"Think about how you're going to take down a building before you build it"

The best time to think about recycling and disposal of an old product is during the research and development phase before construction begins, environmental engineer Jerry L. Frieling said at Thunderbird.

“Think about how you’re going to take down a building before you build it,” he said during a Global Issues Forum co-sponsored by the ThunderGreen club. “You need to look at everything through the lens of sustainability.”

Frieling is chairman of New York-based Malcolm Pirnie, one of the largest engineering firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on environmental issues. For more than 100 years, the company has provided engineering, science and consulting services to more than 5,000 public and private clients.

The company’s global reach expanded recently through a merger with ARCADIS, an international consultancy, design, engineering and management services company with headquarters in The Netherlands.

Frieling said innovative companies that see the world through the lens of sustainability are finding ways to help the environment and save money at the same time. “Looking at things through the sustainability lens is good for the bottom line,” he said.

In the construction industry, for example, some crews are using crushed concrete for mud mats and construction roads. Others are blending recycled materials with new pavement.

Frieling said these innovations are important because up to 40 percent of solid waste in the United States comes from construction and demolition.

Another example of innovation comes from the Port of Oakland, which oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport and 20 miles of waterfront in northern California. Frieling said Oakland has commissioned Malcolm Pirnie to conduct a baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, which will allow officials to measure the effectiveness of various environmental initiatives.

“You need to know the best way to spend your money to get the biggest bang for the buck,” Frieling said.

He said many government and nonprofit organizations have made strides toward sustainability. But these organizations working alone will not be able to solve the world’s challenges.

“We need good scientists and good engineers,” Frieling said. “That’s who is going to make it happen.”

[This article has been reproduced with permission from Knowledge Network, the online thought leadership platform for Thunderbird School of Global Management https://thunderbird.asu.edu/knowledge-network/]