President's Monthly Message
January 2008

Facing Challenges of Sustainability

Within the next two decades, the world’s population will increase by almost 2 billion, people and 95 percent of these new inhabitants will be living in developing or underdeveloped countries. This unprecedented growth will create staggering demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, waste disposal, health care and telecommunications. Without changes in consumption patterns, the world’s expanding population will experience the economic consequences that follow from reduced supplies of water, energy, and other natural resources.

The National Academy of Science sees 1979 -- almost 30 years ago -- as the year of the earth’s “tipping point”- that is the year when the consumption of natural resources exceeded the earth’s ability to replenish them. While there are a multiplicity of collective and individual solutions, a culture of sustainability offers significant hope that humanity can take action to address its overuse of resources.

What action is ASCE taking to address this crisis? The Society’s commitment to sustainable development is clear in our Code of Ethics, which states (guidelines to practice for canon 1) that “engineers whose professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where...the principles of sustainable development are ignored, shall inform clients or employers of the possible consequences.” The code goes on to say that “engineers shall seek opportunities to be of constructive service in civic affairs and work for the...protection of the environment through the practice of sustainable development.

ASCE’s policy 418 (“The Role of the Civil Engineer in Sustainable Development”) states that “sustainable development is the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resources, industrial products, energy, food, transportation, shelter, and effective waste management while conserving and protecting environmental quality and the natural resource base essential for future development.” This policy embodies a commitment by ASCE to strengthen and broaden the education of engineers and to find innovative ways to achieve needed development while conserving natural resources. ASCE is working in different ways to achieve these objectives.

ASCE supports the development goals set forth in the United Nations Millennium Declaration as they apply to improving the quality of people’s lives around the world through science and engineering. ASCE works in collaboration with other domestic and international organizations to engage engineers in addressing the needs of the poor through capacity building and the implementation of measures that reflect the goals of sustainable development. By helping meet the goals stated in the U.N. declaration, the engineering profession contributes to a world which all people have access to the knowledge and resources with which to meet their basic human needs, and it helps to promote sustainable development in the areas of water supply, sanitation, food production, housing, construction, energy, transportation, communication, income generation, and employment creation.

The ASCE publication, The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 marks the culmination of almost five years of effort and represents the collective wisdom of more than 60 experts from around the world. The vision, which grew out of the Summit on the Future of Civil Engineering, a conference convened by the Society in 2006, states that civil engineers “shall be stewards,” of the natural environment and its resources and notes that they will need to serve as master builders, innovators, and integrators; as managers of risk and uncertainty; and as leaders in shaping public policy. The report serves as a guide for developing policies and plans and charting progress within the civil engineering community. It is also a call to action to individuals and organizations, providing direction to achieve the vision’s goals.

ASCE’s expanded affiliation with Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB) increases opportunities for engineers and engineering students to take part in hands-on engineering projects and to provide training to those living in poor communities so that residents there can implement sustainable solutions and become self-sufficient. EWB engineers also work to establish infrastructure for communities challenged to provide their residents even with life’s basic necessities. Through our support of EWB, ASCE has made a significant, long-term commitment to helping those in need. To learn more about EWB and about how to support the organization’s valuable work, visit the group’s Web site at www.ewb-usa.org.

ASCE provides various forums for discussing issues related to sustainable development in the engineering, environmental and financial communities, and it facilitates dialogue with policymakers and key legislators. For example, the discussion at the international roundtable in Orlando, Florida, that formed part of ASCE’s 2007 annual conference focused on building water infrastructure for sustainable development.

ASCE’s working group in the Practice, Education and Research for Sustainable Infrastructure (PERSI) initiative includes the American Institute of Architects, American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, the American Planning Association, the American Society of Interior Designers, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Water Works Association, ASTM International, Autodesk, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Construction Specifications Institute, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Institute of Building Sciences, and the US Green Building Council. The working group’s memorandum of understanding establishes PERSI as an infrastructure community alliance whose members pledge to work cooperatively and collaboratively to promote and implement the principles of sustainable development.

Many of ASCE’s institutes and committees are integrating sustainability into their plans and programs. For example, the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) is actively working to support PERSI's goals, is planning workshops and short courses on such sustainability issues as energy conservation and climate change, and has made project sustainability a criterion in conferring its Project Excellence Award. Moreover, the Technical Activities Committee’s Committee on Sustainability is working with all ASCE units to develop a comprehensive sustainable development action plan and is preparing guidelines that ASCE’s sections, branches and student chapters can use in promoting sustainability programs and activities at the local level.

The Engineer’s Forum on Sustainability, sponsored by ASCE, the American Society for Engineering Education, the IEEE, the ASME, and the AIChE’s Institute for Sustainability under the auspices of the American Association of Engineering Societies, considers a wide range of sustainable issues, and recently delivered a report as part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment that outlines ways of making campuses more environmentally benign. The Engineer’s Forum on Sustainability was established in 1997, and its mission is to help promote the principles and practice of sustainable development by providing a meeting place for the exchange of information, distributing information on engineering education that embodies the concepts of sustainable development, encouraging practicing engineers to apply sustainable development principles, and keeping abreast of international developments that can further the goals of sustainability.

As we enter 2008, I urge our members to take an active part in Society endeavors to find solutions to sustainability challenges. One of our Society’s highest callings is to prepare the engineering community-this generation and the next- to address and meet these challenges. The judicious use of our resources, especially water and energy, will go far in helping people in both developing and developed nations around the world.