Narrow Results

The technologies for building environmentally sound homes are well known and have been demonstrated in numerous projects, but are yet to be adopted as standard in the UK. Local authority development plans now include "sustainability" within their principles, but this is applied mainly in the social context. One barrier to achieving sustainable new housing is the lack of a framework to combine the objectives and policies of the urban environment, environmental impacts, resource use, and the design and construction of the houses themselves. This paper describes a framework designed for use by decision-makers (i.e. housing developers and planning officers) to help them address one part of "sustainability", namely eco-efficiency. The theoretical framework is then applied to a case study. Both the development process and the application of the framework reveal interesting points to be considered in the progress towards sustainable housing.

Construction activity is commonly considered to have adverse impacts on the environment, which is the basis of sustainable development for human being. It is considered that the proper development and operation of a construction project can make significant contribution to the mission of sustainable development. However, the existing difficulty is the lack of the guidance for implementing sustainable development principles in construction business. Whilst the concept of sustainable construction has become popular in research, there is little existing work providing methods to assess the degree of the contribution of developing a construction project to the attainment of sustainable development. This paper develops an alternative quantitative model for assessing the feasibility that a construction project involves in contributing to sustainable development. The development of the model is based on the general principle of sustainable development, which carries three dimensions, namely, economic, environmental, and social development. The model is proposed for the application at project feasibility stage when project investment decision is made. A practical case is used to demonstrate the application of the developed model.

In the last decade, the construction industry in Egypt has been booming, and many mega projects are under construction. The lack of awareness of the construction industry’s impact on climate change could be very harmful in terms of CO₂ emission, water and soil pollution, etc. This paper aims to explore the critical factors in the Egyptian construction industry that contributes to climate change. Moreover, given the shared features between the construction industry in Egypt and those in other countries, this research could also shed light on the general impacts of the construction industry on the various aspects of climate change. So, to achieve this aim, an intensive literature review was carried out to identify various factors contributing to climate change within the construction industry. This is followed by conducting 11 interviews with construction experts to explore any further factors throughout the lifecycle of a construction project. The identified factors from the literature review and the interviews were used to design a questionnaire survey to collect construction professionals’ opinions on the impact of these factors on climate change in Egypt. 48 valid responses were received. The collected data were statistically analyzed to rank and determine the criticality level of these factors. The results revealed that the most significant factors influencing climate change are the impact of industrial construction on climate change, the use of primary renewable energy as raw materials during the construction and use phases, and the effect of heavy civil and highway construction on climate change. The results also show that managing these factors requires considerable awareness and proactive actions during the project life cycle and pre-construction stage. The findings could inform decision-makers and construction professionals to raise awareness and make informed decisions to handle these key factors and minimize their potential contribution to climate change. Therefore, it can be recommended that construction clients may involve a climate change management plan as a requirement of tender documents.

Attaining the goal of sustainability in the construction industry is a demanding task due to the complexities and challenges that come with it. A concise and environmental-friendly approach is imperative to mitigate these challenges. Consulting and learning from the forms, processes and strategies of life’s genius (nature) offer a rich source of inspirational learning strategies that lead to sustainable outcomes. The purpose of the study was to explore biomimetic approaches to solving Innovative Production and Construction sustainability issues in the construction industry. The study is conducted with reference to the existing literature, published and unpublished research studies. An extant review of the literature on biomimicry and its strategies for innovative sustainable solutions were adopted. The findings from the survey revealed problem-based and solution-based biomimicry approach for proffering sustainable solutions to human challenges. This calls for a holistic adoption and multi-disciplinary collaboration in maximizing the sustainable solutions and innovative ideas offered by the adoption and application of biomimicry.