2009-10 APSC150 Nesbit - Combined - Case 1

Case Study 1
Sustainability in
Engineering Design
Prof. Susan Nesbit
Civil Engineering

APSC 150: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN ENGINEERING
Instructor: S. Nesbit, B.A., P.Eng., Ph.D.
Office: CEME 2011
e-mail: nesbit@interchange.ubc.ca
Guest Lecturers: Engineers-Without-Borders speakers.
THIS PRINTED PACKAGE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:
Introduction “…engineering and

Learning Outcomes sustainable development are
Assignments
1. Professionalism in Engineering Practice closely linked, with many
2. Project Management Tools aspects of sustainable
3. Designing a University Building Project development depending
4. Poverty and Engineering directly and significantly on
5. Appropriate Technology
Reading Guide appropriate and timely
actions by engineers”
- Royal Academy of
THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE ON LINE:
(http://courses.engineering.ubc.ca/apsc150/index.php)
Engineering, UK, 2005
 Everything in this Printed Package plus:

 Backgrounder 1: APEGBC’s Sustainability Guidelines
 Backgrounder 2: An Integrated Building Design Primer
 Backgrounder 3: Life-Cycle Assessment Basics
 MUST-READ ARTICLE FOR ASSIGNMENT 1

 ALL LECTURE NOTES
INTRODUCTION
As you embark on your Engineering career, it’s a good idea to know that the
Engineering profession is changing. In the past, governments, corporations,
individuals, and community groups have depended on Engineers to provide solution
alternatives to technical problems that are
 scientifically sound,
 innovative,
 superbly designed, and
 cost-effective over the short term.
S.E. Nesbit APSC 150: Sustainability in Engineering

09/10
This has not changed. However, these
decision-makers are now asking that
Engineers also consider the possible in-
direct, and long term economic effects
of design alternatives as well as all
social and environmental impacts of
solution alternatives that they provide.
So, you can expect that, when you are
a Professional Engineer, you will be
asked to apply sustainable
development concepts in your work.
The goal of the Sustainability in Design
case is to introduce you to the
fundamental ideas of sustainability in
Engineering practice and familiarize
you with some current applications of
these concepts in Engineering design.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this APSC 150 case, you will be able to:
1. Explain the concept of Professionalism in Engineering practice and the
relationship of sustainability and professionalism.
2. Describe Project Management in Engineering Design and Apply some Project
Management Tools.
3. Demonstrate at least 3 tools used in sustainable engineering design.
4. Describe the connection between poverty, appropriate technology, and engineering
design.
THE QUIZ QUESTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO ASSESS YOUR ABILITY TO DEMONSTRATE THE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF EACH ASSIGNMENT
S.E. Nesbit APSC 150: Sustainability in Engineering

09/10
APSC 150: THE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CASE
READING GUIDE FOR THE ASSIGNMENTS

The readings are found in:
1. Dunwoody et al, Fundamental Competencies for Engineers
2. The Assignments Package
3. The course website (Vista)
ASSIGNMENT 1
1. Chapter 2 in Dunwoody et. al. Fundamental Competencies for Engineers, Oxford University Press, Don
Mills, 2006.
o Have a close look at section 2.2 and read table 2.2 carefully.
o Read the first paragraph in section 2.4 and make sure you can identify the basic groups of micro-ethical
issues identified in section 2.4.
o Read the first paragraph of section 2.5 and all of section 2.5.1. Don’t worry about memorizing facts, but
do concentrate on understanding why sustainable development is important in engineering practice and
how sustainability ideas are being put into engineering practice.
2. Backgrounder 1: APEGBC’s Sustainability and Engineering: Guidelines to Practice provided on the course
website and in your APSC 150 notes package.
o Table 1 on page 1 is highly relevant. You will need to memorize the 4 focus areas.
o The last paragraph on page 2 and the top of page 3 are worth a close read.
o You will be learning more about life-cycle analysis later in this case so read the section on page 4
carefully.
o Sustainability is often described as a process of making choices. Read the last paragraph on page 6 to
get a good idea of the fundamental criteria on which decisions made with sustainability in mind are
based.
o Partnerships are crucial aspect of sustainable solutions. Read the top paragraph on page 8.
o Have a close look at the two examples of engineering decisions where the 4 focus areas have been used
as support.
3. Excerpt from “The Role of the Professional Engineer and Scientist in Sustainable Development” – provided
on the course website:
o This excerpt is well worth reading – from beginning to end. For APSC 150, section 2.21 on pages 31-33
are particularly useful – please read these pages carefully. Make sure you understand figure 2.1.
o Take a look at section 2.4 – in particular, it is interesting, in section 2.4.3, to read how the UK is
addressing the climate change challenge.
ASSIGNMENT 2
No specific readings are required for this assignment. However, you may find “Backgrounder 3: Life-Cycle
Assessment Basics” to be useful. You will need to do some on-line research for this assignment.
ASSIGNMENT 3
1. The website for the AJL Centre for Environmental Studies Building (Oberlin College)
(http://www.oberlin.edu/ajlc/ajlcHome.html).
o As a minimum, have a close look at each page in the Building Systems section. (For
those of you who are more interested, it’s worth having a look at the Design Philosophy and Media
sections.) Note that the Design Philosophy describes the integrated design process.
2. Backgrounder 2: “The Basics of Sustainable Building Design” material provided on-line and in the APSC
150 notes package for the Sustainable Design case.
o The section entitled “The Components of Integrated Design” will help you do question 2.
o Skim the section on LEED – i.e., make sure you know what LEED stands for and who developed it.
o Rather than reading through all the details in the list of resources, just take note of the quantity of
resources available on the web for practitioners.
ASSIGNMENT 4
Read the article entitled “Ziem Der in Tabe Ere, Ghana” that accompanies the assignment.
ASSIGNMENT 5
Read the article entitled: “Collecting Fog in El Tofo” that accompanies the assignment.
APSC 150: THE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CASE
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Professionalism in Engineering Practice
2. Project Management Tools
3. The University Building Project
4. Poverty
5. Appropriate Technology
Getting Started
Before doing the exercises in these assignments, please refer to the
READING GUIDE for the Sustainability in Engineering Case.
APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

ASSIGNMENT #1: Sustainability in Engineering Practice (4 marks total)
Exercise 1 is due at the beginning of the first tutorial for this case.
Exercises 2, 3 and 4 are due as per the instructions from your
tutorial instructor.
Getting Started
In your future Professional practice, exactly how will you respond to society’s requirement that Engineers
hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and the protection of the environment (not to
mention client specifications respecting the triple bottom line!)?
The exercises in this assignment will enable you to
 build an understanding of the ethical responsibilities of engineering work
 develop a working definition of sustainable development that is meaningful to you.
 think about and critique how some of today’s engineers are applying sustainability concepts in their
practice.
 begin to apply sustainability concepts to building design.
Exercises
1. Please do the following before coming to the tutorial:

a. complete exercise 1 on page 24 in Fundamental Competencies for Engineers (2006) Submit
the complete code for each society along with this assignment. (0.5 mark)
b. identify at least 4 categories of ethical issues evident in the codes you have found then
classify each item in each of the codes according to the categories you have generated. (0.5
mark) For example, you might want to create a simple table like the following:
Professional Category 1: Category 2: … Category 3: … Category 4: … Category 5: …

Society: Professional
relationship
with clients
APEGBC 4, 5, 8, ….
c. Which of these categories would you regard as “micro-ethical” and which would you regard
as “macro-ethical”?
d. List the focus areas of the APEGBC Sustainability Guidelines then, beside each focus area,
add a relevant engineering action. Submit a copy of this list to your tutorial leader at the
beginning of this tutorial session. (0.5 mark)
2. In your design group (5 or 6 people)*, choose the “best” definition of sustainable development
from the list below. Within your group, make sure that you have good reasons for the choice your
group makes. (0.5 mark)
a. “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
(Brundtland Commission, 1987)
b. Sustainable development means “improving the quality of human life while
living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems” (World Conservation
Union, 1991)
c. “Sustainability requires at least a constant stock of natural capital, construed as
the set of all environmental assets” (British environmental economist David Pearce,
1988)
d. Sustainable development is “any form of positive change which does not erode
the ecological, social, or political systems upon which society is dependent”
(Ecological Economist, William Rees, 1988)
e. Sustainability is “the ability of a system to sustain the livelihood of the peoole
who depend on that system for an indefinite period.” (Indonesian economist, Otto
Soemarwoto, 1991)
3. In your design group*, complete exercise 3 on page 24 in the Dunwoody text. (1 mark)
4. In your design group*, brainstorm on sustainable design ideas that might be included in the
design of a university building. The building will contain research labs, office space, classrooms, and
tenant space. (See the University Building Case Study attachment to this assignment.) Assign a note
taker to record your ideas. At the end of the brainstorming session, submit your list of ideas to the
tutorial leader. (1 mark)
*Note that, during the first tutorial of the Sustainable Design

Case, you will be assigned to a design group. This design group
will periodically work together during the subsequent 4 tutorials.

