Journal of Cleaner Production 7 (1999) 83–87

Note from the field

Education, sustainability and cleaner production

Carol Boyle*

Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Engineering Building, 20 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Successful integration of cleaner production concepts and technologies into businesses and industries will require that professionalsin those industries receive adequate training and knowledge. Yet at present, most university programs outside mainstream environ-mental programs cover little in the way of environmental issues or sustainability and few show how environmental concepts suchas cleaner production should be integrated into management, design, engineering, marketing and service. The purpose of this paperis to discuss the need for including sustainability in professional practices and education and, using engineering as an example,discuss how the University of Auckland is undertaking this task. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:Cleaner production; Education; Professions

1. Introduction

Most of the leaders in business and industry todayreceived little or no education in environmental issues.The few that are vocal proponents of such concernseither have a personal interest or have recognised someeconomic benefit that may accrue from such a stand. Yetthe conviction of a few in upper management, unlesswell integrated into the policies and training ofemployees, often does not result in effective environ-mental management in companies. The majority of busi-nesses’ concern with the environment lies in complyingwith the law rather than incorporating cleaner productionand sustainability into their operation.

The concept of cleaner production, pollution preven-tion or waste reduction is still relatively young, less thanten years old although the concepts involved are mucholder. Both cleaner production and sustainability cameinto focus with the publication of the Brundtland Report‘Our Common Future’ [1] and were given prominencethrough Agenda 21. A logical step from end-of-pipetechnology leading towards sustainability, cleaner pro-duction is still a developing field. The Journal of CleanerProduction is only a few years old.

Within the fields of engineering, architecture, manage-ment, law and economics, environmental issues have not

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0959-6526/99/$ - see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.PII: S0959-6526 (98)00045-6

traditionally been a required component of the curricu-lum. Most of those in the academic world have receivedlittle education in the field of environmental issuesunless they were specifically involved in the field orwere personally interested. Consequently, these academ-ics neither feel they have the background to teach suchissues nor are they certain that such issues should betaught in their specific papers.

Yet demands by students and companies for studentswho are familiar with the application of sustainabilityand cleaner production principles has forced or encour-aged some universities to begin incorporating theseissues into their professional programs. The purpose ofthis paper is to discuss the need for including sus-tainability in professional practices and education and,using engineering as an example, discuss how the Uni-versity of Auckland is undertaking this task.

2. Changing to sustainability

Moving towards sustainability requires significantshifts in the way of life of those in developed countries.Certainly the consumption patterns that are normal inthose countries and aspired to by those in the developingworld are unsustainable. One of the primary factors willbe the requirement for more efficient use of resourcesby both consumers as well as manufacturers and indus-tries. This will necessitate the implementation of cleanerproduction principles and technologies.

84 C. Boyle /Journal of Cleaner Production 7 (1999) 83–87

It is certainly recognised that those in developed coun-tries could easily use fewer resources. Calls for conser-vation of water or energy in times of shortage usuallyproduce drastic reductions in consumption. Yet suchconservation measures usually only last as long as theshortage exists. Implementation of cleaner production inindustries has shown significant reductions in productionof wastes, consumption of resources and costs. Yet cle-aner production and conservation have not been incor-porated into either our way of life or our educationalsystem, particularly at the tertiary level.

The question is, what are the messages that need tobe sent? There are many facets to cleaner production—waste auditing and waste minimisation, life cycle assess-ment, design for environment, industrial ecology, zeroemission, resource suitability and cascading andresponsibilities for consumption and waste. Theseencompass many professions—management, account-ing, engineering, product and process design, planning,architecture, law, even advertising, as well as those pro-ducing or using both renewable and non-renewableresources. In short, most professions need to be involvedin the implementation of cleaner production. Moreover,it is also obvious that better understanding of resourceuse and consumption will be needed by those pro-fessions, many of which were previously only focusedon one aspect of a business or a product. In many waysthis follows the path along which biologists evolved intheir understanding of nature. For decades biologistsfocused on understanding individual components of bio-logical systems. It was only after they had achieved areasonable understanding of these components that theywere able to successfully begin understanding how thecomponents functioned together as ecosystems. Simi-larly, our professions have separately investigatedresources, their transformation into products, the productuse and the wastes produced. Now we must focus on theoverall paths taken by the ‘ecology’ or life cycle of ouruse of resources.

