How being an environmentalist opened doors to work with other engineering disciplines

In 1828, Thomas Tredgold provided the ICE with a guiding definition of civil engineering.

He said it is the "art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man”.

I view this statement as an early attempt to define sustainability, for past and future people of the world.

But since then, the understanding of how our actions today affect future generations became diluted.

Particularly as the age of coal passed the baton to oil and then gas. All because we assumed that the planet could provide unlimited resources.

In the 1970s, it started to dawn on us that it wasn’t the case.

As our understanding of climate science evolved, we realised that how we consumed these precious resources would determine the ability of future generations to simply exist.

A growing need for environmentalists

The focus for professional bodies across the built environment throughout the 1990s had been on improving workplace health and safety.

By the turn of the millennium, a wider awareness of an equal need to ensure the planet’s safety had emerged.

In September 2000, the UN issued a declaration, which over the following few years evolved into the eight Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). These were the forerunners to today’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

People were looking for a way to recognise the contribution that professionals of all disciplines could make to better our environment.

This led to the creation of the Society for the Environment (SocEnv), and the award of its Royal Charter in 2004.

Civil engineers’ role in protecting the environment

While working at the ICE as qualifications director, I became very interested in how civil engineers could help protect the environment.

I engaged with the early committee that was to form SocEnv to say that the ICE needed to be a part of this.

As such, I was privileged to represent the ICE on SocEnv’s first trustee board, alongside ICE Past President Jean Venables (2008-2009).

And, to be admitted to the Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) register as a part of the first cohort.

Civil engineers have a very key role to play in ensuring that infrastructure doesn’t break what are, effectively, the rules of the planet.

What it’s meant to be a Chartered Environmentalist

It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed.

But such an anniversary is a good time to reflect on what this qualification has enabled me to do.

1. Embed sustainability in engineering qualifications

In 2010, I took over the helm at the Engineering Council.

This allowed me to influence the national standards for competence and commitment that are used to assess engineers and technicians across all disciplines.

This included enhancing the need for professionals to demonstrate their understanding of sustainability.

At the same time, we produced guidance on sustainability which sets out six principles that every engineer should embrace through their work.

2. Work across engineering sectors

In 2017, I moved to work for the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

This was an exciting time for two reasons:

1. Society was recognising the need to shift away from depending on hydrocarbons (obtained from fossil fuels).
2. The UN SDGs had been developed, setting out goals that when delivered would help to address social inequalities and protect the planet.

3. Help engineers navigate sustainability challenges

At the same time, I was invited to take over from ICE Past President Peter Hansford (2010 – 2011) as chair of the charity Engineers Without Borders UK. I was a trustee for six years.

In that time, we shifted the charity’s focus away from the delivery of local benefit by a few to the taking of global responsibility by many.

I’m really proud of the tools that we developed during this transition, particularly:

• The reimagined degree map which helps prepare engineering students for the challenges they face through sustainability, ethics and inclusion.
• The competency compass which is designed to give professionals the skills they need to deliver on society’s most urgent needs.

These were created to help engineers navigate the sustainability challenges that they face every day.

4. Find ways to cut carbon emissions from construction

My last full-time employment was with the Mineral Products Association, the trade body that represents quarrying, cement, asphalt and concrete.

As we look to cut carbon out of construction, then the ability to reduce our material footprint is essential.

This could be through the specification of products such as warm asphalt (which produces less emissions), or lower carbon cement.

As we use technology to decarbonise, such as carbon capture and storage, we need to do so in a way that doesn't leave a headache for future generations.

Engineers can and should learn from each other

My key learning throughout the last 20 years is that each engineering discipline can learn from each other.

I have found my interactions with other Chartered Environmentalists to be informative and educational.

For example, chemical engineers are trained to look wholistically at systems through the lens of mass and energy balance, from source to end of life.

This ensures they design processes to be as efficient as possible.

Meanwhile, civil engineers tend to focus on the mechanics of balancing forces.

This produces robust infrastructure, but it tends not to think about where the construction materials come from.

I do therefore wonder whether civil engineers could benefit from understanding their materials at a molecular level, like chemical engineers would, when coming up with their designs.

In doing so, they’d truly know the properties of the materials they use and, what will happen to them during their life.

That would help them create better and more sustainable long-term solutions.

Join the Society for the Environment

I would encourage any suitably qualified ICE member with an interest in protecting the environment to secure the peer recognition that registration with SocEnv provides.

Then, use this qualification as a steppingstone to further learning and friendship.

Find out more about SocEnv