The resources below are listed ‘For Information’. Some of the resources are not specific to New Zealand so will need to be considered and used carefully in any New Zealand specific application, as well as checking for the latest revisions. We have tried to capture a range of resources, however this is a fast-moving space at the moment. If you think we have missed something important that others would benefit from, please get in touch with the SESOC Sustainability Task Force through Dr. Charlotte Toma or SESOC Exec.
Recognition of the environmental impacts of our work has long been an important part of our profession, as included in the Engineering New Zealand Code of Ethics. There is currently a growing focus on how to address this concern, in a way that recognises the ongoing importance of balancing environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability initiatives and outcomes on projects.
Read the full SESOC Position statement on Sustainable Design:
SESOC’s Position Statement on Sustainable Design
| Courses and seminars | |
| SESOC Webinar | 28th October 2021
Sustainable Design for Structural Engineers – Session 1 1st September 2023 Sustainable Design for Structural Engineers – YouTube
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| SESOC Seminar | Planned for 2024 |
| BRANZ Webinars (free) | Webinar: LCA Overview | BRANZ |
| Achieve NetZero Applying InTIME | 4-Week Short Course, available at The University of Canterbury. This is an online, self-paced course, available any time. |
| Transition Engineering – Energy InTIME | 6-module course for Engineers – available at The University of Canterbury. |
| SESOC & IStructE Resources | |
| SESOC Top Tips for Low Carbon Design | SESOC Top Tips_ V1 2024 |
| SESOC Low Carbon Design Resource Map | Interactive version |
| SESOC submissions on the MBIE BfCC framework | SESOC Submission for Building for Climate Change |
| 2021 SESOC Conference Papers | Donnell, Krumdieck and Neitzert – ‘An introduction to transitional engineering and its implications for the practice of structural engineering in New Zealand from 2021-2035’
Symons and Critchley – ‘Future regulation, and the role of increased seismic resilience’ Moses – ‘Integrating sustainability considerations into structural engineering’ Coulthard – ‘Ashburton District Council Civic Centre: Learnings on timber connections’ |
| IStructE resources –
A comprehensive and (mostly) free set of resources covering – Get Informed – Low Carbon – Lean Design – Zero Waste – Influence the Brief – Get Involved – Case Studies |
Climate emergency – The Institution of Structural Engineers (istructe.org) |
| Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Assessment Resources | |
| MBIE Technical Methodology | Embodied Carbon Technical Methodology |
| BRANZ tools | https://www.branz.co.nz/environment-zero-carbon-research/framework/
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| Links to EPD sources/repository. | https://epd-australasia.com/ |
| Naylor Love carbon calculator | https://www.naylorlove.co.nz/carbon/ |
| eTool carbon assessment software | https://etoolglobal.com/ |
| Carbon Emissions Reduction – New Zealand References | |
| Climate Change Response(Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019 | The Zero Carbon Amendment Act 2019 |
| Emissions Reduction Plan | https://environment.govt.nz/publications/aotearoa-new-zealands-first-emissions-reduction-plan/ |
| MBIE Building for Climate Change Proposal | https://www.building.govt.nz/getting-started/building-for-climate-change/ |
| Green Building Council
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New Zealand:
https://www.nzgbc.org.nz/zerocarbon https://www.nzgbc.org.nz/zerocarbon/roadmap World GBC: https://www.worldgbc.org/thecommitment
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| Engineering New Zealand | Engineering Climate Action | Engineering NZ |
| Carbon Emissions Reduction – International References | |
| Engineers Declare | Engineers Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency |
| London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) Embodied Carbon Primer 2020 & other publications: | https://www.leti.london/publications |
| UK RIBA ‘Whole of Life Carbon Guide’ for UK Architects, 2017 ?? | https://www.architecture.com/-/media/files/Climate-action/RIBA-2030-Climate-Challenge.pdf |
| WPMA Wood Design Guide ch 2.1 ‘Trees, Carbon, and the Environment’, 2020 | https://www.wpma.org.nz/uploads/1/3/2/8/132870817/ch-2.1-trees-carbon-and-the-environment.pdf |
| Relevant professional bodies (links) | |
| IStructE | https://www.istructe.org/ |
| The Sustainability Society | A technical interest group of Engineering NZ |
| New Zealand Green Building Council | https://www.nzgbc.org.nz/ |
| The Global Association for Transition Engineering | https://www.transitionengineering.org/ |
| Engineers for Social Responsibility (NZ) | www.esr.org.nz |
| Life Cycle Association of New Zealand | https://lcanz.org.nz/ |
| Engineering New Zealand – Climate Action and Position Statement | https://www.engineeringnz.org/programmes/engineering-climate-action/ |