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To cite this Article Hasna, Abdallah M.(2010) 'Sustainability classifications in engineering: discipline and approach',
International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 3: 4, 258 — 276, First published on: 14 September 2010 (iFirst)
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/19397038.2010.500743
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2010.500743
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International Journal of Sustainable Engineering
Vol. 3, No. 4, December 2010, 258–276
In order to discuss how to advance sustainability in engineering, it is necessary to be clear as to what exactly is the science of
sustainability. The linkage between sustainability philosophy and scientific principles has, in some ways, been
acknowledged in the wider literature. Moreover, the recent scholarship on sustainability in international literature has
focused on providing definitions, policies and methods, though from an engineering perspective, there is an obvious need for
clarity on how the engineering and science community can integrate the science of sustainability into practice. Prima facie,
this article provides an overview of the development of sustainability science through a textual analysis to collate the
underlying discourse and ideology cited in literature. While the number one sustainability challenge is to mitigate climate
change, compiling a definition genesis of sustainability will assist the engineering community in gaining an understanding in
the underlying philosophical frames. The aim of this paper is to analyse sustainability information in the print press,
journals, periodicals and textbooks since publication patterns contribute to our understanding of the cognitive aspects of
scholarly knowledge development.
Keywords: sustainability science; sustainability literacy; social construction; citation
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1. Introduction In the ten years since Rio 1992, the international community
has spent enormous amounts of money on environmental
So, what is the relationship between sustainability and research; a veritable avalanche of books, papers and reports
engineering, if any? Science is aimed at generating true have been published; and armies of environmental
knowledge; engineering is about changing the world bureaucrats have been appointed. Yet, the world of 2002 is
(Mulder 2004). In addition, the engineering profession is a much less sustainable than the world of 1992. Why?
practical discipline. Instrumentalist by nature applies science One of the reasons proposed in this article suggests that the
to achieve an outcome, hence it is identified as having a engineering and science community remain on the
critical position in sustainability since it contributes to
sidelines, with little involvement in the development of
improving the well being of mankind, i.e. energy supply,
sustainability science (SS). In addition, since sustainability
refining minerals, building roads, etc. Thus, engineering is
is both a transdisciplinary and an interdisciplinary
classified as being anthropocentric. The focus of this paper is
paradigm that consists of a multiplicity of attributes,
on sustainability classifications in engineering to enhance the
blame is being allocated in many directions, with
paradigm shift, a paradigm that consists of a multiplicity of
accusations such as ‘I thought it was your job, not mine’
attributes. This paper responds to a gap in the literature by
explaining what sustainability is for engineering. Currently, being thrown around. The thesis of this paper claims that
in engineering education, there are a large number of papers by understanding the scope of the definitions, the
and special journal issues on wide-ranging sustainability engineering community will therefore be able to develop
issues; from Universities plans to implementations and an a unique and universal operational definition of sustain-
issue which is becoming a leading theme in education, how ability to be applied in respective disciplines, in order to
to convince lecturers to introduce sustainable development move beyond compliance issues in terms of environment
into their engineering courses? Boyle (2004) identified protection and conservation and repair the extensive
problems in incorporating sustainability into traditional damage that our development paradigm has wrought upon
engineering education such as a lack of textbooks and a lack the environment and society. The intended aim of this
of case studies for students to examine. The growing need for definitional paper is not to add new philosophical
this research stems from the following statement that propositions or publish another document on sustainability
underscored deliberations at the Johannesburg Summit of but instead to make sustainability propositions in
2002: engineering clear.
*Email: ahasna@impe.com.au
ISSN 1939-7038 print/ISSN 1939-7046 online
q 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/19397038.2010.500743
http://www.informaworld.com
International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 259
1.1 Dissemination of the concept of sustainability domain. The aim of this study is to identify and collate the
‘Sustainability’ has become widely accepted as a uniting cited literature on sustainability. The examination process
and purposeful focus for the twenty-first century entails finding fairly common patterns or dynamics from
(Batterham 2003). Sustainability theory has gained global multiple cases (Ascher 2007). The investigation was
recognition today. The debate over how to define achieved by reviewing the antecedents of contemporary
sustainability is not new. The definitions of sustainability scholarship to examine the theoretical progress towards SS.
and sustainable development have become an important The results of this investigation will characterise the new
global objective. There has been a variety of research developments to arrive at the current state of knowledge
investigating sustainability, heralding it as the new sustainability.
