Realising sustainable construction through procurement stratergies

Sustainable construction is about achieving a balance between the social, economic and environmental aspects of construction so that the costs and the benefits, evaluated along these three dimensions, are optimised. In the light of the huge expenditure of the UK public sector on construction, the benefits that can be gained from integrating sustainability into construction procurement can be very significant. The aim of this thesis is to develop a theoretical framework to assist UK public clients in addressing sustainability issues in construction projects' procurement strategies. The objectives include: (1) developing agreed sets of social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria that should be addressed by UK public clients in developing a procurement strategy; (2) identifying the factors that are important to better address sustainable construction by UK public clients in developing a procurement strategy; (3) identifying potential barriers (4) identifying the parties that are most capable of removing such barriers; (5) identifying whether or not local authorities are addressing sustainability in their procurement strategies, policies, guidelines and procedures; and (6) identifying how public clients are addressing sustainability in their procurement strategies, policies, guidelines and procedures. The components of the theoretical framework were derived from a thorough analysis of information obtained from a variety of sources (e.g., public sector practitioners, academics, professionals/consultants, and contractors) and through the utilisation of a variety of research methods and techniques within a triangulated approach. These included (1) a Delphi Exercise in which 17 experts in sustainability participated, (2) interviews with nine key professionals and experts, (3) a questionnaire survey to which 132 local authorities in the UK responded, and (4) two case studies of local authorities demonstrating good practice in sustainable procurement. Triangulation was utilised within and across the methods and the techniques adopted. It facilitated the access to different levels of reality, through combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Validation of the parts of the framework was conducted in several ways. These included validating the findings from each Delphi round in the subsequent round, validating the findings obtained from one method or technique by utilising another; and facilitating comments by the respondents/interviewees regarding any of the items included in the questionnaires/interview guides used in this research. Agreement among sustainability experts participating in this research was developed regarding sustainability criteria that should be addressed by UK public clients in developing a procurement strategy. These included 17 social sustainability criteria, 12 economic sustainability criteria, and 13 environmental sustainability criteria. There were 41 factors identified as important, very important, or extremely important factors for UK public clients to better address sustainable construction. These included knowledge and perception of actors, organisational and management factors, political and regulative factors, contractual factors, instrumental factors, logistical factors, strategic factors and financial factors. The investigation carried out in this research enabled the identification of 12 main barriers. Among these are barriers related to vagueness and diversity of definitions and interpretations; insufficiency of guidance and tools; insufficiency and inconsistency of policies, regulations and commitment by leadership lack of funding; and separation of capital and operational budgets. There were four main parties identified as those most capable of removing the barriers. These included governmental/regulatory bodies, supply chain, professional/educational bodies and users. The results of the investigation show the extent to which attention is paid to each sustainability criterion by local authorities and hence highlight the areas requiring further attention. The results also show different ways of addressing sustainability by local authorities. The framework developed is of an evidence-based and comprehensive nature. It provides a clear vision of what needs to be addressed and what would enable the achievement of sustainable construction procurement by UK public clients. It also anticipates what the barriers are and who would be best placed to tackle them. It also provides demonstrations from the real world. The contribution of this thesis to the existing body of knowledge is threefold: (1) academic, through addressing significant research questions that have not been addressed before and providing the evidence base of the findings; (2) procedural, through developing a comprehensive framework to assist public clients in better addressing sustainable construction in developing a procurement strategy and through overcoming one of the major obstacles to obtaining sustainable procurement, which is the obstacle of confusion and disagreement regarding what needs to be addressed and; (3) methodological, through the use of the triangulation (which construction management research has been reluctant to use) and through the provision of a comprehensive review, successful application and clear demonstration of the use of the Delphi Method (which has been rarely used in construction management research despite its powerfulness). Recommendations have been provided to the key parties who are able to advance the sustainable procurement agenda. Government and regulatory bodies should reconsider the financial restrictions imposed on public clients' spending, in order to enable the investment in sustainable solutions, and should remove any inconsistencies in existing policies and regulations. Further, attention should be given to government’s publications about sustainability in relation to the quantity of these publications as well as their quality. The scope of regulations should be extended to incorporate a wider range of sustainability issues. Simple but comprehensive tools and techniques for assessing sustainability need to be developed. For individual public procurers, on top of compliance with legislation, regulations and government policies about sustainability, there is great scope to do more. Training on sustainability issues at all levels must be provided. Sufficient time must be allowed in order to address sustainability. Communication and knowledge sharing must be improved within the client organisation. Attention should be given to integrating sustainability within contractual procedures. Professional and educational bodies have an important role to play with regards to increasing the awareness of the society in relation to sustainable development. Demand by users for sustainable products should be stimulated to move the sustainable procurement agenda forward. Contractors should consider a more proactive approach together with the concept and the practices of corporate social responsibility. The supply chain should consider further integration within itself.