ASME Introduces Committee on Sustainability to Strengthen Climate Initiatives, Drive Global Impact

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the establishment of its Committee on Sustainability, comprising 11 experts from a variety of industry sectors, research disciplines and policy experience appointed by the ASME Board of Governors to help accelerate the Society’s response to climate change. The Committee is responsible for ensuring that ASME has a robust sustainability strategy informed by evidence and supported by qualified leadership.

“With support from this committee of experts, ASME’s climate strategy will drive climate impact through policy, technology and innovation, and workforce initiatives,” says ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “We are grateful for their collaboration. We share their passion for advancing humanity through engineering and the belief that there is more we can be doing to leverage our collective resources for climate action.”

The Committee’s role includes developing impact reporting and evaluation frameworks, collaborating with and empowering ASME sectors and volunteer leaders, providing insights and data driven recommendations on sustainability strategy to the ASME Board of Governors, and advocating and building relationships with external stakeholders to advance ASME’s climate strategy, “which will continue and elevate our work supporting society’s climate goals and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals– to which ASME has been committed since their inception,” says Costabile.

Leading the ASME Committee on Sustainability are chair Sean Bradshaw, senior fellow of sustainable propulsion at Pratt & Whitney and professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, and vice chair Timo Marquez, sustainability marketing manager for Saint-Gobain.

Bradshaw is based in the U.S. with a primary focus on the development of advanced aircraft propulsion technologies that enable the industry to reduce its footprint. He is the immediate past chair of the Gas Turbine Association, a member of ASME Gas Turbine Technology Group, and an associate editor of the ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power.

Based in France, Marquez’ career has evolved around defining, developing, and implementing sustainability initiatives for the built environment. He is past chair of the ASME Technology and Society Division and a current member of ASME’s Engineering for Change (E4C) Innovation Steering Committee.

ASME Committee on Sustainability members at large include:

• Asha Balakrishnan

Assistant Director, Science and Technology Policy Institute

• Cristina Contreras Casado

Founder and Managing Director, Sinfranova, and Researcher and Instructor, Harvard University

• Francesco D'Amore

Postdoctoral Researcher and Consultant, University of Southampton

• Craig Hart

Executive Director, Pace University Energy and Climate Center

• Bob Hauck

Chief Mechanical Engineer, GE Healthcare (retired)

• Alain Lefevre