Environmental management system vs green specifications: How do they complement each other in the construction industry?

Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Environmental management system vs green specifications: How do they complement each other in the construction industry? Patrick T.I. Lam a, *, Edwin H.W. Chan a, C.K. Chau b, C.S. Poon c, K.P. Chun a a

Dept. of Building & Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong Dept of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong c Dept of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 8 May 2010 Received in revised form 16 September 2010 Accepted 8 October 2010 Available online 5 November 2010

Environmental Management System (EMS) has been one of the important tools for sustainable construction for around two decades. However, many issues concerning sustainable development have not been properly addressed, and there is a need for the introduction of green specifications to advance green performance in construction through contract management. This paper defines green specifications, identifies the reasons for adopting green specifications and highlights the environmental issues that may not be addressed by solely adopting EMS. It also presents the results of a recent survey of practitioners concerning their opinions towards green specifications and possible impacts arising from their adoption. From the results of the survey, a framework for developing green specifications is deemed valuable for the cities striving for sustainability. Interestingly, the level of acceptable changes brought about by green specifications as perceived by different industry stakeholders is found to be unrelated to whether they were from organizations implementing EMS or not. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Environmental Management Systems ISO 14000 Green specifications Sustainable construction

1. Introduction During the three decades after the introduction of the wellknown definition of ”Sustainable Development” in the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987), extensive literature has covered the principles and possible frameworks for sustainable construction, such as that of Kibert (1994), Hill and Bowen (1997) and Ofori (1998). Yet, there are still discrepancies between the ideal form of sustainable development and existing construction because of the practical difficulties in realizing the concepts of sustainability. Since the International Organization for Standardization issued the ISO 14000 series with principles similar to the previous British Standards, Specification for Environmental Management System (BS7750, 1992 and 1994) in the 1990s, Environmental Management System (EMS) has been recognized as a way to achieve sustainable development in the construction industry. Hill and Bowen (1997) discussed comprehensively the significance of using EMS in construction and proposed a framework for providing a strong impact in the field of construction towards EMS. Many other studies, including Tan et al. (1999), Ball (2002) and MacDonald (2005), were concerned with applying EMS along with other tools, such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Eco-labelling, to promote * Corresponding author. Fax: þ852 27645131. E-mail address: [email protected] (P.T.I. Lam). 0301-4797/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.10.030

sustainable construction in the recent decades. Although EMS has profound positive environmental influence within the construction industry, it is clear that optimal environmental performance may not be guaranteed by the implementation of EMS (ISO 14001, 2004) alone. Therefore, Robert (2000) and many others have attempted to fix the intrinsic problem of EMS by identifying some frameworks for sustainable development. In this paper, the term “Green Specifications” is defined and the background and current practices of EMS are reviewed. The important environmental issues which have not been addressed by merely implementing EMS in current construction are investigated. Hence, green specifications are proposed to promote sustainable construction along with EMS. In addition, the results of a recent postal survey exploring the attitudes of stakeholders towards environmental considerations in specifications and the level of acceptable changes concomitant with the implementation of green specifications in Hong Kong are presented. Comparisons of these considerations in EMS and non-EMS organizations are also made. In the conclusion, the cost implications of green specifications on the construction industry are indicated, and the need for a green specification framework has been highlighted. 2. Backgrounds and definitions of green specifications Traditionally, construction projects have been executed based on the descriptive or prescriptive requirements set out in specifications

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

and drawings. Whereas drawings provide a graphical presentation of physical arrangement, specifications are used to convey written directions on the prescribed material, practices, personnel, equipment, and workmanship including tolerances. Specifications should give clear information for tendering, construction quality and handover requirements. Much of the literature on specifications (Gelder, 2001; Cox, 1994; Giunta and Ramierez, 1991) suggest that quality, cost and time have been the predominant considerations in the preparation of specifications for conventional construction projects. However, with the increase of public environmental awareness, integrating the concepts associated with sustainable development into specifications to promote construction has become inevitable. Berke (2002) believes that embracing a holistic vision of community building and committing to solutions for the common good are the directions for planning in the twenty-first century. Green specifications should provide a conduit for translating the theory of sustainability into practice for the supporters of sustainable development in the construction community. Although many construction information organizations and building societies, such as the International Construction Information Society (ICIS) and the Building Research Establishment (BRE, 2010a), have identified the significance of environmental issues associated with construction, literature related to the definition, criteria and application of green specifications is relatively limited. Hill and Bowen (1997) suggested that the environmental components in EMS should be prescribed as requirements in the specifications but the practical framework for realizing this has not been identified. Many organizations and companies claim that they have adopted green specifications or provided consultancy for green specifications in contracts but the environmental performance of these specifications and written instructions to mitigate impacts due to construction have not been well documented. Moreover, the scope and the adopted principles of these green specifications vary between organizations. For example, the Green Guide to Specification by BRE focuses on the environmental impacts of building materials rather than green construction practices such as waste management (BRE, 2010b). In the case of the California Energy Commission (2007), the assessment criteria for the planned green building specification are energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. In an earlier paper, the authors defined “Green Specifications” as a set of contractual requirements placing adequate weight on the environment, and also incorporating the concerns regarding social development and the integrity of economics (Lam et al., 2009a). In this study, the term is further elaborated to mean the written instructions for construction practice relating to the use of materials and working procedures to ensure sustainability of development in terms of economics, community, technical feasibility and the environment with both global and local considerations. Hence, the principles for sustainable development in this research are in line with those in the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development - “Our Common Future” (WCED, 1987). Green specifications are further divided into two types: general and particular green clauses. General green clauses are the collection of explicit requirements which are applicable to all works in construction with environmental considerations, whereas particular green clauses are a set of specific requirements depending on individual features of the projects. 3. Issues of EMS in the construction industry As a result of increasing concern on the environment in construction and recommendations from academia, many stakeholders intend to control the impacts associated with their activities

