Delivering Sustainable Infrastructure: Theory and Practice for Construction

Course overview

The importance of sustainable development is increasingly acknowledged and accepted throughout society, but we still need to identify tangible ways sustainability can be implemented in practice. For the civil engineering and construction sectors, we must move beyond merely advocating change and develop specific responses to a range of pressing sustainability challenges. These may be rooted in meeting the global Sustainable Development Goals or in urgent actions driven by the climate change emergency, for example.

The engineering of critical infrastructure enables the delivery of essential services - including water supply, energy, transport and shelter -and it is vital that these systems are designed to meet the real needs of society and end users in truly sustainable ways. Much of this requires changing traditional engineering approaches, where solutions are often adopted from longstanding experience and have evolved from historically different constraints than apply today.

Using case studies, the course will show how guiding principles for sustainable infrastructure can deliver better solutions in practice. We will look at the process of change and innovation and investigate the use of specific tools and methodologies which can apply to planning, design, construction and operational issues in the infrastructure sector.

What will I learn?

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: 

• recognise the wider sustainability context and how this influences the delivery of infrastructure services
• understand the diverse sustainability challenges associated with delivering and operating critical infrastructure
• understand how infrastructure addresses the Sustainable Development Goals and adds social value
• apply absolute, operational and individual sustainability principles for infrastructure in decision making
• implement a systems-thinking approach to infrastructure provision   
• explore opportunities for multi-functional infrastructure solutions   
• challenge traditional approaches and outdated design standards
• understand key sustainability methods and their benefits and limitations.

Who is this course for?

• civil engineers 
• construction professionals 
• sustainability professionals 
• built environmental professionals  
• structural engineers 
• urban planners  
• infrastructure engineers 
• regulators.

What will I get on completion?

Evidence your learning with a Certificate of Achievement from the University of Cambridge on successful completion.