scholarly journals Factors for the adoption of green building specifications in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Shoujian Zhang ◽  
Christine Pasquire

Purpose Green specifications are some of the most important strategies for energy saving and describe the best practice in the field of sustainable construction. They have great effects on resource saving and environmental protection. The demand of sustainable construction has spurred the emerging and development of green specifications. However, there are many factors that affect the adoption of green specifications in China. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of green specifications in China. Design/methodology/approach Based on the comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire survey has been conducted to with major stakeholders in construction area to identify issues concerning the adoption of green specifications in China. In total, 18 variables that affect the adoption of green specifications in were summarized. Then this study uses factor analysis and mean score method to analyze 18 variables which the authors get from the questionnaire. Findings Using the rank analysis and factor analysis, the variables have been ranked, analyzed and categorized into five independent factors. They are summarized as: green technology and techniques; awareness and attitude; policies and regulations; market; and economics. This study provides a variable reference for policy makers to put forward focused policies and incentives for green specifications implementation and industry practitioners to better understand of green specifications adoption in China. Originality/value This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the factors that affect the adoption of the green specifications in China. The results can also contribute to better adoption of green specifications in other developing countries.

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sana Azeem ◽  
Malik Asghar Naeem ◽  
Abdul Waheed ◽  
Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the barriers inhibiting the adoption of green building and measures to promote this approach in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Barriers and measures were identified and examined by using a combination of research methods, including literature review, questionnaire survey, and in-depth interviews with the construction industry-related practitioners working in Pakistan. Ranking technique and factor analysis were used to identify the significant issues associated with the adoption of green building practices. Findings As per the survey results, the most critical barrier is “lack of awareness among people about the importance and advantages of adopting green building practices,” followed by “lack of incentives from government” and “lack of green building codes and regulations,” respectively. The results also indicate that most important measure to promote the adoption of green buildings is “creation of public awareness toward green initiatives through seminars, workshops, and discussions,” followed by “availability of green building codes and regulations (mandatory to apply)” and “financial incentives and penalties by the government (e.g. soft loan, tax) for promoting green building practices,” respectively. Research limitations/implications Research limitation is that its findings, other than Pakistan, cannot be generalized to other developing countries. Practical implications Findings of the research will be helpful in sensitizing the regulatory agencies, the policy makers, and the building construction practitioners about the barriers to adoption of green building practices. The suggested measures will help in devising policies and economic measures to promote the construction of green and environment-friendly buildings. Social implications This research will help the common people to know about the importance of green buildings that may lead to a deviation from the practice of traditional buildings to a widespread trend of building green buildings. This will lead to drastic reduction in demand for energy and considerable monetary savings for the common people. Originality/value The findings of this study are expected to contribute valuable information to decision makers for the better understanding of key issues that call for more attention in the promotion of efforts of green building practices in Pakistan. The results are based on the perception of local stakeholders, but might also be helpful for policy makers in other countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1200 (1) ◽  
pp. 012029
Author(s):  
Amirul Hakim Hasan ◽  
Sushilawati Ismail

Abstract Sustainable construction has been the main priority in the global construction industry. For that reason, Malaysia is moving towards green building approach to promote built environment sustainability. Therefore, it is essential to raise awareness about the environmental-responsible practice among construction players particularly on the implementation of green engineering-based technology. This study aims to explore the existing green engineering-based technology and to investigate the preferred green engineering-based technology to upgrade the sustainability of existing residential buildings. The study focuses on the existing technology to be incorporated in the operation of buildings. A comprehensive literature review was carried out and 384 feedback was collected from questionnaire survey distribution among respondents in Johor Bahru. Various green engineering-based technology includes solar energy, wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting, window shading, housing landscape, natural ventilation, smart PDLC film glasses, roof thermal insulation, and smart home control panel are discussed in this paper. From this study, it was found that that the housing landscape is the most preferred with the highest mean index value followed by daylighting system and solar panel. The results indicate the preferred green engineering-based technology is because of low cost and familiarity among users. The future study should consider relating the awareness of individuals on sustainability with their preferred green technology. Perhaps, the coverage of this study should be extended by involving respondents from all over Malaysia.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Virmani ◽  
Sasadhar Bera ◽  
Rohit Kumar

PurposeThe purpose of the study is two-fold. First, to find out the different barriers that prevent the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in the case of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Second, quantifying the relative intensity of these barriers to understand the importance and dependence power of the observed variables.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected via structured questionnaires from 150 Indian MSMEs working in the automobile industry. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Finally, barriers are ranked using graph theory and matrix approach (GTMA), considering the inheritance and interaction among the observed variables.FindingsThere are a total of 22 barriers to “sustainable manufacturing”. EFA and CFA models confirmed four different categories of barriers. In order of importance, they are ranked as – production and operations related; organization related; collaboration related; and government rules and regulations.Practical implicationsThe findings show that there are multiple barriers to sustainable manufacturing. The barriers are categorized into four major categories, and their ranking provides an opportunity for prioritization from both policy and managerial perspectives. The barriers can be overcome through both policy interventions as well as through best practice sharing, benchmarking and organizational-wide initiatives.Originality/valueThe study is among the first studies that provide valuables insights on what are the 22 different barriers to sustainable manufacturing and its relevance to the MSMEs working in the automobile industry. The study would provide further opportunities for similar studies in different sectors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-530
Author(s):  
Stuart Palmer ◽  
Nilupa Udawatta

