Huang, J; Abadi, M; Manu, P and Cheung, C (2022) The impact of sustainability rating systems on health and safety in building projects. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 176(2), pp. 49-64. ISSN 17514304
Abstract
Sustainable construction has gained increasing popularity within the building sector with many sustainability rating systems (SRSs) available worldwide. However, most research has been focused on the environmental benefits of pursuing SRSs, with little attention paid to the health and safety (H&S) impact on construction workers. This study thus aims to investigate the impact of adopting SRSs on the H&S of construction workers in building projects. A systematic literature review was conducted, including 39 articles, to investigate the possible association between sustainability and H&S hazards. It resulted in 30 events and eight types of associated hazards, which are mostly related to the adoption of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) and Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method SRSs. The adoption of SRSs is likely to increase the exposure of workers to known H&S hazards with no new hazards introduced. In particular, 'falling from height' and 'manual handling injuries' caused by solar installation and retrieving recyclable waste, respectively, are the most representative sustainability-related hazards. While the evidence detected is mainly related to Leed, further research is needed to investigate whether findings are valid for other SRSs, such as the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method in the UK or Green Star in Australia, to address H&S concerns associated with sustainable building projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; hazards; health & safety; sustainability; UN SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities; UN SDG 3: good health and well-being |
| Index terms: | sustainability rating system, Hong Kong, exposure, environmental design, injury, construction worker, systematic literature review, environmental assessment, evidence, building research, building environmental assessment, health and safety, health and wellbeing, sustainable city, sustainable building, sustainable construction, Australia |
| Subjects: | public and environmental health, Geography, sustainability assessment, sustainability and energy, practitioner, research evaluation and metrics, mental health and wellbeing, evaluation and assessment methods, health conditions and diseases, urban design, sustainable construction, research management, health safety and environment, environmental impact |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Health and Safety, Urban Studies, Design Practice, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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