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Environmental Sustainability: Impact of Construction Activities

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 Proceedings of the
11th International Conference on
Construction in the 21st Century
(CITC-11)

London, United Kingdom

September 9-11, 2019

Editors:
Syed M. Ahmed, Paul Hampton, Amelia D. Saul, Salman Azhar,
Norma A. Smith, Shaunna C. Campbell, & Kelly L. Mahaffy
 Proceedings of the

Construction in the 21st Century

11th International Conference (CITC 11)

September 9th-11th, 2019 – London, United Kingdom

Editors

Syed M. Ahmed
East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

Paul Hampton

University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK

Amelia D. Saul

East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

Salman Azhar
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

Norma A. Smith
East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

Shaunna C. Campbell
East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

Kelly L. Mahaffy
East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

i
 Organized and Supported by

East Carolina University

Greenville, North Carolina, USA

University of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton, England

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

London, United Kingdom

Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama, USA

Babcock University
Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria

Quantity Surveyors International (QSI)

Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)

ii
 11th International Conference (CITC-11)
September 9-11, 2019, London, UK

1 Environmental Sustainability: Impact of Construction

2 Acitivities

3 Ayodeji Oke1, Douglas Aghimien1, Clinton Aigbavboa1, and Zanele Madonsela1

4 1
SARChi in Sustainable Construction Management and Leadership in the Built Environment,
5 Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
6 [email protected]

7 Abstract. As a result of pollution, deforestation and other environmental

8 challenges, construction process and activities has contributed in no small
9 measure to environmental degradation. One of the fundamental tripod of
10 sustainability is keeping the environment safe for the inhabitants. This study,
11 therefore, examine the impact of construction activities on the environment with
12 a view to highlighting mitigating approaches and their enforcement strategies. A
13 quantitative research methodology was adopted, and convenient sampling
14 technique was employed to gather information from primary sources.
15 Questionnaires were administered on construction professionals which include
16 architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, safety officers as well as construction
17 and facility managers. Construction activities impact badly on the environment
18 due to waste generation, resource consumption, noise pollution, air pollution due
19 to dust from construction activities as well as bad odours from large diesel-
20 powered vehicles/construction machinery. Although, some of these impacts
21 cannot be completely eradicated, there are a number of approaches that could be
22 used to mitigate them, these include Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),
23 green building (sustainable construction), Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA),
24 Environmental Management System (EMS), and Environmental Protection
25 Agency (EPA). Therefore, an effort should be made by government and
26 construction stakeholders to efficiently incorporate and enforce the available
27 approaches/ initiatives through constant monitoring of construction process from
28 start to completion and legislative laws that spell out punishment as response to
29 violations. Awareness, learning and trainings of construction stakeholders on the
30 impacts of building construction activities on the environment is also
31 recommended.

32 Keywords: Construction activities, Construction Industry, Environment, Green

33 building, Sustainable construction

34 1 Introduction

35 Construction activities involve the consumption of various form of resources including

36 raw and finished materials that are derived from various sector of the environment. The
37 impact of these activities on the environment cannot be over-emphasised. In this regard,
38 ways of controlling, managing and reducing these environmental impacts have been

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39 developed and implemented from time to time. Construction project performance and
40 success has traditionally been measured in term of duration, cost, and quality.
41 According to Gangolells, et al. [1], the environment has become the fourth variable.
42 Fuertes et al. [2] stated that while economic development of a country can lead to an
43 improvement in the quality of life of her citizens, the resulting environmental damages
44 may affect human health and ultimately undermine the economic development and
45 growth. Therefore, it is imperative for the construction industry to always take into
46 account the environmental impacts of construction activities as an important factor of
47 project success. According to Tam and Tsui [3], the construction industry plays an
48 important role in meeting the needs of any society, as well as enhancing the quality of
49 life of people. However, the responsibility for ensuring that activities of the industry
50 and its products are consistent with environmental guidelines, standards and policies is
51 an aspect that still needs to be defined.
52 One of the approaches that is widely used to reduce environmental impacts is the
53 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA is defined as a process that assesses and
54 evaluate possible impacts of activities before the commencement of a project or
55 development with a view to plan and mitigate the possible impacts [4]. This help
56 managers and concerned stakeholders to make decisions on whether the project or
57 development should proceed, and the required condition for the project to proceed.
58 Over the years, a number of other approaches have been adopted in various sectors of
59 the economy including the construction industry [2; 5; 6], these include; Environmental
60 Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Management Systems (EMS), and Life
61 Cycle Assessment (LCA). All the approaches have different purpose, function, and
62 procedure to implement them. However, one thing they all have in common is that they
63 are all important tools for the conservation of the environment.
64 The Government plays an important role in this regard, in term of commitment
65 towards the different approaches through appropriate legislation. According to
66 Murombo [4], the South African government has put into practice environmental
67 legislation for sustainable use of resources and conservation of natural resources, which
68 addresses social, economic, and ecological issues. The implementation of laws and
69 policies provided in this regard is of great importance, as it helps with the enforcement
70 of the approaches. Wasserman [7] stated that the full implementation of these
71 approaches does not entirely lie with the Government, public participation is also
72 necessary for the proper actualisation. In this study, the common environmental impacts
73 of building construction activities were identified and assessed, current approaches to
74 encourage the minimisation of the impacts were evaluated and different means to
75 enforce the initiatives were also discussed.

