Sustainable engineering concerns the design or operation of systems with the aim of reducing energy demand, resource extraction and carbon emissions with the goal of minimising the impact on the environment. The built environment alone accounts for approximately 40% of all carbon emissions in the western world in the form of heating, cooling and lighting. Domestic hot water alone is thought to be responsible for 35 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. By transforming any sector to be more sustainable, it can play a major role in reducing the threat of climate change. This module discusses the interdependency between changes required across all activities of human life across all scales. This module will make you think across disciplines with the goal of evaluating sustainability on a whole system basis including resource supply and demand, energy supply and demand and sustainable management. 

This module aims to provide you with an appreciation of the complexities which arise from considering sustainability and the need to tackle the issue from an interdisciplinary perspective. This module aims to provide some of the tools required to assess sustainability as well as the ability to critically analyse the extent to which a product, building, industry or service could be considered to be sustainable.

Lectures will cover a range of topics and will include:

The rational for sustainability: The impacts of Climate change, national and international policies

Methods to measure sustainability: sustainability frameworks, lifecycle analysis, embodied energy.

Conventional power generation: systems, environmental impacts and resources available

Renewable energy: systems, environmental impacts and resources available

Sustainable buildings: energy demand, human health, regulations and policy, and adaptation.

This is a constituent module of one or more degree programmes which are accredited by a professional engineering institution under licence from the Engineering
Council. The learning outcomes for this module have been mapped to the output standards required for an accredited programme, as listed in the current version
of the Engineering Council’s ‘Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes’ document (AHEP-V3).

This module contributes to learning outcomes: EA3m, EA1fl, EA5m, EA2fl, D1m, D2m, D4m, D6m, D7m, D2fl, D8m, D3fl, ET4m, ET1fl, ET4fl, EP11m, EP4fl, G1m, G1fl, G4m, G4fl

A full list of the referenced outcomes is provided online: http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/studentinfo/subjects/engineering/accreditation/

The AHEP document can be viewed in full on the Engineering Council’s website, at http://www.engc.org.uk/

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge: D1m, D2m, D4m, ET4m, ET1fl, ET4fl

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:  D7m, D2fl, D8m, D3fl, EA3m, EA1fl, EA5m, EA2fl

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:  D6m, EP11m, EP4fl, G1m, G1fl, G4m, G4fl

1. Introduction to sustainability: how sustainability can be defined

2. Legislative framework for sustainability, finite nature of resources,

3. Environmental impacts, potential impacts of climate change and business as usual

4. Sustainability frameworks, risk analysis, life cycle analysis: BS EN ISO 14040:2006.

5. Sustainable management: BS EN ISO 14001:2015

6. Sustainable buildings.

7. Conventional Power generation – Fossil fuels, nuclear power.

8. Renewable power generation – Wind, Solar, Water, Biomass, Heat pumps.

Reassessment will be by a single piece of coursework worth 100% of the module. For deferred candidates, the mark will be uncapped. For referred candidates, the mark will be capped at 50%. 

Basic reading:

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Web based and Electronic Resources:

Other Resources:

David McKay     Sustainable Engineering - Without The Hot Hair     2008

Reading list for this module: