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Selman, A D, Guðjónsdóttir, S and Gade, A N (2021) Is the Danish Construction Sector Ready for Sustainable and Circular Construction Sites?. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-7 September 2021, UK, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 754-763.
- Type: Conference Proceedings
- Keywords: construction site, sustainability, circular economy, waste, readiness
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/94650b78add6ad5e7e74c1ba8217add9.pdf
- Abstract:
A significant part of the existing provisions in Danish building regulations will, within two years, regulate sustainability by having a new sustainability building class to boost the green transformation of construction and make it more sustainable than what we have today. One of the sustainability requirements is to save resources, promoting circularity at construction sites. Waste from the Danish building sector accounts for 30 % of the total waste. It is a valuable resource that will reduce environmental impact and increase economic growth if utilized well. In September 2018, the government launched a national strategy to prevent and manage waste aiming for an increased value and an improved environment achieved by building design, consumption, and recycling. This study investigates Danish construction organizations' readiness and willingness to use the new sustainable building class to establish sustainable construction sites, mainly using circular solutions. The study considers actors' understanding and current level of implementing sustainability principles and circular strategies in construction sites. Accordingly, it highlights the challenges and the actors' practical experiences. A literature review was conducted, and a qualitative survey was sent to 1100 organizations, 330 actors responded, including contractors, consultants, architects, building owners and developers. The results show the awareness of implementing sustainability in construction sites, as 32 % of organizations use sustainable onsite principles with various levels of experience, e.g., including waste management, handling hazardous substances from building materials and energy reduction strategies and 48 % are willing to use circular solutions. In contra, the rest of the actors have not worked with sustainable building site principles due to economic factors and lack of knowledge. The study concludes that a majority of actors are still unaware of the relevant rules and do not have a specific strategy to manage waste and experience this topic with high risk and uncertain benefits.