industrial revolution in terms of size, scale and
transformation but despite two decades of research on 1.2 Overview of prior research
sustainable development, a general theory of sustainability Recent years have seen a growth in SS research in
grounded on a solid, interdisciplinary framework is still a response to the upsurge of the sustainability debate
gap in the sustainability literature (Mudacumura et al. (Kates et al. 2001, Jaeger 2002, Clark and Dickson 2003,
2006). To approach the subject of SS, there is a need to first Kates and Thomas 2003, McMichael et al. 2003, Mihelcic
explore these questions by analysing differences between et al. 2003, Reitan 2005, Komiyama and Takeuchi 2006,
applied sustainability, sustainability theory and sustainable Martens 2006, Potschin and Haines-Young 2006,
development. Applied sustainability, also referred to as Clark 2007, Kajikawa 2008). Jointly, the nucleus of SS
operational sustainability, generally refers to the ability to is asking: How are long-term trends in environment and
achieve within an existing framework also frequently development, including consumption and population,
recognised as performance based in environmental reshaping nature – society interactions in ways relevant to
sustainability. Sustainability theory considers the system sustainability? While this article acknowledges the
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functioning across its major tenets bridging economic, previous research debates, the current state of knowledge
political, social, cultural, institutional, technological and requires a classification, an abridgment of SS. Since a clear
spiritual ideas. Related research into operational sustain- and concise description of what is unfolding remains
ability is also currently being conducted (Atlee and broad, the broadening focus motivated this research to
Kirchain 2006, Howarth 2007, Sedlbauer et al. 2007, Davis collect all the evidence and construct a datum underlying
2009). On the other hand, sustainable development is the SS developments. Buoyed by these findings, this paper sets
process by which, over time, there has been success in out to present a review of SSs by exploring an important
the management of different capital flows in our economy driver: the plethora of sustainability definitions and
on a genuinely sustainable basis (Parkin et al. 2003). considerations. Upon completion of this review, the key
However, applied/operational sustainability, and sustain- findings will provide a common framework supporting the
able development, remains a mammoth task for society. emerging discipline of SS (Turner et al. 2003). The results
The notion that history never repeats is contradicted of this investigation are divided into three associated
with our traditional reactive institutional responses. sections. First, it presents a compilation of published
It appears that every time society faces a new problem or definitions; the second section provides new linguistic
threat, then a new legislative process is introduced that tries terms in the print media and discusses the materialisation
to protect that society from a future reoccurrence of the discipline and approach; and finally, the third
(Romano 2004). Hence, to change the status quo thinking presents a summary of sustainability-related journals
and doing is the challenge that lies ahead for the scientific and periodicals. While it acknowledges the cumbersome
and legislative community because our generation is task of reviewing all existing publication trends in books,
charged with an unprecedented responsibility that under- journals, assessments tools or method of SS and
pins all human activity. To this point, a number of discourse in the print media, it is noteworthy to mention
comparative theories exist: the positivist and the pessimist; their existence.
the scientist and the novice; the believer and the sceptic; the
expert and the layman; the righteous and the sinful; the
politicians and the noblemen, all suggesting sustainability 2. Research methods and results
solutions to solve the planet’s problems. Consequently, it The present review focuses on descriptive analysis;
would seem apparent that some attention should be paid to consisting of searching, assessing and integrating sustain-
the question and definition of SS. Is it a reactive remedy?; A ability scholarly articles, books and other sources such as
theoretical perspective?; A subject or domain?; A vogue?; dissertations and conference proceedings, thereby pre-
A new craze or something to stay? For this reason, it is senting an account of what has been published on
imperative to conduct this investigation to classify SS to sustainability by accredited scholars and researchers.
achieve a concise and workable definition of this new It begins by reviewing the literature on definitions.
