Photo credit: USC

There is a famous quote which suggests that “If you want to master something, teach it”. 4Pillars Senior Environmental Engineer and resident Contaminated Land Expert, Dr. Gunnar Haid displayed such mastery last year.

At the end of 2019, Gunnar was invited as guest lecturer at the School of Science and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He delivered an eye-opening lecture titled ‘Contaminated Land Assessment is not an exact assessment’ which dealt with the ethical dilemmas in the environmental consulting industry.

The lecture began with a brief personal history, and a definition of ‘contaminated land’ as per the EHP’s 2006 Guidelines for Contaminated Land Professionals. Gunnar then artfully navigated his way through debates of project management versus science, contaminated land versus acid sulfate soils, and contextualised it through several case studies.

After a break, ethics and typical ethical dilemmas facing contaminated sites consultants were addressed, and resulted in a lively discussion with and among the students. The main takeaways from this presentation, arguably, were what struck students the most. Some of Gunnar’s advice includes:

  • It isn’t just about the science, there are management and public implications to their approaches to managing contaminated land.
  • Consider how the science crosses other disciplines, and wider stakeholders.
  • Be clear of your role as an advocate for your ‘stakeholder’ within the constraints of your scientific obligations.
  • Despite guidelines in the area of ethics, a lot boils down to the integrity of the individual and personal judgement calls.

Realistically, as environmental issues arise in the age of the Anthropocene (the geological age of man), these ethical dilemmas and problems for future professionals are sure to become more complex too. Thankfully, Gunnar is on hand and has been invited back to the University of the Sunshine Coast to lecture again! This is very lucky for the self-professed “University tragic” who “grabs any opportunity he can get to be on or near a campus”. Gunnar says it is because he likes to be surrounded by people who think for a living – but others may tease that it is more about nostalgia and feeling young again. Who knows?

Whatever the truth is, the team at 4Pillars is very proud of Gunnar and look forward to hearing more about his upcoming lecture!

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