Sustainable Engineering - Practical Studies for Building a Sustainable Society

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Sustainable EngineeringPractical Studies for

Building a Sustainable Society

Narito Shibaike

15 April, 2015

New School Establishment

• Tokyo University of Technology has

established a School of Engineering

– incorporating “Sustainable Engineering”

as the practical studies for building a

sustainable society

– comprising three departments of

Mechanical Engineering,

Electric and Electronic Engineering, and

Applied Chemistry

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Function of the School

• Equipping students with the capability

to put their knowledge and technology

of “Sustainable Engineering” to

practical use

– with enhancing practical skill through

unique cooperative education, thereby

boosting employability, and

– with helping to build a workforce of

educated engineers equipped with an

international mindset

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Sustainable Development

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• “Sustainable Development” is a world

common principle

– Proposal of Brundtland Commission’s

report “Our Common Future” (1987)

– Definition: Development that meets the

needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs

– The words are simple, but not easy to

understand exactly…

Sustainable Society

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• Sustainable society is a possible vision

toward “Sustainable Development”

– providing three significant points of view;

Planet, People and Prosperity (3Ps)

• The three Ps are essential criteria in

sustainable management

– imposing ecological perspectives on

conventional development strategy of

engineering technologies

Vision for Sustainable Development

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Environmental SystemClimate change,

Ecology, Natural resources,

Energy, etc.

Human System

Safety and security,

Education, Health,

Lifestyle, etc.

Societal SystemPolitics, Economy,

Institution, Industry,

Technology, etc.

Sustainable

Development

Sustainable

Society

Planet

Prosperity People

Sustainable

Society

Harmonization

with Environment

Revitalization of

EconomyImprovement of

Quality of Life

Three Points of View

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• Planet: ecosystems, natural resources

and biodiversity

– taking environmental considerations such

as minimum energy consumption, resources

recycling and environment protection

• People: health, education and happiness

– improving the quality of human life

• Prosperity: financial wealth, institutions

and built environment

– encouraging the vitality of societal economy

Critical Actions in Sustainable Society

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• Sustainable Production

– Prosperity vs. Planet

– Increase of environmental performance

– Industry and manufacturer’s responsibility

– Need for development of eco-efficiency index

• Sustainable Consumption

– People vs. Planet

– Not decrease of product value

– Consumer’s choice and further requirement

– Need for evaluation of social acceptancy

Life Cycle Thinking

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• Take account of impacts and effects of

products through “cradle to grave”

• Impacts to Planet

– Energy and resource consumption (input)

– Emissions to the environment (output)

• Effects to People

– Human life quality

• Effects to Prosperity

– Economic dynamism

Product Life Cycle

Eco-Design Process through LCT

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• Life cycle thinking is a basic concept for

environmentally conscious design

Management Commitment / Policy

Analysis of Stakeholder / Regulatory

Requirements

Design &

Development

Review,

Continual

Improvement

Com

mun

icat

ion

/ Inf

orm

atio

n M

anag

emen

t

Ana

lysi

s &

Eva

luat

ion

Too

ls

Life Cycle Thinking

Identification & Evaluation

of Environmental AspectsEC

D P

rocess e

lem

ents

Plan

Do

Check & Act

Foundation

Quality/Environmental Management System

Management Commitment / PolicyManagement Commitment / Policy

Analysis of Stakeholder / Regulatory

Requirements

Design &

Development

Review,

Continual

Improvement

Com

mun

icat

ion

/ Inf

orm

atio

n M

anag

emen

t

Ana

lysi

s &

Eva

luat

ion

Too

ls

Life Cycle ThinkingLife Cycle Thinking

Identification & Evaluation

of Environmental AspectsEC

D P

rocess e

lem

ents

Plan

Do

Check & Act

Foundation

Quality/Environmental Management SystemQuality/Environmental Management System

Overview of

ECD process

(IEC62430)

Life Cycle Assessment

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• LCA is the most popular management

tool for environmental issues

– ISO14040 series are treating the LCA, and

ISO14040 and 14044 are the core standards

for everyone to carry out the study

– ISO14040 describes the principles and

framework of LCA, and the framework

includes definition of the goal and scope,

life cycle inventory analysis, life cycle

impact assessment and interpretation

Four Phases of LCA Study

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• Four phases are prescribed by ISO14040

Impact

Assessment

Inventory

Analysis

Life Cycle Assessment Framework

Interpretation

Goal and

scope

definition

Direct Application

- Product development

and improvement

- Strategic planning

- Public policy making

- Marketing

- Others

Critical Review

Life Cycle CO2 Emission

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• Environmental impact of product is subject

to its entire life cycle

Measurement of Sustainability

• Candidate indicators on Planet

– Life cycle impact assessment, Ecological

footprint, Eco-indicator, LIME, etc.

• Candidate indicators on People

– Functional performance, Life cycle value

assessment, Human development index,

Quality function development, etc.

• Candidate indicators on Prosperity

– Life cycle costing, Gross domestic

product, Consumer price index, etc.

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Eco-Efficiency

• Definition

– Aspect of sustainability relating the

environmental performance of a product to

its product value (from ISO14045)

• Quantification of Eco-Efficiency

• Expansion to sustainability

– Assess the value of product and technology

– Integrate three points of view15

Eco-Efficiency

of Product

Product Value (Consumer’s Benefit)=

Environmental Impact through Entire Life Cycle of Product

Product Value

• Definition

– Worth or desirability ascribed to a product

• Note: The product value may encompass

different value aspects, including functional,

monetary, aesthetic, etc.

• Functional value

– Tangible and measurable benefit to the user

and other stakeholders

– Numerical quantity representing functional

performance or desirability of a product

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Cooperative Education

• The school also offers unique

opportunities of industry and university

cooperative education

– in accordance with pursuing “Sustainable

Engineering”

• All students spend about eight weeks

on an internship

– to reinforce the knowledge and skills

learned in class and identify remaining

challenges through on-the-job training

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Curriculum of the School

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• Curriculum of the School of Engineering is

organized systematically

– by adding both “Sustainable Engineering” and

“Cooperative Education” on conventional course

1st year 2nd – 3rd year 4th year

Cooperative Education

Sustainable Engineering

Conventional Engineering Curriculum

Graduate

Research

Entry

Seminar

Education Program for ME

• “Sustainable Engineering” and “Cooperative

Education” are interactively well-tailored

Education Program for EE/AC

• Project based learning is carried out with all

the students from three departments together

CO

First Year Second Year Third Year

SE

Project

Based

Learning

LCABasic

Study

On

The

Job

Practice

II

Practice

IIIPractice

I

Research Fields of the School

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Environmental Preservation

and Quality Improvement

Technologies

Intelligent Information

Processing and

Communication

Technologies

Human Assist and Life

Support Technologies

Renewable Energy and

Low Carbon

Technologies

Resources

Conservation and

Recycling Technologies

Sustainable Assessment and

Design Technologies

Sustainable

Society

Planet

Prosperity People

Sustainable

Society

The Future

• The goal of the school is creating a

new way of engineering that

harmonizes with

– benefit of humanity,

– socioeconomic

development and

– environmental

conservation,

and raising engineers to practice it !!

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