Dimensions of sustainable construction: the perspectives of construction stakeholders

Abstract

The recent trend of sustainable development in the Hong Kong construction industry has drawn construction organisations’ attention to sustainability issues. However, the fragmented nature of construction industry has led to divergence in stakeholders’ understanding of sustainable construction, in addition to the traditionally debatable concepts of sustainable development. This paper explores and examines how different stakeholders perceive and treat sustainable construction. Twenty two interviews were carried out with stakeholders from various backgrounds including architects, engineers, surveyors, contractors, developers, facilities managers, environmentalists, suppliers, and sustainability consultants. The results show that there is still a disagreement on embracing the economic and social pillars in sustainable construction, whilst the environmental pillar is acknowledged by the majority. In addition to the triple bottom line, sustainable construction is also linked to culture and health and safety. Interestingly, this study found that construction stakeholders perceive sustainable construction as an ideal situation in which it is very hard to attain zero carbon and complete sustainability in real life development. In view of the absence of a clear definition and direction in applying sustainable construction, a gap can form in sustainable practices when incompatible goals are set by various parties due to their different interests. As a result, more effort should be made by providing a platform for the diverse interest groups of construction stakeholders to share ideas, communicate and distribute sustainability information.