Salmi, A; Jussila, J and Hämäläinen, M (2022) The role of municipalities in transformation towards more sustainable construction: The case of wood construction in Finland. Construction Management and Economics, 40(11-12), pp. 934-954. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Transformation towards more sustainable construction calls for actions from representatives of different sectors and societal levels. Previous studies have investigated companies and national policies as promoters of change, but neglected municipalities as relevant actors. Municipalities influence construction as they are trailblazers when realizing their own building projects, as well as regulators, whose planning decisions affect local and urban development. We investigate the role of municipalities in driving sustainability transformation in construction, in particular, in relation to wood construction. The empirical study relies on data collected in Finland through a comprehensive survey among municipalities and qualitative interviews. Key factors in municipal considerations are energy efficiency and carbon neutrality goals. Regulations and norms related to construction influence municipal activities as well. We find various drivers (e.g. supportive planning) and barriers (e.g. cost concerns) to wood construction. National programmes promoting wood construction have induced gradual changes and led to some municipal pilot projects. Despite these positive examples, it seems to take time before municipalities adopt wood construction more extensively. Simultaneously, their position at the intersection of different actors and activities involved in construction provides a fruitful base for promoting sustainable construction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | business administration; municipality; public sector; sustainability; wood |
| Index terms: | interview, sustainable construction, programme, survey, regulation, municipality, norms, promoter, energy efficiency, neutrality, Finland, wood, public sector, national policy, transformation, regulator, empirical study, urban development, business administration |
| Subjects: | Geography, urban design, sustainable construction, research methods, traditional and composite building materials, administrative law, political science, project controls, sociology, data collection methods, business, ethical practice, public policy, sustainability and energy |
| Topics: | Time Control, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Governance, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Construction Materials |
| 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