789

by adopting EMS. However, after about a decade from the first publication of the predecessor of ISO 14001, the environmental performance of construction projects is still far from achieving sustainable development even though the companies implementing EMS are expected to have a better environmental performance than those without EMS. The difficulty in achieving sustainable development by EMS can be summarized under four headings: (a) the nature of EMS, (b) non-environmental motives for EMS, (c) inadequacy towards contracts issues and (d) problems in many alternative frameworks for EMS. 3.1. Nature of EMS The intrinsic problem of EMS is that the optimal environmental outcomes may not be ensured solely by the implementation of the system (ISO 14001, 2004). EMS in ISO 14001 is a general business management standard emphasizing the importance of managing elements of organizations’ activities, products or services that can interact with the environment, but it provides limited direction for performing the planning function and detailing the operations. Only fundamental Environmental Impact Assessment procedures and requirements are loosely implied or defined in the procedures of EMS (Eccleston and Smythe, 2002). Many practitioners of EMS do not know how to implement these sustainable concepts because of a lack of knowledge or skills. Ofori et al. (2002) identified that the scarcity of qualified personnel and the low level of cognisance in the industry are the biggest expected problems in the implementation of ISO 14000, according to the results of a survey carried out in Singapore. Ball (2002) found that the level of awareness on green issues on the part of clients and designers in construction still needs to be raised. Other studies (Tse,  2001 and Selih, 2007) pointed to the crucial role of clients as the key stakeholders in setting out requirements for EMS, whereas a lack of support from them constitutes a major barrier to its success. In other words, in addition to fulfilling the routine requirements in EMS, clients’ commitment in ensuring the availability of information and know how within a set of comprehensive contractual framework is important for giving clear and precise directions leading to green performance during the works. Another intrinsic problem of EMS is that indicators for the sustainability of works are not commonly applied, especially in developing countries. Despite the requirements of annual internal and external audits in EMS, the indicators for the auditing do not always incorporate the objective principles of sustainable development in most companies. For example, Sha et al. (2000) identify that one of the important barriers to sustainable construction in China is that many performance indicator systems are directed at quantities or economic growth but pay little attention to quality and the environment. Moreover, the degree of commitment is decided by each company, and there is no requirement for public interest to be the priority in the policies of EMS. Under ISO 14001 (2004), only environmental policy is required to be made available to the public. Therefore, aside from the issues of environmental policy setting and operation, the public has not much influence on the companies’ decisions in EMS (Eccleston and Smythe, 2002). 3.2. Non-environmental motives for EMS The motivations for implementing EMS by organizations affect the degree of sustainability resulting from the EMS. MacDonald (2005) asserts that some companies only adopt ISO 14001 to secure minimal compliance when subjected to consumer pressure. Even though construction practitioners may know how to carry out green construction, it may be difficult for them to use EMS without an environmental policy which is based on the basic principles of

