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Sustainable construction projects affect various stakeholders with different social, environmental and economic interests. It is essential that the decision makers maintain effective communication with relevant groups to avoid project failures. Although citizen participation offers a means of better addressing and meeting stakeholder concerns and expectations, the decision/evaluations of contemporary sustainable projects are becoming ever more complicated, with an increasing number of stakeholders involved to actively defend their own interests. In response, this paper provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the stakeholders of sustainable construction in China and quantifies their influence in decision/evaluations by semi-structured interviews (in research stage I) and a three-round Delphi survey (in research stage II). Follow-up interviews (in research stage III) are carried out to collect more in-depth views concerning the characteristics and the respective importance of each stakeholder group involved. The findings indicate that the government is the most influential entity and the extent to which its intervention is needed in balancing the interests of other stakeholders presents a major challenge. The high potential influence of end-users is also identified, suggesting the need for a more transparent and inclusive participatory decision/evaluation process in the country. An enhanced future role for NGOs is further identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although sustainable development in the construction industry has attracted much attention, relevant studies on the regional scale analysis of industrial energy performance are still rare in China, especially for Guangdong province, which is currently on the frontier and fast track of national low-carbon development. In response, this study integrates a multi-regional input-output method with field-based operational data to quantify the total embodied energy consumption and energy transfers from the construction industry and assess the life cycle energy use of residential and office buildings in Guangdong Province. The results show that the embodied energy consumption of the provincial construction industry is localization dominant and fossil fuel oriented, which accounts for approximately 18.6% of the total regional energy consumption. The geographical connection and resource characteristic are the two factors that influence the interregional energy transmissions induced by construction activities in Guangdong province. The result of uncertainty analysis indicates that the mean value of energy intensities simulated by Monte Carlo simulation is highly consistent with the deterministic results. It is crucial to improve the accuracy of the input-output analysis by providing sufficient economic information. At last, a number of recommendations are given through the technology, product, and management aspects at the industrial and building levels. The local government and construction department can benefit from implementing such environment-friendly, technology innovative and multi-disciplinary solutions in the full-process management and improvement of energy reduction of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the accelerating urbanization in China, the right-of-use transfer (RUT) of rural collectively owned construction land provides a promising means of increasing the efficiency of rural land use and promoting urban and rural integration. There are various ways of doing this and no universal mode of RUT that fits all areas because of the divergent cultural characteristics and geographical features of different regions and locations in China and decisions need to be made on a case-by-case basis. This paper proposes an analytical framework to help in such decision making. Firstly, the literature concerning the RUT of collective construction land is reviewed and six typical pilot reform areas are studied. Secondly, a theoretical analytical framework for the choice of RUT mode is developed based on the findings of the literature review and the experiences of the pilot reform areas. Thirdly, Zhoushan City's new urban district is used as a case study to demonstrate and test the framework, and an appropriate RUT mechanism is suggested. The analytical framework can serve as a guideline for local governments to make decisions on the form of collective construction land RUT throughout China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic studies on building industry have much to contribute to the mission of sustainable development and yet there has been a lack of proactive engagement with environmentalism in the project-based organizations (PBOs). The embedding of “green” in project-based organization is made particularly problematic due to the increasing conflict between organization-wide change initiatives and emerging cost occurred during daily operation. An independent environmental representative is introduced to develop a new mode of PBOs to help environmental paradigm shift in the construction industry. The paper is a contribution towards an environmental understanding of the project management process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Implementing international projects in a foreign country is a high risk business activity. Research on this subject has tended to emphasize traditional risks. However, an emerging new type of “social risk” in the globalization era has been ignored. With the rapid urbanization progress in China, many international contractors have entered the Chinese construction market due to the huge demand in the market. However, the differences in the social, economic and cultural backgrounds among the international contractors and their partners have led to difficulties and occasional disputes among various participants. In particular, they are presented with various social risks in a new environment. This paper identifies the key social risk factors associated with international contractors from a questionnaire survey and case study. The social risks highlighted from the questionnaire survey include “local protectionism (for local projects)”, “risk of poor social relations between various parties in the local region”, “permit or license risk in dealing with land use and