title: Assessing sustainable remediation frameworks using sustainability principles.
abstract: The remediation industry has grown exponentially in recent decades. International organizations of practitioners and remediation experts have developed several frameworks for integrating sustainability into remediation projects; however, there has been limited attention to how sustainability is approached and operationalized in sustainable remediation frameworks and practices - or whether sustainability plays any meaningful role at all in sustainable remediation. This paper examines how sustainability is represented in remediation frameworks and the guidance provided for practical application. Seven broad sustainability principles and review criteria are proposed and applied to a sample of six international remediation frameworks. Not all review criteria were equally satisfied and none of the frameworks fully met all criteria; however, the best performing frameworks were those identified as sustainability remediation frameworks. Intra-generational equity was addressed by all frameworks. Integrating social, economic and biophysical components beyond triple-bottom-line indicators was explicitly addressed only by the sustainable remediation frameworks. No frameworks provided principle- or rule-based guidance for dealing with trade-offs in sustainability decisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada.
authors.forename: D Reanne
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Ridsdale
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada. Electronic address: b.noble@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Bram F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Noble
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004777:Environment; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States
keywords: Remediation; Sustainability principles; Sustainable remediation frameworks