Many companies will argue that they are only onesmall part of the life cycle of the resource and have littleinfluence over other aspects such as resource extractionand product disposal. Yet product take-back laws in Eur-ope have forced companies to take more responsibilityfor their products at the end of their consumer life. More-over, more companies are now questioning the environ-mental credentials of their suppliers [2]. As professionalsbecome more aware of the environmental issuesinvolved, particularly with regards to sustainability andthe potential for marketing sustainable or environmen-tally friendly products, they will be willing to purchasefrom suppliers with good environmental records.

3. The professions, sustainability and cleanerproduction

For professionals not involved in product or plantdesign, a total understanding of life cycle assessment ordesign for environment is not necessary. Although anunderstanding of what they mean, how the results shouldbe used and the benefits of such undertakings would berequired, the details of undertaking such an assessmentmay be better left to those trained in the field. However,for those involved in managing businesses and oversee-ing manufacturing processes, the concepts of resourceuse and efficiency would be invaluable as implementingresource auditing and accounting would enable compa-nies to more effectively determine their priorities for cle-aner production. ‘Green’ accounting would also providecompanies with details of the environmental manage-ment of the company which would serve for publicrelation efforts. Such professions would also need toknow the basics of industrial ecology so that unavoidableby-products could be effectively marketed to surround-ing companies rather than being discarded.

Professions which are involved in product or processdesign require more understanding of life cycle assess-ment and design for environment to enable them to takesuch concepts into account during the design process.Concepts of responsibility for consumption and wasteshould also be considered, particularly with regard tolaws requiring take-back of product, as product designshould take reuse and recyclability into account. Cer-tainly the concept of resource efficiency also needs tobe included, so that products and processes are designedwith a minimum of resource use. In addition, someknowledge of potential markets needs to be incorporatedinto the process to enable the designers to consider waysof selling or utilising by-products.

4. Educational requirements

The implications of effectively incorporating sus-tainability concepts and principles into our educationalsystem are enormous and changes have already startedto occur. Integration or cross-discipline studies are nowavailable at many universities enabling students to gainunderstandings of techniques, philosophies and knowl-edge from more than one discipline. Although there aremany professions that need to incorporate environmentalaspects into their educational requirements, only a fewwill be considered to provide examples. Changes in theSchool of Engineering at the University of Auckland willbe further discussed to illustrate how sustainability andcleaner production principles are being incorporated andconcerns which still need to be addressed will be out-lined.

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4.1. Business management and economics

All professionals play some role in moving our societytowards sustainability. Those with MBAs who are theleaders of major companies need to know the value ofcleaner production, not just from an environmental per-spective but also from an efficiency standpoint. Thebasic point that resource efficiency is good business aswell as sustainable needs to be emphasised. Most MBAsare taught the basics of money and people management,including financial audits. Yet resource management,beyond stocktaking, is not usually a component of sucha program. Resource management would include theefficient use of resources as well as resource auditingand would consider the production of wastes as lostresources. In any firm that is trying to minimise itslosses, the use of resource audits would point out wherelosses are occurring and cleaner production principlesand technologies could be implemented to reduce thoselosses, thus more effectively meeting environmentalstandards while reducing resource requirements, wastetreatment needs and costs. However, discussions withbusiness managers indicate that many have theimpression that waste minimisation and other environ-mental practices are expensive and time-consuming toimplement and thus they are not interested.

Many business leaders are now beginning to realisethe value of having some level of environmental com-mitment for their public relations effort and to appeasestockholders. Environmental policies abound but fewcontain any readily identified goals that will move acompany towards sustainability. Yet managers need toknow the potential of the environmental market [3].Hoover claims that sales in some markets have trebledsince they were awarded the first EU eco-label [4].Moreover, Ferguson [5] reports that experts in the pulpand paper industry think that, in order to survive, processimprovements that are cost effective and environmen-tally acceptable, potentially producing zero effluents,will be necessary. Managers need to know how toaccomplish this.