ASSIGNMENT # 2 : Project Management Tools (4 marks in total)
Getting Started
In any design process, it is important to consider the environmental, social and economic
implication of your design. In this assignment, you will need to do some critical thinking
about the design choice of window frame material for the University Building using Life
Cycle Assessment and Stakeholder Analysis tools that you have learned. Think about
which material has the most beneficial, or least negative, environmental and social
impacts.
By the time you have completed this assignment, you should

 have an understanding of the Life Cycle Assessment and Stakeholder Analysis
processes.
 be able to complete the inventory stage of a simple LCA.
 have an awareness of the wide-reaching impacts of engineering design choices.
Exercises
 To do these exercises you will need to gather appropriate information from the
internet (and site these sources).
Part 1 – Life Cycle Assessment
a. Describe the stages in a LCA. (0.5 marks)
b. Draw a life cycle of an aluminum window frame, from raw material extraction to
disposal/recycle/reuse. (1 mark)
c. In your design group, decide on the best window frame material for the University
Building described in Assignment 3's case study. Explain your answer. (0.5 marks)
Part 2 – Stakeholder Analysis
a. In your design groups, make a list of all possible stakeholders based on the life
cycle drawn in (b) of Part 1. Beside each stakeholder, write a short bullet point
describing how they are impacted (this could be positively or negatively). (1
mark)
*Hint: Consider the impacts of raw material extraction, transportation, service
life, disposal etc.
b. Assume now that the bauxite used to produce the aluminum is mined in Guinea
(a small country in Western Africa) and the mining of bauxite contributes to
around 20% of the country’s income. List 2 or 3 ways in which this would alter
the stakeholders and the positive/negative impacts. (1 mark)

ASSIGNMENT #3 The University Building Project (5 marks total)
Exercise 1 is due at the beginning of your tutorial.

Exercises 2 can be completed during this tutorial.
Getting Started
Integrated design involves working with a team of experts in a variety of professions to create “best-
practice” - and sometimes unique - solution alternatives that meet or exceed the specified design criteria.
Nowhere is the integrated design process more honed than in the field of architecture and building
engineering. This assignment is aimed at giving you a taste of the design process.
By the time you have completed exercises 1 and 2 you should be:
o comfortable with a brainstorming process that generates design strategies from which specific
attribute ideas immerge.
o able to list the elements of Integrated Building Design,
o able to list the goals of a sustainable building, and
o able to state at least 1 specific strategy for each of the design goals stated in University Building
Project.
In Assignment 1, you identified some specific building attributes that support the move toward sustainable
living. Before coming to the 3rd tutorial, you will need to think about the strategies from which these
attributes were generated.
Exercises
1. Identify at least 3 strategies in the design of the Oberlin building
(http://www.oberlin.edu/ajlc/ajlcHome.html) that reflect attention to the five fundamental
components of integrated building design. Submit the list of these strategies to your tutor at the
beginning of this tutorial. (1 mark)
2. The following pages provide information about the University Building Project. Read these pages
then, in your design group, identify at least 2 strategies for each of the design goals identified in
the University Building Project. Identify at least 1 building attribute that would reflect each
strategy that you have identified. (4 marks)

Building Performance Targets FOR THE UNIVERSITY BUILDING
FOCUS AREAS GOALS STRATEGY BUILDING ATTRIBUTE

Energy 1. The building will be Green House Gas (GHG) Neutral 1. 1.a.
2. The building will be a net energy generator a. Capture Solar Energy o Install photovoltaic arrays
3. Mechanized cooling will not be part of the building – b. Moderate indoor temperature as o Orient the building to maximize the
i.e., there will be no net cooling passively as possible southern exposures
4. The building design will be a simple and as passive as c. Maximize natural ventilation o Use exterior and interior solar
possible d. Maximize daylighting control strategies specific to each
5. The total operating energy and embodied energy in e. Capture heat from waste streams façade in order to minimize solar
this building will be at least 60% lower than a high f. Make extensive use of computer heat gain in interior spaces and to
performance building such as York University’s sensors and controls offset cooling loads.
Computer Science Building. g. … (CONTINUE THIS)
6. The building will be 100% daylit 1.b. … (CONTINUE THIS)
2. …
Water 1. There will be no use of potable water for interior and
exterior building process loads.
2. All liquid waste will be treated on-site
3. There will be no stormwater runoff from the site
Resource 1. There will be no solid waste leaving the site
Conservation 2. The building will be designed to be utilized to its
maximum
3. All building materials will be used efficiently
Health and Well- 1. Daylight will be used 100% to maximize occupant

being comfort and productivity
2. The building will oxygenate the indoor and outdoor
environments
3. The building will actively address the health of its
occupants
Building 1. The building will seamlessly integrate the design of
Operation and ongoing operations
Maintenance
Sustainable 1. The building programme will include a comprehensive
Community transportation management plan
2. The building will teach British Columbians about
sustainable development, building, and green
technologies
3. The building will contribute to strengthening the
regional economy through the creation of new jobs in
spin-off sustainable businesses
4. The building will have positive impacts on society
5. The building will be designed to actively attract and
support a population of fauna
The University Building Project
Background
Finning Canada, a supplier of tractors, donated land to the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser
University, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology to form
the new Great Northern Way Campus in downtown Vancouver.
The Great Northern Way Campus is bounded by Great Northern Way to the south, and by a rail yard to the
north. Adjacent to the property to the east is a development containing facilities of a biotechnology
company. The site on which the University Building Project will be built is 10,683 s.m. (115,000 s.f.) and is
located at the North Eash Corner of Great Northern Way and Foley Street.
The site is currently not accessible by public transportation, but a new bus route along Great Northern Way
will be implemented with 5 years. Also, a Skytrain station, located at Clarke Drive and Great Northern Way,
is scheduled for completion in 2005.
The Building Concept

The design team for the University Building is tasked with the creation of a state-of-the-art sustainable
building that allows for continuous evolution of the buildings performance over time, so that it remains
current for decades.
The building will be a real-world demonstration of the leading edge in sustainable building design,
construction, and use. The building will be designed as a “living-lab” where the environmentally advanced
building technologies and systems are an integral part of the research programmes within the building.
The building is conceived as a comprehensive set of inter-related systems that permit systematic monitoring
of energy and water use, daylight harvesting, indoor air quality, temperature, and occupant behaviour. Each
of the building features and the building itself serves simultaneously as part of the research agenda and as
pilot demonstrations of environmental technologies. Exterior cladding systems, including glazing and
insulation assemblies, and mechanical electrical, waste treatment and power generation systems will be
selected for the project based on their ability to contribute to the established building performance targets.
In order for the building to remain as a state-of-the-art testing facility, it is crucial that the design team
develop innovative, flexible design solutions that can be easily modified to adapt to rapid changes in building
technology and use. Incorporating the ability to upgrade and alter the base building systems will establish a
new attitude towards the construction of buildings. As a prototype, this University Building Project will
demonstrate the need for flexible buildings that can adapt to long-term changes in use and technology. In
other words, the University Building should be seen as providing a framework for testing and exploring new
building and operations solutions.

ASSIGNMENT 4 – Poverty and Engineering Projects (Workshop Format) (4 marks
total)
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this assignment you should…
 Build your understanding of the complex, and often overwhelming, challenges
facing impoverished communities
 Develop some ideas of how engineering can be used to help in impoverished
communities
 Be able to think critically of ways in which communities could affect an engineering
project and vice versa (positively and negatively)
Part I – Understanding Poverty (2 marks)
Read the case study in your design groups. As you read through it, identify every cause
and effect of poverty in the story and write each on a Post-It Note. Then, on a piece of
Flip Chart Paper, lay out your Post It Notes in a causal relationship. For example, issues
to the left of “Hunger”, such as “Poor crop yields” could be causes and issues to the right,
such as “Malnutrition” could be effects. Below is an example of a causality map.
Note: There are many ways this “map” could be drawn. The learning objective is to
analyze livelihoods to understand how complex they are and how many issues, many of
which are beyond the average persons control, affect them.
Present your map to the rest of the class. Explain why you have chosen to draw your map
the way you have done, and describe any major insights your group has had through the
exercise.

Part II – Engineering in Impoverished Communities
1. From the challenges that you have identified in your causality map, identify six
issues that could have technical (engineering) solutions and describe an
engineering project for each one. (1 mark)
2. Describe a non-development based engineering project that does not target

causes of poverty but directly affects an impoverished community. (1 mark)
a. List three ways that the projects’ contact with an impoverished

community could affect how the project is implemented.
b. List three ways the project could negatively affect the community, and
suggest ways that the negative impacts could be avoided.
c. List three ways the project could positively affect the community.

Ziem Der in Tabe Ere, Ghana
Ziem Der lives in Tabe Ere, located near
Lawra, Ghana. Tabe Ere has a population of
approximately 1162, who make up about 185
households. The houses here are dispersed to
allow enough space around every house for
farming.
Lawra is in the northern savanna zone. It is
Ghana's poorest region, where 70 percent of
the rural population falls below the poverty
line. Bounded by the Black Volta River and
the border with Burkina Faso, it is a low-
lying area of grasslands, shrubs, and
scattered trees; rain falls sporadically
between April and September.
Ziem was born in 1948, the fourth of nine paved road, and the nearest health service is
children. Ziem's father did not view formal nine kilometers away. The rains, when they
education as a priority for his children, and fall, are very intense, and have made roads
consequently only two of the siblings difficult to navigate. Ziem says that the heavy
attended school. Ziem describes himself as rains and poor yields have been reported to
zung or "blind," a metaphor for illiterate. He authorities, "but the government is silent.”
explains that because he is unable to read or Villagers report that the isolation and bad
write, he cannot get a job in town. roads also discourage qualified health
Ziem has two wives and eight children of his personnel and teachers from accepting
own. In addition, when his brother died, the positions in the community. Those who do
brother’s wife and three children joined take these jobs live in Lawra and commute
Ziem’s household, bringing the number in "as they please," often irregularly.
the household to fifteen. Feeding his large Ziem attributes his poverty to having to take
family has become extremely difficult for on his brother’s wife and children, and the
Ziem. His wives search for firewood, which bad rains, but he adds that one's fortunes –
they then can trade for food in town. good or bad – depend on God. He observes
Like most of others in the communities in that it is easier for a rich man to fall into
the area, Ziem lives a hand to mouth poverty than for a poor man to pull himself
existence. When the rains fail the family goes up into a state of well-being.
hungry. The land is not yielding what it used Ziem's community is able to provide scant
to, and so it needs to be worked more assistance to help him and his family survive.
intensely. His children do not always attend Like Ziem, many people in Tabe Ere live in
school because they have to work with Ziem extreme poverty. There is a rumour that an
in the fields. His children are frequently sick, NGO from the United States will come and
and one of his wives appears to be going help them, but Ziem remembers that people
blind. have been talking about this for years. “We
Clean drinking water is scarce (a community are too far and too small. We are the
an hour’s walk away has a borehole provided forgotten. The government doesn’t care. Only
by the Catholic Church), and there is no God remembers us.”
sanitation or power in the village.
Distant markets and very poor
transportation infrastructure further
contribute to farmers' poverty – it is four
kilometers from Tabe Ere to the nearest
Handout – Page 1 of 1
ASSIGNMENT 5: Appropriate Technology –A Case Study Collecting Fog on El Tofo
(3 marks total)
In this assignment we will study the social aspect of implementing a new technology, and the role the
social aspect plays in the success or failure of a new technology.
In this assignment you will read a case study and identify:

 the impact of community or social involvement in the implementation of a new technology, and
 the strengths and weakness of an engineers approach to implementing technology.
Read the attached case study and answer the following questions.
1. First consider the role of the community in the project. (0.75 marks)
a) What role did the community of El Tofo play in the fog-collecting project in 1990? What was
the community thinking about back in the early '90s?
b) How did the involvement or lack of involvement of community affect the success of the project?
c) How did the project change the community of El Tofo and what affect did these changes have
upon the fog-collecting project.
2. Now consider the role of the engineers and organizations involved in the project. (0.75 marks)
a) What was the initial purpose of the project? How did this affect the outcome?
b) How many different groups were involved in this project? How did the number of
groups affect the project?
c) When the project was initiated did the project managers have a good understanding of
the community they were working for? How did this affect the outcome?
3. As an engineer in charge of this project how would you have approached the project differently?
How would you have involved the community in the project? Would you have chosen to involve a
multi-disciplinary team? How might this have changed the outcome of the project? (1 mark)
4. Is the social aspect of a technology an important consideration in Canada? Name three technologies
that can be found in different social contexts and are changed to reflect the social context. Explain why
the changes might have been made. (0.5 marks)
[For example: a commercial espresso machine compared to a counter-top, home espresso machine.
The commercial variety is much bigger and can be used constantly but uses a lot of energy and
water. It requires training to be used safely and effectively. Home varieties take up less space and
need to reheat between uses. In addition, it is significantly simpler to use and thus just has a simple
instruction manual.]

Collecting Fog on El Tofo Cables and meshes had been carted off for use elsewhere,
and the operator's house on the site had been dismantled.
Stephen Dale
Most of the town's water supply is now hauled in, at
In the early 1990s, the global news media became
much greater expense, by truck.
entranced by a small town in northern Chile that started
Conflicting visions of community development
drinking the fog. Newspaper reporters and television
In a report prepared for the International Development
cameras were drawn by the site of the giant mesh
Research Centre (IDRC), Chilean consultant Carolina de
collectors that trapped droplets of fog drifting in from the
la Lastra reported that municipal politicians in La
coast. Those droplets — which coalesced as an average
Higuera (the larger jurisdiction of which Chungungo is a
of 15,000 litres of water a day — were piped down from
part) have begun to lobby for a pipeline that would bring
the El Tofo Mountain for use in the formerly parched
water to the community from the Los Choros River, 20
community of Chungungo.
km away. The officials have taken this approach because
The technology worked well and the increased water
they "regard water from fog as an unreliable, irregular,
supply helped to transform the town. In fact, the project
and insufficient source for providing drinking water for
served as a prototype and there are now fog catchers or
Chungungo," she writes. It is nonetheless true that fog
collectors providing water to communities in other areas
catchers continue to function well in other parts of Chile,
of the world.
where they bring water to agricultural and reforestation
But, more than 10 years later, in El Tofo, the nets are in a
projects.
total state of disrepair. What caused the community of
IDRC project officer Chris Smart says the community's
Chungungo to abandon the project that had brought it
new desire for piped water may be an indication of a
abundant water and high hopes for the future? And what
once-common problem where alternative technologies —
can be learned from the El Tofo experience? These are
like solar and wind power — suffer from a lack of local
questions that people close to the project are now
prestige.
grappling with.
Often in developing countries, he explains, "people have
Water and a community transformed
certain visions of what it means to be developed, and one
One reason the media reported so frequently on this
of them is that water should be brought to you by the
project, may be because the impact was so direct and
state, and you should never have to think about it." Water
easy to see. In 1992, Canada's Globe and Mail reported:
that comes from a local source, through a system that has
"Residents in this impoverished coastal region, who for
to be maintained by a local committee, may therefore be
the first time have a steady supply of clean water, call it a
regarded as second-rate.
miracle." A resident told CNN the same year: "Now I can
The call for piped water
wash every day. Before I had to watch every drop. You
Ironically, this feeling that the community was ready for
really suffer without water."
piped water arose partly because of the Chungungo fog
By 1995, the Economist was still marveling at the sight
collectors' earlier, stunning success. Although the
of a vibrant community where "gardens thrive on land
community, a former mining town, had been steadily
that was once barren. Fisherman whistle and joke as they
losing inhabitants since the mine closed in 1970s, the
compare potatoes, peppers, cabbages, and maize." Pure
arrival of fog water led to a tripling of the population.
and plentiful water, the Economist correspondent wrote,
Summer homes and tourist facilities were built nearby.
had produced not only vegetable gardens but better
The collectors' success also seemed to breed a new
health and a new sense of optimism among Chungungo's
economic and political momentum: Chungungo's new
citizens.
profile and global renown allowed officials to lobby
There was hope that this "miracle" could be transplanted.
successfully for electricity and telephone service.
"The new technology — which is cheap to build, easy to
Beyond contributing to the community's ambition to
maintain, and requires no power — could alleviate water
move to a higher technological plateau, success also gave
shortages in thousands of rural communities in arid and
rise to practical problems. With 900 inhabitants in the
semi-arid communities around the world," suggested The
town — rather than 300 — the original number of fog-
Toronto Star, in a 1993 feature.
collectors could not supply as much water to each
Ten years later, a good deal of that promise has been
household as it once had. Even more unsettling, periods
realized. The technology that was perfected at El Tofo —
without fog meant depleted reservoirs and occasional
where researchers experimented with different materials
drought in the community. Fog collectors came to be
and designs — has now either been adopted or is under
seen as an unreliable source of water.
study in 25 different countries. Recently, for instance,
The road not taken
new fog collection projects have become operational in
Robert Schemenauer — one of the original designers of
Yemen and central Chile, while other projects are at the
the Chungungo project and the current-day president of
evaluation stage in Guatemala, Haiti, and Nepal.
FogQuest, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that
Ironically, though, the prototype project in Chungungo
helps bring fog technology to arid regions — says the
has fallen into disrepair and disuse. By the summer of
simplest solution to the supply problem would have been
2002, only nine of the 94 mesh collectors that once
to expand the grid of fog collectors.
blanketed the mountaintop at El Tofo were still hanging.

"It's no different from any other kind of water supply In Nef's estimation, changing the purpose of the project
system. If the community grows, you have to increase the in mid-course also helped create a management structure
supply," says Schemenauer, who is now working on a that was unclear and unstable.
proposal to revive the El Tofo site. The project began as a collaboration between IDRC,
"The most logical response would have been to simply Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), and
increase the number of fog collectors, and increase the Catholic University. Yet when the project's goal became
size of the water reservoir. Then you'd have more water, the provision of drinking water, CONAF (which had no
and a larger buffer capacity to get this larger community jurisdiction over consumable water) shifted its
through the times when there is no fog. There's responsibility to the municipality and to various national
essentially no limit to the number of fog collectors you and regional bureaucracies.
can put up there. You can put ten times, twenty times, This created something like organizational chaos. With
fifty times what there is now." up to eight stakeholders involved at one time, "there was
Community leaders, however, clearly preferred the idea no single authority looking over the whole system,"
of a pipe bringing a steady flow of water from Los writes Nef.
Choros — even though this project would come with an Within an atmosphere of jurisdictional dispute and
estimated price tag of one million US dollars. uncertainty (contributed to, for instance, by events such
The question of community involvement as the privatization of the state's rural water agency) the
The fact that there was so little long-term commitment to local committee charged with running and maintaining
keeping the fog collectors functional, says University of the fog collectors was unable to develop the necessary
Guelph rural extension professor Jorge Nef, is an expertise or to function efficiently. The local committee
indication that not enough preparatory work was done to could collect sufficient fees to pay for routine
determine if the community had the right mindset to maintenance of the system but not for increased demands
sustain this type of technology, and how much they were made by regional water agencies or for major repairs.
willing to contribute to keep the fog collectors running. Lessons from El Tofo
[See related sidebar: Taking a Multidisciplinary Those who have followed the roller-coaster ride of fog
Approach] collecting at El Tofo draw some clear lessons from the
In his report on what went wrong at El Tofo, Nef experience.
recounts that "villagers were not involved in any One is that fog collecting works. Proof of this can be
significant way in [the project's] origins and found in the work of a new network of specialists who
development" and that there was very little study of their have taken this technology to arid areas across the globe.
underlying attitudes and aspirations. This meant that they The other lesson is that understanding social conditions
were inadequately informed about the economics of and securing the involvement and commitment of local
water supply and were unprepared to commit to the fog people — a factor apparently given short shift here
collectors' long-term functioning. because of special circumstances — is always vital to the
But Schemenauer believes that any deficiencies in long-term viability of a development project.
preparing the social ground for the arrival of this new "I think the main message," says Smart, "is that the
technology arose because of the project's unusual technology may be absolutely wonderful — and in this
evolution. The original goals of the project, he explains, case the technology works brilliantly — but there's
were to perfect the technology, construct an array of always a social setting, and that's going to demand as
collectors as a pilot project and then to use the water to much attention as the technical questions."
feed seedlings for a trial reforestation project on the Stephen Dale is a freelance writer based in Ottawa.
mountain. The project was not initially designed or
funded as a water project for a community. It was only SIDEBAR
after intensive lobbying by the community that funders Taking a Multidisciplinary Approach
reluctantly agreed to provide additional support to have For many researchers, the traditional, monodisciplinary
the water diverted down the mountainside to the approach to science has outlived its usefulness —
community. particularly with respect to research in the developing
Switching gears midstream world. Increasingly, the approach to research is more
"El Tofo is not a typical situation," he says. "We worked fluid: applied, cross-disciplinary, heterogeneous, and
on the top of the mountain for five years before there was non-hierarchical.
any push to put a pipeline down the mountain. Normally, In practice, this means researchers problem-solve around
we work with local NGOs that have a long history in the an issue rather than through a rigid code of practice
community and put a strong emphasis on the social side." associated with a specific scientific discipline. It also
He adds that — even though there was little formal means they may work in multidisciplinary teams.
research into the social character of the community — "Imagine that you're trying to improve production in a
community members were involved in planning through village wood lot," says Tim Dottridge, Director of
public meetings. IDRC's Special Initiatives Division. "In addition to
foresters, you might have a social anthropologist and —
since men and women have different interests in the

