Session: DAC-11-2: Engineering for Sustainable Development

Paper Number: 143602

143602 - Economic Impact Considerations for Sustainable Design Engineering as Derived From the Literature 

Sustainable development is frequently discussed in terms of social impacts, environmental impacts, and economic impacts, often referred to as the three pillars of sustainability. A deep consideration of all three of these pillars is necessary for effective sustainable development. Furthermore, we believe there is value in understanding each pillar independently in addition to understanding how they work together to make up the whole of sustainable development. This paper contributes to the archival scholarship on sustainable development by presenting a review of the literature on the economic impacts of engineering design decisions and engineered products. Many design engineers already consider the economic impacts of their work, especially those impacts related to the production cost and the economic feasibility of their products. However, we believe that a review of our findings can help design engineers consider a more comprehensive set of economic impacts that apply to their work, leading to greater sustainability. Presented in this paper are 11 economic impact categories, spanning three economic scopes. We recommend considering these economic impact categories together with the set of social impact categories presented by Rainock, et al.. Considering both sets together can increase understanding of the interplay--including trade-offs--between these two pillars of sustainable development.

Presenting Author: Christopher Mattson Brigham Young University

Presenting Author Biography: Christopher A. Mattson is a professor of mechanical engineering and director of BYU's Design Exploration Research Group. He is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (PhD 03), an NSF CAREER awardee, a Fulbright Scholar, and an ASME Fellow. He was given a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Obama in 2011.

Authors:

K. Joshua Kelley Brigham Young University
Christopher Mattson Brigham Young University
Nile Hatch Brigham Young University
John Salmon Brigham Young University