1. LIFE CYCLE AND THE APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH Paper presented at International Conference on Sustainability Engineering and Science Auckland, NZ Feb , 2007
Professor Michael Overcash
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University

2. Sustainability Challenges
NUMEROUS DEFINITIONS
NO AGREEMENT FORTHCOMING
STRATEGY IS THUS MORE PERCEPTIONAL
METRICS DEVELOPED PROVIDE SATISFACTION IN MEASUREMENT
NOT ALL ISSUES ARE TECHNICAL

3. Sustainability is a Complex System
There are other complex systems that have been addressed by the scientific community
Research also addresses these complex systems in a similar fashion
Two elements are generally needed for research on complex systems

4. SET OF RESEARCH TOOLS TO EXPLORE UNDERLYING PHENOMENA
A MACRO MODEL
OBEYS THERMODYNAMIC LAWS AND OTHER ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES
IS AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH THAT RELATES MANUFACTURING TO ENVIRONMENT
SET OF RESEARCH TOOLS TO EXPLORE UNDERLYING PHENOMENA

5. DETAILED BRUNDTLAND SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPT
TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PRESENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS TO MEET THEIR OWN NEEDS, HARMONY MUST BE ACHIEVED AMONG,
EXPLOITATION OF RESOURCES
DIRECTION OF INVESTMENTS
ORIENTATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

6. Sustainability in Economics
This generation must save and invest for future generations to enjoy a better quality of life
Edmund S. Phelps Columbia University
2006 Nobel Prize for Economics

8. Cleaner production (industry) is an integral part of the overall environmental context:

9. WORLD ECONOMIC PYRAMID (Hart, 1997)
100
> 20 K $
1,500
1.5 K $
4,000
< 1.5 K $
Per Capita Annual Income
Million Population

10. Tools for Sustainability Research
Life cycle is a principal tool for the environmental and resource areas
Thus we look at life cycle of large or complex systems

17. CONCLUSIONS
SUSTAINABILITY IS BOTH A FUZZY CONCEPT AND A PROFOUND AREA FOR QUANTITATIVE/ENGINEERING RESEARCH
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS ARE INCREASINGLY CHALLENGED TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF SUSTAINABILITY
LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY REMAINS A CRITICAL TOOL TO ACHIEVING QUANTITATIVE RESULTS NECESSARY TO ESTABLISHING NET ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT – THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY