The contractor's role in the sustainable construction industry

Abstract

With the advent of sustainable building ordinances in the USA and internationally, contractors are increasingly required to deliver sustainable projects; however, they have traditionally not been considered partners in developing the sustainability goals and objectives for projects. Moreover, as alternative project delivery methods become more popular, contractors have an opportunity and -in an increasing number of cases -a requirement, to take a larger role in sustainability efforts across the building life cycle. Understanding the contractor's self-perceived role, in addition to their incentives for participation, in the sustainable construction industry is imperative to providing insight into their future role within the industry. This paper presents data from and analysis of a survey of US-based general contractors. The survey asked general contractors for their opinions and viewpoints regarding sustainable construction; respondents provided feedback about corporate profitability, growth forecast and specific obstacles to sustainable building. The authors present a potential path from the current state of sustainable construction industry in the USA to a projected future state (both characterised by the survey responses). Finally, factors that will affect the transition to the future state of the sustainable construction industry are discussed.

Enablers for Sustainable Lean Construction in India

“…Huovila and Koskela 1998;Lapinski et al 2006, Ogunbiyi et al 2014, SalvatierraGarrido and Pasquire 2011Rueff and Cachadinha 2011;Bae and Kim 2007;Carneiro et al 2012;Holloway and Parrish 2013;Johnsen and Drevland 2016;Novak 2012;Marhani et al 2013;Jamil and Fathi 2016;Dixit et al 2017). Gort (2008) discusses SLC in the context of manufacturing industry.…”

“…However, with the growth in the construction complexity and the influence of modern day practices, there is a need to bring back the focus on sustainable construction (Arif et al 2009). Unlike adoption of Lean practices, the primary thrust to adopt Sustainable methods is provided by the regulatory agencies of the government and the owner organizations that are willing to implement green practices (Shen et al 2006;Arif et al 2009;Holloway and Parrish 2013;Liang et al 2014). It is observed by researchers that the commitment of top management provides a significant impetus towards the adoption of sustainable construction practices (Tan et al 2011;Athapaththu and Karunasena 2017).…”

“…Generally, SC and LC are viewed as management frameworks that can independently provide solutions to manage the sustainability issues and provide financial incentives (through waste reduction and value addition) respectively. Research has shown that SC and LC mutually reinforce each other and there is a synergistic output that can be achieved by considering them as a combined credo (Salvatierra-Garrido and Pasquire 2011; Vieira and Cachadinha 2011;Bae and Kim 2007;Campos et al 2012;Carneiro et al 2012;Holloway and Parrish 2013;Johnsen and Drevland 2016;Novak 2012). While this concept is existent, there are limited studies to understand the enablers for the same in the Indian context.…”

“…It has unfortunately not entered into the mainstream focus of construction businesses (Holloway and Parrish 2013). Assuming that there is a valid need for implementing sustainable practices in Indian construction industry, the long-term research objective is to develop means to bring sustainability in the mainstream focus of Indian construction organizations.…”

Editorial

“…The first paper by Holloway and Parish (2015) provides a view of the current state of sustainable construction in the USA. By analysing surveys of US contractors, the authors have gained an understanding of existing construction practice which suggests that as the perceived cost of sustainable construction decreases and improved techniques and knowledge bring more successful sustainable outcomes, benefits should greatly outweigh costs.…”