Sustainable remediation principles, guidelines and practices

Due to depletion of natural resources, increased natural disasters, waste, greenhouse gas and pollutant generation, environmental deterioration, and loss of biodiversity, geoenvironmental engineers are facing new challenges. While it is generally believed that the concepts of sustainable development including the three dimensions of environment, economy and society must be followed for protecting future generations, it is much easier said than implemented. Green remediation focusses on mainly reducing environmental impacts while sustainable remediation additionally considers social and economic aspects. Therefore, the focus of this paper is on the application of the principles and best management practices of sustainable geoenvironmental engineering to site remediation projects through frameworks, guidelines, case studies and examples of sustainable remediation practices. In addition, challenges and future needs are included. While various frameworks have been developed, there are similarities between the approaches. There is growing emphasis on stakeholder participation in the process. As there still is a lack of consensus and regulatory acceptance, implementation in the field has been impacted. More recently, resilience quantification metrics are being added to established frameworks to address both sustainability and resilience. The role of geoenvironmental engineers in sustainable development has been undervalued but is critical for future generations for maintaining the quality of the geoenvironment for the sustainability of critical resources.