Gokarakonda, S; Shrestha, S; Caleb, P R; Rathi, V; Jain, R; Thomas, S; Topp, K and Niazi, Z (2019) Decoupling in India's building construction sector: Trends, technologies and policies. Building Research & Information, 47(1), pp. 91-107. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
India’s present development trajectory is at a crucial juncture with a requirement to meet the demands of a population of over 1.2 billion while ensuring environmental sustainability. The resulting economic growth over the past two decades has over-exploited finite natural resources and led to tremendous environmental degradation. Therefore, decoupling economic growth from resource consumption is crucial in the transformation towards a green economy. Building construction is one of the most resource-intensive sectors, as well as creating a high impact on the environment. This study analyzes existing mechanisms in India’s building construction sector that attempt to decouple economic growth from resource use and environmental impacts. The key contributors for decoupling are analyzed. Recommendations for regulations, market incentives, transparency, data monitoring and capacity-building are provided for an array of policy initiatives targeted at political and financial decision-makers at the national, state and local levels for different buildings.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building materials; buildings; climate change; decoupling; energy efficiency; environmental performance targets; India; material flow; public policy; resource efficiency |
| Index terms: | resource efficiency, monitoring, building material, economic growth, resource consumption, India, transparency, environmental performance, energy efficiency, environmental degradation, natural resource, transformation, population, environmental impact, regulation, public policy, environmental sustainability, climate change, building construction, decoupling |
| Subjects: | management, economic development, sustainability assessment, professional development, health safety and environment, Geography, building construction, demography, political science, systems engineering, business, climate science, control systems, environmental impact, environmental resource management, public policy, building materials, sustainability and energy |
| Topics: | Site Management, Design Practice, Urban Studies, Construction Technology, Sustainability, Governance, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Information Management |
| 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