260 A.M. Hasna
2.1 The anthology of sustainability definitions The word ‘sustain’ has been in the language for
The original World Commission on Environment and thousands of years. It comes from the Latin sustenare
Development (WCED) publication (Bruntland 1987) meaning ‘to hold up’ (i.e. to support). From there, it
invoked public interest in sustainability, posing challenges evolved long ago to mean ‘to keep something going or
such as the management of contractive problems, extend its duration’, with an overtone of providing the
acceptance that the world is faced with an environmental support or necessities that made the extended duration
crisis, and the idea that society must make a fundamental possible, e.g. a sustaining meal; ‘sustain’ to cause to
change to overcome the crisis, for example, growth vs. continue (as in existence or a certain state, or in force or
limits, intergenerational vs. intragenerational equity and intensity); to keep up (especially without interruption,
individual vs. collective interests (Dovers and Handmer diminution, flagging, etc.); or to prolong. A number of
1995). The origin of the term ‘sustainable development’ in notable authors have attempted to define sustainability, as
contemporary terms is usually credited to the Brundtland listed in Appendix B and are classified in terms of the year
Report (Holden 2008); however, the Bruntland Report was of publication, the main or first author and a brief
not an isolated project; it had built on the previous work of description of the findings followed by an objective
the Club of Rome (Meadows et al. 1972). Furthermore, it classification of the definition. The Bruntland Report is
had come together as a joint effort between many considered the modern genesis of the sustainability
institutions and governments. Essentially, from the time movement, and of the papers listed in Appendix B, the
when sustainability was first popularised by the Brundt- WCED (Bruntland 1987) is the most often cited definition:
land Report in 1987 to the present day, numerous efforts ‘development that meets the needs of the present without
have been made by different groups, organisations and compromising the ability of future generations to meet
individuals to capture a common interpretation of the their own needs’.
concept. Meppem and Gill (1998) wrote that few concepts Perhaps, it is worth noting a key question: Why is
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have been applied with less precision and consistency in sustainability, as a process, in some contexts so difficult to
policy circles than ‘sustainability’. The concept is now understand (Leal Filho 2000)? There are various reasons,
espoused at all levels of government and industry but considering the earlier mentioned collection of
throughout the world, though rarely in a uniform way. definitions, it is easy to see the reason for the attitude
This has been noted by some, including (Gell-Mann 1994), variation towards definitional sustainability. More impor-
who suggests that, while ‘today many people are busy tantly, the broadness was answered by Seager et al. (2004)
writing the word “sustainable” in pencil, the definition is who defined sustainability as a shared ethical belief. It is
important to note that more often than not, the concept of
not always clear’. Additionally, Costanza (1994) asserts
‘sustainability’ is presented as an ideal state. It is also
that ‘to a large degree the sustainability concept is not
useful at this point to review some of the more considered
internalised and the ramifications of internalisation are
articulations of the sustainability concept. Definitions can
poor’. Furthermore, some of the confusion around SS
be classified either in positivist or in normative terms.
exists due to the lack of clear-cut information.
Keynes (cited in Meppem and Gill 1998) declared that a
The following are examples of some of the criticisms
‘positivist science may be defined as a body of
cited in literature (Costanza 1994, Leal Filho 2000,
systematised knowledge concerning what is; a normative
Martens 2006):
or regulative science as a body of systemised knowledge
relating to criteria of what ought to be’. Various definitions
(1) sustainability is not a subject per se since it is not
have been suggested, which are all very similar, yet are
classified as being part of the domain of any given
open to interpretation and still remain somewhat
science;
ambiguous. Leal Filho (2000) reports that the expression
(2) sustainability is too theoretical;
‘sustainability’ has been traditionally used as synonymous
(3) sustainability is too broad for engineering;
with words such as ‘long-term’, ‘durable’, ‘sound’ or
(4) sustainability is too recent a field and
‘systematic’ among others. Dobson (1998) connected
(5) sustainability is a fashion accessory.
sustainability to justice: ‘subordinate to justice’. Indeed,
The review focuses on answering the following research out of the context of the English language, sustainable
questions and analysing each of the definitions of development is very often referred to as ‘Développement
sustainability: durable’ in French, while word-for-word translations are
found in German (nachhaltige Entwicklung), Spanish
(1) Is a new SS emerging? (desarollo sostenible) and Portuguese (desenvolvimento
(2) Does the literature support the claim? sustentaÂvel).
(3) What is SS? Sustainability is defined differently within and
(4) How is it characterised? Is it a trans-, inter-, or multi - between cultures, and its definition has changed over
disciplinary scientific approach? time. The concept of sustainability is a complex one;
International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 261
however, it is possible to distil some of its most basic and modifications are made at sublevels to achieve an
general characteristics by adopting a systemic approach. individualised outcome.
