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Huge amounts of waste paper are discarded every year, of which only a minute fraction is recycled and the rest is dumped in landfills. Paper fibres can only be recycled a limited number of times before they become too short or weak to make high-quality recycled paper. This eventually adds to the amount of waste paper being generated and not recycled. It would thus be advantageous to use this waste as a low-cost sustainable construction material and make it a value-added product. In this study, Portland pozzolana cement (fly ash based), waste newsprint paper and water were used to prepare paper concrete cubes. Initially, investigations were performed to determine the optimum soaking time required for softening the paper fibres of the newsprint paper. The study mainly addressed the strength and weight loss of the paper concrete cubes with age. The results indicate that, at 28 d, the paper concrete lost 25-50% of its initial weight and a maximum cubic compressive strength of 5·40 MPa was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd) has identified that there is a strong alignment between the High Speed Two strategic goals and potential circular economy benefits and has therefore adopted a holistic approach to realising these benefits in the delivery of the UK's new high-speed rail network. This paper describes the work undertaken to date, including establishing, embedding and communicating circular economy principles, coordinating the realisation of opportunities and reporting outcomes, as well as providing lessons learnt for other infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial from the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Engineering Sustainability. The editorial discusses the role of new technologies and techniques in construction materials and management in promoting sustainable development. It highlights three research papers that explore the use of fly-ash as a more environmentally sustainable building material. The papers discuss the use of alternative alkali activators to enhance the strength of fly-ash in construction. The editorial also includes other papers that focus on sustainable construction processes, project management, and the acceptance of autonomous vehicles. Overall, the document emphasizes the importance of continued innovation and sustainable practices in transitioning towards a more sustainable future. [Extracted from the article]

How do we allocate natural resources in an equitable way? For many, Garret Hardin's 'The tragedy of the commons' published in Science in 1968 became a parable of its time, giving succour to both environmentalist and capitalist alike. The intervening years have seen developments in environmental economics, participatory planning, environmental regulation, governance and resource efficiency, all strands that Hardin would recognise. New multi-disciplinary fields have emerged in topics such as socio-ecological systems theory, environmental cognition and resilience, all things that Hardin alludes to. The new science of ecosystem services is providing a robust framework for natural resource evaluation as it starts to underpin exactly what nature provides to us all in common. As we face the challenges of a changing climate and other 'wicked' problems, is Hardin's analysis of a 'class of problem with no technical solution' still a useful one? Followers of the debate over sustainable communities and the 'big society' may think so. This paper aims to introduce the reader to Hardin's now classic tragic scenario of natural resource use, place it within an evolving corpus of environmental literature, explore a little of the author's own life and attempt to asses its impact and relevance today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, interest in artificial intelligence has been increasing in the energy sector, with the aim of improving efficiency and decreasing overall consumption. Innovative methods such as pattern recognition, artificial neural networks or other machine learning methods are being investigated to improve the accuracy of forecasting. Moreover, a suitable operation strategy may improve the efficiency of energy systems. The electric equivalent load is an operation strategy proposed for systems where electricity and heat (or cooling) are requested simultaneously, and there is equipment such as a heat pump to cover the heating (or cooling) load. In this paper, the electric equivalent load is defined to cover both the electricity request of the user and the electricity consumption of the heat pump. Thus, the energy system follows the electric equivalent load to cover both electricity and heating/cooling requests. This study aims to analyse how the accuracy varies when forecasting energy requests (e.g. electricity and heat) separately with respect to forecasting directly the electric equivalent load. The results show that electric equivalent load forecasting averages the accuracy of electricity and heat, improving the operation system by decreasing the electricity demand from the grid and increasing energy production during peak hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) systems offer a more sustainable energy option than ground-mounted ones by avoiding land use and enabling decentralised power generation. This paper presents a conceptual hybrid design for an actual hydropower plant and a simulated FSPV plant, considering relevant factors. Five significant reservoir dams in India were chosen to test the proposed design, and as a novelty, the cooling effect was considered. In general, the cooling impact is dependent on the kind of supporting structure. Metrics such as generation, carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions, water savings and extra hydropower were computed in this work by considering two kinds of floating structures. The results indicate that with a total coverage of less than 20%, the hydroelectric reservoirs can double their installed power capacity. In terms of energy gain, the hydroelectric plant generated 92% more energy on average after integrating floating solar power. Furthermore, the capacity factor of the plant grew by an average of 18.43%. The total water savings in this scenario are 134.6 million m3, resulting in an additional 34.97 GWh of annual hydroelectricity generation. The cost–benefit analysis shows that the energy produced by FSPV is the most cost effective, ranging from 2.65 to 3.05 Indian rupees/kWh (US$0.03–0.04/kWh), depending on the FSPV platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many possibilities to improve sustainable management in the construction industry. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the influence of construction practices, organised by factor in sustainability dimensions. For this, a survey with 80 project managers from the construction industry was performed. The participants answered about the sustainable management practices used in their projects, as well as their performance in relation to indicators in the social, economic and environmental dimensions. The data were analysed through confirmatory factor analysis and logistic regression. It was possible to verify that not all of the analysed factors (as well as the practices that compose them) could be considered significant to explain all dimensions of sustainability. Another interesting finding is that the influence levels of the factors vary widely, indicating that some factors are more important than others in the pursuit of (one or more) sustainability dimensions. In addition, contrary to expectations, not all factors (and therefore not all practices) have a positive impact on the sustainability of construction projects. The resource management and pollution factor negatively influences economic sustainability. This study sought to broaden the understanding of sustainable practices in construction project management and guide future analysis and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolymers are green and sustainable cementitious materials that are a possible alternative to cement due to lower energy consumption and emissions. Volcanic ash can be used as raw material to prepare geopolymers by alkali activation owing to its high silica and alumina content. However, research on volcanic-ash-based geopolymers is still limited and no consensus on the optimal alkali activator and reaction mechanism has been obtained. This study investigates the effect of alkali activators with different cations on the mechanical properties and microstructure of volcanic-ash-based geopolymers. The flexural and compressive strengths were evaluated. X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy and silicon-29 (29Si) magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance were used to characterise the microstructural properties. The results showed that the alkali activation effect of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on volcanic ash was superior to those of lithium hydroxide (LiOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH), particularly at a concentration of 8 mol/l, with 28-day flexural and compressive strengths of 3.0 and 28.3 MPa, respectively. Microstructural results indicated that the sodium hydroxide-activated geopolymers formed dense, continuous, highly polymerised silica–aluminate gels. This paper provides a proper ratio scheme for activating the volcanic ash from similar deposits and promoting practical applications conducive to sustainable engineering development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous advancement of urbanisation, a large amount of construction and demolition waste (CDW) is generated in large-scale construction activities, which has aggravated the problems of environmental pollution, resource waste and ecological damage. The recycling of CDW can effectively solve such problems, and research on this topic has important practical significance. This paper selects 1090 articles on CDW recycling included in the core database of Web of Science from 2000 to 2021 as samples and uses two sorts of bibliometric analysis software, VOSviewer and CiteSpace, to obtain the annual publication volume, country, journal, author, institution, keywords and co-citation visualisation atlas, analysing the hotspots and development trends of CDW recycling research from the two dimensions of time and space. The analysis results show that in China, compared with developed countries, the research on CDW recycling and utilisation started late, and the phenomenon of focusing on construction and ignoring environmental protection is obvious. At present, the relevant research mainly focuses on three aspects: the performance of recycled aggregates, the management of CDW recycling and the strategy for improving CDW recycling. The bibliometric analysis results help scholars in this field to clarify quickly the development trend of CDW recycling, provide research directions for China's CDW recycling and point out research hotspots, aiming to improve China's CDW recycling rate and promote sustainable social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research is examining how nature-based solutions (NBS) are offering planners, politicians and engineers options to promote responses to a wide range of biophysical and socio-economic problems. However, despite the increasing popularity of NBS, there is limited analysis available on how these 'solutions' align with urban problems, at what scale they are most effective and what costs are associated with investment in urban nature. This paper analyses current approaches to urban sustainability through an examination of the EU Horizon 2020-funded project Urban GreenUP, in Liverpool (UK), to deconstruct how rhetoric translates to practical applications of NBS interventions. It interrogates the interactions of projects, policies and political buy-in for NBS and argues that an integrated understanding of scale, function and location is needed to successfully address issues of urban climate change vulnerability. This is contextualised against the wider discussions of NBS associated with other EU-funded projects. It concludes that although investment in NBS offers a useful approach to development, they cannot overcome existing barriers to investment in environmental improvements without attention to the same barriers that have always existed. Moreover, the paper argues that the promotion of NBS as solutions to problems is effective only when the problems are transparently and collaboratively defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need within society to manage its impacts on the environment. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ISO 14001 tool, based on the original BS 7750 standard, was created in 1996 and subsequently updated in 2004 and 2015; it has become the most prevalent type of environmental management system (EMS) adopted worldwide. Engineering and construction organisations wanting to implement ISO 14001 should be fully acquainted with the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an EMS. Using the Scopus academic database, this study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses method to identify and select publications (since 1999) for systematic review. Examination of the chosen articles (n = 46) revealed a limited number of works per annum, with a peak in 2011 (n = 6). The most frequently reported benefits are 'enrichment of green corporate and public image', 'improved environmental performance' and 'regulation compliance', while the barriers are 'costs', 'lack of experience, expertise or knowledge' and 'lack of training'. Further analysis, using the VOSviewer software, shows the network relationships between article keywords, notably that sustainability is increasingly listed (since 2011) and links with most other keywords. This suggests that the engineering and construction sectors may be seeing beyond the cost barrier and are realising the positive difference that ISO 14001 can contribute to their operations, their local/national communities and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 outbreak changed travel behaviour in many ways. This paper evaluates these changes in Tehran, Iran, from a transportation