790

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

sustainability. Generally, the, environmental policies in EMS are based on the specific environmental performance criteria developed by the organizations themselves. Hence, these criteria usually are vulnerable to trade-offs between the sustainability concepts and advantages accruable to the organizations. MacDonald (2005) observes that many organizations only focus on the impacts from particular activities rather than identify the underlying principles behind these impacts, so that it is difficult to achieve sustainability through EMS alone. 3.3. Inadequacy towards contractual issues In the construction industry, EMS has little influence on the contractual issues which play important roles on the green performance of projects. Despite implementing EMS, building contractors may not deliver green construction based on sustainability concepts because of environment-unfriendly contracts. The relationships between a client and a contractor are delineated by a contract. However, no matter how the operations carried out by contractors are complying with their EMS, the projects may still have negative environmental impacts because the specified materials and practices in the contracts are not conducive to sustainable construction. For instance, Poon et al. (2004) noticed that the dimensions in the specifications are not always consistent with the size of the material available in the market resulting in wastage in many cases. Moreover, contractors seldom perform the works not specified in their contracts since otherwise the liabilities, extra man-hours and cost of design go to the contractors. Thus, detail and concrete instructions for works are necessary for achieving sustainability apart from implementing EMS. 3.4. Problems in the alternative frameworks for EMS Many researchers (Ball, 2002; Eccleston and Smythe, 2002; MacDonald, 2005; Ofori et al., 2002 and Robert, 2000) recognize that organizations do not guarantee optimal environmental outcomes solely by adopting EMS (ISO, 2004) and have proposed frameworks for implementing sustainability concepts in planning through EMS, emphasizing that the motives for EMS should be based on sustainability concepts. They have further proposed that other tools, such as environmental impact assessment and ecolabelling for sustainable construction, should be implemented along with EMS. However, extra efforts are still required for improving environmental performance in construction due to the following obstacles. 3.4.1. Inadequate motivations Robert (2000) and MacDonald (2005) propose a comprehensive way to integrate sustainability into the ISO 14001 framework, but the implementation of the framework is difficult in the construction industry. In the approach with five hierarchical levels by Robert (2000), the fundamental principles for sustainable development should be based on constitution of the system and favourable outcome of planning at the first two levels. However, in construction, the motivations for the practitioners to implement EMS are not primarily for achieving sustainability. Ofori et al. (2002) identify that cost-benefit is the main concern regarding implementation of ISO 14000 on the part of contractors, and they seek certification mainly because of clients or end-purchasers’ demands. 3.4.2. Inadequate focus MacDonald (2005) notes that organizations adopting EMS will only commit to continual improvement, compliance and prevention of pollution superficially if the goals of sustainability are not

understood completely. Some organizations would solely focus on relative improvements in environmental performance without striving for sustainability. For example, in Hong Kong, an internationally recognized company is well known for its pledge of environment-friendly business and residential developments by engaging ISO 14000. However, their recent sustainability report states that they maintain the position promoting positive impacts on the environment “while acknowledging that sustainable practice remains a small component of the overall investment decision process when analyzing Asia-based corporations”. This example shows that even the most rigorous practitioners of EMS recognize the existence of constraints in applying sustainability concepts in their businesses fully due to the unequal attitudes of business partners, especially in the Asian context where the sense of corporate social responsibilities is not well established. Ofori et al. (2000) noted that financial incentives should be one of the crucial concerns for the implementation of EMS by the stakeholders in Singapore. As a result, under the considerations of profits and market competitiveness, many companies concentrate exclusively on relative improvements in environmental performance without attempting to achieve an absolute sustainability benchmark by EMS, as noted by MacDonald (2005). Therefore, alternatively, a common framework of green specifications prepared by independent organizations may be the answer to the issues discussed above because universal environmental aspects for construction can be identified impartially in the specifications. Once incorporated into contracts, these specifications can be enforced by the clients vis-à-vis the contractors. 3.4.3. Inadequate resource allocation Apart from the above potential shortfalls, it may still be difficult to implement EMS to promote sustainable development because of the enormous demand for resources associated with developing and maintaining the database. In construction, a diverse range of materials with different standards is used in different works. For example, in the General Specification for Building Works published by the Architectural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government (ASD, 2007), at least 100 British Standards are referred to in different sections. Approximately, 2000 standards are connected to the construction products as developed by the European Committee for Standardization (Bakkmoen, 1996). Although life cycle assessment and environmental label system are proposed along with EMS in the series of ISO 14000, the requirement for construction practitioners implementing EMS to assess the life cycle of each type of material is time consuming and costly. Bakkmoen (1996) finds that the standardization work associated with construction in Europe usually takes many years to complete. Moreover, standards and codes of practices are usually written to cater for local situations, such as climatic conditions and availability of materials. As a result, due to complexity and the enormous resources required for the life cycle assessment of construction materials, it would be practically difficult for an organization to rely on EMS without adequate databases to achieve sustainability. 4. The benefits of green specifications In view of the above difficulties, the application of green specifications in contract management is proposed to complement EMS to achieve sustainable construction. A set of general green specifications as prepared by independent organizations and based on local practices would provide information and guidelines for different works and materials with built-in life cycle assessment. Hence, it should save the total resources required of the construction community. Robert (2000) noted that dealing with environmental issues in a piecemeal fashion would only transfer one

