Sustainability Concepts and Some Examples Common in Geotechnical Engineering: Fid-Bau Portal

Sustainability Concepts and Some Examples Common in Geotechnical Engineering

Keaton, Jeffrey R.

Sustainability is a common word in modern society, yet many geotechnical engineers do not realize that they are doing things consistent with its principles. Energy and water conservation, reuse of building materials, calculating carbon footprint, using local materials and suppliers, and training minority business enterprise personnel may come to mind as being sustainable. Big-picture considerations during project definition, including public participation in the environmental process, typically have no input from geotechnical engineers. Geotechnical engineers should understand the "triple bottom line"—economics, environment, and society—and the "five capitals"—financial, social, human, natural, and produced—as steps toward realizing that sustainability opportunities are everywhere. For example, hollow-stem auger borings for characterizing certain sites are consistent with sustainability because little or no water is used in the boring process, no liquid waste is generated, and it is economical. Surface geophysics may help optimize boreholes and generate additional data rapidly with minimal ground disturbance. Reusing foundations eliminates costly removal and site restoration and saves the cost of new foundation systems. Reliable evaluation methods that can be exported to other projects contribute at a higher level. Major sustainability challenges include defining "projects" as design-and-construction, which views as cost those aspects that have benefit during operation, ordinances requiring only new materials, and owners prohibiting innovative methods because they fear regulatory review will be delayed. Educating engineers about sustainability is the solution.