National Sustainability Workshops

Released: December 15, 2008

By Paul Varsanyi

“The future is not somewhere we are going, it is something we are creating,” said Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe, to a Sustainability Workshop in Brisbane in May 2008.

The workshop was one of a series conducted by the Sustainability Committee of Engineers Australia’s Council, involving each of the Institution’s nine Divisions. The purpose of the workshops was to generate awareness among members of sustainability at the strategic level, and to enlist member support and feedback on strategies being developed by the Sustainability Committee. 

Each workshop featured a guest speaker.

Lowe categorised society’s responses to the growing evidence of imbalance on our planet as comprising, in large part, denial and avoidance, with more recent indicators suggesting society may be ready to take responsibility for change.

“Values which have driven us, may now threaten us,” he said. “Domination of nature should be replaced with ecological sensitivity. Consumerism should be replaced with quality of life. Individualism should be replaced with human solidarity.” (To view his presentation, go to www, engineersaustralia.org.au and then to Queensland Division.)

In Hobart, Andrew Goelst, general manager of CB&M Designs, suggested: “Our generation has not so much inherited the planet from our parents – we are bequeathing it to our children.”  He outlined a practical model of sustainability for engineers, noting: “It is possible to have a commercially viable engineering project that has political and community support, and endorsement from strong environmental groups.”

Referring to strains between the industrialised and the industrialising world on responses to the issue of CO₂ emissions, John Harrison, managing director and chairman of TecEco in Hobart, suggested that “constraint is not an acceptable answer for developing countries.  So we need new technology platforms to enable us to exist. We should learn to build with man-made carbonates.”

Referring to his new book, “Cities as sustainable ecosystems: Principles and practices”, Professor Peter Newman of Curtin University noted the impact of rising oil prices on the viability of major cities, and set out an urban survival strategy comprising transit-oriented, pedestrian-oriented and green-oriented development – the latter involving solar power, energy efficiency, distributed power and recycling.

Professor Gus Nathan of Adelaide University analysed the pros and cons of Australia’s best options for sustainable energy generation, spanning geothermal, wind and biofuels, concluding that a mix of responses was required. Addressing the Adelaide and Darwin workshops, Nathan emphasised the requirement for economic incentives, such as carbon trading, and acknowledged the wide mix of engineering skills and disciplines which needed to be brought to bear.

Dr Graeme Pearman, of  Monash University, and Dr Michael Raupach, of CSIRO, each focused on the links between climate change and sustainability, addressing workshops in Melbourne and Sydney respectively. “Developed countries’ emissions must fall by 80%-90% by 2050,” Rupach said, noting that a range of technical and economic responses was available to achieve that, and at an affordable cost to the community.

“We should simultaneously address all aspirations for human development: economic, social, environmental and intergenerational” he said. “We need to accept trade offs, maintain our resilience, and demand an integration of knowledge.  This is a major role of governments.”

“It’s up to us engineers and scientists to take sustainability forward,” suggested Peter Cockbain, past president of Engineers Australia, in Newcastle. “Our job is to be analytical in the longer time frame, and remain true to our own Code of Ethics.”

Paul Varsanyi is a Project Coordinator within the Engineering Practice Directorate of Engineers Australia’s National Office