Graham, P M and Walker, D H T (2000) First steps towards acheiving environmental sustainability for developed projects: An holistic life-cycle procurement objective. Journal of Construction Procurement, 6(1), pp. 67-84. ISSN 1358-9180
Abstract
The triple bottom line concept holds that performance should not be judged on financial measures only. Both environmental and social sustainability form part of a necessary holistic system that compliments economic performance measures of viability from a longer term perspective than current short-term financial bottom line measures. Holistic life-cycle environmental sustainability of development projects will be one of the great challenges of the third millennium. To demonstrate a positive contribution to sustainable development, any company/project, must not only deliver sound financial success but must also contribute beneficial social as well as environmental outcomes. This triple, rather than single, 'bottom line' presents acute challenges to business enterprises. This paper addresses the environmental sustainability dimension of the triple bottom line by presenting results of research into conducting environmental sustainability performance assessments using existing environmental performance assessment techniques for building development. If clients procuring development projects are going to take environmental sustainability seriously, then they will require procurement and policy procedures to ensure that key performance criteria for sustainable construction are defined, specified and incorporated both into the selection criteria for project participants and also into contractual documents. This is already occurring on some projects, for example the Australian National Museum project. Further, they must be aware of available tools that can measure project compliance with full life-cycle sustainable construction goals established by clients as part of a broader and more holistic set of project goals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sustainable construction criteria, environmental assessment, triple bottom line |
| Index terms: | social sustainability, performance assessment, dimension, selection criteria, environmental performance assessment, documents, environmental assessment, environmental sustainability, sustainable construction, performance criteria, compliance, sustainable development, performance measure |
| Subjects: | health monitoring assessment and metrics, performance measurement, professional development, environmental impact, tendering, health safety and environment, sustainable construction, assessment methods, communities and social development |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Information Management, Stakeholder Management, Quality Management, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here