76 Literature Review

77 2.1 Construction activities

78 The construction industry plays a crucial role in the economy of South Africa by
79 providing more than one million jobs and generating revenue of approximately R267bn
80 annually [8]. However, it has been observed that construction activities impact on the

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81 environment through the process of construction and life cycle of development. These
82 impacts start from the initial work on site, through the actual construction, operational
83 or usage period and to the final demolition or re-use [5; 9]. According to Li and Zhang
84 [10], the construction industry is responsible for the use of high volume of natural
85 resources and the generation of great amount of pollution. This is as a result of energy
86 consumption during extraction, preparation, transportation, and usage of raw materials.

87 2.2 The Environment

88 According to Smull and Bourne [11] every human being responds to the environment
89 they find themselves in different ways depending on their level of satisfaction by what
90 surrounds them. Certain things must be present in the environment and others must
91 cease to exist for human beings to be satisfied or content in any environment. When an
92 environment is harmful or extremely unpleasant, it is what the environment allows or
93 accommodates that causes people to have complaints about the environment. The
94 typical emotional response to a harmful or unpleasant environment is either anger or
95 depression. By paying special attention to people’s behaviour and their reaction to
96 certain conditions, issues that are dissatisfying about that particular environment, and
97 what needs to change can be identified.
98 While there are some things existing within an environment that may prove to be
99 toxic or dangerous, it does not necessarily mean that they will be toxic to everyone
100 concerned, some things are toxic and dangerous to some people but not to others.
101 Consequently, there are some factors that are toxic and injurious to all, and cannot be
102 tolerated. When critical aspects of what is important to the public are absent, this will
103 result in making the environment less healthy and less safe for the people.

104 2.3 Construction Activities and Environment

105 Most countries are faced with many environmental challenges due to the construction
106 of different types of infrastructure. These include such things as soil alteration and
107 excessive use of resources. Gangolells et al. [1] stated that one of the critical issues that
108 involve the greatest level of uncertainty is in the identification and assessment of
109 environmental impacts. It is important, to identify and assess these impacts. Dong and
110 Ng [6] noted that due to the various challenges involved with the building of
111 construction activities, including differences in locality, site, parties involved, as well
112 as the tolerance levels, it is difficult to predict, manage and address environmental
113 impacts. There are a number of approaches/initiatives that aid sustainable use and
114 protection of the environment. These include EIA, EMS, EPA, LCA, Environmental
115 Management Framework (EMF), and Green Building (Sustainable Construction).
116 It has been observed that some effective approaches relating to the assessment of
117 environmental impacts have been largely overlooked [2]. In order for the approaches
118 to be efficient and effective, Ametepey and Ansah [5] concluded that it does not end
119 with just the implementation of the approaches but enforcement has to be taken into
120 account. The enforcement of these approaches contains factors such as monitoring,
121 controlling, maintenance, as well as mitigation. Furthermore, participation in the
122 approaches should not be undertaken as a once-off event, but a sustained and
123 continuous iterative process. An iterative process that begins with the identification of

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124 the problem, through project conception/formulation, and final approval of the project
125 [4].
126 Notable environmental issues include global warming, energy crisis, and ozone
127 depletion. In order to control environmental pollution and sustain the development of
128 infrastructure, sustainable development was proposed by the World Commission on
129 Environment and Development [2]. This was explained as the development that meets
130 the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future
131 generations to meet their own needs.

132 2 Research Methodology

133 A descriptive survey design was adopted for this study because it provides an adequate
134 representation of the respondents’ characteristics in term of behaviour, opinions,
135 abilities, beliefs, and knowledge of a particular situation. This design was undertaken
136 so as to meet the main objective of the study, which is to assess the environmental
137 impacts of building construction activities. The study population include professionals
138 in the South African construction industry. These include Quantity Surveyors,
139 Construction Managers, Architects, Engineers and Safety Officers who have the
140 required experience and are currently involved in at least one construction projects in
141 Gauteng region of the country.
142 Questionnaires were adopted as a research instrument for the study and were
143 distributed using convenient sampling method. It was designed such that the
144 respondents can answer the questions with no hassles. Straight forward, clear and
145 unambiguous language was used and close attention was paid to every question so as
146 to make sure that bias questions would be avoided. A 5-point Likert scale was adopted
147 for environmental impact of construction activities as well as enforcement of measures
148 to mitigate the challenge. The scale ranges from extreme negative, through neutral
149 value, to extreme positive. Mean Item Score (MIS) and Standard Deviation (SD) were
150 calculated using SPSS 21 and the resulting values were used to rank the variables in
151 descending order. For measures to combat the impact, respondents were asked to select
152 as many factors as relevant and percentile was used to analyse this aspect and rank the
153 factors accordingly.

