Response of Construction Clients to Low-Carbon Building Regulations
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 139, Issue 12
Abstract
Building regulations and governmental policies create pressure on the construction industry to minimize the environmental impacts that are caused by buildings. Achieving energy efficiency, and thereby low-carbon construction, is only possible by cooperation among the participants in the construction supply chain. Clients in particular have an important role in promoting environmental sustainability. In this paper, the carbon-reduction process is analyzed from a construction client’s perspective. A framework is developed to analyze the interrelated components of this process, including the drivers, initiatives, challenges, facilitators, solutions, and achievements. A qualitative case study methodology was employed to gain a better understanding of the project-based practices and corporate policies in achieving energy efficiency. The study presents the results of three award-winning construction projects from the U.K. in which innovations for improving environmental sustainability were based on the Code for Sustainable Homes. The study outlines the initiatives and strategies of clients for carbon reduction, obstacles faced by project teams, mechanisms that helped overcome the difficulties, and low-carbon solutions applied to design, construction, and operation in the selected cases. Effective leadership, corporate responsibility, a focus on end users, repeatable nature of projects, and integrated teams are found to be the main success factors. The findings of this study are expected to guide construction professionals in implementing innovative low-carbon practices in collaborative project environments. The proposed framework can be used to better understand the carbon-reduction process in other projects and other countries where different regulations and conditions prevail.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation and former colleagues Prof. Carl Abbott and Prof. Ghassan Aouad at the University of Salford. The author would also like to thank the industrial collaborators who were involved in the case studies.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 139 • Issue 12 • December 2013
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2012
Accepted: Jun 24, 2013
Published online: Jul 22, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Dec 22, 2013
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