Welcome

Welcome to the IChemE Sustainability mini-site. The Institution of Chemical Engineers sees sustainable development as the most significant issue facing society today. This approach is encapsulated in the 2001 Melbourne Communiqué. Engineering for sustainable development means providing for human needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The impact of industry on sustainability can be summarised in the "triple bottom line", covering the three components - environmental responsibility, economic return and social development. For industry to guide its activities towards greater sustainability, more engineers need to have the tools to assess the operations with which they are concerned.

IChemE has therefore introduced a set of indicators that can be used to measure sustainability performance of an operating unit. These metrics will help engineers address the issue of sustainable development. They will also enable companies to set targets and develop standards for internal benchmarking, and to monitor progress year-on-year. The emphasis on this workbook has been to produce a practical tool using as far as possible information already available.

Although The Sustainability Metrics are designed for internal use, companies are encouraged to publish their progress metrics in whole or in part to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. IChemE will be pleased to receive the information collected by each company, on a confidential basis not for publication. This will help us monitor the usefulness of our metrics and to develop future recommendations for best practice.

For more information or a free copy of the metrics, please contact Andy Furlong, Tel: 01788 534414, email: afurlong@icheme.org

Alternatively, click here to view/print a pdf copy of the metrics.