Sustainable construction and demolition waste management: Comparison of corporate and project level drivers

The need for sustainable management of construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste has for some years been considered a very important requirement in the construction industry. Construction industries in many countries have responded to the calls for waste management (WM) by instituting measures towards sustainably managing their designs, processes, materials and waste to reduce the negative burden of the industry on the environment. Today, almost all main contractor organizations in the UK have sustainability policies which cover the management of waste. These policies have led to the setting up of sustainable goals and requirements as part of the management of construction projects. Research on the drivers for sustainable WM in the construction industry suggest that, legislation and economic concerns are the key drivers for efforts by construction companies in this regard. Considering the project based nature of the industry, it is argued that drivers at the corporate level may not be the same as drivers at the project level. Through a multiple case study involving 4 construction companies and 8 construction projects in England, the different factors that drive WM in the construction industry at the corporate and project level are investigated. The results provide new evidence which suggest that the drivers for WM differ between the project level and the corporate level. Whereas economic consideration, company image, company sustainability agenda, client demands, government legislation, moral and social imperatives to manage waste, benchmarking and environmental concerns drive WM at the corporate level, at the project level, health and safety, the assurance of repeat jobs, charging schemes for sub-contractors and changing nature of the industry are extra factors that drive WM. This research concludes that, a better approach to sustainable CD&E WM should consider the project based factors together with the corporate or firm level factors in designing strategies towards sustainable WM.