, 1987)

• The definition states that if a country focuses mainly on

economic and social development, the result may be equitable,
but they will be neither bearable nor viable
• The missing environmental development and quality could
lead to unbearable consequences – e.g. smog in major
cities and fueling the economy with non-renewable
resources

• With time, economic growth may then also become not

viable as those resources need to be bought at very high
prices through external trade because internal, non-
renewable resources have been used up completely
New Delhi Beijing

New York New Delhi

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of
sustainability according the Brundtland report, the
sustainability’s dimensions can be translated into capital:

• Social capital,
• environmental capital,
• and economic capital

These three types of capital form the foundation of the

business application of sustainability, known as the triple
bottom line (TBL)
• TBL was developed by John Elkington in the mid-1990s.

• He strove to measure sustainability in business by

encompassing a new framework to measure performance in
corporate America.

• TBL was developed as an accounting framework and it went

beyond the traditional measures of profits, return on
investment, and shareholder value.

• It included environmental and social dimensions.

• TBL is also commonly called the three Ps: People, Planet and
Profit

• The concept was applied in the construction sector in the UK

when the UK Government was seeking to apply sustainable
development practices to the construction industry.
SOCIAL (PEOPLE)
SUSTAINABILITY
• This is the least defined and least understood of the different
ways of approaching sustainable development.

• It is "a process for creating sustainable, successful places that

promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the
places they live and work. Social sustainability combines design
of the physical realm with design of the social world –
infrastructure to support social and cultural life, social amenities,
systems for citizen engagement and space for people and places
to evolve” (Social Life, 2011)
• The social aspect of sustainability includes all factors that
influence the social and cultural identity of the people and how
they assess their environment (Guideline for sustainable
building, 2016).

• Social sustainability is about people. It involves understanding

people’s needs and desires, considering the effects of our
actions on the wider community and anticipating and
embracing social change to allow people to provide for their
social wellbeing in the future (Joanna Brain)
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

• Its dimensions may include:

1. Equity
2. Diversity
3. Interconnected/Social cohesions
4. Quality of life
5. Democracy and governance
6. Maturity
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

1. EQUITY

To what extent will the project:

• reduce disadvantage for the target group?

• assist the target group to have more control over their lives,
socially and economically?
• identify the causes of disadvantage and inequality and look for
ways to reduce them?
• identify and aim to meet the needs of any particularly
disadvantaged and marginalised people within the target group?
• be delivered without bias and promote fairness?
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

2. DIVERSITY

To what extent will the project:

• identify diverse groups within the target group and look at ways
to meet their particular needs?
• recognize diversity within cultural, ethnic and racial groups?
• allow for diverse viewpoints, beliefs and values to be taken into
consideration?
• promote understanding and acceptance within the broader
community of diverse backgrounds, cultures and life
circumstances?
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

3. INTERCONNECTED/SOCIAL COHESIONS

To what extent will the project:

• help the target group to develop a sense of belonging in the

broader community?
• increase participation in social activities by individuals in the
target group?
• improve the target groups’ understanding of and access to
public and civic institutions?
• build links between the target group and other groups in the
broader community?
• result in the provision of increased support to the target group
by the broader community?
• encourage the target group to contribute towards the
community or provide support for others?
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

4. QUALITY OF LIFE

To what extent will the project improve:

• affordable and appropriate housing opportunities for the target

group?
• physical health outcomes for the target group?
• mental health outcomes for the target group?
• education, training and skill development opportunities for the
target group?
• employment opportunities for the target group?
• access to transport for the target group?
• the ability of the target group to meet their basic needs?
• safety and security for the target group?
• access to community amenities and facilities for the target
group?
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

5. DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

To what extent will:
• the project allow for a diverse range of people (especially the
target group) to participate and be represented in decision-
making processes?
• the processes of decision-making for the project will be clear to
and easily understood by staff and stakeholders?
• the project have a budget sufficient to ensure adequate delivery
by qualified trained staff?
• the project ensure that the use of volunteers is appropriate and
properly governed?
• the duration of the project be sufficient to achieve the desired
outcomes?
• have you considered what will happen when the project ceases?
SOCIAL (PEOPLE) DIMENSION

6. MATURITY

Individuals accept the responsibility of consistent growth and

improvement through broader social attributes (e.g.
communication styles, behavioural patterns, indirect
education and philosophical explorations)
Problems of lack of social sustainability
consideration 1. Deprivation and poverty
2. Crime and safety issues
3. Inequality and segregation of
communities
4. Low quality of life
5. Social exclusion
• In construction, a high degree of user satisfaction has a positive
impact on the construction project’s social sustainability and
will lead to a high level of acceptance and long-term value of the
project.

• This means that user health, comfort and satisfaction,

appropriate usability and spatial functional comfort are
important factors for any construction project’s social
sustainability.
• For a socially sustainable construction, design must consider:

✓ Easy access;
✓ Safety;
✓ Security;
✓ Comfort;
✓ Cater for future needs throughout various stages of lives, such as
young families, older residents or residents with varying
disabilities;
✓ Easily adaptable to suit diverse range of needs;
✓ Aesthetically pleasing;
✓ Strengthen social networks and allow people of every age and
ability to participate in their community throughout their life;
✓ Considers the local society and streetscape
ENVIRONMENTAL (Planet)
SUSTAINABILITY

• This is the most popular dimension of sustainability.