wood lot — socio-economic and gender specialists on proposals, for example, PI teams review them to see how
your team." closely they fit with the PIs' objectives and priorities.
IDRC's shift in programing Often, the initial proposal is sketchy and the PI team
For the first 25 years of its existence, IDRC conducted its encourages the applicant to take a more integrated
programs along fairly traditional sectoral lines. In fact, by approach. The team also strives to expand the networks
the early 1990s, it had 55 separate sub-programs to include members of civil society, policy makers, and
delivered by seven program divisions and six regional extension agents who can help define the problem and set
offices — all with separate budgets. By 1995, however, the research agenda.
the shift towards a multidisciplinary approach was "The government cuts may have been the final push, but
complete, and the Centre has never looked back. IDRC was already moving in the direction of a true
"A lot of organizations have tried to embrace a cross- multidisciplinary approach," says Dottridge. "What's
cutting approach without changing their internal remarkable about the transition is that we were
structures," says Dottridge. "We went further, and truly effectively undertaking three major changes at once. We
attempted to transform the organization. Our approach were downsizing our operations by cutting staff. We
helps ensure that we practice what we preach. We expect were restructuring our operations. And we were
Southern researchers to take a multidisciplinary reorienting our thinking. Many organizations have made
approach, and we're organized in multidisciplinary teams these changes individually. Few have attempted them at
ourselves to assess the proposal properly." the same time.
While IDRC has been influenced by international trends "It hasn't been an easy transition, and the system is not
in research, its unique experience and circumstances have perfect. There is always room to improve how we assess
also been a motivating factor in the shift towards and manage projects. But we've positioned ourselves to
multidisciplinary teams. be a model for a way of working. When we insist on a
The role of evaluation cross-disciplinary approach to research in the field, we're
The first seeds were planted back in 1978 with the walking the talk.”
creation of an Office of Planning and Evaluation, and the
subsequent integration of those functions with the work
of the program divisions. By 1986, the accumulated
evaluation work, along with analysis of the external
context, led to the first policy shift. A strategic review
stressed the "connectedness" of the various elements of
development, along with the need or greater coherence in
programming.
The review reflected the Board of Governors' ongoing
concern about the open-ended nature of programming.
Still, while IDRC tried to draw up divisional objectives
in 1986, programs received budget allocations without
the requirement of a multi-year plan or any specific
objectives.
And in the 1990s, while IDRC was describing its
programs in terms of sustainable development —
especially after the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 —
program delivery was essentially unchanged. Meanwhile,
evaluations could not conclusively demonstrate that
disparate projects added up to more than the sum of their
parts.
In 1995, the Government of Canada made widespread
cuts to its programs, including IDRC's work. In response,
the Centre decided to cut staff and concentrate on fewer
research areas. It produced a plan for a more focused
program that would lead to measurable results — a
decision that led to the creation of Program Initiatives
(PIs) as the primary vehicles to fund Southern
researchers and research institutions.
Program initiatives
Instead of focusing on single disciplines or sectors such
as economics, fisheries, or earth sciences to solve
problems, PIs first look at the problem, and then consider
what knowledge is necessary to solve it. When Southern
researchers and research institutions submit funding

Figure 1: Fog Collectors, El Tofo (1990)
Figure 2: Fog Collector Nets in Operation, El Tofo (1994)

Figure 3: Fog Collector Net, El Tofo (2002).
In 2002, only 9 of the original 94 fog collector nets were still in use.

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS
A Backgrounder†
The life-cycle concept is a "cradle to grave" approach to thinking about products, processes and services.
It recognizes that all life-cycle stages (extracting and processing raw materials, manufacturing,
transportation and distribution, use/reuse, and recycling and waste management) have environmental
and economic impacts.
Public policy makers, industry and private organizations can apply the life-cycle concept to help them
make decisions about environmental design and improvement. As well, the life-cycle approach can be
used as a scientific tool for gathering quantitative data to inventory and, weigh and rank the
environmental burdens of products, processes and services.
Unlike more specific "end of pipe" or "within the plant gate" approaches to environmental management,
decision makers can apply the life-cycle approach to all of the upstream and downstream implications of
site-specific actions. An example might be changes in emission levels that result from changing a raw
material in the production process.
New and emerging life-cycle tools available to decision-makers include life-cycle assessment, design for
environment, life-cycle cost accounting, total energy cycle assessment and total fuel cycle assessment.
Industry use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to improve environmental performance is increasing.
An LCA quantifies energy and resource inputs and outputs at all stages of a life-cycle, then determines
and weighs the associated impacts to set the stage for improvements. Most attempts to develop life-cycle
assessments have focused on the first two of four phases, namely, initiation and inventory analysis. A
complete LCA study adds two further phases: impact assessment and improvement assessment.
The diagram below breaks down a product life-cycle inventory into inputs and outputs for material and
energy, as well as environmental releases.
†
from The Ecocycle Newsletter, a publication of Environment Canada
(http://www.ec.gc.ca/ecocycle/issue1/en/p8.cfm)

In principle, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) covers all stages in the life-cycle of a product system, from
"earth to earth". This includes extracting resources, processing them into materials and fuels, producing
usable components, manufacturing a product, using and maintaining the product, and its final disposal.
In practice, though, we are limited by resources and time and must take steps to make a study
manageable, practical and economical.
The first need when initiating an LCA is a clear statement of purpose. The study is defined to meet that
purpose, within any constraints. Together, scope and boundaries encompass issues of depth and
breadth, defining limits placed on the physical life-cycle and on the detail of information to be collected
and analysed.
For example, an LCA done to help choose appropriate input materials for a small technical group within a
company differs in purpose and scope from a study done to provide environmental information to groups
outside the company.
Scope refers to the geographic, historical and technical applicability of a study: where data come from,
how up-to-date the study is, how information is handled, and where the results are applicable. Within the
scope, it is also necessary to allow for a critical review of the LCA.
The life-cycle system's boundaries are usually depicted in process flowsheets that show the main
sequence of production: from resource to product to waste. The system must also include energy and
ancillary materials that support the main production, and production of the ancillaries themselves. The
whole life-cycle flowsheet resembles a tree with many roots and branches. Some may be interdependent,
complicating analysis further.
Decision rules are used to determine which energy and ancillary inputs are significant enough to include,
based on how much they affect the total environmental burdens or exhibit particular impacts.
Issues arise in setting precise boundaries.
For example, unlike mineral resources, raw materials derived from biological systems have no distinct
upstream boundary. At what point does a living plant enter the industrial production system? When it is
harvested from the earth? What about artificial inputs and outputs of water and nutrients? What about
human actions involved in planting the crop or preparing the land, perhaps from a previous natural state?
Commonly, some processes in the life-cycle system generate more than one usable output. Secondary
products are not of direct interest, but their production contributes to environmental burdens. Allocation is
the technique of partitioning burdens between co-products; it is a boundary-setting activity that defines
how secondary products in the system are treated when they leave the system.
An example of co-products occurs when crude oil is refined into numerous hydrocarbon fuels and
petrochemical feedstocks. It is usual to allocate the burdens of the refining and upstream processes
based on calorific values of the different products. An alternative is to allocate burdens for co-products
based on their comparative masses. In LCA, as in any model, tension exists between accuracy and
practicality. As we add details of breadth and depth, we also add complexity, expense and reduced utility.
Ultimately, those who undertake LCA projects must make choices about scope and boundaries.

THE SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL INSTITUTE’S APPROACH TO LIFE
CYCLE ANALYSIS AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN
We can only design greener buildings if we know how each of the component parts such as concrete
blocks, insulation, glass, cladding materials, and roofing systems affect the environment.
Resource Extraction
The life cycle of most building products starts with the extraction of raw resources like timber, iron ore,
coal, limestone, aggregates and gypsum. And that’s where we start the development of life cycle
inventory data which tracks energy use and emissions to air, water and land per unit of resource.
In addition to the actual harvesting, mining or quarrying of a resource, the extraction phase data includes
such activities as building access roads, reforestation and beneficiation. It also includes the transportation
of raw resources to the mill or plant gate which defines the boundary between extraction and
manufacturing.
One of the great difficulties in assessing the environmental effects of resource extraction is that so many
of the environmental effects that concern people — for example the effects on biodiversity, water quality,
soil stability and so on — are very site specific and not easily measured. For that reason they are often
left out of life cycle inventory studies or given only passing mention. We have tackled the problem by
developing an index of what we term the ecological carrying capacity effects of resource extraction. The
index was developed from a survey of environmental and resource extraction experts and is used in the
computer model to weight the absolute quantities of the main raw resources required to manufacture the
products of interest.

Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the stage that typically accounts for the largest proportion of embodied energy and
emissions associated with the life cycle of a building product. For the purpose of Athena inventory
studies, this stage starts with the delivery of raw resources and other materials at the mill or plant gate
and ends with the delivery of building products to selected cities representative of the six Canadian
regions encompassed by Athena.
The Institute Research Guidelines provide direction for our researchers on the treatment of secondary
components and assemblies, data sources and verification, system boundaries, the level of detail
expected in inventory studies, the representativeness of data, and a variety of other standard conventions
and assumptions. The guidelines were originally developed in the early 1990’s when work on the project
first started, with periodic modifications and additions since then. They are fully consistent with ISO and
CSA life cycle assessment standards and, from our perspective, ensure that the playing field is level with
all building materials treated in a comparable fashion.
All of our basic product life cycle inventory studies are undertaken under contract by people with expertise
in the different industries. We also try, to the extent possible, to involve industry associations and
individual companies so that we get access to detailed data as well as the benefits of industry review of
our reports at the draft stage.
On-Site Construction
The on-site construction stage is like an additional manufacturing step where individual products,
components and sub-assemblies come together in the manufacturing of the entire building, and is the
subject of a totally separate database in ATHENAÔ. For our purposes, this stage starts with the
transportation of individual products and sub-assemblies from notional distribution centres in each of the
six cities which represent different Canadian regions. We use average or typical transportation distances
to building sites within each city, for example for the movement of ready mixed concrete trucks.
Although often overlooked in life cycle assessments of buildings, this stage in the life cycle can be
important in terms of energy use and other environmental effects. For example, depending on the size of
a building and the structural systems used, on-site construction can account for 3 to 15 per cent of total
initial embodied energy and, again depending on the materials and systems, it can result in the
generation of significant amounts of waste.
In addition to building product transportation and the energy use of on-site machines like cranes and
mixers, the on-site construction activity stage includes such items as the transportation of equipment to
and from the site, concrete form-work, and temporary heating and ventilation.
Occupancy/Maintenance
During the occupancy stage we have to take account of functions like heating, cooling, lighting and water
use, as well as the introduction of new products such as paints, stains, floor coverings and other interior
finishes. We also have to take account of the fact a building may be remodeled or reconfigured several
times over its life (a form of reuse), with changes to interior partitions and possibly the addition of new
products or systems. In the course of maintenance, some parts of a building will be altered (e.g. by
painting), but other parts may not be seen or touched until the building is demolished.
We have done exploratory work on this stage of the life cycle to better understand the relative importance
of various aspects but it is not yet included in the computer model. However, we are currently developing
the life cycle inventory data for maintenance products like paint and will be soon assembling maintenance

and replacement schedules for assemblies or components like windows and exterior finishes. We are
also assessing how we can best incorporate operating energy requirements
Demolition
Demolition marks the end of a building’s life cycle although it is not the end for individual component
materials or products which face a subsequent recycling/reuse/disposal stage. This is another area where
we have done background and have undertaken an exploratory study to better understand the issues. But
the demolition stage is not yet encompassed by the computer model.
The exploratory study examined demolition energy use for different structural systems under different
climatic conditions assuming 100 percent recycling and 100 percent reuse of the structural components.
Recycling/Reuse/Disposal
This is the final stage in the life cycle of the individual components or products comprising a building. It is
an especially difficult area for building life cycle analysis because, for a building being designed now we
are dealing with practices and pressures a long way in the future and therefore quite unpredictable. The
obvious answer is to simply assume current practices, but we have to be cautious to make sure we don’t
inadvertently penalize materials or products with a greater prospect for additional recycling or reuse.
While ATHENA databases certainly take account of recycled materials coming in as raw material for the
manufacturing stage for various products (e.g. fly ash in concrete and steel scrap for steel products), the
model does not yet cover this final activity stage. Since most of the environmental burdens associated
with recycling and reuse, like processing and transportation, are properly a charge to the next use, our
concern will be primarily with the environmental implications of disposal, whether through landfilling or
incineration.

The Basics of Sustainable Building Design
(from APEGBC’s Sustainable Building Primer)
The Components of Integrated Design

In general, integrated design of new buildings must address five key elements:
1. Site “It is much easier and cheaper to

maximize the benefits of green
2. Water Efficiency planning and design by
3. Energy Efficiency addressing issues in the initial
4. Materials and Resources stages of a project”
5. Indoor Environmental Quality -Rocky Mountain Institute, 1998
Below are some sample design considerations in each of the five key areas:
1. Site
¾ Orientation to the sun to maximize natural daylight and heating
¾ Choice of brownfield site over greenfield
¾ Utilization of previous building footprint
¾ Layout to minimize footprint
¾ Location of site to utilize existing infrastructure (utilities and
¾ transportation)
¾ Provision of alternative transportation services such as bicycle
¾ storage, alternative fuel refueling stations, showers and changing
¾ rooms
¾ Minimization of impervious areas on-site to reduce run-off
¾ Landscaping to reduce heat island effect
2. Water Efficiency
¾ Use of low flow, water efficient fixtures, waterless urinals, dual flush
¾ toilets etc
¾ Use of native plants to eliminate/reduce irrigation needs
¾ Grey-water reuse, on-site treatment
3. Energy Efficiency
¾ Use of renewable energy
¾ Use of energy efficient fixtures
¾ Effective use of insulating materials, glazing, etc
¾ On-site energy generation
¾ Use of energy modeling to optimize heating/cooling systems
4. Materials and Resources

¾ Use of local/regional materials
¾ Use of recycled materials
¾ Construction waste reduction/reuse/diversion
¾ Storage and collection of recyclables
¾ Use of durable materials
¾ Reuse of existing building shell

5. Indoor Environmental Quality
¾ Use of low-emitting materials (adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets,
¾ composite wood products)
¾ Maximized percent of daylighted spaces
¾ Maximized ventilation performance
¾ Management of Indoor Air Quality during construction
¾ Monitoring of CO2
¾ Design for controllability of systems
As these examples show, it is difficult to consider these components in isolation. Indeed,

improvements in one area typically result in spin-off improvements in another. Some benefits
realized by high-performance buildings include:
¾ Lower operating costs

¾ Lower lifecycle costs
¾ Longer lasting building
¾ Reduced impact on the environment
¾ Increased occupant comfort, health
¾ Increased occupant productivity / satisfaction
¾ Higher building value
¾ Lower vacancy rate
¾ Enhanced corporate image
Tools for Integrated Design
Guidelines
A number of jurisdictions, municipalities and organizations have created building design guidelines
to help industry incorporate sustainable building practices into design, construction and operation.
Here are four example guidelines:
BC Building Corporation Guide to Green Buildings Resources

http://www.greenbuildingsbc.com/new_buildings/resources_guide/index.html
An excellent resource that provides links to other websites and information on financial incentives,
other building guidelines, energy, water, landscape, materials, waste, construction practices,
indoor environmental quality, economic performance resources, life cycle assessment resources,
and resources specific to designing schools. Updated regularly.
City of Santa Monica Green Building Guidelines

http://greenbuildings.santa-monica.org/index.html
These Guidelines provide designers, builders and developers with easily accessible guidelines and
best practices on green building design. A group of consultants and experts from British Columbia
were primary consultants on the development of the guidelines. A unique feature is the “Design
Advisor” which allows the user to search for documents, reports and guidelines based on the type
of building (school, hospital, library…) and activity type (new building, retrofit, operation &
maintenance…).

New York City Department of Design and Construction High Performance Building
Guidelines
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/ddc/html/highperf.html
The New York City High Performance Building Guidelines are organized into: City Process, Design
Process, Site Design & Planning, Building Energy Use, Indoor Environment, Material and Product
Selection, Water Management, Construction Administration, Commissioning, and Operations and
Maintenance.
Retrofitting a City: A Guide for Municipalities to Implement a Building Retrofit Program

http://www.cmhcschl.
gc.ca/en/imquaf/hehosu/sucopl/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=42236
The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation published this guide, which includes guidance on:
defining the scope and delivery method of your retrofit program, staffing requirements, funding
options, regulations, and promotion.
Sustainability Matrix
The Sustainability Matrix was initiated by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation when they
were planning a new Foundation Office. The result was a decision-making tool that would clearly
demonstrate the aesthetic, environmental, schedule, and economic impacts implied by a range of
sustainability goals for the proposed building. The Matrix is a graphical summary of the findings
contained in the Sustainability Report. It compares six different options, from “market” (typical big
box design) to “living building” (a net-energy generating building). It details and compares all of the
following:
¾ site plan
¾ wall section
¾ energy consumed and generated to operate building
¾ grid reliance
¾ pollution from building operation
¾ external cost to society
¾ schedule
¾ construction cost
¾ furniture, fixtures, and equipment
¾ design and management fees
¾ net present value for 30-, 60-, and 100-year models.
The Sustainability Matrix and Report are excellent resources that show very clearly the
relationships between all aspects of building design, construction, and decommissioning. They can
be viewed and downloaded from http://www.packard.org/index.cgi?page=building.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM)

The LEEDTM Green Building Assessment tool is technically an assessment tool, but many
professionals also use it as a design tool.
LEEDTM, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an increasingly
popular building assessment and design tool developed by the US Green Building Council
(USGBC – http://www.usgbc.org), and the most widely applied within BC and the US.

LEED: Frequently Asked Questions
How does LEEDTM work?