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

problem to another. A set of general specifications for a construction community (e.g., residential blocks) should embrace sustainability issues in a more holistic manner in contrast to ad hoc implementations made by individual companies. The general clauses in green specifications based on the results of life cycle assessments and other studies would provide information and checklists on general environmental issues in relation to different types of construction projects and associated contract issues including conflict mediation and methods of payments. The particular clauses could serve as reminders for the specifiers to include items relevant to the projects in hand. The construction stakeholders adopting these clauses can ensure reliable environmental performance of their works. Moreover, the stakeholders can further define their own requirements based on the lists of the particular clauses to stipulate clear procedures and tolerance levels for their works. The availability of public green specifications would transform the material and labour market in the construction industry through collaborative learning as defined by Tonn et al. (2000), resulting from increased awareness of environmental issues by the public. Tonn et al. (2000) believe that collaborative learning is a decision making mode which changes public values to accommodate new realities towards sustainability and is a favourable means for developing the understanding of complex environmental issues for a particular community. A set of comprehensive green specifications for a locality should provide the “mock-ups” of standard sustainable construction in the area, and it should motivate the construction participants to adopt environmental practices to maintain their market competitiveness in the area. 5. Survey on perceptions towards green specifications It is worth understanding the perceptions of construction stakeholders to green specification and exploring the acceptable degree of change on project performance owing to the adoption of green specifications. In Hong Kong, a suite of standardized green specifications is not yet available but the government has been investing its effort in sustainable development since 1999 (SDU 2007). For example, even though the standard specifications of the Architectural Services Department and the Housing Department have gone through several “greening” revisions, such as incorporating the use of recycled aggregates and large panel metal formwork respectively, they still fall short of a comprehensive framework. Many organizations implement EMS voluntarily in Hong Kong. About 675 organizations have obtained the ISO 14001:2004 certification as of Sept 2009, of which over 150 are construction-related firms (EPD, 2010). Since the government is committed to sustainable development and a large number of companies have obtained ISO 14001 certification, Hong Kong would be a suitable economic centre in which green specifications may be introduced to further green objectives in the construction sector. The results arising from this study in Hong Kong should also be useful for other developed cities or economies which aspire to sustainable construction through contractual means. 5.1. Survey contents and process A postal survey to solicit construction stakeholders’ perceptions on the level of acceptable changes for the implementation of green specifications has been conducted using the survey form (available in http://myweb.polyu.edu.hk/wbsplam/greenspecsurvey). A pilot survey was undertaken beforehand to identify the ambiguous questions and test the effectiveness of the instructions in the draft questionnaire before the full-scale questionnaires were distributed randomly to construction stakeholders in Hong Kong. In the finalised questionnaire, the respondents in the organizations with and

791

without EMS were asked their general opinions on green specifications in eight general statements. They were also asked to rate the acceptable percentage change of five factors, namely, construction cost, maintenance cost, durability, buildability (i.e. easiness to build) and project period. 5.2. Five considerations for green specifications The five chosen factors are associated with common concerns on existing specifications. Meryman and Silman (2004) identify that cost is the most prominent barrier to the acceptance of using specification in promoting sustainable engineering, and urge construction practitioners to perceive the differences between life cycle cost and capital cost. Therefore, in the survey, respondents were asked to rate the acceptable changes in construction cost and maintenance cost separately. Apart from cost, durability and buildability are two important aspects affected by specifications. Hill and Bowen (1997) believe that constructing durable, reliable and functional structures are crucial technical principles of sustainable construction. Durability of the final product is associated with the overall performance and quality of the works and influences the life cost considerations of construction. “Buildability” refers to the extent to which a design would facilitate efficient use of construction resources and ease of operation to enhance safety when the requirements from the clients are satisfied (Wong et al., 2006). The acceptable change of both aspects should indicate how the quality of the products may be altered by the introduction of green specifications. Introducing new specifications should also affect the time for specifying, tendering and construction, but, the time for construction (or “project period” as referred to in the questionnaire) should be the most important attribute. Therefore, only time for construction was included in the survey even though extra time for specifying and tendering are expected in the initial stage of the adoption of green specifications. 5.3. Methods of analysis The data from the questionnaire replies was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 12.0 for windows). A five-point Likert scale was used in the questions for respondents to rate the statements. For the general questions, an answer of “1” means that the respondent “strongly disagrees”, “3” means that the respondent takes the neutral position and “5” means “strongly agree”. In the section concerning the acceptable level of change in construction project costs owing to the adoption of green specifications, an answer of “1” means that the respondent found it acceptable only if “reduced by more than 10% from conventional specifications, “3” means that there will be “no significant change”, and “5” means that the aspects is acceptable to be “increased by more than 10% from conventional specifications”. The reliability of the five-point scale used in the survey was assessed by Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. An ANOVA and an Independent Samples t-test with repeated measures were applied to determine the differences (if any) between the respondents from the organizations having EMS (or ISO 14001 certification) and those from the companies without EMS. One sample t-tests were used to examine whether any significant change of cost, time and quality is acceptable to the respondents. Paired samples t-tests within subjects were used to investigate if differences exist between the percentages of acceptable change of construction cost and maintenance cost if green specifications are adopted. As t-tests were employed, the data were derived from populations assumed to have normal distribution in this study, which is justifiable given the random selection of respondents from trade directories.