PurposeSustainable construction is widely considered to be the best practice in construction, helping to create a healthy built environment. Social media is identified as a valuable data source for research on sustainable construction, and Twitter is a popular social media platform in relation to the construction. Green Building construction is identified as one of the methods that promotes sustainable construction. The purpose of this study is to characterise “Green Building” as a topic in Twitter.Design/methodology/approachSocial network analysis methods were applied to a large set of Twitter data related to “green building”. Time sequence analysis and network visualisation were used to characterise Twitter activity and to identify influential users. Text analytics and visualisation methods were applied to the same data set to visualise the text content of Twitter posts relating to green building.FindingsPeaks in Twitter activity were associated with physical “green building” events. The network visualisation of the Twitter data revealed a complex structure and a range of types of interactions. The most “influential” users depended on the ranking method used; however, a number of users had high influence in all measures used. The tweet text visualisation showed evidence of a global and interactive audience on Twitter engaged in conversations about green building. Also, it was found that external links, emoji and popular terms related to a particular topic can be used to increase the engagement of Twitter users on that topic.Originality/valueCertain Green Building events were observed to be associated with high levels of Twitter activity. The virtual was found to be closely linked to the physical, and for the promotion of green building construction, their respective impact is potentially the most powerful when used in conjunction. The most influential Twitter accounts did not belong to one class of user, including both individuals and organisations. Twitter offers a platform for a range of stakeholders in the area of green building construction to reach a substantial audience and to be influential in the public sphere. The findings of this research provide a valuable reference for industry practitioners and researchers to deepen their understanding of the application of Twitter to green building construction, and the methods of using Twitter to promote important information related to sustainable construction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Garen

Purpose Enabling and incentivizing organizations to act based on their local knowledge is an important aspect of entrepreneurship. The significance of local knowledge in the context of schools is well recognized, but very little research has been done to investigate how to provide discretion and incentives to schools to use this knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to build a model to guide this understanding for policy makers who may wish to foster entrepreneurship for schools and also use it to critique the literature and provide an alternative approach. Design/methodology/approach The paper applies fundamentals of principal-agent theory to the ownership and governance of schools, the use of teacher incentive pay, and school reform efforts. Focus is on use of teacher incentives and on school choice initiatives. Findings The author found that many public school teachers will have attenuated incentives, but mandates to increase test score rewards may be counterproductive. Institutional reform via school choice seems more promising. The author identifies several institutional features that are expected to induce more entrepreneurial and productive activity by schools. The author discusses and critiques school reform efforts in this regard, including Tiebout competition, charter schools, voucher programs, and use of “best practice.” Originality/value Reform efforts often lack in addressing critical aspects of institutional empowerment and incentives, and research in this regard also is mostly absent. The author contends, however, that dealing and addressing such issues is a key to effective reform.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mezias ◽  
Mohamad Fakhreddin

Purpose – Over the last 15 years, articles about the base of the pyramid (BOP) have begun to appear in scholarly business journals. Although attention was driven initially by claims that corporations could earn a fortune selling to these consumers, it became clear that this is difficult. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – To move beyond this difficulty, the authors emphasize the iterative boundary capabilities built by local, for profit enterprises as the key to creating markets at the BOP. Findings – The authors argue that the evolution of the business models to permit firms to earn profits and have positive social impact requires building iterative boundary capabilities and support this claim by reviewing two cases of community based non-profits. Research limitations/implications – Future research should demonstrate that the process the authors observed in these two cases applies in other contexts. Scaling social impact will require sharing knowledge about iterative boundary capabilities and developing best practices that can help effective allocation of patient capital to share best practice and guide public policy. Practical implications – Social entrepreneurs can conceptualize their own enterprises in terms of iterative boundary capabilities. Social investors can use the framework to assess and advise enterprises in which they may or have invested. Policy makers can enact laws and other legal actions to facilitate the formation of iterative boundary capabilities. Social implications – The authors see the framework as part of a broader move toward business models that pursue both positive social impact and profits. Originality/value – The authors link a structuring approach with an institutional perspective to enhance business models that pursue profit and create positive social impact in BOP communities.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Dwivedi ◽  
Jitender Madaan ◽  
Ernesto D.R. Santibanez Gonzalez ◽  
Md. Abdul Moktadir