Acknowledging the lack of an agreed definition of According to Kajikawa et al. (2007), the accumulated
sustainability, Mebratu (1998) proposed that there were number of publications is increasing exponentially.
three main ‘versions’ of sustainability: institutional, Furthermore, the SS approach has evolved over the past
ideological and academic, as shown in Table 1. However, quarter century to its current state, given that science starts
in considering our search for a definition of SS, the critical with an object of study, then analyses it in order to
theory and the analysis of institutions, ideologies and understand it and the analytic results accumulated by
academic perspectives presented in Table 1 underpin the scientists contribute to the development of new scientific
application of sustainability in its own context. However, disciplines. As the analytical process advances, its object
the normative interpretation most widely quoted in of study grows narrower. As analysis becomes more
sustainability is that expressed by the WCED (1987). specific and detailed in its focus, scientific disciplines
For the purposes of developing a definition of themselves become increasingly narrow and specialised
sustainability, it is suggested to consider analysing (Yoshikawa 2008). The following transcripts are snippets
sustainability literature using a ‘systems model’ approach. of how the domain has evolved in the literature. A number
The advantages of such an approach are several; especially of notable researchers have provided meticulous studies of
as it provides a wholesome view of the defining activity. the domain (Kates et al. 2001, Clark and Dickson 2003,
Initially, in defining this ‘system model’, it was considered Reitan 2005, Komiyama and Takeuchi 2006) and
a system simply defined as a set of interrelated elements or concluded that it was not an exclusive domain, rather a
subsystems. The elements can be molecules, organisms, transdisciplinary approach. According to Clark (2007), SS
machines or their parts, social entities or even abstract is not yet an autonomous field. Keiner (2004) provided a
concepts. Hence, compiling sustainability definitional lot of definitions and models for its explanation, ranging
literature is considered via the interrelations, interlinkages from triangles and prisms to eggs. Kates et al. (2000) and
or ‘couplings’ between these elements, which may also Kates and Thomas (2003) wrote that sustainable develop-
have very different manifestations within the system, i.e. ment exhibits broad political appeal, but has proven
economic transactions, flows of matter or energy, causal difficult to define in precise terms. While much literature
linkages, etc. (Gallopı́n 2001). Similarly, the process of made a case and promoted the dawn of the new
adapting or acclimatising sustainability definitions is part discipline/metadiscipline, Mihelci et al. (2003) described
and parcel of a system model where contextual it as a new field of science that seeks to understand the
262 A.M. Hasna
fundamental character of interactions between nature and emphasises how discourse patterns vary from the
society and to encourage those interactions along more disciplinary perspective, i.e. political, ecological, econ-
sustainable trajectories. Matson et al. (2007) described an omic, anthropological, legal and sociological, as shown in
emerging field of research which integrates the physical, Table 2, to comparative tables for translating this material
biological and social sciences as well as medicine and into discourses of globalisation and localisation. Although
engineering. Pachauri (2008) showed its multidisciplinary it would be a cumbersome task to cover exhaustively all
themes that examine the scientific aspects, the engineering the definitions that are mushrooming from literature, a
aspects and also the social science aspects of a problem. growing body of evidence suggests lengthy debates on the
Fricker (1998) described sustainability as a concept that definitions of sustainability. It is offered as normative, and
has captured our imaginations and aspirations and as a most of them articulate sharable concepts (Orecchini
tangible and identifiable goal that eludes us. 2007). The horizon of definitional meanings refers to a
According to Kajikawa (2008), it was noticed that junction of at least five domains: economic, environmen-
some sustainability dimensions are related to institutional tal, technological, institutional and social, which comprise
definitions in view of the fact that human beings equity and justice, as well as cultural and spiritual meaning
traditionally have used an ‘adaptation strategy’ under in equal measure. These considerations of terminology
environmental uncertainty and vulnerability. Adaptation indicate that there is a strong normative component in the
strategies are classified into three types: institutional, concept of sustainable development (Becker 1997).
behavioural and technological. Institutions and their Another angle to view the broad definitional meanings of
associated policies are one of the three key dimensions sustainability is by evaluating the relationships between
of adaptation to climate change. This institutional strategy human beings and the planet, human social union and our
is in agreement with the definitions of sustainability listed moral fabric. The attempt to study the value of
(Mebratu 1998). Although environmental protection, sustainability by relating social benefits of products and
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macroeconomic stability, good governance and respect services to satisfying human needs is conceivably best
for human rights, appropriate technology and technical answered by Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs
soundness are all necessary if development interventions (Maslow 1954), which articulated the five levels of
are to continue to yield benefits, they will amount to little human needs. The common ground between Maslow’s
without sustainable institutions (Brown 1998). Insti- concept and sustainability is described in the lower order
tutional sustainability is therefore no less and in fact, one needs in the pyramid, since it stipulates that higher needs
could argue, is far more important than the other notions of in the hierarchy only come into focus once all lower needs
sustainability mentioned above, as all these are ultimately are entirely satisfied (i.e. basic needs: sufficient food, clean
dependent on institutions. water, hygienic living conditions, etc.). Ecological
Thus far, literature indicates that aspects dealing with sustainability rests upon securing the basis of life and
the value of the environment are conceptualised as nature. industrial production without compromising the global
The second is the temporal dimension of intergenerational long-term functioning of the environment (Von Hauff and
equity, and the third is the spatial or social aspect of Wilderer 2008). Therefore, sustainability, may be some-
intragenerational equity. These aspects relate to the thing more grand and noble, a dynamic, a state of
scientific operationalisation of sustainability from eco- collective grace, a facet of Gaia, even our spiritual
logical, economic and social points of view, respectively understanding (Fricker 1998).