792

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

Table 1 The nos. and percentages of respondents’ companies adopting ISO 14001. ISO, 14001

Client

Consultant

Main Contractor

E&M subcontractor

Others

All respondents

No Yes Total

17(71%) 7(29%) 24

13(65%) 7(35%) 20

5(20%) 20(80%) 25

12(60%) 8(40%) 20

5(50%) 5(50%) 10

52(53%) 47(47%) 99

The possible correlation between “availability of guide for green specification” and “adequate information concerning green specifications available in the offices” was observed in the cross-tabulation. Pearson Chi-Square was used to check for the significance level of correlations. Since the samples divided according to the job nature of respondents (i.e. client, consultant etc.) are relatively small, the ManneWhitney test (a non-parametric statistical test) was adopted to understand the different perceptions of the respondents with various roles in the industry towards green specifications. 5.4. Survey result analysis and discussions

Despite the value of Cronbach alpha being marginally lower than 0.5, the mean scores of the eight statements concerning the respondents’ perceptions towards green specifications were computed, since the meaning of each statement is considered simple and clear enough to dispel any reliability concern in the practical sense. Then the t-values for one sample t-test were obtained to assess whether the mean score of each statement is significantly different from “3”, which represents the neutral position. The results of the One-way ANOVA and Independent t-test for investigating if differences existed amongst the respondents with EMS and those without EMS in their companies are summarized in Table 2. 5.6. T-test

One hundred filled questionnaires were received, representing a response rate of 15.3% (one sample being discarded due to incompleteness). More than 75% of the respondents have working experience over 10 years. One-quarter of the respondents were clients, with another quarter being contractors. Both electrical and mechanical (E&M) subcontractors and consultants made up onefifth each of the respondents. The remaining ten per cent included building subcontractors and suppliers. To get a general picture of the respondents, one question asked about the proportion of their works having green considerations. Over 50% of the respondents indicated that less than 10% of their works involved green considerations; around 40% of them believed that 10e30% of their works were green and less than 10% of the respondents claimed that more than 30% of their works had green considerations. Regarding EMS, about half of the respondents’ companies had ISO 14001 certification. It is interesting to note that 80% of the contractor respondents had EMS whilst only 48% of all respondents of the survey had EMS. A more detail breakdown of the respondents’ profile is shown in Table 1. 5.5. General attitudes towards green specifications The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is 0.472 in the General Statement section (8 items) and 0.734 in the Section on Acceptable Changes (6 items), indicating that the five-point scale measurement is mathematically more reliable in the latter section, which has fewer but more coherent items (i.e., related to time, cost, durability, etc.).

With regard to whether specifications should include green considerations, the overall mean and the mean scores from all respondents are all statistically different from “3” (the neutral position) in the t-values (Table 2). This shows that the construction stakeholders in Hong Kong agree that green considerations are necessary for the specifications. Concerning the convenience of finding guides for preparing green specification in Hong Kong, the mean score shows that the respondents from the organizations without EMS have difficulty on it but the stakeholders from the companies with EMS are neutral for the questions. Overall, the results show that more standards, databases and guidelines concerning green specifications should be developed to assist the construction participants in Hong Kong to prepare their specification with environmental considerations. Regarding the sufficiency of green considerations in the specifications used by the private sector, the mean scores of respondents reveal that current specifications prepared by the private sector have insufficient green considerations (Table 2). However, the respondents had neutral responses towards a similar question about the public sector. From this set of results, it appears that the specifications prepared by the public sector are better than those by the private sector in terms of environmental considerations in Hong Kong. This finding is supported by another study on public sector specifications in the same city by the authors (Lam et al., 2009b). In connection with the availability of information for green specification within the respondents’ organizations, the mean scores

Table 2 The results of mean scores, one sample t-tests, ANOVAs and independent t-tests for the General Statement Section. Mean score

Specifications should include green considerations Guides for preparing green specifications can be easily found in HK Current public sector specs have sufficient green considerations Current private sector specs have sufficient green considerations The information or database concerning green specifications is adequately available in your company The green considerations are mainly for satisfying mandatory requirements Our senior management is willing to support green specifications Adopting green specifications should be voluntary The highlighted t-values and F-value are significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

