scholarly journals Determinants of sustainable building materials (SBM) selection on construction projects

Author(s):  
Emmanuel Chidiebere Eze ◽  
◽  
Rex Asibuodu Ugulu ◽  
Onyealilam Peter Onyeagam ◽  
Desoji Anthony Adegboyega ◽  
...  

The complexity and fragmented nature and the multiple stakeholders in the construction industry often make it difficult to come up with a firm decision regarding sustainable building materials selection. The wrong choice could negatively impact the project objective and performance outcome. This study assessed the critical factor influencing the choice of sustainable building materials (SBM) selection on construction projects in the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire, non-probability (purposive and snowball) sampling techniques, and an internet-mediated survey. Data analyses were carried out using the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical tools and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The study revealed recycled plastic, natural clay and mud, stone, bricks and tile, cellulose, stray bales, grasses, limestone, and wood timber, are the commonly used sustainable building materials. Also, their level of awareness is high while their adoption is moderate. EFA revealed that the major clusters of determinants of the choice of green building materials are: emissions minimisation, low running cost and reusability, low thermal and energy consumption efficiency, low cost and high health and safety consideration and waste minimisation. The key factors influencing the choice of sustainable building materials selection in construction are: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, materially embodied energy cost, operating and maintenance costs, non-toxic or low toxic emissions generated by the products/materials, recyclability of the building materials, availability of the technical skills, renewable (reusable) properties, inhibiting the impact of buildings on the environment, safety and health of the occupants, and appearance and aesthetic. It is recommended that consideration be given to these factors in selecting sustainable/green building materials in the designs and specifications of construction projects.

Facilities ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 436-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Visar Hoxha ◽  
Tore Haugen ◽  
Svein Bjorberg

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop the empirically tested framework about the knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Prishtina, Kosovo from the perspective of users, construction industry and facility managers. Design/methodology/approachA survey of representative sections of the population was designed and carried out in the capital city of Kosovo to determine the knowledge and perception of the population about the sustainability of building materials and to determine the main criteria of selection of sustainable building materials. The study may be used as guidelines for sustainable real estate developers in Prishtina during the materials selection process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with architects, consulting engineering companies, construction companies and facility managers from the region of Prishtina with open-ended questions also being used. FindingsResults of quantitative research find that embodied energy, durability and low energy consumption are used as key criteria that influence the materials selection process on the part of users. The results of the cross-case analysis of qualitative measure the perceptions of construction industry and facility managers, according to which durability to a large degree is the main criterion for selection of sustainable building materials followed by embodied energy and low energy consumption. Research limitations/implicationsThe study of measurement of level of knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Kosovo focuses only on one pilot city; hence, further research is needed throughout Kosovo to validate the empirically tested tool within other geographical settings in Kosovo. Originality/valueThis survey represents the first quantification of knowledge and perception regarding the sustainability of building materials among users, construction sector and facility managers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 374-377 ◽  
pp. 1254-1257
Author(s):  
Nima Amani ◽  
Seyedmohsen Hosseini

There is need to assess the potential of the construction materials for the green building future generation. Research is necessary for complete assessment of construction materials for present and future generation of green building. This paper provides a consistent basis and specific factors for construction materials based on eco-labeling sciences. Within the methodological framework, three categories of sustainable building materials’ implementation are discussed: economical implementation; environment implementation; and social implementation. The paper shows that green building improvements can be achieved with help of the choice materials based on existing factors of eco-labeling construction. Construction eco-labeling can help to select a suitable material for creating a better outdoor environment and indoor environment of building.


2013 ◽  
Vol 689 ◽  
pp. 398-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Aminu Umar ◽  
Hassan Tukur ◽  
Mohd. Faris Khamidi ◽  
Adam Umar Alkali

As education and concern pertaining to environmental and sustainability issues like implications of resources destruction, decrease in bio-diversity as well as climate change multiply, so has the need for housing developments that lead to less damaging effects on the environment, whilst enabling living standard to be sustained. Builders, developers and material providers have addressed this demand by creating approaches and technologies that minimize energy, water and main material consumption, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and sustain or enhance surrounding ecological systems and services. Several administration and non-governmental institutions in addition have aimed to change the sustainability of the building industry by developing green rating systems that can be used to evaluate the environmental performance of new and existing building. This paper discusses material resources criteria and the impact as a sustainable rating tool.