sustainability perspective. It uses data from travel surveys before and during the pandemic to evaluate changes in travel activity and their impacts on public transportation (PT) system costs and revenues, air quality and traffic crashes. A structural equation model (SEM) is used to assess the potential impact of passengers' characteristics, details of each transportation mode and the severity of Covid-19 on travel behaviour. Hypothesis testing is used to compare the changes that occurred in air quality and traffic crashes. SEM outputs indicate that the frequency of trips previously made by sustainable modes and changes in regular trips have the highest impact on the sustainability of trips made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Air quality declined in many city districts. The pandemic caused reductions in PT ridership and an increase in private car use, which threaten the long-term sustainability of public transit services. Crash fatalities declined slightly, particularly during periods of movement restrictions. However, motorcycle fatal crashes increased in comparison with the reduction in motorcycle trips, apparently due to increased traffic speeds. The government did not use the pandemic as an opportunity to promote sustainable and low-contagion modes. This analysis infers that the Covid-19 outbreak reduced the overall transportation sustainability in Tehran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional nature-based solutions (NBS) can help urban areas become more climate proof and adaptable and provide a range of societal goals. Alongside chronic impacts from climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the disruption that unexpected and acute shocks can bring to society. Measures such as NBS can help reduce the vulnerability of urban areas and increase resilience. Traditional infrastructure planning relies on strong business cases to demonstrate the economic value of a scheme. Numerous approaches assign economic value to the benefits from using NBS. However, this value is more than what can be accounted for by traditional finance methods, as there are many different perspectives on 'value'. Decision making processes for selection of NBS measures require stronger integration of these value perspectives. This paper considers these perspectives in the business models that are being used in the decision processes regarding use and selection of NBS. Examples are drawn from case studies in the EU Begin project and also from the Living with Water partnership in the UK, which illustrate how value perspectives can be included in business cases for NBS, also signposting the need to account for potential future changes using scenario planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable engineering design requires the joint consideration of technical, ecological, economic and social aspects in the provision of societal demands, such as water and energy supply. A growing number of concepts and methods for integrated assessment and sustainable design have been developed in recent decades and pose new challenges to the engineering profession. This paper proposes the use of system design concepts and methods to link engineering design to ecological and social–economic knowledge. This study expands the conventional functional analysis approach from systems engineering with a technical focus towards a more integrated perspective that allows for the joint consideration of technical, ecological and social–economic solutions in engineering design. Participatory systems thinking and system dynamics modelling are used for conceptual and preliminary system design by analysing the hierarchy and flows of functions to meet system requirements. The methodology consists of three steps: requirement analysis (step 1), functional organisation analysis (step 2) and functional flow analysis (step 3). An application of the methodology is provided using sustainable water management in Cyprus as an example. The results demonstrate the synergies and trade-offs between technical, ecological and social solutions in water management that provide important information for the subsequent detailed system design phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aspiration to act in a more sustainable manner has become a guiding principle across many aspects of life. Yet sustainability is still often perceived as poorly defined, and there are diverse opinions on what the implications of sustainability for the everyday practice of geotechnical engineers are. Against this background, this paper presents a survey conducted at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute at the beginning of 2021 that engaged a group of geotechnical engineers with the fundamental question as to how the concept of sustainability relates to geotechnical engineering. The Q methodology, a mixed-method approach, was applied to analyse different perspectives on sustainability in geotechnical engineering as inferred from the survey results. Three distinct perspectives were revealed that have a focus on (a) striving a balance between human action and nature, (b) mitigating the adverse impacts of geotechnical projects and (c) reducing resource use. Two of the perspectives considered the development of sustainability assessment tools as the most relevant means of working towards sustainable geotechnical practices, while the third perspective considered multidisciplinary collaboration and research as more important. Reflection on these perspectives can help the development of future tools and strategies, provide a direction for future research and contribute to a more sustainable geotechnical engineering practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a recognised important sector and a main concern in modern life. The attention towards sustainability was particularly increased when the UN set the target of achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The role of universities cannot be ignored in promoting sustainability, but to play this role effectively, universities first need to be sustainable. This paper aims to describe a sustainability framework and suggests a process for using the proposed sustainability framework. A qualitative research method using a systematic review approach, semi-structured interviews and email interviews was adopted to achieve the aims and objectives of this research. The initial data were collected from 39 papers extracted from four main databases. Then, semi-structured interviews were held with a total of 11 sustainability experts working in different universities globally. A framework for sustainability in universities consisting of three main components related to the environment, social responsibility and teaching and research is finally developed and validated through email interviews held with 19 heads of different universities around the world. Each of the main sustainability components is divided into subfactors. Longitudinal studies are recommended to evaluate the impact of the proposed framework on university sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The property and construction sector is known to be a laggard in the adoption of sustainability practices, possibly due to its fragmented nature. Yet there is an increasing demand from key stakeholders, such as institutional investors, as well as civil society, for greater transparency on sustainability disclosures. This paper highlights a case study conducted in a publicly listed Malaysian property and construction company on their journey towards establishing sustainability measures, in particular: the strategy adopted, the processes put in place in terms of data monitoring, challenges faced and proposed solutions. This company has developed an in-house sustainable development index (SDI) which covers a range of sustainability-related issues. The findings from this study seem to suggest as well that lower SDI scores are associated with lower take-up rates; however, high SDI scores do not necessarily lead to higher take-up rates. The approach taken by this company is comprehensive, and the metrics used, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index or FTSE4Good Index, could be adopted by third-party rating agencies in evaluating the sustainability performance of property and construction companies. It is expected that the insights from this paper would also be useful to both construction and facility-management practitioners who are interested in benchmarking and improving their own practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently great interest in the creation of sustainable and liveable cities, both in the UK and globally. While it can be argued that good progress is being made in thinking about the needs of future cities, meeting these needs and aspirations in practice poses major challenges of understanding and measurement (what is meant by these terms and how can progress towards their achievement be measured?), complexity (cities are complex systems of systems with many interacting parts) and resilience (will interventions made today be relevant and effective in the future?). The Liveable Cities research programme created a systematic decision-making method for improving urban sustainability and liveability: the Liveable Cities Method (LCM). The LCM prioritises four criteria – individual and societal well-being, resource security, resource efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions as a proxy for environmental harm – in an interconnected framework and assesses the need for, and the resilience of, interventions designed to move cities towards improved sustainability and liveability. This paper illustrates the LCM through an example intervention made to the city of Birmingham, UK, and highlights how addressing sustainability and liveability in this way offers unique opportunities for the UK civil engineering profession to lead thinking among urban professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the lack of feedback analysis tools, it is impossible to assess the adaptability of a renovated community for different users. Therefore, this paper discusses the adaptability evaluation system for renovated communities from the perspective of healthy sustainability. The correlation between the adaptability of older communities and both relevant subjects and objective environments was analysed. Two significant findings were obtained. First, an innovative adaptability evaluation system was developed using rough set theory, structural equation modelling and importance–performance analysis. This system assessed different attributes of the capital system (social, economic and environmental) and different indicators in the area of health sustainability. Second, the system usability was verified through the study. In this way, the correlation between space health, environmental health, service health, health performance optimisation and health adaptability after community renovation was obtained. The results also showed that spatial changes significantly affect the adaptability and health performance (e.g. elderly-oriented performance, juvenile fitness and energy utilisation performance) of communities. These performances need to be optimised further in community renovation. This study provides a simple and applicable tool for evaluating the effectiveness of community renovation, thus ensuring more sustainable renovation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of the drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, embodied energy figures are under consideration for construction materials. One aspect that needs to be included is the loss of embodied energy associated with corrosion and degradation throughout the life of a structure. This paper presents a review of corrosion and protection methods from the point of view of whole-life embodied carbon. This paper presents the examples that provide the lowest embodied carbon option for different environments for steel and reinforced concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of energy benchmarking in commercial buildings is to put actual energy consumption into perspective so that building owners and occupiers can take steps to reduce it. Many rating tools, such as the display energy certificate in the UK, are primarily based on floor area. This means that nearly empty buildings can receive a good rating while intensively utilised buildings are penalised, even though their energy use per person may be much lower. To provide more meaningful benchmarking requires consideration of the intensity of use. This paper proposes a simple approach to include occupancy density and hours of use in the benchmarking methodology for commercial buildings. The paper also discusses how landlord and tenant energy can be benchmarked separately to reflect who is responsible for the energy consumption. Finally, the paper suggests modifying the standard A to G rating scale used in the UK to better reflect the diversity of energy performance in commercial buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Smart cities' embrace technologically based solutions as an enabler of efficient, affordable and more sustainable urban living in times of resource scarcity, persistent austerity and high-tech innovations. However, cities' evermore complex systems are, albeit unwittingly, causing mismanagement, future uncertainty and lack of transparency to exacerbate their challenges. Climate change is likely to be the greatest of the contextual challenge scale and in terms of scale and diversity of impacts. This paper explores the role of smartness indicators, in which 'green' undoubtedly is a large innovation engine, yet not the only one. Similarly, the beneficial impacts of 'green' technology solutions are yet to be fully understood or rigorously established. Cities that adopted smart roadmaps embedded lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the environmental sustainability agenda; however, the degree to which the two issues have been directly linked is unclear. Findings from this study suggest that lower carbon dioxide emission initiatives are embodied within the environmental sustainability initiatives agenda, yet are not clearly defined in the