Civil engineers need the right skills and mindset to create sustainable living Free

Much of the narrative about sustainability and construction focuses on the energy-and-emissions-intensive materials used in creation of the built environment. The International Energy Agency estimates that 36% of global energy and 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the construction industry (GlobalABC/IEA/UNEP, 2020). Even small improvements to these figures can have a significant benefit overall. While civil engineers strive for these improvements, they must not be narrow in their appreciation of sustainability or the many ways that the built environment can contribute to sustainable living.

The very purpose of the built environment is to create a functioning society giving great potential to address one of the core pillars of sustainability. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) show just how central construction of infrastructure and facilities is in meeting the goals. The goals also point towards the vital interface between what is built and nature, and how this must be a supportive relationship.

The breadth of approach needed requires civil engineers to have a breadth of skills, a broad mindset and an openness to seize opportunities.

Civil engineers have a responsibility and opportunity to influence sustainable living by the nature of their training and the work they do. The foundations of training in civil engineering are to consider the whole life of a construction project. This was drummed into undergraduates and those seeking professional registrations before terms such as sustainability and circularity were well known.

One of the tenets for becoming a professionally registered civil engineer is that they appreciate how their role fits into the world around them. These fundamentals are enshrined in The UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence and Commitment (UK-spec), which establishes the competency frameworks for internationally recognised professional registrations (Engineering Council, 2020).

The requirements to understand and commit to sustainable development have increased over time and are prevalent in the fourth edition of the UK-spec (Figure 1). The standard is underpinned by a strategy which seeks an ‘engineering profession with sustainability and ethical principles at its core’.

This is why the promotion of professional registration of civil engineers is so important to the achievement of sustainability in construction.

Civil engineers also need the right mindset, especially as they know that the pressures and constraints they face can drive them away from this essential endeavour and cause them to miss opportunities. This is where guidance and incentives are so important.

The Engineering Council, which licenses Britain’s professional engineering institutions, has produced Guidance on Sustainability for the Engineering Profession (Engineering Council, 2021) (Figure 2). This points civil engineers toward six enabling principles:

• build a sustainable society by understanding what society demands and what is achievable

• lead with strong ethics recognising the role that can be played in alleviating poverty, for example

• challenge the status quo and do more than just comply with legislation

• use resources efficiently

• seek multiple views – from other professions and a diverse representation of society

• manage risk to minimise adverse impact and maximise benefit to people and the environment.

Organisational mindset change is essential for creating the permissions and opportunity for sustainable construction. BRE’s Breeam Infrastructure (formerly Ceequal) provides globally recognised sustainability assessment tools for infrastructure and civil engineering projects (BRE, 2023). It offers recognition for all parties involved in a project and at all stages of development and operation. By providing a framework for measuring sustainability, it offers benchmarking across projects and incentives to outperform. Qualified assessors stay in touch with the project as it develops, which helps to promote sustainable thinking at the core of the project.

Construction projects are often conceived for specific purposes and promoted by organisations with specific aims. This can lead to missed opportunities for mutual benefit, efficiency and enhancement, including opportunity to strengthen the relationship between built assets and nature. A mobilised and resourced construction project can offer an efficient means to create environmental gain through the application of the Engineering Council’s six principles.

The UK Environment Act 2021 will require all planning permissions (with a few exceptions) to deliver at least 10% biodiversity next gain, starting from late 2023. If those involved in creating the built environment embrace this as an opportunity, rather than a matter of compliance, then gains far in excess of 10% are possible. This is also true of parts of the world where such a requirement is not mandated.

The Engineering Council’s six principles (Figure 3) encourage a breadth of mindset and approach needed by civil engineers to improve the sustainability of construction and the contribution of construction to sustainable living. They also point towards the skills that are needed from the profession now and in the future. Above all, I hope they inspire civil engineers to recognise the profession’s great responsibility and potential to deliver a sustainable future.