One sample t-test

One-way ANOVA F-value

Independent t-test

All

with EMS

without EMS

All

with EMS

without EMS

4.05 2.69 3.01 2.49 2.77

4.13 2.79 3.17 2.60 3.04

3.98 2.60 2.86 2.38 2.51

13.63 3.13 0.11 5.64 2.44

11.08 1.43 1.19 2.79 0.34

8.54 2.99 1.27 5.41 3.62

0.87 0.97 2.97 1.48 8.41

0.94 0.98 1.71 1.21 2.91

3.25 3.87 3.02

3.35 3.96 2.87

3.15 3.79 3.15

2.36 10.88 0.17

2.40 8.94 0.75

1.02 6.71 0.94

0.89 1.13 1.42

0.95 1.07 1.19

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

from the respondents of organizations without EMS show that they disagree on the statement regarding availability of adequate information in their offices (mean ¼ 2.51) but the respondents from the companies with EMS are marginally above neutral (mean ¼ 3.04), as shown in Table 2. Considering the compulsory green requirements, practitioners in organizations implementing EMS agree mildly that the inclusion of green considerations in their projects were mainly for satisfying mandatory requirements (mean ¼ 3.35). On the other hand, the practitioners without EMS tend to take a neutral position on the statement (mean ¼ 3.15). The results may raise question on the intuitive expectation that the respondents from EMS organizations would strive for green construction voluntarily. The findings highlight an interesting comparison between construction practitioners in Hong Kong with their counterparts in Singapore, in that Tan et al. (1999) notice that regulations are the main driving force for people to take environmentally-responsible actions there. The mean scores for the statement about the participation of senior management are all significantly higher than “3” (Table 2), and this shows that the senior management of construction-related firms in Hong Kong are willing to support green specifications. For the questions about whether green specification should be voluntarily implemented, no respondent held strong views. From the results, the willingness to support green specifications can be observed from the industry but people seem to have no preference for using green specifications voluntarily over adopting them compulsorily. 5.7. Pearson-chi-square Apart from looking at the mean scores, a Pearson chi-square test was performed to check any association between the convenience of finding green specification guides and the availability of internal database in the companies. The chi-square (51.23) and the p-value (<0.05) show that a significant association exists. As noted previously, those respondents working in organizations implementing EMS are more likely to have access to adequate information databases than those not implementing EMS. Therefore, promoting EMS may increase the availability of resources for green specifications in the office. However, although resources for green specifications may increase as a consequence of implementing EMS, the mean score on the convenience of finding guides for green specifications as rated by respondents of companies having EMS is still not significantly greater than “3” (Table 2). This shows that some extra efforts in organizing green databases in addition to promoting EMS in the industry are needed to encourage the incorporation of green considerations in the specifications. 5.8. The comparisons of the responses from the stakeholders with or without EMS Concerning the equality of the mean scores from the construction practitioners with or without EMS, the results of both ANOVA and independent sample t-tests only show statistically significant difference in the responses for the statement about the availability

793

and adequacy of the database for green specifying (Table 2). The results reveal that respondents from organizations without EMS disagreed with the statement that supports and databases for green specifications were available in their companies, while the stakeholders in the companies with EMS stayed neutral about it. Apart from this expected difference, there is no other statistically significant difference in the mean scores from the respondents in companies with or without EMS among the eight statements concerning green specifications. Both groups believed that green considerations should be included in specifications with the support of senior management. However, the companies implementing EMS agreed that the inclusion of green considerations were more for satisfying the mandatory requirements and that the private sector does not seem to have enough green elements in their specifications. Therefore, mandatory green guidelines appear to be useful in the preparation of specifications for private sector companies. Derived from the overall findings, the stakeholders (especially those from organizations not implementing EMS) might have difficulties in obtaining guides and resources for green specifications, therefore an objective framework for green specifications in Hong Kong should be developed. Moreover, more studies on the introduction of green specifications are indicative. 5.9. Acceptable changes brought about by green specifications After the respondents rated their general opinions on green specifications, a question concerning the acceptable degree of changes was posed to evaluate the potential impact of introducing green specifications to a larger scale. In Table 3, the mean scores of the expected acceptable changes in five aspects of project performance owing to the adoption of green specification are listed, and their one sample t-values for assessing if significant deviations of the means scores from “3” (which represents change not being expected) are shown. The F values from the One-way ANOVA and the results of independent sample t-tests for comparing the results from respondents with and without EMS are also shown in Table 3. Moreover, the results of the ManneWhitney U test for assessing differences (if any) on the five performance aspects as perceived by the respondents playing different roles in the industry are listed in Table 4. 5.10. T-test and ANOVA The results of the ANOVA and independent sample t-tests show the expected acceptable changes owing to the introduction of green specifications are not significantly different among the respondents in companies with or without EMS (Table 3). From the results of one sample t-tests for overall means and mean scores from the respondents of companies without EMS (Table 3), construction cost, durability, buildability and project period were all expected to increase with statistical significance. For the respondents of companies with EMS, only construction cost, buildability and project period were expected to increase

Table 3 The results of mean scores, one sample t-tests, ANOVAs and independent t-tests for the acceptable change resulted from implementing green specifications. Mean score

Construction cost Maintenance cost Durability Buildability (i.e. easiness to build) Project period

One sample t-test

All

with EMS

without EMS

All

with EMS

without EMS

3.98 3.21 3.25 3.37 3.49

4.06 3.11 3.17 3.43 3.57

3.90 3.31 3.33 3.33 3.41

10.55 1.90 2.77 4.43 6.24

8.64 0.67 1.43 4.27 5.51

6.54 1.96 2.39 2.44 3.55

The highlighted t-values are significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

One-way ANOVA F-value

Independent t-test

0.76 0.81 0.73 0.34 1.08

0.38 0.37 0.39 0.56 0.30

794

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

Table 4 The results of ManneWhitney U tests for the acceptable change resulted from implementing green specifications. ManneWhitney U test Z-value

Construction cost Maintenance cost Durability Buildability (i.e. easiness to build) Project period