LEEDTM measures and ranks a building’s environmental performance in terms of 6 general
categories:
¾ Sustainable Sites,
Blair McCarry, PEng, points out the strong
¾ Water Efficiency, influence that engineers have over the design of
¾ Energy & Atmosphere, sustainable buildings. In each of the six LEEDTM
¾ Materials & Resources, categories, engineers can influence the
¾ Indoor Environmental Quality, and following
¾ Innovation & Design. portion of the available credits:
¾ Sustainable Sites:5/14
Points are awarded for achieving specific ¾ Water Efficiency: 5/5
goals clearly outlined in each category. The ¾ Energy and Atmosphere: 17/17
total number of points possible is 69. A score ¾ Materials and Resources: 8/13
of 26-32 points achieves basic certification; ¾ Indoor Environmental Quality: 11/15
¾ Innovation & Design: any of the 5
33-38 achieves Silver; 39 – 51 Gold; and 52+
available
achieves Platinum certification.
How is a building certified?

At the moment, official LEEDTM certification is organized through the USGBC. The USGBC LEEDTM
website (http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/LEED_main.asp) provides a summary of the three steps to
certification. The CaGBC will eventually take over certification of Canadian projects, but is still in
the early stages of organization. Any certification earned under the USGBC until that point will be
honoured by the CaGBC.
Is LEEDTM mandatory?
NO. LEEDTM is a voluntary building assessment tool. Some jurisdictions like the City of Seattle;
however, have adopted a minimum LEEDTM standard for all new public buildings as a matter of
policy. The City of Vancouver is currently considering the merits of adopting a minimum LEEDTM
standard for all new public buildings, and, in June, 2004, was awarded LEEDTM Gold for its new
Vancouver City Works Yard
(http://www.sustainability.ca/Docs/Vancouver%20City%20Works.pdf?CFID=3778824&CFTOKEN=
41506381). The City of Calgary is also moving toward requiring a minimum of LEEDTM Silver for all
new public buildings.
Integrated Building Design Resources
Backgrounders
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/backgrounders.cfm
A series of websites designed to give you basic information about green buildings.
Guide to Value Analysis and the Integrated Green Design Process

http://www.greenbuildingsbc.com/new_buildings/pdf_files/value_analysis_dp_guide.pdf
This guide to integrated design was produced by the BC Building Corporation and presents a four-
step process for design teams wishing to approach the design process in an integrated fashion.
East Clayton Headwaters Project

http://www.sustainablecommunities.agsci.ubc.ca/projects/Headwaters.html
The James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at UBC is responsible for
information management and project facilitation of the East Clayton Headwaters Project – a
proposed sustainable neighborhood in Surrey. The initial design charette that was used to create
the Clayton Neighborhood Concept Plan is a good example of integrated design teamwork. Click
on "Summary", on the above web link, and then scroll down the webpage to find an interesting
discussion on the design process that was used for East Clayton
BC Building Corporation’s Green Buildings Program

http://www.greenbuildingsbc.com
This website is an excellent source of information on green building design. There are two
separate programs: New Buildings Program and the Retrofit Program. The site contains
information on BC case studies, green building design guidelines, financial incentive programs,
and integrated design process guidelines.
BetterBricks
http://www.betterbricks.com
BetterBricks is a not-for-profit initiative designed to help commercial building professionals achieve
sustainable high performance buildings. Includes guidelines, tools and case studies.
Better Buildings for Greater Vancouver

http://www.betterbuildings.ca
A portal hosted by the GVRD, with building-related information on: case studies, environmental
facts and information, financial incentives and programs, online discussion forums, and web links.
Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC)

The newly formed Canada Green Building Council will take over LEEDTM administration from the
USGBC and address green building issues specific to Canada. Memberships are now being
issued.
City of Seattle Sustainable Building Program

http://www.cityofseattle.net/sustainablebuilding/
The City of Seattle's sustainable building program contains some useful reports and guidelines to
help practitioners incorporate sustainable building practices into design. Note that the City of
Seattle requires all new city-financed buildings and major remodels to be certified LEEDTM Silver or
better.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Municipal Building Retrofits program

http://www.fcm.ca/scep/support/building_retrofit/mbrp_index.htm
The FCM will provides guidance through all stages of the building retrofit process from help in
developing a business case, overcoming barriers, to finding additional funding. Also available are
several case studies.
Advanced Buildings Technologies and Practices

http://www.advancedbuildings.org
Detailed descriptions and supporting case studies for 90 technologies and practices to improve
energy and resource efficiency of commercial and multi-unit residential buildings. Specific
technologies and techniques are included within the following comprehensive categories: building
structure, finishes & furnishings, heating & cooling, plumbing & water heating, lighting &
daylighting, load management, electricity production, ventilation & air quality, site services, and
motors % equipment.

Aggregate, Recycled Concrete
http://www.metrokc.gov/procure/green/concrete.htm
A primer on demolition and recycling of concrete for use as aggregate. Prepared by Seattle's King
County.
Construction Materials Report: Toolkit for Carbon Neutral Developments

http://www.bioregional.com
Construction materials report for the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) in London,
England. A 13-page summary is available on the website and includes details on the project’s local
sourcing policy, material choices and tracking of project resource flows. The full report describes all
the materials used in the construction of BedZED and shows how the project team reduced the
embodied environmental impact of the development by 20-30% by selecting reclaimed, recycled,
local and low impact materials.
EcoSmart™ Concrete
http://www.ecosmart.ca/
The objective of the EcoSmart™ Project is to minimize the greenhouse gas signature of concrete
by maximizing the replacement of Portland cement in the concrete mix with Supplementary
Cementing material (SCM) within the parameters of cost, performance, and constructability.
Sustainable Development in the World Steel Industry

http://www.sustainablesteel.com
An initiative of the International Iron and Steel Institute. Contains market news, conference
information, papers and other publications.
Low Impact Development in Puget Sound

http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound/Programs/lid_cd/LID_resources.htm
A relatively new idea for land development, low impact development (LID) focuses on developing
land such that post-development hydrologic conditions are as close to pre-development conditions
as possible.
Stormwater Managers Resource Centre

http://www.stormwatercenter.net/
The Stormwater Manager's Resource Center is designed specifically for stormwater practitioners,
local government officials and others who need technical assistance on stormwater management
issues. Very well laid out with guidelines on how to implement low-impact stormwater management
designs and techniques.
Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for BC

http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/mpp/stormwater/stormwater.htm
This guidebook is an excellent resource of best practices for stormwater management within BC.
Particularly useful for municipal governments, with an emphasis on implementing early actions.

Sustainability and Engineering Guidelines to Practice:
The APEGBC Sustainability Guidelines:
An Overview†
Moving goalposts
There is no agreed upon range of “sustainable engineering solutions”– nor could there ever be.
Technologies or techniques that constitute best practice one year may become obsolete the next –
the goalposts are constantly shifting as technologies evolve and the things people deem important
change. For the foreseeable future at least, sustainability will be the process of reaching
acceptable solutions across a balance of interests – not a specified outcome that can be
transplanted from one context to another.
Disparate nature of engineering tasks and responsibilities
In practical terms, implementing sustainability naturally implies different things for the CEO of a
global corporation and for the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) of a small municipality. Attempting to
catalogue the specific options open to each, and to all those in between, would be an endless,
encyclopedic task. But while the CEO and EIT have different spheres of control, influence and
concern, both can apply the Guidelines to work out for themselves how to introduce sustainability
considerations to their professional practice.
The benefits of thinking
Applying Guidelines obliges us to think about a wide range of complex issues and to develop
situation-specific solutions to problems. Thinking things through for ourselves ensures that we can
spot opportunities as they arise, and can apply solutions that make sense for the given situation.
The seven Guidelines break down into the four main areas shown in the table below.
Table 1 Focus of Guidelines
Guideline Focus Area
1 Develop and maintain a level of understanding of the goals of, and Increasing Awareness of
issues related to, sustainability. Sustainability
2 Take into account the individual and cumulative social,
environmental and economic implications.
3 Take into account the short- and long-term consequences. Fully Investigating the Impacts of
Potential Actions
4 Take into account the direct and indirect consequences.
5 Assess reasonable alternative concepts, designs and/or

methodologies. Evaluating Alternative Solutions
6 Seek appropriate expertise in areas where the Member's knowledge
is inadequate.
7 Cooperate with colleagues, clients, employers, decision-makers and Fostering Consultation and
the public in the pursuit of sustainability. Partnerships
†
This document is an edited and abridged version of The APEGBC Primer, Part 2.
(http://www.sustainability.ca/index.cfm?body=SourceView.cfm&ID=45 (Aug. 2004))
Increasing Awareness of Sustainability
Guideline 1: Develop and maintain a level of understanding of the goals of,
and issues related to, sustainability.
Guideline #1 encourages continual learning or education as an important aspect of sustainability.
APEGBC has identified awareness (among all stakeholders) as one of the primary barriers to the
implementation of sustainability in the province.
Practical Suggestions
¾ There is an abundance of sustainability information available on the internet. Have a look.
¾ Seek out examples of best practice in your specific areas of interest.
¾ As a Professional Engineer, make your staff / peers / managers aware of the Sustainability
Guidelines and how to apply them.
¾ Make your sustainability training needs known to those responsible for training.
¾ Require a demonstrable awareness of sustainability in those you hire or contract
¾ Think of ways to make your clients/colleagues aware of the benefits of more sustainable
approaches to projects – for example, by including a section on sustainability considerations
in all reports
Fully Investigating the Impacts of Potential Actions

Guideline 2: Take into account the individual and cumulative social,
environmental and economic implications.
Guideline 3: Take into account the short- and long-term consequences.
Guideline 4: Take into account the direct and indirect consequences.
.
These three guidelines address the short and
long-term, direct and indirect impacts of our “In every deliberation, we must consider the
impact on the seventh generation.”
designs and activities. They encourage us to
think outside of traditional project boundaries
and to consider the greater temporal and spatial From the Great Law of the Haudenosaunee (Six
Nations Iroquois Confederation)
impacts of our designs and projects.
As we learn more about the way our world works – the way humans and ecosystems interact – we
learn more about what it takes to ensure that we do not compromise the well being of current and
future generations and ecosystems. “These ideas veer sharply away from thinking in terms of
“trade-offs,” human vs. ecosystem wellbeing. There are obviously hundreds of small trade-offs in
any practical application: between interests, between components of the ecosystem, across time
and across space. However, in a macro sense, the idea of sustainability calls for each of human

and ecosystem wellbeing to be maintained or improved over the long term. Maintaining or
improving one at the expense of the other is not acceptable from a sustainability perspective
because either way, the foundation for life is undermined.”1
The following section discusses some of the general approaches available for applying these
Guidelines under any circumstances, whether specifying a new pump or designing a major new
facility.
Implementation Approaches and Tools

