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MOTIVATING CONTRACTORS’ BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE TOWARDS REDUCED CONSTRUCTION CARBON FOOTPRINT

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posted on 2024-04-10, 12:24 authored by Suhaib ArogundadeSuhaib Arogundade
The construction industry has been noted to be impervious to change. Over time, contractors have been found to be slow in implementing strategies to reduce carbon during construction projects. Hence, it is imperative to unearth factors that could be contributing to such sluggishness as well as those capable of motivating and promoting the carbon reduction behaviour of contractors. This study, therefore, aims to achieve this. To attain this, a comprehensive literature review and survey amongst construction professionals with carbon reduction experience in the UK was conducted. The data collected were analysed by utilising numerous quantitative analysis techniques. The research findings suggest several drivers, barriers and KPIs could influence contractors’ behaviour in reducing construction carbon. The drivers include carbon literacy, motivation and incentives, procurement and integration, and cost and profitability. The barriers are resources and prioritisation, policy and standards, risk and commitment, and awareness and complexity. The carbon KPIs resulting from the study include those related to transportation and construction-installation stages of the construction process. The transportation stage KPIs are personnel and location, resource management, and percentage of renewables and the construction-installation stage KPIs include waste, services, operations, product, construction method and machinery, renewable energy, and material. In addition, the contractors’ carbon reduction behaviours found in this study are consummate and pragmatic behaviours. Furthermore, this research produced three structural pathway models illustrating the influence of the drivers, barriers and KPIs on the carbon reduction behaviours of contractors, thereby, extending the construction process decarbonisation body of knowledge. The models indicate that carbon literacy is the only driver with a significant positive influence on contractors’ pragmatic and consummate carbon reduction behaviour. Likewise, resources and prioritisation was found to be the only significant barrier impeding contractors’ consummate behaviour, and only construction-installation KPIs have a iii considerable influence on the consummate behaviour of contractors in reducing carbon. Consequently, a carbon management protocol was developed to guide the carbon management performance of contractors and steer the attainment of construction decarbonisation. The outcome of this research could provide direction to construction clients and policymakers in instituting effective strategies focused on the identified factors to support the decarbonisation of built environment projects.

History

Qualification name

  • PhD

Supervisor

Dulaimi, Mohammed ; Ajayi, Saheed

Awarding Institution

Leeds Beckett University

Completion Date

2024-04-03

Qualification level

  • Doctoral

Language

  • eng

Publisher

Leeds Beckett University

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