Tam, C M; Tam, V W Y and Zeng, S X (2004) Environmental performance assessment in China and Hong Kong. Building Research & Information, 32(2), pp. 110-118. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Environmental Management System (EMS) has recently been advocated for almost all economic sectors. However, the implementation of EMS is problematic for the construction industry. The greatest obstacle is the lack of objective performance evaluation criteria. To overcome this, Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) has been introduced, to provide assessments in terms of management and operational systems. This paper compares the status of EPA implementation in China and Hong Kong. By means of a questionnaire survey, the difficulties in implementing EPA are highlighted, the major ones being 'Lack of technological support, such as training, staff and expertise' and 'Lack of commitment from senior staff' in Hong Kong and Mainland China, respectively. Furthermore, 'Lack of legal enforcement' is found more profound in Mainland China than in Hong Kong, indicated by a low correlation coefficient between the rankings of these factors in Hong Kong and China. Meanwhile, 'Promoting EPA as a legal requirements' and 'Inclusion of EPA in the tendering requirements' are found to be the best tools for encouraging implementation of EPA. Although the difficulties in implementing EPA are different in the two regions, the motivations for EPA are similar, with a high correlation coefficient.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; environmental management system; environmental performance assessment; Hong Kong |
| Index terms: | environmental performance assessment, questionnaire, performance evaluation, enforcement, implementation, construction industry, China, environmental management system, Hong Kong, motivation, survey, commitment |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, psychology, control systems, environmental impact, data collection methods, industry analysis, Geography, health safety and environment, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Human Resources, Quality Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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