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SUMMARY:Engineering a low carbon future for the UK - Dr Scott Steedman\, F
 REng\, Royal Academy of Engineering
DTSTART:20100611T153000Z
DTEND:20100611T163000Z
UID:TALK23673@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Zelda Stuck
DESCRIPTION:It is clear that carbon has provided a focus for political act
 ion that sustainability could never achieve. As a nation\, we passed prima
 ry legislation in 2008 on reducing carbon emissions and the consequences o
 f this new law are now being rolled out through our different industrial s
 ectors. For the geotechnical engineering community\, the key issue for deb
 ate will be how the emerging low carbon economy will affect the design and
  delivery of low-carbon infrastructure. \n\nWe might\, for example\, devel
 op an entirely new perspective on infrastructure – challenging the Victo
 rian concept of an indefinite design life and designing for maximum effici
 ency\, performance and ease of renewal. We might also need to reflect on t
 he interaction between infrastructure and how project selection is managed
  in a more systems oriented approach. We certainly need to reflect on how 
 we can accelerate the innovation cycle in civil and geotechnical engineeri
 ng to make better use of our research base and strengthen our capability t
 o take up new knowledge across industry.\n\nAs the Copenhagen Accord devel
 ops into a wider global agreement during 2010\, the race will be on to off
 er new engineering services and low-carbon solutions on a world scale. Inf
 ormed clients have demanded more ‘sustainable’ engineering solutions f
 rom our industry for some years\, but sustainability as a concept has beco
 me diluted. In the UK today\, sustainability is seen as embracing a wide r
 ange of issues that engineers have to consider in projects\, from biodiver
 sity to employment. \n\nThe challenge for geotechnical engineers is to rec
 ognise that after years of important but low level commitment to sustainab
 le engineering solutions\, very soon we will be required to design\, to te
 nder\, to construct and to operate our buildings and infrastructure to a c
 arbon budget as well as a financial budget. The consequence of Copenhagen 
 for the engineering profession may be that we start to see carbon as a pri
 mary design determinant\, not simply as one of a list of desirable environ
 mental outcomes to be traded one against the other. For geotechnical engin
 eers around the world this will require new models\, new tools and new tra
 ining\, all of which need urgent research and rapid implementation. \n\n
LOCATION:Engineering Department - Lecture Room - LR3A
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