A Framework for Sustainability during Construction

Construction Sustainability involves the processes, decisions, and actions during the construction phase of capital projects that enhance current and future environmental, social, and economic needs, while considering project safety, quality, cost, and schedule. While much of the published literature on sustainability focuses on efforts made during a project’s early concept planning and design phases, there has been little study of construction phase actions. This lack of research suggests that sustainability during the construction phase of capital projects requires more investigation.

In response to this need, CII established Research Team (RT) 304, Construction Sustainability, to examine ways of increasing sustainability during construction, and to develop metrics for measuring improvement in sustainability performance. RT304 identified 54 different actions that project construction teams can take to enhance the overall sustainability of their projects. The team catalogued, characterized, and assessed these construction phase sustainability actions (CPSAs) to help further enable project teams to consider and implement them.

To make it easier for capital project teams to select and implement these actions, the research team also developed an associated strategic work process, a spreadsheet-based CPSA screening tool, and additional in-depth guidance for some selected CPSAs. The team also developed or identified both input- and output-oriented construction sustainability metrics. This implementation resource packages all these elements into a framework for integrating sustainability into capital project construction.