L. von der Tann, D. Basu, Stefan Ritter, Paul Sverdrup Capellen, I. Størdal
{"title":"Sustainability in geotechnical engineering – what does it mean and why does that matter?","authors":"L. von der Tann, D. Basu, Stefan Ritter, Paul Sverdrup Capellen, I. Størdal","doi":"10.1680/jensu.22.00076","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The aspiration to act in a more sustainable manner has become a guiding principle across many aspects of life. Yet, sustainability is still often perceived as poorly defined, and there are diverse opinions on what the implications of sustainability for the everyday practice of geotechnical engineers are. On this background, this paper presents a survey conducted at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) in the beginning of 2021 that engaged a group of geotechnical engineers with the fundamental question as to how the concept of sustainability relates to geotechnical engineering. The Q-methodology, a mixed method approach, was applied to analyse different perspectives on sustainability in geotechnical engineering as inferred from the survey results. Three distinct perspectives were revealed that have a focus on (a) striving a balance between human action and nature, (b) mitigating adverse impacts of geotechnical projects, and (c) reducing resource use. Two of the perspectives considered the development of sustainability assessment tools as the most relevant means of working towards sustainable geotechnical practices whilst the third perspective considered multidisciplinary collaboration and research as more important. Reflection on these perspectives can help the development of future tools and strategies, provide a direction for future research, and contribute to a more sustainable geotechnical engineering practice.","PeriodicalId":49671,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Engineering Sustainability","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Engineering Sustainability","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.22.00076","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CIVIL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The aspiration to act in a more sustainable manner has become a guiding principle across many aspects of life. Yet, sustainability is still often perceived as poorly defined, and there are diverse opinions on what the implications of sustainability for the everyday practice of geotechnical engineers are. On this background, this paper presents a survey conducted at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) in the beginning of 2021 that engaged a group of geotechnical engineers with the fundamental question as to how the concept of sustainability relates to geotechnical engineering. The Q-methodology, a mixed method approach, was applied to analyse different perspectives on sustainability in geotechnical engineering as inferred from the survey results. Three distinct perspectives were revealed that have a focus on (a) striving a balance between human action and nature, (b) mitigating adverse impacts of geotechnical projects, and (c) reducing resource use. Two of the perspectives considered the development of sustainability assessment tools as the most relevant means of working towards sustainable geotechnical practices whilst the third perspective considered multidisciplinary collaboration and research as more important. Reflection on these perspectives can help the development of future tools and strategies, provide a direction for future research, and contribute to a more sustainable geotechnical engineering practice.
期刊介绍:
Engineering Sustainability provides a forum for sharing the latest thinking from research and practice, and increasingly is presenting the ''how to'' of engineering a resilient future. The journal features refereed papers and shorter articles relating to the pursuit and implementation of sustainability principles through engineering planning, design and application. The tensions between and integration of social, economic and environmental considerations within such schemes are of particular relevance. Methodologies for assessing sustainability, policy issues, education and corporate responsibility will also be included. The aims will be met primarily by providing papers and briefing notes (including case histories and best practice guidance) of use to decision-makers, practitioners, researchers and students.