Sustainable Engineering - Practical Studies for Building a Sustainable Society presented by Dr. Narito Shibaike - Tokyo University of Technology. How to create a new way of engineering that harmonizes with benefiting humanity, socioeconomic, development and environmental conservation.

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Sustainable Engineering
Practical Studies for
Building a Sustainable Society
Narito Shibaike
15 April, 2015

2. 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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3. 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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4. 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…

5. 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

6. Vision for Sustainable Development
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Environmental System
Climate change,
Ecology, Natural resources,
Energy, etc.
Human System
Safety and security,
Education, Health,
Lifestyle, etc.
Societal System
Politics, Economy,
Institution, Industry,
Technology, etc.
Sustainable
Development
Sustainable
Society
Planet
Prosperity People
Sustainable
Society
Harmonization
with Environment
Revitalization of
Economy
Improvement of
Quality of Life

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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
Communication/InformationManagement
Analysis&
EvaluationTools
Life Cycle Thinking
Identification & Evaluation
of Environmental Aspects
ECDProcesselements
Plan
Do
Check & Act
Foundation
Quality/Environmental Management System
Management Commitment / PolicyManagement Commitment / Policy
Analysis of Stakeholder / Regulatory
Requirements
Design &
Development
Review,
Continual
Improvement
Communication/InformationManagement
Analysis&
EvaluationTools
Life Cycle ThinkingLife Cycle Thinking
Identification & Evaluation
of Environmental Aspects
ECDProcesselements
Plan
Do
Check & Act
Foundation
Quality/Environmental Management SystemQuality/Environmental Management System
Overview of
ECD process
(IEC62430)

11. 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

12. 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

13. Life Cycle CO2 Emission
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• Environmental impact of product is subject
to its entire life cycle

14. 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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15. 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 view
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Eco-Efficiency
of Product
Product Value (Consumer’s Benefit)
=
Environmental Impact through Entire Life Cycle of Product

16. 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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17. 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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18. 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

19. Education Program for ME
• “Sustainable Engineering” and “Cooperative
Education” are interactively well-tailored

20. 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
LCA
Basic
Study
On
The
Job
Practice
II
Practice
III
Practice
I

21. 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

22. 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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