(Becker 1997). O’Riordan (1988) offers various interpret- Finally, sustainability is a management methodology
ations of social change that influence the characterisation of how to prioritise our consumption of resources and
of sustainability. According to O’Riordan, there is a hence minimise our footprint. This opinion was supported
distinction between sustainability and globalisation. He by Anastas and Zimmerman (2003) in ‘The 12 Principles
of Green Engineering’. Skinner (2004) highlighted the about scientific research for the public and for members of
need for definitions of sustainability and interpretation to the scientific community outside their areas of expertise.
be ones that are everyday workable that embody concepts Hence, the enthusiastic usage of the term ‘sustainability’
of long-term endurance and continuance in spite of in the English language print media according to Tomich
variability and even adversity in the contextual setting. et al. (2007) is significantly increasing. This is illustrated
Bagheri and Hjorth (2007) propose that the major in Figure 1. Further examples, as seen on the World Wide
challenge in dealing with sustainability is to develop a Web, reflect a full spectrum of general information,
means for practicing the paradigm in the everyday ranging from minimal or null to highly authoritative. It is
planning and management of a society. It calls for considered an information sea which is still best described
proponents of human, economic, as well as environmental as ‘quantity without quality’. This has made the Internet a
concerns to join together to provide an everlasting life for large information ocean (Yunjing et al. 2002). Hence, in
the human species in the global ecosystem. To this end, the order to establish web usage of the term ‘sustainability’, a
notions of progress and sustainability are twinned concepts web search on ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ was
inextricably bound together. conducted. The search retrieved pertinent information;
however, it did not include any qualitative evaluation or
filtering of the content, although the relevance rankings
2.2 Sustainability discourse offered by some browsers revealed the frequency of the
The main reason periodicals and journals were investi- terms stated in the query. For example, a recent
gated was to establish sustainability literacy in literature google.com and yahoo.com search for ‘sustainable’ and
because the number of citations is usually considered ‘sustainability’ retrieved more than 60 and 75 million
as one important indicator of the scientific impact records, respectively. Figure 2 presents the number
in a particular field. Sustainability Literacy is a term of papers containing ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ in
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which is usually used metaphorically to refer to the the title or abstract where the black circles and white
knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a more circles are the number of annual publications and the
sustainable society (Stibbe 2007). It is also worth noting accumulated number of publications, respectively, which
that most major English dictionaries, including the present the birth of SS in a contextual perspective.
American Heritage Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary Kajikawa et al. (2007) estimated that over 3000 papers are
and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary have had an published in the field annually.
entry for sustainability since the mid-1990s. Garfield Exploring the linguistic theme, Bastardas-Boada
(1973) claimed that because citation frequency is a (2005) describes language as not only defined by its
measure of research activity or of communication about grammar or its lexis but also by living human cognition,
research activity, it reveals the impact of a particular interaction and identification, in the simultaneous inter-
publication or scientist. In addition, according to section of the noosphere, the psychosphere and the
Berkenkotter and Huckin (1995), new scientific knowledge sociosphere. To validate the rising coverage of sustain-
is disseminated within the scientific community primarily ability in both language and print media, Nash and Bacon
through peer-reviewed journal articles, but the rest of (2006) reported on non-randomly chosen samples of six
society becomes informed largely through the mass media. English-language newspapers in Southeast Asia, with a
According to Zimmerman et al. (2001), the popular side comparison to a leading Australian newspaper,
print media constitutes a major source of new information regarding their coverage of environmental sustainability
Figure 1. Use of the word ‘sustainability’ in mainstream media (Tomich et al. 2007).
264 A.M. Hasna
confirmed by the upsurge of new textbooks and SS journal putting it into practice is yet to be seen (Parkin et al. 2003).
titles. The linguistic fluency of the results of these findings As for definitional consensus, it is held that sustainability
is summarised in Table 3. is not a problem, nor an end point; rather, it is a process and
The literature is divided into three phases: the mid- a vision involving renewed awareness of the natural
1970s hub which was a response to the limits of growth; environment and interaction with it. According to Becker
the mid-1980s which observed the emergence of (1997), terminology used in the definitions indicates that
sustainable development literature; and the mid-1990s there is a strong normative component in the concept of
which focused on clarifying the distinction between sustainable development. It is to be expected that SS would
sustainability and sustainable development (Hasna 2004). foster sustainable development and will deal specifically
In this first decade of the twenty-first century, society is with all four elements of sustainability as outlined earlier.
witnessing a fusion of the previous three decades of It therefore becomes possible to state the following: in
Table 3. Discourse patterns that apply to sustainability transition, globalisation and localisation, adapted and modified from O’Riordan
et al. (2001) and O’Riordan and Voisey (1997).
terms of the definitional fragmentation, it is appropriate Stanford University’s Department of Sustainability and
to recognise that the character and behaviour towards Energy Management. In addition, at the beginning of the
sustainability are mainly defined by the individual’s academic year of 2007, Harvard University commenced a
education: knowledge, background, experience, percep- SS degree programme. Harvard reported that it was seeking
tion, values and context (Leal Filho 2000, Hatch and to advance the basic understanding of the dynamics of
Schultz 2004, Austgard 2007, Murray and Murray 2007). human – environment systems, to use that understanding to
Therefore, definitional universality can be achieved by facilitate the design, implementation and evaluation of
classifying the existing variety of definitions of sustain- practical interventions that promote sustainability in
ability into four major groups, depending on the particular places and contexts, and to improve linkages
constituent representation reflected. These are (a) insti- between relevant research and innovation communities on
tutional systems-based, (b) ideological stewardship ver- the one hand, and relevant policy and management
sion, (b) academic version and (c) physical version, communities on the other hand.
economic, social, natural and technological. However, in Another applied example is witnessed in one of the key
terms of the definitions of the new paradigm, Clark and heavy industrial areas in Australia, specifically, Gladstone,
Dickson (2003) reported that SS focuses on the dynamic Queensland and Kwinana, Western Australia where
interactions between nature and society. These two sponsorship of synergies and interactions along more
dimensions, along with economics, form the foundation sustainable trajectories is demonstrated. These industrial
of sustainability criteria for assessment. Martens (2006) areas are home to alumina, nickel and oil refineries, pigment
wrote SS is academic and social, trans- and interdisci- and chemical plants, aluminium smelters, cement industries,
plinary, participative, uncertain and exploratory, with its coal export terminals, power supply and the first commercial
central elements co-evolution of a complex system and its direct reduction iron making plant. These industries have a
environment, co-production of knowledge, co-learning, traditional collaboration in areas of mutual interest, such as
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learning by doing and doing through learning. The raw materials and community relations, in addition to safety
relationship of discipline integration and SS was plotted by and environment. It is also encouraging to see resource
Martens (2006), covering functional and multifunctional synergies that provide a significant avenue towards
theory as mapped in Figure 5. In addition to the above sustainable resource processing via exchanges of by-
definitions, a consensual SS definition is one that products such as water and energy between companies:
recognises the synergies and constraints among nature, one chemical plant’s waste is another plant’s feedstock.
economic activities and people; it is a tool or methodology There are also international examples of industrial symbiosis
that endorses sustainable practices for meeting funda- such as Styria in Austria, Rijnmond in The Netherlands,
mental human needs while preserving Earth’s life support. Humber in the United Kingdom, Tampico in Mexico, Map
An applied example in support of this newly growing Ta Phu industrial estate in Thailand and Alberta in Canada.
science domain is that SS has made way into many From the definitions and other cited knowledge, it
reputable education institutions, schools, universities and appears that SS is an interactive attempt among
governmental agencies as a field of study. For example, disciplines. In other words, it is interdisciplinary and
Central Queensland University’s Department of Sustain- transdisciplinary and hence cannot be set into one area. It
ability incorporates the engineering schools, and the is noted that a fusion of interdisciplinary disciplines is
Victorian Government’s Department of Sustainability and channelled to create SS as known today. This field is
Environment, and similarly in the United States of America, developing at a fast pace where the number of annual
publications is increasing linearly. This was briefly
demonstrated in Figure 2.