Associations have been calling for changes in edu-cation systems. In 1993, at a meeting of the CanadianAcademics Accounting Association, the concepts of‘green’ accounting and ‘green’ taxes were identified asnecessary components of accounting education today[6]. Corporations are requesting that business schoolsprovide education in environmental issues [7]. Certainlythe business community is beginning to recognise theneed for people who can effectively deal with environ-mental issues such as pollution, compliance and sus-tainability.

4.2. Law

The potential implications of environmental law oninternational trade, product and process design, corporate

viability and liability and feasibility and legality of busi-ness ventures, requires that lawyers in fields such as cor-porate and personal law should know not only environ-mental law but aspects of life cycle assessment, designfor environment and environmental impact assessment.Certainly there have been calls for lawyers to be moreinvolved in undertaking both impact assessments as wellas environmental management systems in order to pro-tect companies and senior management from litigation.

4.3. Engineering, planning and architecture

Engineers, planners and architects are involved in thedesign, construction, management and operation of muchof our industrial and municipal infrastructure. Tradition-ally engineering has been separated into several disci-plines which usually include civil, chemical, environ-mental, mechanical, electrical as well as engineeringscience. Environmental engineering has usually includedwastewater and water treatment, municipal solid wastemanagement, pollution control and site remediation,while chemical engineering involved process operationand design. Product and facility design and control werecomponents of the other disciplines although there hasbeen no clear demarcation determining which disciplinewas solely responsible for a specific component.

Planners are the overall designers and managers ofmuch of our urban infrastructure while architectsfocused on the design and construction of buildings. Yet,there was often little communication among engineers,planners and architects, despite the obvious overlappingnature of these disciplines.

In recent years, the focus of engineering has movedfrom the traditional technical approach to more emphasison management techniques. At the same time, the engin-eering profession has begun to recognise its larger rolein the environmental field and environmental policies forengineers have become an essential component of theaccreditation for a professional engineer. Engineersshould now be ‘seen as responsible stewards rather thannegligent trustees of the environment’ [8]. Environmen-tal ethics and concepts should now be incorporated intoall aspects of engineering [9].

Certainly, for engineers to design, construct, manageand operate facilities efficiently and sustainably, knowl-edge of industrial ecology, cleaner production, resourceefficiency, life cycle assessment and design for environ-ment is necessary. Moreover, the concepts need to beunderstood by those in all disciplines of engineering.Planners and architects also need an understanding ofthese concepts if they are going to be effective in theirdesign, construction and management functions. It isalso important that all three disciplines incorporate someunderstanding of the other disciplines as well as knowl-edge of management and law.

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5. Making change

The major barriers to changing the existing educationstructure comes, not surprisingly, from academics. Someof these barriers include the following:

5.1. For many academics, incorporation ofsustainability and cleaner production concepts intotheir existing papers is a major paradigm shift

Since most academics have little or no training in sus-tainability or cleaner production principles they have noway of relating the concepts to the material in their cur-rent papers. Consequently, they do not consider that theideas have any place in their paper.

5.2. The volume of material that must be covered inone paper is already too high

Lecturers are already finding that, with increasingrequirements for accreditation in the professions, theyare required to cover increasing volumes of material.Increasing that content by the addition of new conceptswill require the loss of further essential material.

5.3. Lecturers are given insufficient time to makechanges to existing papers

Writing new lectures is time consuming and intensive.A good lecture can require 8–24 hours, depending onthe topic and the writer’s familiarity with it. However,little time is allowed by most institutions for rewritingexisting papers.

5.4. Research is a much higher priority than teaching

In many faculties, research is the primary focus andteaching is given little priority, beyond that required toensure the faculty retains its accreditation. Consequently,most academics would be encouraged to focus on theirresearch rather than on obtaining training in sus-tainability and cleaner production.

5.5. Training is not seen as a priority either byuniversities or academics

Because research is usually the main focus of mostacademics, obtaining training in a field outside their fieldof interest for teaching purposes is not viewed as ahigh priority.