Guideline 2: Take into account the individual and cumulative social, environmental and
economic implications.
At one level, this could involve developing an inventory of impacts rather like a formal
Environmental or Social Impact Assessment. Depending on the degree of rigour required, it could
just involve an estimate of the major ecological, social, and economic implications.
It may be wise to question the value of exhaustively detailing the likely impacts of a proposal in the
absence of having a second or third approach to the same problem for comparisons. If there really
is only one technical solution then you might consider to list the social, environmental and
economic consequences of that solution compared to those associated with doing nothing. Doing
nothing is seldom without its own consequences.
Guideline 3: Take into account the short- and long-term consequences.
The Sustainability Guidelines encourage us to consider both short-term impacts (which we typically
focus on) and long-term impacts (which we typically ignore).
Some relevant issues to consider include:
¾ ease of (and impacts associated with) decommissioning and of extracting materials or

components for recycling;
¾ the reversibility of an action; for example, are several small run-of-river hydro plants more
readily removed if no longer wanted, compared to a single, large dam?;
¾ option values – are we potentially precluding someone from making use of something? For
example, if we destroy rainforest species, will we be squelching opportunities for future
generations to develop medicines from them?;
¾ the longevity of equipment and materials, and the substances mobilized or created during
long term degradation;
¾ non-renewable resources consumed;
¾ possible long term societal effects (eg, behavioural or health effects).

Guideline 4: Take into account the direct and indirect consequences.
As anyone who has been involved with an environmental assessment can attest, accounting for
the likely direct consequences of a planned course of action can be challenging enough.
Considering more indirect consequences can be more difficult still – but potentially nonetheless
important.
Some ways in which our actions can have indirect consequences for society and the environment
include:
¾ impacts associated with the production, transportation, use or disposal of the materials or
resources we use;
¾ unforeseen chemical interactions (e.g. CFC / ozone chemistry);
¾ the behaviour or practices of the subcontractors or suppliers that we hire;
¾ others’ use (or misuse) of our products;
¾ community socio-psychological impacts of our actions (e.g. television).
Life Cycle Assessment (or Analysis)
This is the analytical technique for quantifying and comparing the direct and indirect energy and
material impacts of alternative approaches to meeting a given need. It involves accounting for
environmental impacts throughout the life-cycle of a product or service, including the energy and
materials consumed or degraded during manufacturing, distribution, use, waste collection and
disposal stages.
For formal analyses, a number of databases have been developed that contain life-cycle
information on the “building blocks” of commonly used materials or activities, such as those
associated with one tonne of a particular grade of steel, or with transporting a given mass of
material by truck for one kilometre. Formal LCAs allow us to assemble the “emission inventories”
associated with alternative products or services. Life Cycle Analysis has seen widespread
application throughout the western world.
Impacts of a Product’s Life Cycle (Source: Pearce 1999, The Dimensions of Sustainability: A Primer
http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/resources/pdf/TR/TR031.PDF )

Total Cost Accounting
TCA is in many ways parallel to LCA, but usually focuses on economic and social (as well as
environmental) impacts of actions, and not always over the entire life cycle. For example,
equipment may have ongoing costs of waste disposal, or may require additional training for staff to
operate. If a piece of equipment is likely to result in lost staff time in dealing with public complaints,
this represents a hidden cost. In order to adequately evaluate alternatives with lower public impact,
these hidden costs associated with the status quo must be identified.
Treatment of risk and uncertainty

Uncertainty is one of the most pervasive – and significant – concepts that engineers grapple with
every day. Uncertainty plays a key role in multiplying unintended consequences of all kinds, and
needs to be dealt with conscientiously. Quantifying and communicating the uncertainty surrounding
each element of ‘what we know’ is a central part of our obligation to fully investigate the impacts of
potential actions.
The importance of this is best illustrated by a hypothetical example. Suppose we are choosing between
two alternative projects, A and B. Project A is projected to give rise to 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse
gases, and B is most likely to result in to 30,000 tonnes. All else being equal, everyone would choose
Project B. But suppose we additionally knew that the emissions associated with Project A had a 10%
chance of being as high as 60,000 tonnes, and for Project B there was a 10% chance of emissions being
up to 2,000,000 tonnes. Now which would we choose? By including consideration of uncertainty, the
question has fundamentally changed. Some people may crunch the math and choose B, since it is most
likely the cleaner. Others, more risk averse (i.e. with a different risk tolerance), would choose A to avoid
the possibility of a major release ever happening – perhaps regardless of probabilities. Neither approach
is right or wrong; this is a value judgement. The point is, in defining the situation and presenting
information about it, our challenge is to ensure that such crucial subtleties are not lost on decision makers
or stakeholders.
¾ Investigate the techniques of Environmental Assessment (EA), Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
and Total (or Full) Cost Accounting (TCA) (See resources below).
¾ Consider how you might apply the principles of EA, LCA, and/or TCA when thinking about
the impacts associated with your new or ongoing activities.
¾ Include some consideration of these approaches when communicating information to clients

or managers.
¾ Consider becoming familiar with analytical techniques for handling uncertainty. Report
(whether quantitatively or qualitatively) key areas of uncertainty to clients or managers.
¾ Where uncertainties may play a large role in a particular decision, investigate the use of
appropriate sensitivity analyses or scenario analysis.
Resources
¾ A clear introduction to tackling cumulative impacts within the context of an Environmental
Impact Assessment is given here: http://www.art.man.ac.uk/EIA/nl14con.htm -- these
principles can be extended for social and environmental impacts
¾ More detailed guidelines on assessing cumulative environmental impacts has been

developed by the Government of Canada:
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/0011/0001/0008/guide1_e.htm#Reference%20Guide:
¾ Example of using LCA to assess forest management practices in BC

http://www.ppc.ubc.ca/env-adv-tech.html
¾ ATHENA: A LCA Decision Support Tool For The Building Community

http://www.athenasmi.ca
¾ Using Total Cost Assessment to Justify Energy Retrofits in a BC Pulp Mill

http://www.bsdglobal.com/viewcasestudy.asp?id=66
¾ A TCA approach to resource management planning in the Fraser Valley

http://www.rem.sfu.ca/FRAP/9407.pdf
¾ Evaluating Mining and its Effects on Sustainability: the case of the Tulsequah Chief Mine
Final Report (Uses TCA)
http://emcbc.miningwatch.org/emcbc/publications/tulsequah_sustain.pdf
¾ Ecological Risk Assessment in the Federal Government

http://www.nnic.noaa.gov/CENR/ecorisk.pdf
Evaluating Alternatives
Guideline 5: Assess reasonable alternative concepts, designs and/or
methodologies.
Conventional engineering solutions often rely on historical data and a linear approach to problem
solving. Many problems are ‘solved’ by plugging in a standard formula ‘proven’ throughout the
ages, irrespective of the uniqueness of that problem’s particular setting, its timeframe, the people
and the ecosystems involved. However, the process of even sketching out and evaluating various
solutions, with the contribution of other professionals and from all affected communities of interest,
can ultimately help save money, increase public acceptance and build relationships and job
satisfaction.
At the heart of the assessment of any alternative lies the consideration of whether the design
contributes to human and ecosystem wellbeing together. “The ‘positive contribution to
sustainability’ criterion is different from though built upon the ‘mitigation of adverse effects’ criterion
that is the focus of traditional environmental and social impact assessments. The implications of
the shift are two-fold. On the one hand, the positive orientation opens the door to a much fuller
recognition of benefits that result from engineering and geoscience activities than has traditionally
been the case with impact assessment approaches. On the other, the same positive orientation
sets the bar higher- it is harder to demonstrate a contribution than it is to mitigate a negative.” ( Tony
Hodge, PEng, PhD, “APEGBC Sustainability Policy”, Draft 2, April 2003)

Implementation Approaches and Tools
A key element of successful problem solving involves identifying and defining clear objectives.
Once objectives are clear, “brainstorming” or other “creativity techniques” can be used to develop
alternative concepts.
Then there are two main approaches to assessing how “reasonable” each option might be:
The first informally explores the options to decide upon a preferred approach, develops that
approach into a detailed inventory of impacts (costs and benefits) before a decision is made on
whether that inventory is, on balance, acceptable (this is often the approach underlying
environmental assessments, for example).
The second approach evaluates the impacts associated with a number of different ways of meeting
the same objective(s), then decides between each of the discrete options on the basis of their
relative performance.
The second approach is used less frequently but can lead to greater public acceptance of projects,
and need not necessarily involve greater expenditure of resources if performed well. In such an
approach (sometimes referred to as Multiple Account Evaluation or Grid Analysis), the impacts of a
particular alternative are often compared in tabular form.
¾ Consider using techniques below to generate novel ways of approaching a given problem.
¾ Where appropriate, consider developing Multiple Account Evaluation tables to show
decision makers the impacts associated with various different ways of meeting specified
objectives.
Resources
¾ A “how to” manual on multicriteria analysis http://www.dtlr.gov.uk/about/multicriteria/
¾ Introductory resources on tools for enhancing development of alternatives, making

decisions and handling complexity http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_CT.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TED.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TMC.htm
¾ Example of MAE applied in BC by an engineering consulting firm.

http://www.sitemachine.com/Showcase/Reid-Crowther/info_centre/tp_kootenay.htm .
Consultation and Partnerships

