Ershadi, M.; Jefferies, M.; Davis, P. and Mojtahedi, M. (2021) Achieving sustainable procurement in construction projects: The pivotal role of a project management office. Construction Economics and Building, 21(1), pp. 45-64. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Environmental and ecological impacts associated with construction activities have become an ever-increasing concern, especially the considerable amount of waste generated on construction sites. Regulations and growing client pressure on meeting environmental standards have led contractors to adopt sustainable practices and try to embed this concept in their processes. Sustainable procurement management (SPM) as a potential solution takes the environmental consequences of procurement decisions into account and integrates sustainable practices into project procurement to bring positive environmental outcomes. Previous research has mainly focused on the public sector in achieving green procurement, yet this study attempts to highlight internal capacities that help private organisations manage the requirements associated with practicing sustainability. It is theorised that robust management structures, specifically project management offices (PMOs), would enhance the oversight capabilities of contractors in implementing the SPM process. The objectives of the current study are to (1) identify the requirements of a sustainable project procurement process in construction sites based on a literature review, and (2) explore the facilitative role of PMO units in achieving these requirements in the private sector. A literature review was conducted followed by a qualitative survey to solicit the viewpoints of construction professionals in principle contracting firms. As a result of the study, we identified 17 sustainability requirements and found that PMOs boost collaboration and improve the quality of decision making towards sustainable procurement. The findings (1) explain how PMOs support sustainability, (2) provide insights on implementing sustainable practices in project purchases, and (3) improve theoretical understanding of the SPM principles.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction projects; project management office; sustainable procurement |
| Index terms: | decision-making, literature review, private sector, survey, regulation, green procurement, collaboration, project procurement, procurement decision, facilitative, public sector, construction activity, sustainable practice, construction project, procurement management, construction professional, project management, construction site |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, industry analysis, management, project management theory and practice, procurement strategy, work location, decision analysis, data collection methods, professional development, administrative law, production management, sustainable practices, political science, construction operations, data analysis and analytics |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Risk Management, Legal Issues, Sustainability, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Governance, Project Management, Information Management, Site Management |
| 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