Down to Earth: Implementing Project-Level ESG Metrics in Chinese AEC Firms’ Practices
Publication: Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 40, Issue 5
Abstract
As means to many ends, architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) projects are the frontline to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns. Despite the high prevalence of ESG, little is known about how to assess and implement ESG as a practice in AEC projects, and such sparseness impedes the AEC firms pursuing this goal. Therefore, from the AEC firms’ point of view, this exploratory study tailored holistic project-level ESG metrics along life-cycle dynamics using a combination of methods, including a literature review, content analysis of ESG reports from sample Chinese AEC firms, and semistructured interviews. The authors used established ESG metrics as the coding scheme to develop an anatomy of ESG practices for AEC firms. The proposed ESG metrics are composed of 12 Tier-1 indicators and 41 Tier-2 indicators. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by extending the ESG concept to the project level, facilitating the operationalization of project-level ESG, and unfolding how projects obtain social legitimacy for AEC firms through ESG practices. This study also facilitates decision-making and provides managerial implications for professionals in the AEC industry who need an ESG assessment tool in the bidding process to evaluate owners’ ESG requirements, in the implementation stages to manage and supervise project delivery, and in postconstruction stages to assess a project’s ESG performance.
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Data Availability Statement
All data and coding processes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 72101175 and 72031008).
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Published In
Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 40 • Issue 5 • September 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Sep 25, 2023
Accepted: Mar 22, 2024
Published online: Jun 11, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Nov 11, 2024
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