smart cities ideology. This paper proposes a balanced combination of human talent, 'green' innovation and technological innovation - the interdependent triptych philosophy for 'smart city' resilience that can be adapted and offer tailored solutions for cities, communities and individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK government's Future Flooding Inquiry called for more integrative methods to respond to flood risk management challenges. The 25-year plan for the environment, A Green Future (published by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2018), has reiterated the requirement for integrated catchment management. There is growing acceptance that natural flood management (NFM) can complement traditional urban flood defence schemes. This paper examines the outcomes of a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between Waterco Consultants and the University of Liverpool which explores some of the challenges of implementing what appear to be relative simple NFM measures. Through a multidisciplinary partnership, the KTP project explored multiple delivery challenges. Using case study evidence from north-west England, the paper demonstrates the need for combining partnership working with more traditional hydraulic modelling approaches that can predict the potential flood risk reduction benefits of multiple NFM features, combined with the need to design structurally resilient interventions, so that appropriate permits can be approved. One of the key findings is that while NFM can contribute to flood risk alleviation, with multiple socio-environmental benefits, NFM can only be part of a more holistic approach. Primary evidence for hard and soft engineering measures, combined with use of automated attenuation management, could provide opportunities for more significant integrated flood risk benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public infrastructure is an interdependent system of actors, organisations, assets, services, the society it serves, and the context of each and their whole. This complexity presents research challenges for those focused at the system level, not the least that there is limited research in whole-of-system working for public infrastructure administration and the public sector more generally. Although the available literature appears unified in calling for a probing, pluralist approach, there are few examples of how to approach complex systems in practice. This paper derives from a research programme on the strategic intent and management of infrastructure systems. That programme used the New Zealand land transport system as its focus; nonetheless, it should have wider application given the shared issues being faced within infrastructure practice and matters of sustainability, resilience and system fitness more generally. By melding methods, the action research methodology is aimed at assisting researchers of complex systems and/or problems in gaining more fulsome insights and evidence to support theory. Accordingly, the methodology contributes to the understanding of how to approach infrastructure systems from a research perspective. It offers a road map, a means of sense-making and socialising the issues found at the whole-of-system level and a systemic diagnostic tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building information modelling (BIM) is one of the effective ways for deciding the suitable building orientation and envelope that controls project cost, time and energy. The present paper elaborates the application of BIM for sustainable urban-poor housing. A systematic methodology is briefly discussed that considers the design challenges and suitable masonry products for achieving sustainability. The designed methodology is applied to a single-storey urban-poor house in a representative location in India. With reference to current practice, eight orientations and seven masonry options in all were analysed for achieving sustainable building design. A zero-degree orientation with the analysed suitable masonry option (recycled paper mill waste brick) resulted in reductions in the embodied energy, cost and peak cooling load of 13, 16 and 19%, respectively, over the base case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry, through its activities and supply chains as well as the operation of the assets that it creates, is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Embodied carbon dioxide emissions associated with the construction of new assets constitute a growing share of whole-life emissions across all project types and make up nearly a quarter of all annual emissions from the UK built environment. Yet these embodied emissions are still rarely assessed in practice, owing to the perceived difficulty and lack of supporting guidance for practitioners conducting an assessment. This briefing paper retraces recent advances in the field of embodied carbon dioxide assessment and highlights existing and forthcoming practical guidance that could support more widespread assessment. The paper constitutes a where-to rather than a how-to, directing assessors towards appropriate resources, of which there are many. Although the paper does highlight some remaining gaps in the field and identifies corresponding research priorities, recent additions to the body of guidance are generally sufficient to support more widespread assessment. Now, the industry must demonstrate its commitment to tackling climate change by using this guidance to drive deeper carbon dioxide reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry in developed economies is suffering from a shortage of workers, triggering project cost escalations and project delays and suppressing the whole economy. This paper aims to explore the perceptions of the general public and construction workers towards workforce shortages in the Hong Kong construction industry and identifies the critical factors affecting their intention to join the industry. The triangulation approach was adopted in this study and a street survey was conducted in grass-roots areas in Hong Kong. The questionnaire was formatted using a five-point Likert scale and semi-structured interviews with ten experienced workers were used to validate and interpret the results from the street survey results. The triangulation approach found that 'harsh working conditions', 'job instability' and 'lack of career prospects' are the primary barriers dissuading the public to join the construction industry. This paper provides insights into the critical factors affecting the construction workforce supply and identifies possible solutions for maintaining a sufficient workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research within civil engineering is focusing on newer ideas and philosophies such as sustainability and resiliency (S&R). This is evident in the development of frameworks for assessing the sustainability or the resiliency of civil infrastructures. Several frameworks have been developed by researchers to quantify the S&R of civil infrastructures. It is evident that the S&R are not mutually exclusive, and it is important to assess these aspects at the same time and that frameworks are able to accommodate simultaneous assessments. While there are other frameworks that follow a unified approach to S&R assessments, they do not account for the risk of the hazard as part of the framework. In the proposed framework, an attempt was made to include the risk of the hazard as part of the assessment to gain a realistic perspective of the hazard impact. This paper presents explicit steps to use the framework, along with an example of using the framework in assessing an earthen dam subjected to two types of hazards, earthquakes and floods. The novel aspects of this framework revolve around the simplicity and flexibility of the framework. Major input parameters are user-defined, which allows for a wide range of variables to be considered when determining the overall quality of the infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geotechnical constructions involve consumption of a vast amount of non-renewable natural resources and energy- and carbon dioxide-intensive materials (e.g. cement and steel) that contribute significantly to global warming and climate change. This paper uses drilled shafts as an example to illustrate the importance of environmental impact assessment in the design phase of foundations. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts of construction of single drilled shafts and groups embedded in sandy soil profiles. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of soil properties, design parameters and hauling distances of construction materials and equipment on the environmental impacts of single drilled shafts. For pile groups, different configurations, applied load, centre-to-centre spacing and thickness of pile cap are considered in the parametric study. The global warming impact and human toxicity of a typical drilled shaft are found to be 39 and 486% of annual world impact per person, respectively. Based on the study, charts and tables are developed that may be used for quick estimation of the global warming impact of drilled shafts without the use of specialised LCA software programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses data from 200 buildings to identify the embodied environmental impact of building structures. In recent years, the percentage of embodied carbon dioxide in the whole life cycle impact of buildings has been increasing while innovations have lowered operational carbon dioxide. Operational carbon dioxide emissions are due to heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting, whereas embodied carbon dioxide is associated with materials extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance and demolition. Limited research on the latter prevents an accurate evaluation of the whole life cycle impact of buildings. Therefore, leading engineers have emphasised the urgent need for a global, standard assessment method for embodied carbon dioxide. To this end, this paper offers a uniform method by describing current work, quantifying material weights and finally calculating embodied carbon dioxide ranges. The approach is cradle-to-gate but can be expanded to cradle-to-grave. The survey contains data on 200 recently completed buildings obtained from industry. The results show that structural material quantities vary between 200 kg/m2 and 1800 kg/m2 and embodied carbon dioxide caries on the range 150-600 kgCO2e/m2. These numbers are analysed by programme type, structural system, size, number of floors and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) certification. In doing so, the paper emphasises the important role that structural engineers play in sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) was introduced in 1997 to improve the image of the UK construction industry and has grown dramatically, with over 6000 construction and infrastructure projects registered valued at £43 billion. While evidence exists that the industry's image is improving, there is little research into the CCS perceptions of those tasked with scheme delivery. It is not clear if contractors engage with CCS willingly as proactive participants or succumb to the requirements of clients to win work simply. The aim of this paper is to gain an insight into contractor perceptions of CCS to aid clients and contractors ultimately in their delivery of the scheme and ensure that the CCS delivers the maximum benefit for stakeholders. A case study of a single infrastructure project registered with the CCS is utilised. All CCS documents were critically analysed, and interviews were conducted with clients, the contractor and residents. The findings contribute to an unexplored area of research and reveal the motivations behind why a contractor engages with the CCS, the advantages and drawbacks in the scheme's current enactment and key lessons on how the CCS could be administered and delivered more effectively for the benefit of all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores citizen concerns emerging in the design stage of MotionMap, a smart transport initiative developed in the context of a £16 million smart city programme. A city-wide sensing system integrated with other databases will provide real-time information about vehicular and pedestrian movement. The experience of a series of smart transport workshops in Milton Keynes suggests that citizens feel that they bear the cost of smart cities through potentially intrusive surveillance producing sacrifices in convenience and privacy, while the gains are captured by industrial and governmental actors. This distrust of surveillance through urban sensing systems is not inflexible. Such systems can gain legitimacy through a participatory approach where users legitimize the sensing system by taking an active role in providing transport data, as opposed to having it 'harvested' from them through passive or opportunistic mechanisms. Participatory approaches are challenging because users will engage only if the system can provide compelling benefits. A key contribution of this research comes from identifying that the benefits important to citizens are not necessarily measured in economic terms nor in terms of increased efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the UN member countries, on mutual understanding, identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be achieved by 2030. According to several reports, some countries are reflecting good progress, but overall, no country is on track towards achieving all the UN SDGs. This paper aims to show the progress and commitment of the UAE towards UN SDGs. A qualitative research approach using a systematic literature review complying with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses and a semi-structured interview was adapted to achieve the aim of this research. The results reflect that the Emirates has achieved only one goal. Most of the remaining goals are not on track to be achieved by 2030. In fact, some of the goals related to energy and climate are becoming riskier. The country under its different initiatives aims to invest a total of US$163·35 billion in different projects that