Integrating sustainability into your project lifecycle – A strategic advantage
Image caption: Dr Stephan Jooste – Zutari Managing Director: Sustainability
At the heart of modern engineering lies a critical imperative: sustainability is not a constraint, but a catalyst for innovation and long-term success.
In sectors like mining, infrastructure, and energy, projects are increasingly defined by their ability to harmonise technical excellence with environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
Yet too often, sustainability is relegated to compliance checklists – a reactive approach that jeopardises critical project outcomes.
Consider a recent mine expansion project where our Zutari engineers (who explicitly had environmental management excluded from their scope) designed a causeway for an access road upgrade.
The design work only started after environmental approvals had been finalised.
Unfortunately, this critical structure was excluded from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Water Use Licence application.
This scenario is emblematic of a systemic issue: when sustainability is siloed or delayed, projects risk costly redesigns, permit rejections, and community opposition.
Integrating sustainability earlier
The root cause of this system issue lies in timing.
Major decisions such as site selection, technology choices, and material sourcing are often locked in during early project phases.
Once these choices are made, retrofitting sustainability becomes prohibitively expensive.
For example: opting for energy-intensive equipment during feasibility studies commits a project to higher carbon footprints and operational costs for decades.
Conversely, integrating sustainability from the outset identifies efficiencies, aligns projects with corporate sustainability goals and global standards (like the UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs), and secures social license to operate.
Such cases underscore a universal truth: the earlier sustainability is integrated, the greater its value.
This is underscored by a 2022 McKinsey report, which studied 500 projects – 62% of which were valued at $1 billion or more.
The average cost overrun was 79%, yet a focus on getting things right in the early stages resulted in significant improvements to outcomes – including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, risk and net present value (NPV).
At Zutari, we are adopting an approach where we endeavour to integrate sustainability into all our projects – whether this is part of our appointment or not.
This is because we believe that sustainability must be woven into every stage of the project lifecycle if the project is to be successful.
The critical role of sustainability expertise
A key project member to help integrate sustainability across the project lifecycle is the Sustainability Advisor.
Sustainability is a discipline requiring specialised knowledge of evolving regulations, technologies, and stakeholder dynamics – and assigning a Sustainability Advisor to every project ensures continuity and accountability.
For smaller projects, an advisor can oversee multiple initiatives, while large-scale endeavours demand dedicated advisor teams.
This approach contrasts sharply with relying solely on the general knowledge of the project team or external Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultants.
While EIA teams play a vital role, they often join late in the process after key decisions are irreversible.
Internal sustainability advisors bridge this gap, working alongside engineers to:
- Ensure that the sustainability framework is properly implemented, especially in early project decisions.
- Analyse and address problem areas related to sustainability faced by the project.
- Interface with the EIA consultants when they are appointed.
- Ensure compliance with permits and stakeholder agreements.
Sustainability as a driver of value
Projects that prioritise sustainability from inception are not just ethically sound – they are economically resilient.
They avoid delays, reduce operational costs, and enhance reputational equity.
By embedding sustainability into every decision, from concept to commissioning, we at Zutari work with our clients to deliver projects that power progress while safeguarding communities and ecosystems.
Our experience shows that sustainability is not a trade-off but a value multiplier.
Let us move beyond compliance and redefine what it means to engineer a sustainable future—one project at a time.
Click here to learn how Zutari integrates sustainability into your projects.
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