Using the evidence of definitional descriptions of
sustainability, this section has established the engineering
context of sustainability. Primarily, the divergence of
definitions evolved from the confluence of many themes
including ecosphere, local and global vision, the
consequences of humanity’s influence on a planetary
scale, human social welfare, human values, knowledge of
ethics over different periods of time, management of
resources (limitation) from cradle to cradle, and social and
cultural context through promotion of social justice and
environmental awareness. As a result, in classifying the
budding mechanism of SS using Bloom’s (1956) six levels
Figure 5. Sustainability science trans- and interdisciplinary within the cognitive domain of intellectual behaviour to
(Martens 2006). verify the development of sustainability: knowledge,
International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 267
critical comprehension and practical application (analysis, (engineering ecology); and only part of ecological science
synthesis and evaluation). The notion of Bloom’s has as yet been included in ecological engineering. The
characterisation offers many benefits to elaborate this ‘civil’ engineering descriptor is defined by its context,
theory. It creates a common ground for discussions about rather than this area being defined by its descriptor. Civil
SS goals and objectives and it helps in the steering and engineering includes a specialisation with an inappropriate
alignment of SS. The structure of the SS concept is title, environmental engineering (Painter 2003). Hence, the
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illustrated in Figure 6 where the operational/applied profession in general needs to consider minimising
sustainability propositional framework leverages the anthropogenic perturbations to natural cycles, especially
founding sustainability dimensions, leading it to policy cycles of the key elements (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus
shift or new paradigm. and sulphur) of biological life and not just individual
Mind-independent thought compels us to ‘accept the disciplines or sub disciplines. Although the basics of this
world as it is’. It is governed by physical laws that are a concept can be understood by most, understanding
reality which recognises the systemic nature of the sustainability engineering requires a greater maturity
universe and gives consideration to the notions of truth. than that of most engineering disciplines (Boyle 2004).
Knowing that engineering has provided the infrastructure According to Madea and Hibiki (2008), SS is not only
of human progress, are engineers ethically compelled to made up by a single academic field fractionalised as in the
resist contributing to products or services that aid and abet past, but also by problem solving-based approaches.
‘overconsumption’? This includes dissipative use of raw Therefore, SS is not an autonomous science per se, it is
materials and production of waste at rates higher than neither pure nor applied, but it is a practical scientific
sources or sinks regenerate. High technology engineering subject. It has a functional scientific articulation which
projects (e.g. superhighways, dams and skyscrapers) and relates to planetary and benevolent application of the
engineered processes (e.g. wastewater treatment) can be existing scientific domains. It is one that integrates and
viewed as works exemplifying the goals and progress of defragments multiplicities of logical attributes from
current industrialised society. However, many of our scientific knowledge across many disciplines. It solves
current engineering practices also contribute to urban various problems concerning human existence; it reflects a
sprawl, loss of biodiversity via habitat destruction, humane message underpinned by scientific, social,
unsustainable use and conversion of resources and technological and economic disciplines, public and private
degradation of essential services that functional, healthy sectors, local and global, academia and government
ecosystems provide (Rosemond and Anderson 2003). For perspectives.
this reason, new academic programmes are appearing in The evolution of this discipline is through various
academic institutions. These include industrial ecology components as shown in Figure 7, placing the central
and, recently, ecological engineering resembles chemical, theme or unifying factor in the centre of Figure 7 where
hydrological and other engineering programmes in which sustainability definitions are outwardly radiating sub-
the prefix denotes the discipline specialisation. On a themes surrounding the definitions, thus yielding an
different note, civil, mechanical or electrical engineering integration of the different components that make up the
titles indicate engineering subdivisions based on areas of science to produce the new field of study. By doing so, this
application. The ecological engineering title is twice article has also answered the questions raised by Leal
asymmetric: it indicates a kind of engineering, not science Filho (2000) by demonstrating that sustainability is a
268 A.M. Hasna
subject per se and it should be classified as comprising 15 drive development towards net positive outcomes, rather
main research domains as purported by Kajikawa et al. than the current focus on minimising negative impacts on
(2007): agriculture, fisheries, ecological economics, the environment and society. The ontology on SS is
forestry (agroforestry), forestry (tropical rain forest), derived from journals, books and linguistic behaviour.
business, tourism, water, forestry (biodiversity), urban Generally, SS is proving to be different from previous
planning, rural sociology, energy, health, soil and wildlife. numerical sciences because it crosses transdisciplinary
borders. This is confirmed by the representation of SS in
social, economic, natural, technical and institutional
4. Conclusion areas. Furthermore, the birth of this emerging transdisci-
This paper has examined literature to validate the specific pline is identified by the drivers and factors that can be
contributions that engineering can make to the develop- expected to signify the formation. SS is more than just
ment of a universal operational definition of sustain- relations between the economy, society, technology and
ability. Whether sustainability and, in turn, sustainable the environment. Important though these interconnections
development is determined to be a discipline or are, they are largely only the external manifestations of
transdiscipline is not going to change the world or the SS. This article has considered and discussed the context
status of the sustainability progress per se; however, it is of literature citations interpretations of SS and the
important to seek clarity regarding engineering education, convergence of definitions. It is of no surprise that the
hence determining the strategy to embed in the sustainability definition presented in this paper is a
engineering curriculum. It follows that if pollution is holistic process, where all living matter subsistence is
not created in the first place, then there is no need for respected, emanating not as an end point, but rather a
clean-up and remediation technologies. Engineers are yet journey. Furthermore, it is a vision involving renewed
to adopt accountability and avoid finger pointing. For this awareness of the natural environment and interaction with it.
reason, the author acknowledges some of the weaknesses This article has revealed this new paradigm. Hence,
of reductionist theory, however, the facts remain that ‘if sustainability is a new science, an emerging discipline, an
pollution wasn’t created in the first place, there would be evolving approach. Indeed, the analysis suggested that it is
no need for clean-up and remediation technologies’. sturdily promising with multiple interpretations and multiple
Sustainability is an ‘engineering responsibility’. Since the dimensions, and a complexity of issues. While the article
interest of this paper is to investigate the growth of provided some broad results indicative of the growth of the
sustainability scientific knowledge and is motivated by the discipline, it also revealed that it is a flourishing field that is
tenets of science to ‘create conclusion from evidence’, still developing in literature. This paper has attempted to
this article has provided an overview of some key simplify a complex and diverse topic to defragment and
contexts of SS discourse theory to address how a support the new paradigm with scientific evidence of its
sustainability philosophy or culture in engineering might development.
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Appendix A
Academic journals periodicals and newsletters featuring sustainable or sustainability in the title
272
Appendix A – continued
Appendix B
274
Sustainability definitions
16 1988 Pearce Imply use of environmental services over very long time periods and, in theory, indefinitely
17 1988a Turner Conservation strategy, although its precise meaning and practical applications were not presented in a detailed and operational form
18 1988 Liverman et al. Survival of human species through the maintenance of basic life support systems and the existence of infrastructure and institutions
which distribute and protect the components
19 1988 O’Riordan Survival of living matter to the rights of future generations and to institutions responsible for ensuring that such rights are fully taken
into account in policies and actions
20 1988 Markandya and Pearce The use made of these inputs to the development process through time. Apply the idea to resources, sustainability ought to mean that a
given stock of resources
21 1988b Turner In principle, such an optimal policy would seek to maintain an ‘acceptable’ rate of growth in per-capita real incomes without depleting
natural environmental
22 1998 Jeroen et al. The Hicksian definition of income (Hicks, 1939): the maximum amount of income that can be spent without reducing real
consumption in the future, social sustainability
23 1988 Conway and Barbie The ability to maintain productivity, whether of a field or farm or nation, in the face of stress or shock
24 1990 Manning Aspiration like happiness’ or justice
25 1991 Daly Rates of pollution emission do not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment
26 1991 Robert Moving from linear to cyclical processes and technologies. The only processes we can rely on indefinitely are cyclical, all linear
processes must eventually come to an end
28 1992 Dower et al. In order for a course of action to be sustainable it should be compatible with the local culture by respecting the structure of the society
and values of the people
27 1992 Meadows et al. Persist over generations, one that is far-seeing enough, flexible enough and wise enough not to undermine either its physical or its
social systems of support
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Appendix B – continued
45 1998 Cary Not a fixed ideal, but an evolutionary process of improving the management of systems. Analogous to Darwin’s species evolution, the
process is non-deterministic with the end
46 1999 Sachs Distinguishes between partial sustainability and whole sustainability. To realise whole sustainability
48 1999 Peacock Sustainability is purely a matter of the management of scarce and ever-diminishing ‘negentropy’
49 1999 Pearce Constraints are met, stakeholder satisfaction-basic needs met; resource base impact-no or neutral impacts; ecosystem impact-no or
neutral impacts
50 2000 Oskamp Sustainability may be defined as using the world’s resources in ways that will allow human beings to continue to exist on Earth with an
adequate quality of life
51 2001 Dorf Living within a frame work of earths system, both thermodynamically and kinetically to maintain change
52 2001 Gibson The protection of resources and ecological integrity over the long term, combined with great improvements in human well-being,
especially among the poor
53 2001 Harris and Goodwin Shift in perspective from a focus on economic development that is often defined as the expansion of consumption and GNP to a new
view of sustainable development
275
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Appendix B – continued
276