scholarly journals Green Building Practices on Waste Minimization in China Construction Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-25
Author(s):  
Bernice Xin Yi Lee ◽  
Mohanadoss Ponraj ◽  
Hasti Widyasamratri ◽  
Jie Wang
Keyword(s):  
Material Selection ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Standard Operating Procedure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Recycling Rate ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Construction Waste

In China, a common practice for construction waste management is to dispose of it in landfills. A 5% construction waste recycling rate and ongoing insufficient landfilling practice resulted in decreased environmental and socioeconomic well-being. Management hierarchy that starts with rethink, redesign, reduce, reuse, refurbish, recycle, incineration, and finally disposal is a probable strategy to facilitate construction waste minimization in China. The green building concept pursued by China also served as a promising tool in evaluating the performance of Chinese green buildings. Barriers include lack of standard operating procedure in waste minimization, immature recycling technology and an undeveloped recycling market, leading to poor performance in construction waste minimization. Several strategies are proposed to ameliorate the current condition in China's construction sector. Even though results reveal that China falls behind in the engagement of green building compared to developed countries, green materials are utilized in various building structures such as flooring, roofs, walls, and outdoor pavements. Lastly, the benefits and shortcomings of two green material technologies, in particular material selection and recycling, applied in China were reviewed. 

DRIVING FACTORS FOR CONSTRUCTION WASTE MINIMIZATION: EMPIRICAL STUDIES IN HONG KONG AND SHENZHEN

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zezhou Wu ◽  
Ann T.W. Yu ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Yigang Wei ◽  
Xiaosen Huo
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Affecting Factors ◽  
Construction Waste

Effective waste management is an important aspect of green building development. However, a number of studies find that construction waste minimization actions are not satisfactorily performed in practice. Thus, it is of significance to identify the driving factors that influence construction practitioners' waste minimization behavior. This paper aims to explore the driving factors by comparing the affecting factors and construction waste minimization behavior between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Firstly, through a comprehensive literature review, potential affecting factors were categorized into five groups: background information variables, construction waste minimization intentions, economic viability, governmental supervision, and project constraints. Based on the identified factors, a questionnaire was initially designed and then refined through a focus group meeting with three experienced experts. A total of 166 questionnaires were collected and non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test) were conducted to investigate the underlying driving factors. Results revealed that background information variables play insignificant roles in construction waste minimization. Compared with other affecting factors (i.e., waste minimization intentions, governmental supervision, project constraints), economic viability is the most important driving factor that determines construction waste minimization. Results suggested that local governments should make policies that increase practitioners' profit, rather than just increasing their intentions or regulating waste management behavior.

A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF GREEN BUILDINGS WITH RESPECT TO CONSTRUCTION WASTE MINIMIZATION USING BIG DATA IN HONG KONG

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Weisheng Lu ◽  
Fan Xue ◽  
Jinying Xu
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Green Buildings ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Construction Waste ◽  
Sustainability Performance

It is generally accepted that the extra construction costs involved in the construction of green buildings will result in benefits including lower operation costs, higher sale/rental prices, and better sustainability performance. However, there has been little recognition of construction waste minimization (CWM) as one of the important benefits of sustainability performance as designated in green building. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the cost benefit of green buildings with respect to CWM by using big data in the context of Hong Kong. The study is innovative in that it conducts a cost-benefit analysis specifically on CWM of green buildings by mining large-volume datasets. A surprise finding is that Hong Kong's green building rating system (GBRS), i.e. the BEAM Plus, has a negligible effect on CWM, while it generally increases construction costs by approximately 24%. Hence, the increased construction cost of green buildings cannot be offset by CWM if corresponding items in the BEAM Plus are not properly incentivized. This paper demonstrates the necessity of emphasizing CWM-related items in GBRSs and of taking appropriate measures to deal with them. It also provides better decision-support information on the increased construction costs and the attainable benefits of green building that developers may wish to consider when initiating a green building project.

Growth and Social Capital: Empirical Analysis of the Relationship

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Ksenia V. Bagmet
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Level Of Economic Development

The article provides an empirical test of the hypothesis of the influence of the level of economic development of the country on the level of development of its social capital based on panel data analysis. In this study, the Indices of Social Development elaborated by the International Institute of Social Studies under World Bank support are used as an indicators of social capital development as they best meet the requirements for complexity (include six integrated indicators of Civic Activism, Clubs and Associations, Intergroup Cohesion, Interpersonal Safety and Trust, Gender Equality, Inclusion of Minorities), comprehensiveness of measurement, sustainability. In order to provide an empirical analysis, we built a panel that includes data for 20 countries divided into four groups according to the level of economic development. The first G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom); the second group is the economically developed countries, EU members and Turkey, the third group is the new EU member states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania); to the fourth group – post-Soviet republics (Armenia, Georgia, Russian Federation, Ukraine). The analysis shows that the parameters of economic development of countries cannot be completely excluded from the determinants of social capital. Indicators show that the slowdown in economic growth leads to greater cohesion among people in communities, social control over the efficiency of distribution and use of funds, and enforcement of property rights. The level of tolerance to racial diversity and the likelihood of negative externalities will depend on the change in the rate of economic growth. Also, increasing the well-being of people will have a positive impact on the level of citizens’ personal safety, reducing the level of crime, increasing trust. Key words: social capital, economic growth, determinant, indice of social development.

scholarly journals SEM-PLS Approach to Green Building

Encyclopedia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 472-481
Author(s):  
Nasim Aghili ◽  
Mehdi Amirkhani
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Renewable Materials ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Building Operation ◽  
The Impact

Green buildings refer to buildings that decrease adverse environmental effects and maintain natural resources. They can diminish energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the usage of non-renewable materials, water consumption, and waste generation while improving occupants’ health and well-being. As such, several rating tools and benchmarks have been developed worldwide to assess green building performance (GBP), including the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in the United Kingdom, German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in the United States and Canada, Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) in Japan, Green Star in Australia, Green Mark in Singapore, and Green Building Index in Malaysia. Energy management (EM) during building operation could also improve GBP. One of the best approaches to evaluating the impact of EM on GBP is by using structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM is a commanding statistical method to model testing. One of the most used SEM variance-based approaches is partial least squares (PLS), which can be implemented in the SmartPLS application. PLS-SEM uses path coefficients to determine the strength and significance of the hypothesised relationships between the latent constructs.

scholarly journals Embodied Carbon as a Material Selection Criterion: Insights from Sri Lankan Construction Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2202
Author(s):  
Amalka Nawarathna ◽  
Muditha Siriwardana ◽  
Zaid Alwan
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
The Government

The choice of materials is crucial in responding to the increasing embodied carbon (EC) impacts of buildings. Building professionals involved in material selection for construction projects have a vital role to play in this regard. This paper aimed to explore the extent to which building professionals in Sri Lanka considered EC as a material selection criterion. A questionnaire survey was conducted among a sample of building professionals in Sri Lanka. The results indicated that the consideration of EC as a material selection criterion remained low among key professionals, such as architects, engineers, and sustainability managers, despite their reasonable influencing powers and knowledge of EC. Those respondents who had considered EC as a selection criterion said they had been primarily driven by green building rating systems and previous experience. Those respondents who had not considered EC during material selection commonly reported that they had been prevented from doing so by the lack of regulations and the lack of alternative low carbon materials. Respondents believed that the involvement of actors, such as the government, professional bodies, environmental organizations, activist groups, and the public, may be significant in promoting the greater consideration of EC during material selection.

Foundations of International Aid

1960 ◽  
Vol 329 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
Jane M. Hoey
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
International Aid ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
The Individual

The newly developing countries desire not only political independence but also economic progress for their people—a progress which they can see, and are now aware of, in the rest of the world. The role of the developed countries is to extend aid to the needy. Moral foundations underlie the donor's contributions, but they are more than that, they are the means for acquiring support for international aid in the donor's country. The United States must assume the leader ship among' the free nations in granting aid; she must accept this role because of her economic achievements and technologi cal advantages. Donators of such aid should take cognizance of the complementary character and interrelatedness of economic and social development. For economic development, however much it is sought, is not an end in itself, rather the aim is the well-being and happiness of the individual. Such a goal neces sitates economic aid accompanied by social aid. Social welfare can also be a vehicle to achieve peace, inasmuch as people-to- people relationships generate brotherly love—the only lasting foundation for peace.—Ed.

scholarly journals Strategies for Effective Waste Reduction and Management of Building Construction Projects in Highly Urbanized Cities—A Case Study of Hong Kong

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Ann T. W. Yu ◽  
Irene Wong ◽  
Zezhou Wu ◽  
Chi-Sun Poon
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Construction Waste ◽  
Waste Management Practices

Hong Kong is a densely populated city with high-rise developments, and as in other metropolitan cities, the amount of waste generated from construction projects in the city is increasing annually. The capacity of existing landfills is expected to be saturated by the 2020s. Construction waste management has been implemented for years but the performance is still not satisfactory. The aim of this research paper is to explore and formulate strategies and measures for effective construction waste management and reduction in highly urbanized cities such as Hong Kong. A desktop study on construction waste management practices was carried out for a preliminary understanding of the current situation in Hong Kong. Semistructured interviews and focus group meetings were further conducted to shed light on how to improve construction waste reduction and management in Hong Kong. The main contributions of this research study are the potential short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies, which are related to the design stage, tender stage, construction stage, and government support. The five major strategies recommended are financial benefits to stakeholders, public policies in facilitating waste sorting, government supports for the green building industry, development of a mature recycling market, and education and research in construction waste minimization and management.

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