PurposeThe execution of product recovery strategies and the definition of an adequate system to manage its performance are crucial to move toward the employment of a successful circular economy (CE) concept. Defining strategies for the efficient management of product recovery requires product data that is difficult to obtain, making it harder to handle. However, efficient product recovery management can play a key role in shifting companies from a linear economy model to a more sustainable CE model, providing economic benefits and increasing customer satisfaction by recovering and adding value to the discarded product. Therefore, this study aims to provide better models to support decision-making and to evaluate product recovery performance.Design/methodology/approachThe present study highlights a comprehensive two-stage decision approach to identify and examine the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance improvement of an information facilitated product recovery system (IFPRS) in a CE context. In the first phase, a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology is adopted to categorize the KPIs by employing exploratory factor analysis and measurement of the model fit is obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis. Further, in the second phase, the KPIs are ranked and prioritized on the basis of expert’s recommendations adopting fuzzy-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS).FindingsEmpirical investigation is conducted by compiling data from an association of six decision-makers (DMs) and two DMs from a respective prospect. The results highlight that “Technology Capacity” is ranked as the highest and is the most prominent KPI for successful employment of IFPRS practices. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in the management of their companies.Originality/valueAs far as the authors know, no study has been performed till date to identify and construct a structural KPIs model for IFPRS performance improvement in the context of CE. The paper, therefore, proposes a two-phase SEM-TOPSIS technique to measure the impact of KPIs which is a new integration in the existing literature. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in managing their organizations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1063-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaber Shurrab ◽  
Matloub Hussain ◽  
Mehmood Khan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between sustainable and green construction and significantly contribute to empirical investigations related to the impact of green construction factors on sustainable performance and to test the theory of planned behavior in the construction context and empirically assess green construction factors and the performance model. The model incorporates green construction factors that link construction activities with suppliers and customers to support environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 120 construction industry respondents were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, which identified seven green construction factors. Two conformity factor analysis models were created to test the relationship fitness of the components and measure the impact of green construction factors on the sustainable performance of the construction. Findings The results provide substantial evidence that shows that the adoption of green construction factors by construction firms leads to improved sustainable performance. The overall perspective of respondents within the construction industry, according to the questionnaire survey, shows that the benefits, such as an improved corporate image and sustainable competitive advantage, increase compliance with customers’ expectations within the construction industry. Research limitations/implications This study covered private construction companies and measured the construction industry professional’s feedback without including the clients. Practical implications The results of this study will support the future success of ecological sustainability and green construction initiatives, mainly on enforcement and incentives; moreover, the results of this study will ensure that regulations will cover green practices for all types of projects and will be formally monitored for compliance. Originality/value The originality of this paper stems from drawing boundaries between green and sustainable construction and exploring the impact of green management on the sustainable performance of the construction industry. Most of the related previous works have used the concepts of green and sustainability interchangeably, and there is a lack of studies in this regard, particularly in the construction industry.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 528-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achini Shanika Weerasinghe ◽  
Thanuja Ramachandra

Purpose In Sri Lanka, a limited number of buildings have been certified for incorporation of green features and the reasons are attributed to green building investors who continue to perceive that green buildings are expensive. Further, the green building investors fail to appreciate the subsequent benefits received by those buildings during the operational phase. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare the life cycle cost (LCC) of green certified industrial manufacturing buildings with a similar form of the conventional buildings to establish the economic sustainability of green buildings. Design/methodology/approach The study involved a comparative case study analysis of two green buildings and a similar natured conventional building. The data required to perform the LCC analysis were extracted through documentary analysis. Findings The comparative analysis shows that the construction cost of a green industrial manufacturing building is 37 per cent higher than that of a similar natured conventional building while operation, maintenance and the end life cost of green buildings result in 28, 22 and 11 per cent savings, respectively. This results in an overall cost saving of 21 per cent in green buildings. Originality/value The current study provides an assessment of the total LCC of green industrial manufacturing buildings. In Sri Lanka, green industrial manufacturing buildings offer LCC saving of 21 per cent over its lifetime compared to similar natured conventional buildings. Thus, comparative analyses would enable green investors to make informed decisions before commissioning their investment in green facilities and thereby promote sustainable construction in Sri Lanka.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anugamini Priya Srivastava ◽  
Sonal Shree

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which green involvement (GI) can affect employee perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR), with the intervening role of green training (GT).Design/methodology/approachThe sample for the study was collected from employees working in tourist hotels. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the fit of the hypothesized model, and hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe results showed that GI of employees has a positive and significant relationship with their perception of CSR. The study further revealed that when there is an increase in GT, the relationship between GI and perception of CSR gets more positive.Originality/valueIt adds value to the ongoing research in the field of environment, training and CSR. The findings will be helpful for policy makers and researchers in the field of stakeholder management.


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