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What is sustainable technology?
Karel Mulder, Didac Ferrer and Harro van Lente
Introduction
Sustainable development is the greatest challenge of our time. It brings together a number of global problemsâpollution and intoxication of the space in which we live; poverty and starvation; climate change; depletion of mineral and organic resources; ecological devastation; and global inequity.
So, then, what is âsustainable developmentâ? Is it solving all of these problems at once and forever? It is not our ambition to add yet another definition to the hundreds that can already be found in the literature. We are quite satisfied with the vagueness of the concept of sustainable development, as it emphasises the interconnection of the many challenges that the world faces. Without a rather generic concept of sustainable development, the global challenges would just be competing issues in the public domain.
Nevertheless, the issues under the sustainable development umbrella do often compete in the public arena. Very often specific topics related to sustainable development are presented as being the expression of sustainable development. In this book these expressions of sustainable development are called âarticulationsâ. It is the intention of this book to show how different articulations sometimes compete, and sometimes create dilemmas for people trying to contribute to sustainable development.
Technologies have played an important role in creating the problems that we face, but will also play an important role in solving them. The reason is not that sustainable development is a technological mission. Rather, sustainable development is the mission for the whole of society. However, technology is deeply entrenched in our society; without it, society would immediately collapse. Moreover, technological changes can be perceived as easier to accomplish than lifestyle changes that might be required to solve the problems that we face.
As technologies might figure prominently in sustainable development, how do we reach concrete specifications for the sustainable technologies that are to be developed? And how do we reach consensus on these specifications? And what if technological solutions to problems are creating or aggravating other problems? And as sustainable development emphasises long-term consequences of our actions, how do we assess the effects of modifying existing landscapes, infrastructures and patterns of life? How could we be sure in advance that the changes that new technologies bring will make our society more sustainable?
Numerous studies of the social and environmental impacts of new technologies on society show that the effects of a technology depend not just on inherent characteristics of a technology as such but especially on:
- The way a technology is perceived and used in a social context
- The way in which it affects or even transforms this context
- The way it interacts with technological systems and its physical context
- The time frame of analysis
- The quantity of use
It is the aim of this book to show how different articulations of sustainability have played a role in various innovation projects. Some of the chapters describe cases that occurred long before the Brundtland Commission combined environmental, resource and equity issues in its 1987 definition (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987):
Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Formulated in this broad sense, the challenge is not new. We reinterpret history in terms of articulations of sustainable development. We do not want to imply that, historically, people have been confronted with the same issues and concepts that we are today. However, in the past, discussing and prioritising the collective problems of society has often been crucial. Communities that failed to develop appropriate solutions to threats they faced eventually collapsed (Diamond 2005).
What is, however, new today is the multitude of collective problems that all need our attention. Some of these problems are more long-term, others more short-term, some are regional and others global. The term âsustainable developmentâ, as coined by the Brundtland commission, has emphasised the interconnection between various collective problems. This was a crucial contribution in shaping a basis for consensus on the need for global action. However, when it comes to technology, the global perspective of sustainable development gives very little focus for action to designers.
Everyday, the advertising industry tries to persuade us to buy âsustainableâ products. Sustainability appears to sell. That is a hopeful sign as it denotes that consumers are not completely dominated by self-interest. But, in general, sustainable product claims are often based on a single feature of the product, disregarding other possible articulationsâbeing energy-efficient or recyclable, for instance. With that simplification, global tourism becomes sustainable if the tourist pays for CO2 compensation.
Sometimes the claim that a technology is sustainable is made in order to make the technology acceptable in the political process. This can especially be seen in the case of nuclear energy production, where the claims of sustainability refer to the absence of CO2 emissions. In the case of biofuels, claims of sustainability have led to a âfuel or foodâ debate showing that sustainability has counteracting articulations.
This book aims to analyse several cases of technology development that are relevant for sustainable development. It aims at unravelling the perceptions that went into the design process, the contradictions, dilemmas and paradoxes that emerged and the way in which new innovative technologies helped to solve (part of) the dilemmas and to offer new possibilities.
Articulations of sustainability
Sustainability is a widely used concept for a bewildering range of ideas. So one could reject sustainability as an unscientific concept and go to great pains to establish a comprehensive and correct definition of sustainable technology. In this book, however, we will start from another angle. It is possible to consider âsustainabilityâ as an umbrella term that can (and is) used for many purposes, and which is articulated in many different ways, depending on the stakeholders, their ambitions and their audiences (van Lente and van Til 2008). Indeed, in âsustainable technologiesâ articulations abound, such as âpollution freeâ, âcreating local employmentâ or âbeing renewableâ.
The narrower such an articulation of sustainable development is defined, the more it fits into (sub-)disciplinary organised scientific research and technology development processes. A sustainable material is, for example, something that needs further specification for material scientists, a material that does not create any health risks is already a more concrete research topic, but making a material that does not contain any organochlorine compounds is a rather concrete articulation for a material scientist to research. Quite often within disciplinary communities of technologists and scientists âsustainableâ then becomes the equivalent of such a narrow articulation.
In the media, complex terms are not easy to communicate, and simplification of concepts are very common. This reinforces public perceptions and increases the difficulties for seeing the whole picture of âhiddenâ articulations. One can observe that interest in specific articulations of sustainable development comes and goes like the tide. An articulation such as ânot depleting fossil fuelsâ is linked with rising or falling oil prices. The interest in safety is dependent on large disasters, and climate change seems to depend on heatwaves and shrinking polar ice.
