Sustainable Materials - with both eyes open

This is a follow-up book to David MacKay's Sustainable Energy - without the hot air, the no. 2 green/enviro bestseller in 2009 and 2010, which had a large influence on both government policy and public opinion of how we should plan our energy for the future. (Like Sustainable Energy, the new book is available free online for personal non-commercial use, as well as in paperback and hardback.)

The steel and aluminium industries alone account for nearly 30% of global emissions, and demand is rising. The world target is to reduce industry's carbon emissions by 50% by 2050. However, projections are that world demand for materials will double by 2050, so to meet our emissions target, we have to achieve a 4-fold reduction in emissions per unit of material used: industry will have to make huge changes - not just to the processes involved, but to the entire product life-cycle.

The book presents a vision of change for how future generations can still use steel, cement, plastics etc., but with less impact on the environment. First it's a wake-up call, then it's a solutions manual. The solutions presented here are ahead of the game now. By providing an evidence-based vision of change, the book can play a significant role in influencing our future.

The book has been written for: designers; engineers; operations, technical, and business managers; traders; government and NGO officials associated with business, climate, energy, environment, waste, trade and financing. It is relevant to a wide range of industries: energy: steel and aluminium; mining; construction; consulting; manufacturing; transport, automotive, aerospace, marine; architecture. The style of the book is intended for a popular audience as well as the specialist.

Endorsements & Reviews

Boing Boing Sustainable Materials: indispensable, impartial popular engineering book on the future of our built and made world
Sustainable Materials (like Sustainable Energy) is a popular engineering text, a rare and wonderful kind of book.
Allwood and Cullen write about engineering with the elegance of the best pop-science writers -- say, James Gleick or Rebecca Skloot -- but while science is never far from their work, their focus is on engineering. They render lucid and comprehensible the processes and calculations needed to make things and improve things, touching on chemistry, physics, materials science, economics and logistics without slowing down or losing the reader.
a valuable, impartial expert source in an important debate
Friends of the Earth blog, Dec-2011
this accessible, fact-filled and entertaining read
New Scientist Culture Lab, 14-Dec-2011 How to make steel go green – with songs!
This is something you don’t see every day: a substantial, carefully-researched book on how to reform our manufacturing industries
for policy-makers trying to cut emissions, and anyone in manufacturing, it should be required reading.
BBC News Go Figure: Why does every person need 200kg of steel a year?
fascinating for umpteen reasons
Instead of the usual ya-boo about sustainability, this is a pragmatic guide to getting more value from less stuff. Researched with long-term co-operation from industry, it emphasises facts and evidence but is aimed at a popular readership.
http://sustainabilityincrisis.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/sustainable-materials-with-both-eyes-open/
I’m glad they’ve considered so much ...the style throughout is very friendly and clear