Sustainable remediation panel—what will affect the remediation industry over the next one to two years?

Abstract

Remediation recently developed a Sustainable Remediation Panel in which leaders in the field have volunteered to provide their opinions on difficult subjects related to the topic of how to integrate sustainability principles into the remediation practice. The panel's opinions are provided in a question-and-answer format, whereby selected experts provide an answer to a question. This issue's question is provided below, followed by opinions from four experts in the remediation field.What are the primary anticipated developments or project opportunities in sustainable remediation over the next one to two years that will affect the remediation industry? GRANT GECKELERBoth new and re-envisioned "sustainable" economic drivers will shape many project opportunities in the remediation industry over the next few years. From an economic standpoint, the industry's interest in sustainable solutions will reduce the barriers to first-time adoption of new technologies. Novel innovations and product offerings will continue to challenge traditional conceptions and economic frameworks of remediation and site cleanups. Of course, the risk of selecting a novel technology or method over a "tried-and-true" remedy is usually perceived as prohibitively high, unless quantifiable cost savings overcome such resistance points. In steps the momentum of sustainability. By revamping notions of negative environmental and economic externalities, sustainability factors essentially level the playing field and allow sustainable technologies to be viably considered despite these perceived switching costs. In essence, sustainability factors latently incentivize new, "greener" technologies when those options are available in price parity to traditional options.New technologies that offer sustainability must be examined holistically in order to determine the full spectrum of economic savings. It is no surprise that sustainable technologies and methods will, by definition, achieve a baseline result through new and different processes. For instance, sustainable solutions may recover contaminants for recycling, utilize alternative power sources, reduce air emissions, and accrue carbon credits, or significantly decrease the project's overall carbon footprint. While each of these attributes has an obvious environmental benefit, more thought must be given to the cost savings associated with such benefits. Consultants and managers must continue to

The norms, rules and motivational values driving sustainable remediation of contaminated environments: A study of implementation

“…The outcomes of these remediation processes can have far-reaching effects on different aspects of the total environment (e.g. species abundance, soil quality and productivity, ground and surface water quality, air quality, land-use potential, economic output, human health and safety) (Geckeler et al, 2010;Simon, 2010Simon, , 2011. Given the increasing diversity of participants that inform remediation processes, Pollard et al (2004) argue that considering participant values and how those values are incorporated into remediation processes is a key challenge for scholarly and professional communities dealing with remediation.…”