Dick Fenner and Charles Ainger have recently updated their 2006 paper (co-authored with Peter Guthrie and Heather Cruickshank) "Widening engineering horizons: addressing the complexity of sustainable development" to examine how much progress towards sustainability the civil engineering profession has made in each of the eight key areas defined in the original paper.
They find there have been significant steps forward in assessment methods, systems thinking, multi-functional infrastructure, flexible and adaptive design, and adoption of a circular economy in construction. However, they highlight that the sustainability challenge is accelerating and much more needs to be done to go beyond business as usual. In particular, civil engineers need to be more vocal in calling out projects and practices that go counter to the planet’s and society’s needs.
The new paper is called "A review of sustainability in civil engineering: why much more commitment is needed" and is published in the ICE's Civil Engineering Journal and can be found on-line at: https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/pdf/10.1680/jcien.19.00036