Client vs Contractor

Consultant vs Contractor

Consultant vs E&M subcontractor

1.00 0.24 0.28 1.51

0.96 1.06 0.76 1.59

0.18 2.38 1.21 1.56

2.57

2.24

1.42

The highlighted Z-values are significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

significantly. The project performance aspect with the largest possible acceptable change was construction cost because of its highest mean scores in both groups. For maintenance cost, t-value did not show that the scores were significantly different from “3” in both groups, and the possible reason for this should be the results of averaging two peaks in the histogram (Fig. 1). The paired t-test shows that the acceptable change for construction cost is significantly higher than that of maintenance cost (t ¼ 6.898, p < 0.05), suggesting that practitioners would be more willing to accept a higher capital cost than maintenance cost owing to the introduction of green specifications. This reflects the general belief that green construction should reduce maintenance cost. 5.11. Different expectations towards the impacts on the specifications Apart from grouping the respondents based on their companies with or without EMS, the respondents can be grouped in accordance with their roles in the industry. From the results of ManneWhitney U test (Table 4), contractors had different perception on the

acceptable change of project period owing to the introduction of green specifications from that of clients and consultants. The expected length of contract according to contractors’ belief was greater than those of consultants and clients as a consequence of uncertainty of new specifications. The test results of ManneWhitney U test also show that there is a statistically significant difference between consultants and E&M contractors towards the acceptable level of maintenance cost. E&M contractors, who are often called upon to improve the energy efficiency of their installations, expected higher maintenance costs as a result of implementation of green specifications. The differences in perceptions about acceptable changes appear to be larger among the stakeholders grouped by their roles than categorizing them based on adoption of EMS. Therefore, despite subtle differences on the acceptable changes owing to the introduction of green specifications by the respondents from companies with or without EMS, any further study on the framework of green specifications would be more meaningful if based on the roles of respondents rather than based on whether the organization has adopted EMS or not. Out of the hundred received questionnaires, only one respondent specified other possible impact apart from cost, time and quality. The respondent believed that willingness was another factor to be considered. This is right to the extent that public attitude towards sustainable construction would be shifted as new green specifications become available in Hong Kong. New construction practices and material requirements would induce stakeholders to reconsider the environmental performance of their projects. In the whole analysis of acceptable changes in different performance aspects of construction projects, the learning-curve issue and specific considerations at various stages of implementing green specifications in the industry have not been addressed. In the initial stage of the introduction of green specifications, uncertainty of new procedures may drive up the cost and other factors may not be in line with the acceptable changes as identified in this survey. In the later stages, issues concerning continuous improvement of green specifications, conflict management among stakeholders and new technology would need to be addressed. Therefore, the framework for green specifications should include considerations such as the learning curves of stakeholders, the risk management for the new practices and the barriers encountered by various market players.

6. Conclusion

Fig. 1. The histogram for the acceptable change of maintenance cost.

Although EMS is widely used in the construction industry, there is some room for improvement. As an important component of project management, green specifications should be able to compensate for some of the intrinsic weaknesses of EMS. The results of a postal survey show that the respondents both from companies with and from those without EMS have similar attitudes towards green specifications and the level of change in project performance brought about by their use. The only statistically significant difference is that the respondents from companies implementing EMS concurred more with the statement about the availability of database concerning green specifications in their companies. Moreover, the shift of stakeholders’ attitudes towards environmental issues and the provision of increased resources for a sustainable environment in the construction industry should be possible. However, some issues concerning sustainability of construction may still need to be addressed by green specifiers rather than EMS and the current form of specifications may not have sufficient green considerations by only promoting EMS in construction industry.

P.T.I. Lam et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 788e795

Among the five performance factors in projects which may be affected because of the adoption of green specifications in Hong Kong, construction cost is identified to be the factor having the highest acceptable change. Moreover the stakeholders in Hong Kong have diverse expectations towards the impact of maintenance cost. The differences of the responses are more pronounced when respondents are grouped based on their roles in the construction industry than the availability of EMS in their companies. Contractors expect longer project periods due to the introduction of green specifications as compared to Clients and Consultants; and E&M subcontractors expect higher maintenance cost compared with consultants. Therefore, in conclusion green specifications should have an important role in achieving sustainable construction on top of EMS. A framework of green specifications for general use is worth developing along with promoting EMS in construction. Furthermore, the needs of each type of stakeholders, the possible barriers and the cost for green specifications are important considerations in developing such a framework. Acknowledgement The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Intra-Faculty Competitive Allocation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Project No. G-YF07). References Architectural Services Department (ASD), 2007. The General Specifications for Building Works. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong. Bakkmoen, K.I., 1996. The Relationship Between the Services Offered by ICIS Members and International and Regional Standards. The ICIS Delegates Assembly in Sydney. Ball, J., 2002. “Can ISO 14000 and eco-labelling turn the construction industry green?”. Building and Environment 37, 421e428. Berke, P.R., 2002. “Does sustainable development offer a new direction for planning? Challenges for the twenty-first century?”. Journal of Planning Literature 17, 21e36. BRE, Jan 10, 2010a. Sustainable construction of buildings. Available at. http://www. bre.co.uk. BRE, Jan 10, 2010b. The green guide to specifications. Available at. http://www.bre.co.uk. BSI British Standards, 1994. Specification for Environmental Management Systems (BS 7750:1994). BSI, UK. BSI British Standards, 1992. Specification for Environmental Management Systems (BS 7750:1994). BSI, UK. California Energy Commission, April 19, 2007. 30 March 2007-last update, Draft Scope of Work for Contract Opportunity Notice 500-06-505 Green Building Specification [Homepage of State of California - The Resource Agency], [Online]. Available at. http://www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/CON_500-06-505/CON_50006-505_DRAFT-SOW.PDF. Cox, P.J., 1994. Writing Specifications for Construction. McGraw Hill International (UK) Ltd., London. Eccleston, C.H. & Smythe, R.B., 2002, “Integrating Environmental Impact Assessment wiht Environmental Management systems”, Environmental Quality Management Summer, 1e13.