• It is “meeting the resources and services needs of current and

future generations without compromising the health of the
ecosystems that provide them” (Our Common Future).

• It can be described as the ability to maintain the qualities that are

valued in the physical environment.
The qualities may include:

✓ Human life
✓ The capabilities that the natural environment has to maintain
the living conditions for people and other species (e.g clean
water and air, a suitable climate)
✓ The aspects of the environment that produce renewable
resources such as water, solar energy etc.
✓ The functioning of society, despite non-renewable resource
depletion
✓ The quality of life for all people, the livability and beauty of
the environment
• Traditionally, when environmental problems arise
environmental managers work out how to reduce the damage
or wastage.

• But it is not always easy to work out exactly when and where
threats will have their effects and often the impacts are hard to
reverse.

• So increasingly environmental managers adopt strategies

aimed to prevent damage being done in the first place.

• A full sustainability program needs to include actions to

prevent threats and impacts from arising, actions to protect
the environment from threats and damage, and restoration to
reverse damage already done.
Supporting principles of Environmental sustainability
Societal Needs
• Produce nothing that will require future generations to
maintain vigilance.
• Design and deliver products and services that contribute to a
more sustainable economy.
• Support local employment
• Support fair trade.
• Review the environmental attributes of raw materials and
make environmental sustainability a key requirement in the
selection of ingredients for new products and services
Preservation of Biodiversity
• Select raw materials that maintain biodiversity of natural
resources
• Use environmentally responsible and sustainable energy
sources and invest in improving energy efficiency

Regenerative Capacity
• Keep harvest rates of renewable resource inputs within
regenerative capacities of the natural system that generates
them.
• Keep depletion rates of nonrenewable resource inputs below
the rate at which renewable substitutes are developed.
Reuse and Recycle
• Design for re-usability and recyclability.
• Design (or redesign, as appropriate) manufacturing and
business processes as closed-loop systems, reducing
emissions and waste to zero.
Supporting principles of Environmental sustainability

Constraints of Nonrenewable Resources and Waste

Generation
• The scale (population x consumption per capita x technology)
of the human economic subsystem should be limited to a level
that, if not optimal, is at least within the carrying capacity and
therefore sustainable.
• Keep waste emissions within the assimilative capacity of
receiving ecosystems without unacceptable degradation of its
future waste absorptive capacity or other important ecological
services.
• Develop transportation criteria that prioritize low-impact
transportation modes
• Approach all product development and product management
decisions with full consideration of the environmental impacts
of the product throughout its life cycle
Some issues that pose major environmental
sustainability problems
a) Destruction of the living environments (habitats) of native
species
b) Discharge of polluting chemicals and other materials into the
environment
c) Emission of greenhouses gases into the atmosphere than can
cause climate change
d) Depletion of low-cost oil and other fossil fuels
• In general, construction projects interfere significantly with
existing ecosystems due to the energy and raw materials
consumed during their design, planning, erection, use and
disposal.

• Thus environmentally sustainable construction must consider:

i. The reduction in the use of non-renewable energy:

• This can be achieved through maximum use of passive solar
design features, such as orientation, ventilation, insulation and
shadings etc., appropriate use of materials, fixtures and fittings to
ensure higher energy efficiency and help reduce household
carbon emission.
ii. Proper consideration of Water usage.
• The use of fixtures and fittings that saves water is necessary.
• Also capture, use, recycle and re-use of rainwater and inclusion of
grey water processing system.

iii. Effective use of materials and reduction of waste

• Efficient use of construction materials, minimize waste and use of
recycled materials where possible during construction.
• Minimizing the impact of run-off to waterways. Minimizing the
requirements for modifications and consequent material wastage
in the future.
• Use of materials with a lifespan equivalent to the projected life of
the building.
• Use of local products and materials where possible, thus
minimizing energy used to transport materials.
iv. Site Impact and Biodiversity
• Design should retain existing vegetation including trees.
• Landscape should also require minimum maintenance and water,
and also inhibits soil erosion.
• Landscaping should consider natural features of the site
(topography, natural and cultural features, local climate etc.)
 ECONOMIC (Profit)
SUSTAINABILITY

• Economic sustainability refers to practices that support long-

term economic growth without negatively impacting social,
environmental, and cultural aspects of the community.

• It is an integrated part of sustainability and means that we must

use, safeguard and sustain resources (human and material) to
create long-term sustainable economic values by optimal use,
recovery and recycling.
• For sustainability to be holistic, there must be economic
efficiency through:

✓ Economic growth
✓ Efficiency and competitiveness
✓ Flexibility and stability
✓ Production / consumption
✓ Employment
✓ International trade
• In construction projects, economic sustainability of TBL
reporting means designs and construction which are more cost-
efficient in a long-run, considering the selection of low
maintenance materials.

• Thus economically sustainable construction must consider:

i. Initial Cost
• Efficient use of recycled, readily available and local building
materials to save cost.
• Use of materials from local market, thereby optimizing cost by
reducing transportation expenses.

ii. Maintenance Cost

• Use of durable and low maintenance materials for construction.
iii. Running Cost
• Use of design and the environmental-friendly products which will
take future operating costs down to a minimum.

iv. Future Modification Cost

• Use of design that minimise the need for future modifications to
cater for occupants changing requirements, which reduces long
term cost.
• Installation of environmental features that can end up increasing
the value of the property.