construction planning issues due to policy changes” and “dispute risk with local construction labor”. Several risk response strategies for international contractors are also illustrated by the case study from China. Suggestions developed in the case study can provide useful references to those international contractors who have entered or are planning to operate their businesses in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While determination of driving forces for eco-innovation has been evaluated largely in the literature, questions about its implementation in the construction industry and the factors that can predict its future likelihood of adoption remain unanswered. The current study aims to determine the factors that influence adoption of eco-innovative practices in the construction industry in context of Hong Kong. The study develops a conceptual framework based on institutional theory, strategic choice theory and resource-based view and tests this framework by using data collected from 140 construction-based firms in Hong Kong, providing a response rate of 43%. Hierarchical regression analysis and linear regression analysis are used for testing the various relationships. The results revealed that regulatory instruments, managerial consent and organizational measures play an important role in influencing the firms to be eco-innovative. However, in case of determining future likelihood of adoption, although regulatory instruments and managerial consent do influence, firms that are already equipped with eco-innovative practices are most likely to adopt in future as well. Therefore, the study demonstrates a strong mediating role of eco-innovative practices on likelihood of adoption. Eco-innovation is also positively related to financial profitability. These findings support the Porter hypothesis and demonstrates path dependency for innovation breeds innovation. Considering that the findings are derived from a particular sector, it provides meaningful insights for the practitioners involved in real-time implementation. • A conceptual model of drivers, eco-innovation, and adoption likelihood is developed. • Model is tested on surveyed samples of construction firms. • Regulations and internal factors positively impact eco-innovation. • Eco-innovation strongly mediates drivers' impact on likelihood of adoption. • Affirms the path dependency for innovation breeds innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Waste management scene is in urgent need of robotic waste sorter. Nails and screws, as part of the construction waste scene, are hard to be found and can therefore, cause damage to the site's construction safety and increase the material loss. This paper presents a construction waste recycling robot. In order to complete the recycling tasks, robots are expected to inspect the entire working environment and identify the target objects. This research uses neural network technology to assist the robot patrol in an unknown work environment and to use faster R-CNN methods to find scattered nails and screws in real time, so that the robot can automatically recycle nails and screws. This study introduces computer vision technology and a full-coverage path-planning algorithm into the field of construction waste management and proposes a novel construction waste recycling approach. Based on this robot, we can continue our study of construction waste recycling robots that can automatically sort and recycle most construction waste in the future. Highlights • An automatic robotic system for material recycling on construction sites was developed. • The recycling robot aims to acquire and sort construction waste on site. • Software-controlled patrol, detection and recycling at high automation level. • High efficiency and effectiveness with low computational burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's energy consumption in the building sector (BEC) is not counted as a separate type of energy consumption, but divided and mixed in other sectors in China's statistical system. This led to the lack of historical data on China's BEC. Moreover, previous researches' shortages such as unsystematic research on BEC, various estimation methods with complex calculation process, and difficulties in data acquisition resulted in “heterogeneous” of current BEC in China. Aiming to these deficiencies, this study proposes a set of China building energy consumption calculation method (CBECM) by splitting out the building related energy consumption mixed in other sectors in the composition of China Statistical Yearbook-Energy Balance Sheet . Then, China's BEC from 2000 to 2014 are estimated using CBECM and compared with other studies. Results show that, from 2000 to 2014, China's BEC increased 1.7 times, rising from 301 to 814 million tons of standard coal consumed, with the BEC percentage of total energy consumption stayed relatively stable between 17.7% and 20.3%. By comparison, we find that our results are reliable and the CBECM has the following advantages over other methods: data source is authoritative, calculation process is concise, and it is easy to obtain time series data on BEC etc. The CBECM is particularly suitable for the provincial government to calculate the local BEC, even in the circumstance with statistical yearbook available only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy conservation has become a considerable issue in construction industry for achieving sustainable development. Therefore it is crucial for policy-makers to look for optimized and flexible tools to measure the total energy consumption efficiency in construction industry. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be applied for multiple input and output decision-making units (DMUs) productivity measurement. DEA-based Malmquist productivity index (MPI) can be used as a tool for measuring the productivity change longitudinally. In this paper, we use input-oriented model to measure the energy consumption productivity change of the construction industry from 2004 to 2009 with data in 26 provinces of China. It is found that only Guangdong demonstrated effective energy improving in the whole reference period. It also identified the regional groups always lie on the efficiency frontier of energy consumption as benchmarks. Regional analysis shows that energy conservation gaps exist between northeastern, western region and central, eastern region. DEA-based Malmquist productivity index provides a good way to measure the energy consumption efficiency and can help policy-makers to improve strategies of sustainable development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure projects have major effects on implementing the principles of sustainable development. Infrastructure projects will continue to be developed in the coming years, particularly in developing countries such as China and India; therefore, it is important to find methods and solutions for improving the sustainability of them. Although existing studies have suggested various methods for practicing sustainable development principles in the process of implementing infrastructure projects, effective assessment indicators are unavailable, which presents a barrier to the effective assessment of infrastructure project sustainability. This study introduces key assessment indicators (KAIs) for assessing the sustainability performance of an infrastructure project. The research data used for analysis were collected from a questionnaire survey given to three groups of experts, including government officials, professionals, and clients in the Chinese construction industry. The fuzzy set theory was used to establish KAIs. A procedure for using the KAIs is demonstrated by a case study. These research findings provide an alternative solution to appraise the sustainability of infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emission Trading System has been promoted as a tool for providing financial and cost-effective incentives to carbon emitters to apply emission reduction measures. The mechanism of Emission Trading System has been applied in many energy-intensive industries such as electric power industry. However, it appears that Emission Trading System finds limited application in building sector due to the unique characteristics of buildings. This study presents an identification and analysis on the factors affecting the implementation of Emission Trading System in the building sector within the context of China. Research data are collected from semi-structured interviews with a group of carefully selected experts. As a result, fifteen representative factors have been identified, and discussions on their representativeness have been conducted. The intricate interrelationships between the identified factors have been examined based on a hierarchy structure established by using the Interpretive Structural Modeling method. Furthermore, these factors have been classified into four categories: autonomous factors, dependent factors, linkage factors, and driving factors, which is based on the calculation of the factors' driving/dependence power by applying the Matrice d’Impacts croises-multipication appliqué a classement (MICMAC) technique. This classification provides a different profile between individual factors from that by traditional study where the relative importance is generally given between factors. The findings on these factors provide valuable references for helping policy designers and practitioners adopt effective policies and measures to promote the development of ETS in the Chinese building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual generation of construction waste is immense in both developed and developing economies. The environmental impacts caused by disposal of this waste stream are in multiple aspects, involving soil pollution, air pollution, water pollution, etc. Meanwhile, the green building concept is becoming more and more popular with the public; hence the building developers are eager to obtain green building certifications to increase the added value of buildings. Green building rating system (GBRS) is a tool for evaluating whether a particular building is green or not, and corresponding rank is given according to the detailed assessment requirements. In previous studies, GBRS has acted as a guideline to improve energy use and indoor air quality. However, the effectiveness of GBRS as applied to construction waste management has not been explored. To bridge this research gap, this study examines five selected GBRSs worldwide and proposes a comparative analysis, attempting to give a better understanding of measures that assist in improving construction waste management. The importance of construction waste management in different GBRSs is evaluated according to the accumulation of the corresponding scores of the related assessment items. Furthermore, the foci of construction waste management in different GBRSs are investigated in three dimensions based on the “3Rs” principle which is referring to reduce, reuse and recycle. The research findings reveal that of the five rating systems studied, the highest relative significance index of waste management is given to Evaluation Standard for Green Building, while the lowest belongs to Green Building Index. In relation to the 3Rs principle, Evaluation Standard for Green Building and Green Globes focus more on the reduce principle, while the other three systems propose waste management measures that largely based on the reuse and recycle principles. Discussions are further given based on the outcomes of the comparative analysis, future research topics are suggested as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry contributes significantly to environmental degradation, and governments in many countries which are endeavouring to address the situation. Malaysia is no exception. This paper examines the path towards green construction project delivery in Malaysia, focusing on current green policies and initiatives by governments. The historical waves in Malaysian approaches to tackling environmental issues are described, starting from the early 20th century, through the 1990s to the present, and the influence of these approaches on construction practices is analysed. Based on the findings of policy review, essential green construction practices aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of construction activities on the environment in Malaysia were identified. This paper paves the way for future studies in construction and sustainability in Malaysia, especially for the Southeast Asian region where sustainability practices are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]