Clearly, it is not helpful to solve one articulated problem with a particular technology if the same technology aggravates other problems or creates new ones. For example, the possibility of producing pollution-free energy based on recycling and renewable materials and energised by biofuels, wind turbines and, perhaps, even nuclear fusion will not bring sustainable development if it can only be achieved by introducing new forms of inequity, by suppressing resource-rich developing nations, by creating an arms race with poor migrants that are struggling for their future at the rich worldâs borders, by devastating our ecology and wildlife in order to get the renewables, or by suppressing minorities that resist giving up their lifestyles in order to facilitate the required changes.
In order not to aggravate other problems while trying to fix one, it remains important to keep a clear vision of all aspects of sustainable development when addressing specific problems. But this list of all aspects does not exist. Sustainable development is essentially an open concept that deals with all issues that can threaten âour common futureâ. As such, sustainable development has the characteristics of a design project: there are several conditions for a design which cannot all be fulfilled completely. There is not one âgoodâ design but there are several ways of searching for more effective compromises of these demands. And new demands might always be added. But there is also an important difference: a failed product design will be unsuccessful in the market. In sustainable development we cannot afford thatâit is our common responsibility to make it successful.
Technology will have an important role in sustainable development for the simple reason that it is intrinsically part of our communities and our individual lives. Although many may not like the idea, there is no simple technological fix for sustainable development. Institutions, systems and personal lives will all have to change, not because we seek solutions only in a sober lifestyle, but because technology and society always co-evolve. Technological change will create social change by offering new options; social change will trigger new needs and new conditions for technology.
In the world of today, technology is often globalised and competition in a specific product is often limited to a few large enterprises. Technological designers, therefore, have great responsibilities. Their designs can have tremendous effects on various aspects of our societies, in the short as well as in the long term.
Sustainable technology?
Given these challenges for innovators, how do we proceed? The well-known and still widely used method of LCA (life-cycle analysis) will, we think, not be sufficient. The method intends to trace and calculate the various environmental effects of a technology. While measurement of direct environmental impacts today is not unproblematic,1 LCA cannot address all aspects of sustainable development as there is no finite list of aspects: Sustainable development is an open design challenge!
What, then, is the alternative? Clearly, technology designers need more concrete targets then just âsustainabilityâ. What do you do when you are working on ceramics, aircraft, communication protocols, skyscrapers and you want to contribute to sustainable development? For a technology designer working on these technologies, it is not evident how he or she could contribute to sustainable development. Providing the same functionality with fewer resources is generally seen as a good option. But are we sure that the same functionality is achieved? The potential for such optimised designs is often rather limited. Moreover, the increased resource efficiency might create a stimulus for consumption, the well-known ârebound effectâ (Jevons 1865) that makes the problem worse. The same might happen spatiallyâwhen rich countries ban unsafe or polluting activities these may be transferred somewhere else with laxer controls. When developing countries attempt to ban dangerous work, jobs may be lost, or the same work is done illegally, with even less protection.
Technologically, there are often much more challenging options to work on than just improving existing designs. These options change not only a single part of a machine, but the machine as a whole, or even the whole system in which it functions. And these system innovations often have a far greater potential for contributing to sustainable development.
For engineers, it can be fun to work on these challenging breakthrough technologies. But fun is not a sufficient legitimisation for challenging technological research. Governments or industrial executives have to support such efforts and, therefore, it is crucial that the urgency of sustainable development is also carved into their innovation agendas.
How, then, to assess the sustainability of technology? It is insufficient to flag a design as sustainable by referring to a single articulation of sustainable development. The engineering student that claims that their design is sustainable because it will be manufactured from 100% steel 37, which is fully recyclable, still has a lot to learn. Reality is not that simple. Awareness of the multitude of sustainable development challenges that play a role in production, use, recycling and end-of-life disposal of designs is a first step. We hope that this book contributes to this awareness. In the final chapter we will further reflect on options for a sustainable design process.
Paradoxes of sustainable technology
There are several remarkable phenomena in relation to sustainable technology:
- That more efficient technologies might boost consumption and thereby contribute to resource depletion instead of saving resources
- That prescribing technologies with less harmful side effects might lead to a transfer of production or illegal use, thereby aggravating problems
In our view, these are paradoxes for the design engineer and for society at large. The point is that the engineer cannot and should not be the actor that determines the complete setting in which his or her products are used. For increased resource efficiency, the engineer carries a great responsibility, but describing its use, taxing its use, or even forbidding its use are public matters. This is not to say that the engineer has no responsibility in the application of their designs, they do; and that is why they should work on resource efficiency and at the earliest moment engage in public debate regarding rebound effects or other negative side effects.
A second paradox of technology and sustainable development emerges from the nature of technology itself. History has shown that new, improved technology is often able to reconcile opposing demands. That is in fact a very basic feature of innovative technology: escaping from the dilemma of opposing demands by creating a solution for both. For example, the Dutch Oosterschelde storm surge barrier is the materialisation of the successful reconciliation of safety demands for the local population, and the protection of a valuable ecosystem. The designers demonstrated that the dilemma between these demands was, in fact, a paradox. Calling the dilemmas of sustainable development paradoxes does not imply that we think that there is a technological fix for every problem.
In this book, we aim to help all those involved in designing more sustainable technologies in determining their strategies. We do so by presenting a number of case studies of different technologies in contrasting contexts. All the case studies analyse the design and introduction of new technologies, and analyse the articulation of sustainable development that played a role in the process. The leading questions for these case studies are:
- What articulations of sustainable development informed the design process?
- What sustainability effects were caused by this technology?
- Who or what was affected, where and when?
- Could the designer have foreseen these consequences?
- How did the designer judge and anticipate them?
- How was societal interaction dealt with during the design process?
As a rule,...