target to achieve 50% clean energy by 2050. It is, however, not clear from the government strategy how these targets will be achieved. Similarly, the government needs to ensure a close relationship between organisations so that the action of one unit does not derail the plans of other organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly significant area of focus for company operations in a wide variety of economic sectors. Organisations committed to CSR go beyond regulatory compliance and meeting their legal and economic duties, to take into account their broader social and environmental responsibilities. Almost all organisations operate in, and sometimes commission, buildings and/or infrastructure. This paper addresses the extent to which organisations with CSR policies and that are involved in major new construction projects embed their CSR objectives consistently into the design and development process. A framework for analysis is developed from the CSR literature and is applied to four major projects, one project for each of four major organisations. All four organisations were found to have placed a strong public-facing emphasis on social and environmental responsibility. However, only two incorporated their CSR objectives consistently throughout their design and implementation processes for new projects. This lack of thorough integration of CSR issues into projects is considered both to limit the extent to which these projects will deliver social and environmental benefits and to reduce the incentive for the construction industry to innovate, to improve its performance and to safeguard the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions originating from the built environment play a significant role towards climate change. Carefully planning the future of the building sector is key to mitigating these emissions. Addressing this problem by using a predictive approach may miss possible futures that cannot be anticipated. Using explorative scenarios to perform futures analysis helps widen the range of futures taken into account, which minimises this risk. Tools that use scenarios to help study the resilience of sustainable solutions for the UK urban environment are already available. However, they do not facilitate in-depth analysis of future household energy demand. This paper considers how one such tool, 'Designing Resilient Cities' (DRC), could be modified appropriately. It includes (a) a series of indicators representing factors affecting the energy demand in dwellings and (b) their characteristics for each scenario to complement the narratives in DRC. As a case study to validate these additions, the resilience of a recommendation to decrease domestic electricity consumption is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evaluation system has been established for assessing carbon dioxide emissions associated with asphalt pavement construction in China. As described in this paper, the system is based on the European driving force–pressure–state–impact–response model and uses the analytic hierarchy process combined with subjective and objective weighting and the comprehensive index method. It shows that state, response and pressure are the decisive factors. As such, the key factors that promote lower carbon dioxide construction of asphalt pavements are expressway construction investment, asphalt consumption, greenhouse gas effects, environmental quality and energy-saving and emissions-reduction technology. It is suggested that energy-saving and emissions-reduction technologies, such as warm mixing and geothermal regeneration, should be adopted in the construction of asphalt pavements and the concept of low carbon dioxide approaches should be promoted. The findings can provide technical support for decreasing the energy consumption and emissions in asphalt pavement construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cities work to reduce their total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the transportation sector is lagging, accounting for a growing percentage of total emissions in many cities. The provision of public transit, and specifically urban rail transit, is widely seen as a useful tool for reducing urban transportation GHG emissions. More research, however, is needed to understand the net impact of new metro rail infrastructure on urban emissions and guide efforts to maximise the GHG savings through rail investments. This paper examines the net GHG emissions of the Jubilee line extension (JLE) in London, UK. The GHG emissions associated with construction, operation, ridership and changes in urban density associated with the provision of the new metro rail infrastructure are assessed. These components are then combined and compared to calculate the net GHG impact across the study period, which extends from opening in 1999 through 2011. The capital GHG emissions from construction of the JLE are calculated as 530 kilotonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The initial mode shift from other rail lines and long-term mode change from automobiles result in yearly GHG savings from riders on the JLE. A quasi-experimental analysis of land-use change near the JLE finds no calculable GHG saving from increased residential density. The GHG payback period is calculated between 13 and 19 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remediation of pores and cracks to prevent ingress of moisture in cement mortar can be done through microbially induced precipitation of calcium carbonate using tap water as mixing water. However, limited research is available for doing this with wastewater. This paper reports on research using treated wastewater to develop a biotechnological mortar by inoculating calcium carbonate-precipitating bacteria isolated from the waste medium. This resulted in an enhancement of 27% in compressive strength and 11% reduction in water absorption compared with a control mortar at 28 d. Advanced analysis with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, rapid chloride permeability test and ultrasonic pulse velocity test was conducted to provide a deeper understanding of how the resulting wastewater 'bio-mortar' was improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure projects have a duty and obligation to create social value that is broader than the core benefits achieved through construction of the asset. It has been recognised that in the procurement and construction of the asset, social value opportunities should be created that respond to the needs of the project location. However, measuring social value for large infrastructure projects is challenging because of the sheer number of changes in different areas of society as a result of the project. Many of these changes go unrecorded by the organisation in charge of the infrastructure project or anyone else in society. Furthermore, social value measurement studies are often commissioned when the project is already well underway or even completed, which can mean that mechanisms to collect properly the required input data to quantify and value social impact were not set up, and by that point, it