795

EPD, Mar 2, 2010. Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government. Available at. http://www.epd.gov.hk. Gelder, J., 2001. Specifying Architecture: A Guide to Professional Practice, second ed. Construction Information Systems, Australia, Milsons Point, N.S.W. Giunta, F.J., Ramierez, A.M., 1991. “Avoiding defective specifications”. Civil Engineering 61 (9), 70e71. Hill, R.C., Bowen, P.A., 1997. “Sustainable construction: principles and a framework for attainment”. Construction Management and Economics 15 (3), 223e239. ISO, 2000. Environmental Management Systems - Requirements with Guidance for Use (ISO 14001:2000). BSI, UK. ISO, 2004. Environmental Management Systems - Requirements with guidance for use (ISO 14001:2004). BSI, UK. Kibert, C.J., 1994, “Establishing principles and a model for sustainable construction”, Sustainable Construction. In: Kibert, C.J. (Ed.), Proccedings of the First International Conference of CIB TG16, Florida, USA, pp. 3. Lam, P.T.I., Chan, E.H.W., Chau, C.K., Poon, C.S., Chun, K.P., 2009a. Integrating green specifications in construction and overcoming barriers in their use. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 135 (4), 142e152. Lam, P.T.I., Chan, E.H.W., Chun, K.P., 2009b. The prospects of adopting green specifications for public sector construction works – the case of Hong Kong. Proceedings of the Conference on Translating Sustainable Design into Sustainable Construction Conference, jointly organized by Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff School of Art & Design and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, Cardiff, UK, 4 Sept, (in CD-ROM). MacDonald, J.P., 2005. “Strategic sustainable development using the ISO 14001 Standard”. Journal of Cleaner Production 13, 631e643. Meryman, H., Silman, R., 2004. “Sustainable engineering - using specifications to make it happen”. Structural Engineering International 3, 216e219. Ofori, G., 1998. “Sustainable construction: principles and a framework for attainment - comment”. Construction Management and Economics 16, 141e145. Ofori, G., Gang, G., Briffett, C., 2000. “Impact of ISO 14000 on construction enterprises in Singapore”. Construction Management and Economics 18, 935e947. Ofori, G., Gang, G., Briffett, C., 2002. “Implementing environmental management system in construction: lessons from quality systems”. Building and Environment 37, 1397e1407. Poon, C.S., Yu, T.W., Jaillon, L., 2004. “Reducing building waste at construction sites in Hong Kong”. Construction Management and Economics 22, 461e470. Robert, K., 2000. “Tools and concepts for sustainable development, how do they relate to a general framework for sustainable development, and to each other?”. Journal of Cleaner Production 8, 243e254.  Selih, J., 2007. “Environmental management systems and construction SMEs: a case study for Solvenia”. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management 8 (3), 217e226. Sha, K., Deng, X., Cui, C., 2000. “Sustainable construction in China: status quo and trends”. Building Research & Information 28 (1), 59e66. Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), 2007, 05/22. 11 Feburary 2007-last update, What is Sustainable Development? [Homepage of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region], [Online]. Available: http://www.susdev. gov.hk/html/en/sd/index.htm. Tan, Alan T.T., Ofori, G., Briffett, C., 1999. “ISO 14000: its relevance to the construction industry of Singapore and its potential as the next industry milestone”. Construction Management and Economics 17, 449e461. Tonn, B., English, M., Travis, C., 2000. “A framework for undertanding and improving environmental decision making”. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 43 (2), 163e183. Tse, R.Y.C., 2001. “The implementation of EMS in construction firms: case study of Hong Kong”. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 3 (2), 177e194. WCED, 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, “Our Common Future”, UN, Oslo. Wong, Franky W.H., Lam, Partick T.I., Chan, Edwin H.W., Wong, Francis K.W, 2006. “Factors affecting buildability of building designs”. Canadian Journal Civil Engineering 33, 795e806.