Some of the main challenges in incorporating sustainable development practices into engineering education reside in establishing the bridge between concept and application. In particular the relation between value creation and the knowledge economy, innovation and entrepreneurship, as the main vehicles to a relevant application of the sustainable development concept, is not yet part of the majority of the engineering curricula in schools.
Porto Polytechnical Engineering School (ISEP), a global reporting initiative training partner in Portugal, has just presented its Sustainable Development Action Plan, with the main objective of creating a new kind of engineers, with Sustainable Development at the core of their degrees. The plan has several issues like publish an annual sustainability report, sustainable buildings, minimization of energy consumption and water policy, waste management, sustainable mobility, green procurement, EMAS certification, research and postgraduate activity and promotion of lectures and seminars in Sustainable Development.
Porto Polytechnical Engineering School (ISEP) has over 150 years experience teaching and researching at the forefront in Engineering. With more than 6000 students and 400 teachers, the university offers undergraduate, post-graduate and master courses in the various branches of engineering. We run several courses on Sustainability, taking advantage of our multidisciplinary and very experienced human resources, accepting the responsibility to contribute to a change in mentalities and technologies. Many of its courses have, for some years now, disciplines that address issues related to sustainability, with particular emphasis on the discipline of Energy and Sustainable Development that have existed for about ten years. There is also a specialization course in Energy Efficiency and Rational Use of Electricity very focused on issues of sustainability, which will soon start its second edition. ISEP has research projects about getting fuel from various wastes. The fleet of vehicles circulating on campus is now supplied with fuel obtained from this process. There are some laboratories that have procedures for waste management, minimizing the use of materials and energy, promoting the reuse and recycling of materials. The top management of the ISEP has concerns about the sustainability. The institution has already obtained some relevant awards in this field, such as Greenlight Award 2008, a international award from the European GreenLight Programme, in recognition of work done in one of the buildings on campus. ISEP also organizes some events about sustainability for its students but also for the local population, such as a demonstration of solar ovens or a solar panels contest that had the main goal to develop efficient but also cheap devices. In 2008 ISEP was referred to in the Education for Sustainable Development Observatory in European higher education. In the search engine ranking the university was ranked 13th, being 44th in the complete ranking.
The Sustainable Development Action Plan's (PASUS) main goal is to contribute to creating a new kind of engineer, with sustainable development at the core of their degrees. This plan aims to reinforce sustainable development in terms of curricula in all its academic offering and promote postgraduate courses. Other objectives are to develop a Sustainability Performance Matrix for ISEP, promote lectures and seminars, increase investment and coordination of R&D, promote new projects and academic work in sustainability, develop a manual reception and sessions for integration of new students, promote eco-efficiency of buildings and equipment, energy saving, sustainable mobility and EMAS certification.
The mentioned plan resulted from the work of a committee of five faculty members, appointed for this purpose by the President of ISEP. These elements have different formations and act in different areas, fostering a diverse view, but also, global and inclusive of sustainability. PASUS seeks to define best practice guidelines for an organization that sees corporately responsible, outlining a strategic vision for the next five years and wishing to contribute to ISEP state as leader in the field of sustainable development. As mentioned, PASUS aims to improve academic offerings in sustainable development in a way that ISEP graduates are different from those of other institutions, integrating into their professional social and personal practices issues of sustainability. ISEP will submit an annual sustainability report that represents a culmination of a sustainability policy followed over the year. The report must take into account the guidelines outlined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with the necessary adjustments for the particular case of ISEP, since these guidelines were developed mostly for businesses. ISEP has about 50,000 m2 of covered area, so buildings are one of the most important area with greatest potential for intervention. This action plan will include a modus operandi that extends from the intervention in the existing buildings and in operation until any rehabilitation work or new building that will be realized. We can mention as key points on this area: reduction in energy and material intensities of goods or services, reduced dispersion of toxic materials, increase efficiency in water consumption, increase in recycling and maximize the use of renewable resources. ISEP is located on the largest university campuses in Europe, with serious problems of mobility. Given the size and responsibility of ISEP community, and existence of internal skills including research and development in this scientific area, the Action Plan requires the design of a plan for sustainable mobility in the ISEP community. ISEP's strategy for minimizing energy consumption, water use, has its backbone divided into two pillars: technology and behavior. Despite technological innovations, without a change in habits, no important objectives can be achieved. It is intended not only reduce immediate costs, but mainly change the habits of each ISEP community member, extending to their daily actions. It is expected to have an impact on their families, organizations that participate, collaborate or work, and extends to society in general. On the ISEP campus are countless opportunities to recycle, use of organic matter, or the use of some laboratory waste as raw material. However this is only possible through the proper disposal of these wastes in suitable containers, specific to each type of waste. The plan aims to increase and improve these actions. ISEP has platforms for electronic management of work as portal and Moodle. These are examples of dematerialization already underway, but they can and must be deepened. With this aim an action plan will be set up that increases the utilization of existing platforms and processes, and creating others in a logic of complementarity and maximizing benefits.
Since the plan was submitted just a few months ago, the results are still very scarce. There are, however, clear signs of their virtues and capabilities. The results already obtained can point to the involvement of top management and the various community members ISEP. The Plan contains a number of goals, the most important being the formation of engineers that incorporate sustainability concerns in their practices and being mobilizing elements and behavior inducers. This is, however, an ambitious and long term goal. It is expected that with the implementation of the plan submitted we create more responsible and creative professionals, and a broader perspective, obtain a better school and therefore, a better society. ISEP was nominated as a Global Reporting Initiative training partner in Portugal. To achieve this role formed a consortium with BioRumo (a consulting company in Environment and Sustainability) and LIPOR (institution responsible for the management, treatment and valorisation of the municipal solid waste produced by eight municipalities of the Porto Region). Ít also became a member of CRE (Regional Centre of Excellence in Education for Sustainable Development of the Metropolitan Area of Porto) that is a consortium with more than thirty members, mostly from Porto and neighbouring areas.
Develop and implement an aggregator plan that will have impacts in the curricula but also to the management and daily life on campus. It is not restricted only to students or teachers, but rather refers to all who study and work, that have some kind of connection with ISEP. It seeks to have impact beyond the school walls and beyond the time that students spend doing their training. It also identifies opportunities to develop academic works in sustainability and the involvement of students and teachers participating in implementing the strategy, as is desirable.
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