Key indicators for assessing sustainability during the construction phase of building projects in Ghana
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Date
2020-09
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KNUST
Abstract
The attainment of sustainable development would be elusive until due attention is given to
sustainability performance assessment. Globally, there is a proliferation of methodologies
meant to offer a means of evaluating sustainability performance. Nevertheless, the existing
sustainability assessment tools focus more on design and operation issues at the expense of
construction-related issues. The sustainability of the project delivery process is equally
important, due to its considerable environmental, social and economic impacts. The context
sensitivities exhibited by the sustainability concept requires that indicators are established for
suitable local application. This study sought to examine key sustainability indicators (SIs) for
assessing the sustainability performance of building projects during their construction phase.
It specifically sought to assess the degree of familiarity of professionals with the sustainability
assessment tools in the Ghanaian Construction Industry (GCI) and identify environmental,
economic and social SIs. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey, following the
comprehensive review of literature to determine the sustainability assessment tools that have
been used in the GCI and identify the relevant candidate SIs, by adopting the purposive and
snowball sampling techniques. Out of a total of 330 questionnaires administered, 167 responses
were received and analysed. The data analysis consisted of descriptive analysis, reliability
analysis, mean score ranking, normality testing and finally the Kruskal-Wallis and
MannWhitney tests. In all, 28 sustainability indicators - 10 environmental, 9 social and 9
economic, were identified as critical for construction-phase sustainability assessment of
building projects in Ghana. It was recommended that all stakeholders make a concerted effort
to enhance the widespread uptake of sustainability practices within the GCI. Further studies
can be undertaken to develop a full-fledged index for sustainability assessment, in consequence
of indicator development.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Construction Technology and Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT