Understanding How Green Contractors Displayed Social Sustainability Actions due to the BLM Movement in 2020
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
This exploratory study summarizes the actions implemented by contractors due to the rise of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020. The research specifically focuses on understanding how leading green contractors were or were not displaying meaningful actions related to social sustainability. Publicly available data were analyzed from the 2020 Top 100 Engineering News-Record Green Contractors. From this list, only seven contractors released either statement letters or website announcements acknowledging BLM. The majority of the statements were released right after the murder of George Floyd between the end of May 2020 and the beginning of June 2020, when most of the protests picked. The findings indicate that the contractors displaying meaningful actions are the ones that have already developed diversity and inclusion capabilities and coalitions besides their technical green construction expertise. Still, knowledge gaps were detected in acknowledging workforce justice and equity aspects, such as merit-based payment and promotion.
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Construction Research Congress 2022
Pages: 121 - 130
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Published online: Mar 7, 2022
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