Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
7-2026
Abstract
Background: As sustainability becomes increasingly important in engineering education and practice, there is a need to formally define Sustainability Engineering as a distinct discipline. Engineering disciplines, such as Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Environmental Engineering, have established Bodies of Knowledge (BoKs) that delineate the professional and educational expectations of their respective fields. Sustainability Engineering, as a new and evolving field of study, has yet to develop a unified framework that can facilitate curricular coherence, guide the assessment of learning outcomes, and define professional competencies.
Objectives: The goal of this work is to develop an initial version of a Sustainability Engineering Body of Knowledge (“SE-BoK”) that provides a unified framework to facilitate curricular coherence, guide the assessment of learning outcomes, and define professional competencies.
Relevance: This work directly addresses Topic 2 in the Call for Papers, “Applications of Sustainability Pedagogy Frameworks”. An SE-BoK will provide a standard structure for education and practice to help align curricula across institutions, support the design of new academic offerings across all engineering disciplines, and promote consistent assessment of sustainability-related learning outcomes. The SE-BoK will initiate the process of establishing accreditation standards for new programs and contribute to the development of professional certification examinations, ensuring that sustainability principles are systematically embedded in engineering practice.
Research Method: The Delphi method will be used to achieve expert consensus on the contents and structure of the SE-BoK. As a first step, the research team will generate an initial version of the proposed BoK, drawing from the Engineering for One Planet framework along with other existing frameworks in sustainability science, ecological economics, systems thinking, life cycle assessment, and sustainable design. This initial BoK will include proposed knowledge domains, competency levels, and supporting literature. This initial BoK will then be used to design a set of Delphi survey questions to solicit expert opinion on the contents of the BoK (including topics and descriptions). A panel of experts from academia, industry, and professional organizations will be invited to participate in three iterative Delphi rounds. Each round will combine quantitative ratings and qualitative comments. Statistical and thematic analyses will identify areas of agreement and divergence, and feedback will be used to refine the SE-BoK iteratively. Following completion of the three Delphi iterations, the results will be summarized and published for public comment within the sustainability engineering community.
Major Findings (to date): A team of EOP Network members has prepared a preliminary SE-BoK (mostly based on the EOP Framework), which includes areas such as systems thinking, sustainability assessment, circular economy, sustainable materials and energy systems, ecological design, ethics, and policy integration, and highlights the importance of transdisciplinary skills and the integration of socio-ecological systems concepts.
Recommended Citation
Baiges-Valentin, I. J., & Abraham, Y. S., & Bhawani, S., & Papadopoulos, C., & Barua, R., & Gbedemah, A., & Hill, S., & Loyo, J. E., & Matthew, V., & Vargas Hernandez, N., & Zhang, Y. (2026, June), Developing a Body of Knowledge for Sustainability Engineering Using the Delphi Method: A Work in Progress Paper presented at 2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Charlotte, North Carolina. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--58714
Publication Title
2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
DOI
10.18260/1-2--58714
Comments
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2026 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference.