Address Carbon Emissions Now – Or Be Left Behind

By Kieran Shaw

Wherever one travels, most people’s impression of our country is that it has impeccable environmental credentials. So imagine the surprise of New Zealand and Australian contingents at the recent International Federation of Consulting Engineers’ international conference in London to find our countries ranked alongside the USA at the top of the world’s ‘dirty list’ for greenhouse gas emissions.

Per capita, New Zealand has more than double the relevant gas emissions of any European country, and treble that of most Asian countries, including India and China. About 75 percent of that is CO2, with the balance mostly methane and nitrous oxide.
Conference sessions focused on greenhouse gas emissions, infrastructure challenges posed by population growth, and rapid urbanisations – and what our industry is going to do about these issues.

There were surprises as some of the world’s largest client companies, including major European, Chinese and Indian clients, outlined how they are changing tender selection criteria. Service life/operating efficiency remains key, but they also assess bids based on innovative environmental solutions and proposals – in particular those limiting carbon emissions.

For example, the London Olympic Delivery Authority’s tender criteria included 50 percent of construction materials (by weight) delivered by rail and water; 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions; 90 percent of material from demolition reused or recycled; 40 percent reduction in potable water use; 80 percent of contaminated soil washed and reused; centralised waste management during construction.

Clients will put extra money into innovative and sustainable solutions. The winning bid for the Olympics project included a new canal system and stadium that can be dismantled to become multi-functional post Olympics. The cost is over 30 percent above the original estimate – but the project is carbon emission and environmentally acceptable.

The CEO of CrossRail, a $40 billion London metropolitan underground light-rail link, told how budget allocation was significantly increased to meet the most attractive environmental and CO2 constraining proposal.

Both organisations and major Indian and Chinese clients had ‘binned’ tender bids that did not show innovation in addressing CO2 and environmental considerations – regardless of price.

Governments are driving CO2 consciousness. The UK has introduced a raft of new legislation and incentives, and there are strong legislative drivers in other European and Asian countries.

The Free Trade Agreement with China is seen as a great future opportunity for Kiwi firms, but to achieve that, we must have an environmental and CO2 focused culture in our design concepts for project developments.

Leaders of the world’s largest city, Chongqing (30 million people), outlined to the conference the incredible improvements they had made in environmental quality, emphasising this was achieved by strong design strategies, and only accepting bids with innovative solutions regarding CO2 emissions and environmental factors. UK firms were among the few sufficiently commercially and environmentally focused to secure the huge infrastructure projects.
Now, many of the world’s largest consultancies are remodelling to meet expectations of clients wanting innovative engineering solutions in an environmentally focused world. CEOs of top firms outlined the steps being taken. Keith Clark of Atkins, the UK’s largest firm, spoke of how we must ask ‘what changes should I make to my professional behaviour? What relevant decisions can I control or influence? Can I design for low carbon operation? Can I calculate the carbon footprint of a project/programme? Do I know I must want to change the design paradigm?’

Engineers must be able to assimilate complex concepts and diverse disciplines, and understand the perspectives of many professional dimensions. They should listen to a broad range of opinion, engage in the political fray whilst maintaining professional independence, and be able to communicate the intricacies of engineering to lay audiences.

Firms must diversify, otherwise competition may become limited to those firms that have made a transition and can meet new client expectations of a broader skill base and an ability to engineer environmentally innovative design solutions. To quote the UK’s Lord Mandelson: “The next generation of British entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers will be among the most important Britain has ever produced. And we must back them and invest in them now.”

This statement is just as pertinent to New Zealand. We are in a period of huge social, economic, environmental and technological change – echoing the engineering-led drive of the 19th century industrial revolution. There is an immediate need for technically astute leaders to provide directions and solutions for society to enable them to live in better conditions. We need to step up to the mark – and quickly. If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.

Kieran Shaw is the chief executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand; for further information, visit www.acenz.org.nz