Search

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]

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]

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]

The sustainability strategy for delivering the £15 billion Crossrail cross-London railway project in the UK sets out the key sustainability themes that are material to delivery of the project and identifies key performance indicators to be used to track performance. The strategy adopts a holistic approach, taking a balanced view on environmental, social and economic performance. Whereas many projects have focused on the environmental aspects of sustainability, Crossrail is addressing issues of supply chain and small and medium enterprise engagement, supply chain risk management, local employment, skills and training, and ensuring that opportunities are not confined to the southeast of England. This paper will be of particular interest to client organisations responsible for national infrastructure but also provides valuable information for designers and construction professionals. The paper starts by providing a brief description of the scope of the project then describes how sustainability has been built into the delivery of the project, the governance structure and how performance is measured. Examples are provided of some of the key enablers and tools used on the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responsible sourcing (RS) of materials is defined as the ethical management of sustainability issues within the construction supply chain, and engagement is typically evidenced by certification to BES 6001, the framework standard for the RS of construction products. Points are scored in BES 6001 under a number of clauses, yet little is known about RS practices. The aim of this study was to extract knowledge about RS practices from all 138 BES 6001 certificates issued to UK companies between 2008 and 2013. Data by performance rating, company size and product sector were analysed using Spearman's rho (ρ) and Cronbach's alpha (α). Performance against the life cycle assessment and resource use clauses was found not to influence overall performance significantly, so neither of these clauses can be assumed to represent good summary measures of sustainability performance. This suggests that a refocusing of the scope of both these clauses might be appropriate in future developments of the standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers have an important role to play in creating a sustainable future. They occupy a pivotal position between known limits to growth, the imperative for change expressed quantitatively and practical action. It is a lack of understanding of the quantitative dimensions of sustainability that has led to campaigns such as 350.org's 'Do the Math' tour. This paper describes the sustainability journey of Balfour Beatty plc, and the tools and techniques that it has developed en route. It is intended as a frame of reference for engineers within infrastructure businesses, to help stimulate debate, establish priorities and shape their own sustainable future. The paper describes Balfour Beatty's progress from a position of naivety to where it scores highly on sustainability in prequalification evaluations and is able to act as a surrogate advisor to its clients when executing projects. It describes the critical dimensions of the company's approach, including how it maps onto the strategic framework for the business, governance, assurance, reporting and stakeholder engagement. The construct of sustainability continues to evolve both within and without the company, and the paper concludes with a summary of lessons learnt to date, a maturity model and a list of focus areas for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated reporting (IR) framework provides guidance to consider actively the relationships between a company's operating, functional units and the different capitals it uses or affects. It can help the construction industry achieve sustainability goals through integrated decision-making and actions that consider the creation of value over the short, medium and long term. This briefing discusses the structure of IR and the challenges of adopting IR in the context of the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores sustainability as it relates to the services, operations and management of engineering and design (E&D) consulting firms, revealing how sustainability has been adopted by the engineering consulting industry as a key influence on its business. The motivations behind sustainability as a business priority for E&D consulting do not appear to reflect a corporate belief or endorsement of sustainability principles, but rather a reflection of market, employee and government drivers. Through interview-based reporting, the implications of these motivations are the focus of this paper through an exploration of the meaning, understanding and operationalising of sustainability in engineering design, assessment of design and in-firm management and strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, civil engineering and related professionals have begun to appreciate that the best projects take into consideration from the outset the impacts that they will have on communities through the whole project lifecycle. This means, implicitly, that projects must be developed taking into consideration the principles of corporate responsibility (CR). In February 2010, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) sponsored a workshop in London, building on a regional workshop held in the Midlands in 2009, to consider why CR is important to the ICE and its members; to ask what leadership the ICE should provide on CR; and to ask what guidance the ICE should expect on these issues from its members. This briefing reports on the seminar and its outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study which examines the development of an assessment and reporting framework for a particular property developer company (PDC) in Great Britain. It describes the problems and advantages of each framework and the lessons learned in the development of the methodology. It concludes that the assessment control is simple to apply, easy to characterize and relies on the self-assessment of strategic indicators.

The article presents a case study of Kingspan Insulation Ltd., a supplier of insulation products, which adopts the Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine (Spear) approach to improve the firm's sustainability performance. Such approach to sustainable development involves the use of independent assessment at annual intervals. It also describes the advantages of the approach, along the responsibility taken on or by senior management.