2015 ◽  
Vol 650 ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar ◽  
P.S. Chani ◽  
Rajesh Deoliya

Construction industry is one of the largest consumers of the natural resources and responsible for substantial amount of CO2emission in the world. The purpose of this paper is to carry out comprehensive literature review on the low embodied energy materials and techniques used in the existing and / or new buildings in India. The paper also compares the conventional building materials and techniques, with alternative ones to assess their superiority. An investigation into the energy consumed by the building materials and techniques is computed to find out the embodied energy requirements to prove superiority of innovative construction techniques over traditional materials.


2012 ◽  
Vol 193-194 ◽  
pp. 341-344
Author(s):  
Xin Ming Yan ◽  
Da Lu Tan ◽  
Hong Jia

The impact of the construction industry on the consumption of natural resource and environment cannot be ignored. There is no doubt that green building will be a trend in the international construction industry. It is crucial to choose the appropriate green building materials, because it acts as key factor to the development of green building. With the brief introduction of two mainstream assessment tools of green building materials in the world and two main evaluation tools that are used in China as well as their advantages and disadvantages, this article is expected to serve as the reference for development of green building materials and the assessment tools in China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 700 ◽  
pp. 256-265
Author(s):  
Nurul Akmam Naamandadin ◽  
Norhaizura Yahya ◽  
Abdul Razak Sapian

The concept of sustainable building incorporates and integrates a variety of strategies during the design, construction and operation of building projects. The use of green building materials and products represents one important strategy in the design of a building. Green building materials offer specific benefits to the building owner and building occupants such as reducing maintenance/replacement costs over the life of the building, energy conservation, improving occupant health and productivity, and greater design flexibility. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify the similarities and the differences for the selected green assessment tools which can be obtained stage by stage of the RIBA Outline Plan of Work 2013. The study had been carried out through a comparative analysis. The finding is predicted to help the construction industry practitioners to be able to understand the assessment criteria involved at every stages in the construction process concerning on material and recourses. Especially for those who are concerned on green building and to sustain our natural environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Rathnayake ◽  
◽  
D. Soorige ◽  
S.D.I.A. Amarasinghe ◽  
P. Dissanayake ◽  
...  

The construction industry plays a significant role in the economic growth of a country. Nevertheless, the construction industry has created severe adverse environmental impacts. Therefore, green building technologies are implemented to alleviate the adverse effects of the construction industry. Using green materials instead of conventional building materials with high environmental impacts has been identified as one such implementation. However, there seems to be much confusion in defining green building materials. Hence, it is vital to explore the features of green building materials. Therefore, this article investigates green features that qualify the building materials as green building materials. A qualitative research approach was selected as the research methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven green building experts. The data was analysed using content analysis. Findings revealed that recycled content, local availability of materials, embodied energy of materials, use of rapidly renewable material, usage of waste material for the production process, material wastage content in the production process and pollution prevention in the production process are the green features. The study results guide the identification of green building materials that can replace the materials with poor environmental sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Chidiebere Emmanuel Eze ◽  
Rex Asibuodu Ugulu ◽  
Samuel Ikechukwu Egwunatum ◽  
Imoleayo Abraham Awodele

AbstractThe construction industry influences and accelerates national growth and development, but it, however, contributes to unsustainable and eco-unfriendly development which impacts on the economy and environment. To encourage investment in sustainable construction, this study made a case for green building materials (GBM) products and services market in the construction industry of developing countries, through an assessment of the benefits of GBM incorporation in construction projects. The study adopted an internet-mediated questionnaire survey approach and snowball sampling techniques to gathered data from clients, consultants, professionals, and contractors/sub-contractor in the southeast geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Frequency, Percentile, Shapiro-Wilk test, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s tests, relative importance index (RII) and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse the collected data. The study revealed that the green construction market is unsaturated and under-tapped. With high awareness and low adoption levels of GBM, it was concluded that the most important benefits of GBM that will trigger demand and supply of GBM products and services are improved daylight and reduced need for artificial lighting, improves the quality of life, Increase employees productivity and reduced absenteeism, improve occupants health and comfort, higher profit and return on investment, leads to construction professionals specialisation, reducing greenhouse gas emission from building, reduces toxicity in the internal environment, low operating and maintenance cost, and creates new job opportunities. The uniqueness of this study lies in the assessment of the views of construction stakeholders' in the five states that make up the South-eastern geo-political zone of Nigeria, regarding the key benefits that could trigger the uptake and incorporation of GBM in construction. Developers and Investors in the industry could invest in green construction since there is a ready and unsaturated market for it.


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