ABSTRACT
While the concept of sustainability has been in existence for millennia, it is only in the past 30 years that there has been significant movement toward the qualification and quantification of sustainability. From a qualitative standpoint, the United Nations, the American Society of Civil Engineers, Oxfam, and various other groups have taken strides to defining sustainability. The concept of three pillars of sustainability is common through this work, with the three pillars being economic, environmental, and social. From a quantitative standpoint, concepts such as Life Cycle Cost Analysis, benefit/cost ratio, Life Cycle Assessment, and ecological footprint have captured economic and environmental metrics of sustainability, and the field of social metrics is young but developing rapidly. However, many would agree sustainability is not a straightforward issue, and overall, is a relatively undeveloped field. The advancement of sustainability in civil engineering is not an exception. In addition, many believe in order to truly succeed in implementing sustainable practices in civil engineering, a paradigm shift will need to occur with innovative and applicable solutions. This chapter reviews three resources which discuss the future of sustainability: the United Nation’s “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (UN, 2015), Global Reporting Initiative’s “Sustainability and Reporting Trends in 2025” (GRI, 2015), and the World Conservation Union’s “Future of Sustainability”. These three documents are broken down to discuss how sustainability is not a straightforward issue, how it is underdeveloped, and how a paradigm shift will need to occur moving forward.
