By Mary Ellen Ternes
Once upon a time, education followed fairly linear tracks:
people learned calculus and physics to get a degree in engineering, or earned a
degree in biology on their way to medical school, or a degree in economics on
the way to business school. Now, the world is becoming a whole lot more
integrated as our planet keeps getting smaller and we keep getting smarter.
Have you read lately about using organic molecules to
self-assemble computer chips? Or the rapidly growing new field of synthetic
biology? Or making diesel fuel from bacteria? How about nanotechnology? (Don’t
even get me started on nano, because I’m a complete geek.) It’s not surprising
that the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering have
proposed including engineering in K-12 education, along with science,
technology and mathematics (“STEM”), to support the development of skills
identified as “essential for the 21st century” such as problem
solving, systems thinking, collaboration and communication. That’s way beyond
the three Rs! But as our problems and problem solving evolve, so must our
traditional disciplines. Even the standard “pre-med” curriculum is being
reconsidered: with the increased pace and scope of medical breakthroughs,
broader medical education is being proposed to encourage interdisciplinary core
competencies, including math, statistics, modeling, measurement and scale and
quantitative reasoning.
In revising our approaches to traditional disciplines,
sometimes we simply combine fields of study – like biology and math, or
medicine and engineering – but there are also whole new horizons.
Sustainability is one of the most significant new areas of study, constituting
a new emphasis in traditional degrees and even a degree in its own right.
Sustainability combines social science, economics and
science in a multidisciplinary approach that is critical to developing
sustainable models, approaches and designs. Sustainability, the concept of
meeting our needs today without sacrificing the ability of our children to meet
their needs tomorrow, was defined in terms of environment, social and economic
concepts at the June 14, 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, also known as the “Earth Summit,” with something called “Agenda
21.”
Agenda 21 is a 21st-century plan of action to
implement sustainability globally, nationally and locally by organizations of
the UN, governments and major groups in every area in which humans directly
affect the environment. At the 1992 Earth Summit, 178 countries voted to adopt
Agenda 21.
Some folks working with sustainability focus primarily, or
even exclusively, on the environment. But the social and economic aspects are
equally important and inextricably intertwined. Think of a Venn diagram, which
uses circles overlapping with each other to illustrate relationships between
and among substantive areas. In the classic Venn diagram of sustainability,
three circles overlap representing environmental, social and economic issues.
Sustainability exists where the social overlap with environmental is bearable,
the economic overlap with social is equitable, and the environmental overlap
with economic is viable.
To promote sustainability in today’s business, governmental
structures, policies, laws and education, one must master more tools than are
typically provided in any one discipline. As an example, Columbia University’s
new Ph.D. is Sustainable Development requires 10 core courses in human ecology,
economics (macro, micro, environmental and resource), natural science, science
policy and, of course, sustainable development and its politics.
Engineers are also focusing on sustainability. An engineer
should know enough about environmental issues and economics to design projects
or processes that minimize pollution and maximize sustainability, and thus
ensure that resource limitations, such as lack of water, wouldn’t have an
adverse impact on a project’s success. New sustainable engineering programs
integrate social, environmental and economic considerations into traditional
engineering design methods along with consideration of the complete product and
process lifecycle. With this integrated approach, engineers are able to
minimize environmental impacts across the entire lifecycle while, at the same
time, maximizing benefits to social and economic stakeholders.
An MBA candidate might also want to specialize in
sustainable business approaches. A few years ago, Stanford was ranked as having
the best sustainable MBA program, based on the Aspen Institute’s “Beyond Grey
Pinstripes” survey, originally created by the World Resources Institute. The
survey provides an alternative ranking of business schools based on successful
integration of social and environmental stewardship into the traditional
economic curriculum. The survey found more and more MBA programs offering
courses in ethics, corporate social responsibility and environmental
sustainability. And who better to address some of the issues expected in coming
years, such as water scarcity, labor issues and poverty alleviation, than
sustainable business leaders?
As an interdisciplinary professional myself, I have found
tremendous utility in combining disciplines. And probably more importantly –
broadening our perspective and collaborating with others makes our work a whole
lot more fun! Here’s expanding our approaches!
BE INFORMED
Mary Ellen Ternes, Esq. is a former chemical engineer from both the EPA and industry. She is currently a shareholder with McAfee & Taft and co-chair of its Renewable and Sustainable Energy Industry Group, and is serving a three-year term as City of Nichols Hills Environment, Health and Sustainability Commissioner.
This article was published in the September 2010 issue of OKC Downtown Monthly, Edmond Monthly, Norman Living, Nichols Hills News and Northwest Style. It is reproduced with permission from the publisher. © 2010 Southwestern Publishing.