However, both industry and students are demandingthat graduates have skills and knowledge in broaderfields than in the past, including environmental and sus-tainability issues [5,6]. Many tertiary institutions havestarted to respond and have included optional papers intheir programs [7]. Engineering programs now often

include more emphasis on project management, com-munication and environmental and social issues,although usually through specific papers, not as an inte-grated concept.

6. Engineering at the university of Auckland

Although components of environmental engineeringhave been taught at the University of Auckland for over20 years, only recently have the concepts of sus-tainability and cleaner production become a componentof all engineers’ education at this institution. With arecent change in the engineering program, all engineersare now being exposed to both social and environmentalissues from their first year. A paper in EnvironmentalPrinciples introduces both environmental issues as wellas the concepts of sustainability and cleaner production.Papers at all levels of the course introduce engineers tocommunication skills, social issues, management skillsand environmental law. At the fourth year, elective pap-ers are available which further emphasis sustainability,including a paper in Resource Management and one inCleaner Production.

An Environmental Policy is currently being draftedfor the University of Auckland. The policy wasdeveloped with input from the university community andwill be presented to the Senate Committee hopefullybefore the end of this year. The Committee is alreadycommitted to supporting an environmental policy.

The policy would require that, where necessary,environmental aspects be incorporated into existing andnew courses and papers. It also suggests that lecturersbe given more training in the environmental field andseeks to increase the level of environmental awarenesswithin the university community.

Implementation of the policy would not mean a rad-ical change in the already revised approach to engineer-ing. Moreover, the new changes will not resolve manyof the barriers to incorporating sustainability and cleanerproduction into all aspects of engineering. However, asthe engineering profession becomes more aware of theneed for sustainability and efficient use of resources, andas students today are more exposed to environmentalconcepts, it is to be hoped that both sustainability andcleaner production will be increasingly recognised asintegral components of most engineering papers.

7. Conclusions

Moving towards sustainability will require significantchanges in our professions and our educational systems.The professions—management, law, planning, engineer-ing and architecture are the key to much of the incorpor-ation of sustainability into our society. The education of

87C. Boyle /Journal of Cleaner Production 7 (1999) 83–87

those professions must incorporate principles and con-cepts of sustainability and cleaner production into theirprograms to produce professionals who can manageresources sustainably and efficiently. Ideally, those prin-ciples should be incorporated into all papers within theprofessional course.

There are a number of barriers to such a changewhich include:

1. For many academics, incorporation of sustainabilityand cleaner production concepts into their existingpapers is a major paradigm shift;

2. The volume of material that must be covered in onepaper is already too high;

3. Lecturers are given insufficient time to make changesto existing papers;

4. Research is a much higher priority than teaching; and5. Training is not seen as a priority either by universities

or academics.

However, institutions such as the University of Auck-land have already begun to incorporate environmentalissues and the principles of sustainability into papers forprograms such as those in the School of Engineering.Although concepts such as resource efficiency are not

being incorporated into every applicable paper, it isprobable that, as the engineering profession becomesmore aware and students are exposed to sustainabilityand other environmental issues, these concepts willbecome an integral component of most papers.

References

[1] Brundtland GH (chairman). Our Common Future. UK: OxfordUniversity Press, 1987:400.

[2] Barry A. Buyers start to spread the ‘green’ message. Purchasingand Supply Management, Feb 1996;21–23.

[3] Ottman JA. little creativity could lead to a big advantage. Market-ing News 1995;29(7):11.

[4] Anonymous. Re-evaluating eco-labels. Business Europe, 15 May1995;35(19):4–5.

[5] Ferguson KH. ‘Change’ Is Key Word in Describing PapermakingProcess of 21st Century. Pulp and Paper 1992;66(9):53–6.

[6] Banks B. Innovation highlighted at CAAA. CA Magazine1993;126(9):14–15.

[7] Barron T. Schools Bow to Student Demand for ‘Enviro-Ed’.Environment Today 1992;3(8):3,22–24.

[8] Environmental Ethics in Engineering Education-A Missing Funda-mental. Water Science and Technology 1996;34(12):197–203.

[9] Saad SG. Integrating the environmental dimension in engineeringeducation. Environmental Engineering Education Proc 1994 3World Congr Eng Educ Training, 1997.