is usually too late to do so. This paper outlines a best-practice methodology in creating a framework to achieve social value, using Tideway, the company delivering the Thames Tideway tunnel project in London, UK, as a case study to share lessons learnt from their approach to social value creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is a holistic concept that is becoming increasingly important in the construction sector. However, the implementation of sustainable concerns in daily practice faces several barriers, such as the lack of practical approaches to make it feasible. To overcome this problem, a life-cycle approach, integrating environmental, economic and social criteria, was developed, focusing on motorway bridges. The approach has two major perspectives: (a) an accounting perspective, and (b) a decision-making perspective. This paper presents a detailed description of the proposed methodology. It enables the design of bridges from a sustainability-based perspective. It results in an increased perception of the major problems in the life cycle of bridges and thus contributes to an improved design and lifetime behaviour, fostering the sustainability of this sector of the infrastructure. The application of the approach to two case studies is presented in a companion paper (Part 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of research on the environmental performance of two case-study houses, a retrofit and new build. The retrofit was completed to a Passivhaus standard while the new build was completed to current Irish building regulations. Environmental performance of the retrofit and new build was measured using life-cycle assessments, examining the assembly, operational and end-of-life stage over life spans of 50 and 80 years. Using primary information, life-cycle assessment software and life-cycle assessment databases the environmental impacts of each stage were modelled. The operational stage of both case studies was found to be the source of the most significant environmental damage, followed by the assembly and the end-of-life stage respectively. The relative importance of the assembly and end-of-life stage decreased as the life span increased. It was found that the retrofit house studied outperformed the new build in the assembly and operational stage, whereas the new build performed better in the end-of-life stage; however, this is highly sensitive, depending on the standards to which both are completed. Operational energy savings pre- and post-retrofit were significant, indicating the future potential for adoption of high-quality retrofitting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need for biological conservation at the global scale, and urban conservation has the potential to support the delivery of this wider goal. Despite historic trends, efforts are underway to protect and enhance the quality, quantity and accessibility of green infrastructure within cities, including biodiversity features within new developments. However, there are questions over their long-term persistence and function. This paper applies an urban futures resilience analysis to a case study site to illustrate how such concerns may be explored and addressed in practice. The analysis identifies vulnerable sustainability solutions and clarifies the aspects that may be improved. The results suggest that the resilience of these solutions is questionable, even though resilience has clearly been considered. In particular, future compliance with, and enforcement of, planning conditions is questionable. The resilience of these ecological solutions may be improved by including some redundancy, designing for low maintenance, incorporating microclimate buffers and locating features in areas unlikely to be subject to future disturbance. The establishment of endowment funds or other dedicated funding mechanisms should also be explored. The paper also recommends that a futures-based resilience analysis be included within the development planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of surface water drainage infrastructure to serve Doha, the capital of Qatar, a relatively young and developing city in the Middle East. It discusses the impact of increased urbanisation on flood risk, and the strategies developed and used to provide sustainable drainage systems, and surface and groundwater reuse on a scale not usually seen in a dense urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is crucial to economic and social development and improves quality of life. However, fossil fuel energy produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) and cannot be sustained for a long time. It is essential to tackle these problems by moving towards renewable and sustainable energy. Some countries, including those in the Arabian Gulf region, are still in the appraisal stage of adopting different forms of renewable energy. This paper reviews the business potential and likely GHG reductions associated with adopting renewable energy in Oman. It is revealed that 1·9 Mt of annual carbon dioxide emissions could be cut by producing 10% of the country's electricity from renewables. The paper further discusses the global sustainable energy commitment under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and reviews the 2030 targets of some countries that are high producers of GHGs. It is anticipated that if all these planned targets are achieved, the total sustainable energy contribution could grow by nearly 11 000 TWh by 2030. These plans provide guidance for those countries still preparing to submit their plans to the UN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete, the most widely used construction material in the world, consumes a large amount of resources and emits significant greenhouse gases during production. Previous studies have adopted a deterministic method to confirm that substituting fly ash for cement in concrete can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However, the life-cycle assessment involves a lot of assumptions and associated uncertainties. This paper reports on an investigation to consider those uncertainties. Two types of uncertainty – parameter uncertainty and uncertainty due to the choice of functional units – were investigated using the Monte Carlo simulation method and scenario analysis method, respectively. The results indicated that results varied significantly with the preset functional units. When considering volume and strength, although the addition of fly ash in concrete can reduce emissions, compressive strength is also decreased resulting in a zero net change in emissions performance. When adopting other functional units, the addition of fly ash has emission-reduction potential. By considering parameter uncertainty, although average emissions decrease with addition of fly ash, the standard deviation increases with addition, indicating an increasing discreteness. It is concluded that considering the uncertainty in the life-cycle emission analysis of fly ash concrete leads to more rational decision-making for concrete selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]