Guideline 6: Seek appropriate expertise in areas where the Member's
knowledge is inadequate.
Guideline 7: Cooperate with colleagues, clients, employers, decision-makers
and the public in the pursuit of sustainability.
Partnerships with fellow professionals on areas we are unfamiliar with comprises only half of our
responsibility to consult with others – the second, arguably more important, aspect requires us to
actively solicit local community values on what’s important. Experts can often help answer “what
could be”, but it’s up to the public to answer, “what should be”.
¾ Build professional partnerships with other organizations or institutions – turn to them for help
when dealing with an area outside your area of expertise.
¾ Investigate models of public participation in engineering processes
Resources
¾ Public Participation in Environmental Decisions: An Evaluation Framework Using Social

Goals http://www.rff.org/CFDOCS/disc_papers/PDF_files/9906.pdf
¾ Articles on Public Participation and Risk http://www.fplc.edu/RISK/rskarts.htm
¾ BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Water Use Planning Guidelines – A

large scale application of a public consultation process incorporating many of the
suggestions developed here http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/wat/wup/wup_pdf/wuppdf.html
¾ Public Involvement: A Rationale and Conceptual Framework – A generic introduction to

public consultation issues and techniques developed by Health Canada http://www.hc-
sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/ocapi-bpcp/framework_guidelines/framework_guides_doc3a_e.html

Applying the Guidelines: Two Examples
Worked Example 1: Specifying a New Pump
Joe is asked to specify a major new pump for a Cheese Whiz plant.
1) Identify Stakeholders
The decision stakes and technical uncertainty involved in this decision are low – it’s a largely
technical judgement. Although there’s no need to involve external stakeholders, he recognizes that
the task has sustainability implications he should consider.
2) Defining Objectives
Joe defines his objectives by asking basic questions.
Why is a pump needed? What is this stuff we’re moving around, why do we need it, what could we
use instead? Could we reduce the amount of stuff moving around? Why does it need to be over
there rather than over here? Could we reduce the distance it has to move?
He concludes that his task (within his scope of influence) is to move X tonnes/hr of stuff from one
process unit to another while minimizing costs and negative environmental and social impacts.
3) Brainstorming Alternative Approaches to Meeting the Objectives
Joe thinks about ways in which he might achieve his objectives. He researches the best available
technologies and concludes that he can either go for a cheap pump or a more expensive, higher
efficiency pump. He’s also found that he could rearrange the site so that the two process units are
one above the other (dispensing with the need for a pump), but this introduces heavy up-front
costs and some extra ongoing costs.
4) Compare the Full Impacts of Meeting the Need.
Joe sketches out a quick summary of his options:

Table 4: Sample Multiple Account Evaluation
Cheap Pump Expensive Pump Changing Site
Layout
Will all technical and legal Yes Yes Yes
needs be met?
Up-front cost $5,000 $10,000 $20,000
Overall average annual $10,000 $6,000 $6,000
cost
(All major life cycle costs,
discounted and averaged
over life)
Key Environmental Impacts No major impacts Several vanloads
Impacts (short term) associated with of waste for landfill
transporting pump
half way around
the world.
Key Environmental 50,000 units of 35,000 units of 5,000 units of
Impacts (long term) greenhouse gases greenhouse gases greenhouse gases
Key Social / other Impacts None Local Provides extra
(short term) manufacturer, temporary
supports local employment
economy
Key Social / other Impacts None None
(long term)
Other features Local
manufacturer,
excellent service
5) Select Preferred Approach
Joe doesn’t think he can make these alternatives any better, so he thinks about which one he
prefers. The cheap pump is attractive because only $5,000 will be taken from his operating budget.
Changing the site layout might be preferred because of the low overall costs, emissions, and the
fact that much of his money goes to local labour than to a power company. The expensive pump,
on the other hand, would save money over the long term compared to the cheap one.
Whichever option Joe chooses, he has fulfilled his obligation to balance the short and long term
economic, social and environmental objectives.

Worked Example 2: Developing a Local Energy Project
Joe is asked to specify a 600 kW power unit for a new industrial facility close to a
local community concerned about noise and air quality.
1) Identify Stakeholders
Joe knows that there are lots of important value judgments involved in developing such a project,
and he recognizes that it’s important for the local community to have some input on the
development of a technical solution. Joe asks the local mayor to help him assemble a stakeholder
consultation committee (SCC), which before long includes the municipal environmental
coordinator, a representative of a local environmental group, a taxpayers representative, a local
school head teacher and a First Nations band leader.
2) Defining Objectives
Joe outlines to the committee that the power unit is needed for a continuous load application that
will be part of a project that will boost the local economy. The unit might need to be expanded up to
1 MW in future, depending on the success of the project as a whole. Some members of the SCC
want the company to consider a “green power” unit that will not add much more to local noise and
air emissions.
3) Brainstorming Alternative Approaches to Meeting the Objectives

Joe looks into the available technical options and discovers that there are no clearly “green” power
solutions (wind, solar etc) that are viable in a continuous operation mode without hugely costly
energy storage costs. Nor are adequate local resources available (e.g. small hydro, biomass) to
help bring fuel costs down. However, a number of options are available that have lower
environmental impacts than the common choice of a diesel reciprocating engine. These include a
natural gas-fired engine, twin 300kW microturbines or a range of three 200kW solid oxide fuel
cells.
4) Compare the Full Impacts of Meeting the Need.

Joe sketches out a summary of his options in terms of the issues the committee has told him are
significant:

Table 5: Sample Multiple Account Evaluation
Diesel engine Natural gas Microturbines Fuel cell
engine
Will all technical and legal needs be Yes Yes Yes Yes
met?
Up-front cost $855,000 $900,000 $1.21 million $3.15 million
Estimated levelized cost of electricity 7.6 cents / kWh 7.5 cents / kWh 11 cents / kWh 19 cents / kWh
(Overall power cost incorporating up-
front costs and discounted running
costs over the life of the plant)
Noise levels (dB @ 10 ft) 67-92 80-100 <60 72

Emissions (g/kWh), except where NOx: 2 – 22 NOx: 0.7 – 42 NOx: 0.2 NOx: 0.007
noted
CO: 1 – 8 CO: 0.8 – 27 CO: 0.6 CO: 0.01
+ particulate
Fuel Diesel Natural gas Natural gas Natural gas
Possibility to use in combined heat Yes Yes Yes Yes
and power mode?
Key Social / other Impacts (long term) None None None Supports green
technology
development
Other features Familiar Familiar Unfamiliar Unfamiliar
technology technology technology technology
5) Select Preferred Approach
The table helps Joe show that while a fuel cell array is possible, the cost premium is high at the
current time. The SCC agrees to forego the opportunity of the fuel cell for now, on the promise that
the committee re-convene in future if an expansion of the power unit is foreseen – perhaps other
technologies may be commercially available at that time. The SCC also asks that the power unit be
developed in such a way as not to preclude the potential to use these technologies.
With similar upfront and running costs, the main issues that differentiate the diesel and natural gas
options are noise and emissions. By agreeing to house the units in a soundproof room, the issue of
noise disappears. Although the ranges for emissions are similar for each, the committee is told that
diesel-fuelled units typically have considerably poorer air emissions profiles.
The SCC considers the costs and benefits of the microturbine sets. While the upfront costs are not
too much more than gas engines, and air emissions are lower, the levelized cost is considerably
higher, partly because microturbines are less electrically efficient than gas engines.
After weighing these different issues, the SCC makes its recommendation to the company – a
natural gas engine appears to be the best balance of economic, environmental and social
objectives, providing the firm lives up to the commitments noted above. The SCC has opted for the
lowest cost option for this application, something that often happens in practice. Note that while the
company has no obligation to follow the advice of the SCC, if it has a reasonable basis from which
to disagree, and spells out clearly why it disagrees, it should still be in a better position with the
community than had it not undertaken the exercise. Trust is generally built if the process is
undertaken in a spirit of openness and good faith on all sides.

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Case Study 1

Prof. Susan Nesbit

Guest Lecturers: Engineers-Without-Borders speakers.

THIS PRINTED PACKAGE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:

Introduction “…engineering and

 Everything in this Printed Package plus:

 MUST-READ ARTICLE FOR ASSIGNMENT 1

S.E. Nesbit APSC 150: Sustainability in Engineering

S.E. Nesbit APSC 150: Sustainability in Engineering

READING GUIDE FOR THE ASSIGNMENTS

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

1. Please do the following before coming to the tutorial:

Professional Category 1: Category 2: … Category 3: … Category 4: … Category 5: …

*Note that, during the first tutorial of the Sustainable Design

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

By the time you have completed this assignment, you should

Part 1 – Life Cycle Assessment

a. Describe the stages in a LCA. (0.5 marks)

Part 2 – Stakeholder Analysis

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

Exercise 1 is due at the beginning of your tutorial.

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

FOCUS AREAS GOALS STRATEGY BUILDING ATTRIBUTE

Health and Well- 1. Daylight will be used 100% to maximize occupant

The Building Concept

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

Part I – Understanding Poverty (2 marks)

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

2. Describe a non-development based engineering project that does not target

a. List three ways that the projects’ contact with an impoverished

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

In this assignment you will read a case study and identify:

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

Figure 2: Fog Collector Nets in Operation, El Tofo (1994)

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

Issues arise in setting precise boundaries.

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

The Components of Integrated Design

1. Site “It is much easier and cheaper to

4. Materials and Resources

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

As these examples show, it is difficult to consider these components in isolation. Indeed,

¾ Lower operating costs

Tools for Integrated Design

BC Building Corporation Guide to Green Buildings Resources

City of Santa Monica Green Building Guidelines

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

Retrofitting a City: A Guide for Municipalities to Implement a Building Retrofit Program

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM)

APSC 150: Sustainable Design Case

How does LEEDTM work?

How is a building certified?

Integrated Building Design Resources

Guide to Value Analysis and the Integrated Green Design Process