Sustainable Development in Engineering: A Review of Principles and Definition of a Conceptual Framework

This article aims to provide engineers and the engineering community with a sustainability conceptual framework setting out the connections linking engineering projects to environmental and social systems. The main principles of sustainable development on the one hand and of sustainable engineering on the other hand are first reviewed, analyzed, and synthesized. Particular attention is paid to the principles put forward by international and national engineering organizations. Key issues emerging for sustainable development in general and sustainable engineering are identified through structured lists of principles. Second, concepts and models originating in natural and social sciences are outlined to shed more light on the ways the various aspects of sustainability are related. The conceptual framework we propose combines the reviewed concepts and models in a relevant manner for sustainable engineering. Engineering projects and physical or social systems prove to be related in manifold ways. Although the most common relations are exposed in the sustainability framework, others have to be further elaborated by eventual users to fully take into account the specificities of the various fields of engineering. Based in part on the framework, a novel systemic definition of sustainable development is also proposed. This definition brings forward a new perspective along which the relevance of the principles can be examined. Finally, applications of the sustainability framework in engineering practice and engineering education are discussed.