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A Road Map and Principles for the Implementation of Built Environment Sustainability

A Road Map and Principles for the Implementation of Built Environment Sustainability. Presented by Dr. Jorge Vanegas School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology jvanegas@ce.gatech.edu Auckland, New Zealand July 2004.

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A Road Map and Principles for the Implementation of Built Environment Sustainability

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  1. A Road Map and Principles for the Implementation ofBuilt Environment Sustainability Presented by Dr. Jorge VanegasSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology jvanegas@ce.gatech.edu Auckland, New Zealand July 2004

  2. The Future arrives every second as today’s reality, and it does not have “Pause” nor “Reset” buttons…. ... and, whether we like it, accept it, or even care about it, Sustainability is an integral part of the Future, if not it’s only hope….

  3. So, the choices we have are simple: • Are we going to contribute to make the Future we want happen…? • Are we going to just wait and see what Future will happen…? • Or, when whatever Future arrives: • Are we going to ask what happened…? • Or, are we just going to say “huh, something happened” …?

  4. This presentation is about the reality we want for the future that is yet to come, specifically for the future of the Built Environment...

  5. … a Built Environment composed of Facilities (e.g., residential, building, and industrial facilities), and ofCivil Infrastructure Systems (e.g., transportation, energy, water supply, waste management, communications)...

  6. … that nations, public and private sector organizations, communities, families, and individuals need and want to exist, develop, and survive…

  7. So, let me start by asking two questions…

  8. First, can you imagine a world…

  9. …without Architects, Engineers, and Constructors, and the facilities and civil infrastructure systems we envision, plan, design, build, and maintain, in response to the problems, needs, opportunities, and desires of a broad and diverse range of stakeholders…?

  10. Second, what if Architects, Engineers,and Constructors could no longer do what we do,how we do it,andwith what?

  11. Compatibility Compatibility Compatibility What we do... Characteristics and Requirements of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System ...how we do it... ...and with what... Processes for the Delivery and Use of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Resources for the Delivery and Use of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Definition of the Contextual Envelope of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System (Inspired by M. Vorster)

  12. As a resultof currentunsustainableparadigmsandbehaviors... Characteristics and Requirements of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Compatibility Compatibility Processes for the Delivery and Use of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Resources for the Delivery and Use of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Definition of the Contextual Envelope of a Specific Facility or Civil Infrastructure System Compatibility (Inspired by M. Vorster)

  13. So, let’s take a quick and closer look at the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry …

  14. It is large… • Global $ 3.2 T • U.S. Domestic $ 1.1 T • Construction $ 710 B • Renovation $ 282 B • Maintenance $ 148 B • Materials $ 353 B Source: Jack Snell, NIST

  15. • Dams • Highways • Airports • Pipelines • Other • Single-family homes • Townhouses • Apartments • Condominiums • Other Heavy Engineering (17%) Residential (34%) Industrial (16%) • Refineries • Power Plants • Steel Mills • Heavy Manufacturing • Other Building Construction (33%) • Schools • Office Buildings • Warehouses • Shopping Centers • Other It is diverse… Source: Jack Snell, NIST

  16. Internal Direct Internal Indirect • Owners • Users • Developers • Clients • Others • Investors • Users • Consumers • Dependents • Others External Direct External Indirect • Planners • Designers • Contractors • Communities • Others • Regulatory Agencies • Manufacturers • Suppliers • Financiers • Others It has many stakeholders… (Jain et al. 1994; Halliday 1994; Vanegas 1987; Hendrickson & Au 1989)

  17. It faces many challenges… • Overpopulation, disease, and social, economic, and political conflicts • Widespread infrastructure deterioration, pollution, and urban sprawl • Natural resource depletion and degradation, waste generation and accumulation, and environmental impact and degradation • Complex interrelationship between the economic development needs and the environmental problems resulting from development efforts

  18. It takes (in the U.S.)… • 65% of total electricity consumption • 50% of fossil fuels consumed • 40% of materials use • 25% of wood harvest • 17% of fresh water withdrawals • 124 trillion gallons/year total water use • 146,000 gallons/year average household use: • 42% indoors, 58% outdoors • … and much more… (Roodman & Lenssen 1996; Loken et al. 1994)

  19. It leaves (in the U.S.)… • 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste annually • 8-20% of solid waste • 25% of CFC emissions • 36% of CO2 emissions • 740 million tons of CO2 from commercial buildings alone • $60 Billion in medical expenses due to Sick Building Syndrome • … and much more… (Kibert et al. 1994; Zeiher 1996 ; Tchobanoglous et al. 1994; EBN 2001)

  20. It continues to grow… • Total land area in U.S. = 1.94 billion acres • Developed land in U.S. (excluding Alaska): 98.2 million acres • Increase from 1982 to 1997: 34% • Average annual increase: 2.3% • Increase in urbanized land relative to population growth: 2.65 times the rate of population growth • … and much more… (EBN 2001)

  21. It continues to evolve… • 170,000 commercial buildings constructed annually • 44,000 commercial buildings demolished annually • 1.6 million new homes built annually (1.3 million single family) • 245,000 housing units demolished annually • … and much more… (EBN 2001)

  22. It leaves a legacy… • 4.6 million commercial buildings • 101.5 million homes (63.8 single-family) • 425,000 brownfield sites • 4 million paved miles • 35.4 million square miles total paved surfaces (public roadways, paved parking areas, and driveways) • More than 50% of wetlands lost in the lower 48 states between the late 1700s and the mid-1980s • … and much more… (EBN 2001)

  23. Resource Depletion and Degradation Environmental Impact and Degradation Waste Generation and Accumulation Production and Use of Energy End-of-Service- Life Decision Use and Consumption of Technologies, Systems, Products, Materials, and Services, in the Delivery, Operation, and Maintenance of Facilities and Civil Infrastructure Systems (FCIS) Extraction and Use of Primary Resources Processing and Manufacture Transportation and Commercialization Renewable and Nonrenewable Natural Resources Technologies, Systems, Products, and Materials for FCIS Impacts to Humans In other words, we face an unsustainable linear approach to development… (Inspired by D. Roberts)

  24. So, what can we do to address and overcome these challenges?

  25. A wide range of constituencies, not only in the AEC industry but in other industries as well, have been attempting for many years the implementation of possible mechanisms to slow, reduce, and eliminate these impacts, and even restore conditions to a better state…

  26. Social/Cultural/Political/Regulatory, Economic/Financial, Ecological/Environmental Context Reduction/Elimination of Resource Depletion and Degradation Reduction/Elimination of Sustainable Resource Management Environmental Impact and Degradation Reduction/Elimination of Sustainable Strategies and Technologies Waste Generation and Accumulation Production and Use of Energy Resource Recovery End-of-Service- Life Decision Use and Consumption of Technologies, Systems, Products, Materials, and Services, in the Delivery, Operation, and Maintenance of Facilities and Civil Infrastructure Systems (FCIS) Extraction and Use of Primary Resources Processing and Manufacture Transportation and Commercialization Renewable and Nonrenewable Natural Resources Technologies, Systems, Products, and Materials for FCIS Intra- and Intergenerational Satisfaction of Human Needs and Aspirations GRADUAL CHANGE TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY Reduction/Elimination of Impacts to Humans In other words, they have been striving to implement sustainability… (Inspired by D. Roberts)

  27. However, one problem is that when you start to discuss sustainability… • Some people strive to use tactics to leave you: • Scared… (the possible outcomes) • Bad… (the statistics and blame) • Guilty… (the greater good) • Confused… ( the intellectual base) • Relieved… (the technological fix) • Although any discussion on Built Environment Sustainability (BES) needs to address all these points of view, this presentation will strive to avoid the polarization they inevitably cause…

  28. … and instead of debating any of these points of view, focus on:what could the A/E/C Industry do to effectively implementBuilt Environment Sustainability(BES)?

  29. The first thing that we can do to implement BES in the A/E/C Industry is to:Establish, as a point of departure, the dimensions, influences, and scales of BES…

  30. INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL ENTERPRISE INDUSTRY SOCIETY WORLD So, from various perspectives...

  31. MOLECULAR MATERIAL PRODUCTS PROCESSES SYSTEMS COMPLEX SYSTEMS ...and at various levels of complexity... (Inspired by P. Anastas)

  32. …we need to establish that what we need/want to sustain are...

  33. People Individuals Body Mind Organizations Families Heart Soul Communities

  34. The Built Environment Civil Infrastructure Systems Residential Facilities Non- Residential Facilities Industrial Facilities

  35. Production Systems Goods Products Services

  36. The Natural Environment Air Water Local Global Soil Biota (Plant and Animal Species)

  37. People Production Systems The Natural Environment The Built Environment The Resource Base ResourceBase

  38. The Resource Base BuiltCapital(Facilities andInfrastructure) IndustrialCapital(Products, Goods,Services) NaturalCapital(Renewable andNon-renewableResources) SocialCapital(Professional andNon-professionalWorkforce) EconomicCapital

  39. Environmental and Ecological Systems Economic and Financial Systems Spatial Scale Social, Cultural, Political, and Regulatory Systems Dimensions, Influences, and Scales of BES

  40. SITE FOOTPRINT LOCAL FOOTPRINT STATE FOOTPRINT REGIONAL FOOTPRINT NATIONAL FOOTPRINT GLOBAL INTERNATIONALFOOTPRINT The Spatial Scale of BES

  41. Environmental and Ecological Systems Economic and Financial Systems Spatial Scale Temporal Scale Social, Cultural, Political, and Regulatory Systems Dimensions, Influences, and Scales of BES

  42. TODAY 1 YEAR 1 – 5 YEARS 5 – 10 YEARS 10 – 25 YEARS 25 – 50 YEARS + The Temporal Scale of BES

  43. Environmental and Ecological Systems Economic and Financial Systems Spatial Scale Temporal Scale Social, Cultural, Political, and Regulatory Systems Dimensions, Influences, and Scales of BES

  44. However,“There is nothing more tragic than the death of a beautiful theory at the hands of a brutal gang of irrefutable facts.”

  45. … and the irrefutable facts are that the AEC industry… • … operates with a “Horizontal Tunnel Vision” within “Vertical Stovepipes”… • … follows a “Cradle to Grave” path of development combined with a “Turf Mentality” at an industry level… • … is full of “Conventional Enterprises” that operate with “Institutional Amnesia”... • … lives in the “Jail of the Status Quo”further hampered by the “Shackles of Quality, Cost, and Time” within a “Commodity and Service Trap”…

  46. … and the irrefutable facts are that the AEC industry… (cont.) • … executes AEC projects as an “Obstacle Course Race” with a “Herd of Cats” who are constantly “Thumb Wrestling” and who suffer from “Spatial and Temporal Myopia”… • … needs to overcome its “Piece Meal” and “Rice Bowls” mentalities, and to avoid all the “Islands of Execution and Automation”…

  47. The AerospaceIndustry The AutomotiveIndustry The AECIndustry In fact, compared to other industries…

  48. So, in this brutal context, very few theories have a chance to survive …

  49. So the second thing that we can do to implement BES in the A/E/C Industry is to:Apply a roadmap and a set of principles for the implementation of BES that will enable the AEC industry to move from its current inhibitors to a new set of enablers…

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