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Centre for Sustainable Development

Est 2000 - home of the MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development
 

The Centre for Sustainable Development worked closely with the International Federation of National Member Associations of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) compiling the State of the World Report 2012 on ‘Sustainable Infrastructure’. Authored primarily by Professor Peter Guthrie and Thalia Konaris, the report launched the conference “FIDIC World Consulting Engineering Conference 2012” at Seoul attended by over 800 industry experts from 67 countries.

The report focuses on the nature of decisions made by project teams, their impacts and some of the dimensions of sustainability that influence decision-makers including Risk, Resilience and Opportunity. Identifying the barriers to the uptake of sustainability, the report presents a global review of key sustainability assessment tools employed in the infrastructure sectors (Water & Wastewater, Energy, Buildings & Transport sectors), including Rating & Certification Tools, Decision-Support Tools, Calculators and Sustainability Guidelines.

Moreover, in the report a new approach is presented as a way of expressing sustainability decisions and facilitating sustainable infrastructure. This is the hierarchy of sustainability decisions that project teams faced during the life-cycle of a project, and it is composed of 6 categories of decisions (Conceptual, Inherent, Strategic, Tactical, Operational and End-of-life). Each stage offers different trade-offs, risks and opportunities, which are distinct in terms of their power to influence project sustainability and the detail of information that guides them. 

http://fidic.org/books/state-world-report-2012-sustainable-infrastructure

Sustainability decision making potential along project cycle. Source: FIDIC State of the World Report 2012FIDIC’s State of the World Report 2012 on Sustainable Infrastructure

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Source: FIDIC State of the World Report 2012Source: FIDIC State of the World Report 2012FIDIC’s State of the World Report 2012 on Sustainable Infrastructure