Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CONCLUDING REMARKS
As an industry, construction clearly needs a cultural change and this has been
recognised for many years. Indeed the European Union in its first broad agenda
for sustainable construction recommended that 'employers and professional bodies
should phase out recognition of training and educational courses which do not take
adequate account of the topic of sustainable construction' (EU 2001: 23). Certainly
training, research, collaboration and working as a team could be major drivers of
change. Arriving at a consensus on what should be delivered under the heading of
construction economics at universities should also help to close the gap between
government rhetoric and construction industry practice.
The new approach outlined in this topic has contributed towards meeting
this requirement. It has introduced some of the strategies that could be adopted
by professionals entering traditional construction firms. We suggest four options
following
The Greening of Industry for a Sustainable Future
, a framework produced
by Schot et al. (1997). These are:
•
the defensive option
•
the offensive option
•
the eco-efficiency option
•
the sustainability option.
These four options offer a useful framework for analysing whether sustainable
construction can become a reality.
THE DEFENSIVE OPTION
This option refers to output being changed to comply with regulations, on the basis
that a primary motivation to make improvements is to avoid costs that might be
imposed by non-compliance. In this context, Stern (2007: 434) referred to an OECD
study that confirmed that 19 out of 20 countries surveyed had mandatory building
regulations (codes) designed to increase energy efficiency. This has been an important
strategy in reducing the environmental impacts of business activity. At the very least,
it has caused most construction firms to acknowledge some of the environmental
aspects of the agenda, and it has had some impact on the use of landfill and virgin
aggregates that are both subject to tax. From a client's perspective, it is the prospect
of potentially more onerous legislation in the future that is leading some developers
and investors to adopt a 'beyond compliance' culture, either to achieve higher returns
on projects or to reduce risks. In short, as Sayce et al. (2007: 630) have argued
legislation and regulations will be used as important drivers to break into the circle
of blame and slowly move us towards greener construction.
THE OFFENSIVE OPTION
This option was introduced in
Chapter 9
. A firm adopting this strategy would seek
to break with convention in order to gain a competitive advantage by differentiating
its products from those of its competitors. A few of the major construction firms
in Europe involved with the passive house movement and similar low energy
projects have taken advantage of this option and shown that major improvements