154 3 Findings and Discussions

155 3.1 Background information

156 A total of 65 questionnaires were administered but due to non-responsiveness of some
157 of the respondents and time constraints, 54 were retrieved. However, 50 of the
158 completed instruments were adequately completed and certified fit for further analysis.
159 Findings from the analysis of the research instrument indicate that 66% of the
160 respondents are male and 34% are female with an average year of experience of about
161 7 years. 18% are Architects, 32% are Quantity Surveyors, 12% are Engineers, 8% are

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162 Construction Managers, 4% are Facilities Managers, and the remaining 4% are site
163 agents.

164 4.2 Environmental impacts of construction activities

165 The basic environmental impacts of construction activities as indicated in Table 1 are
166 resource consumption (such as water, electricity and fuel consumption during the
167 construction process) and waste generation. Others are air pollution due to dust from
168 construction activities, noise pollution, destruction of the ecosystem and air pollution
169 due to bad odour from large diesel-powered vehicles/construction machinery. The least
170 impact is related to effects on biodiversity, soil alteration and generation of volatile
171 organic compounds (VOCs) as a result of vehicle movements and machinery used in
172 construction. The SD values also indicate there is agreement among respondents in the
173 assessment of the factors.

174 Table 1. Environmental impacts due to construction activities

Environmental impacts MIS SD Rank

Resource consumption (such as water, electricity and
4.02 0.829 1
fuel consumption during the construction process)
Waste generation 3.92 0.709 2
Air pollution due to dust from construction activities 3.72 0.663 3
Noise pollution 3.60 0.551 4
Destruction of the ecosystem 3.46 0.289 5
Air pollution due to odour from large diesel-powered
3.44 0.755 6
vehicles/construction machinery
Generation of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of
vehicle movements and machinery used in 3.41 0.597 7
construction
Vibrations due to heavy construction machinery 3.35 0.330 8
Generation of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC’s) as a result
of vehicle movements and machinery used in 3.26 0.608 9
construction
Effects on biodiversity 3.10 0.618 10
Soil alteration 3.08 0.472 11
Generation of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s)
as a result of vehicle movements and machinery used 2.96 0.995 12
in construction

175 4.3 Combating environmental impact of construction activities

176 Construction experts were asked about the approaches that are in place to mitigate the
177 environmental impacts of construction activities. Provision was also made for the
178 respondents to write other approaches that were not listed. Using their frequency of
179 selection and percentage calculated in Table 2, Environmental Impact Assessment
180 (EIA) and Green Building (Sustainable Construction strategy) are the two important

329
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181 initiatives. Others are Environmental Management System (EMS), Life Cycle
182 Assessment (LCA), Environmental Management Framework (EMF) and Strategic
183 Environmental Assessment. No other approach was specified by any of the respondents
184 indicating that the selected list of initiatives is expansive.

185 Table 2. Approaches to combat environmental impacts

Approaches/initiatives Percentage Rank

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 21.4 1
Green Building (Sustainable Construction) 20.9 2
Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) 12.3 3
Environmental Management System (EMS 11.2 4
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 10.7 5
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 9.6 6
Environmental Management Framework (EMF) 7.5 7
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) 6.4 8

186 Furthermore, steps to be taken to enforce the approaches/initiatives for the

187 minimisation of environmental impacts of construction activities are indicated in Table
188 3. These include constant monitoring of construction process from start to completion,
189 enforceability and audit ability of the strategy, linking mitigation commitments to
190 monitoring and legislative laws that spell out punishment as a response to violations.
191 Others are transparency and accountability in contract administration, checking
192 company profiles and confirming qualifications, a delegation of tasks and continuous
193 professional development. On the lower end are giving the public and government
194 access to commitment documents and making follow up actions.

195 Table 3. Enforcement strategies for environmental control measures

Mitigation method MIS SD Rank

Constantly monitoring the construction process from start to
4.46 1.150 1
completion
Enforceability and audit ability of the strategy 4.22 1.137 2
Linking mitigation commitments to monitoring 4.18 1.008 3
Legislative laws that spell out punishment as a response to
4.15 0.829 4
violations
Strict disciplinary measures from professional bodies 4.12 0.957 5
Organisations to have programs of awareness 3.98 0.656 6
Transparency and accountability in contract administration 3.94 1.026 7
Continuous professional development 3.84 1.025 8
Delegation of tasks 3.71 0.638 9
Appointment of highly experienced construction professionals 3.70 0.812 10
Devising contingency plans 3.70 1.139 11
Checking company profiles and confirming qualifications 3.44 0.718 12

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Giving the public and government access to commitment

1.08 0.453 13
documents
Making follow up actions 0.46 0.968 14

196 4.4 Discussion

197 In support of Zolfgharian [12], some impacts of construction activities on the
198 environment are so minor that they may be considered as acceptable, whereas some are
199 highly significant that they cannot be ignored. However, there are certain
200 environmental impacts of construction activities that are significant, such as air
201 pollution, noise pollution, resource consumption, destruction of the ecosystem and
202 waste generation. This is in agreement with Gangolells et al. [1] and Ametepey and
203 Ansah [5]. Previous studies from Ruckelshaus [13], Rendell and McGinty [14], Fischer
204 [15], Jay et al. [16] and Murombo [4] revealed that there are a number of approaches/
205 initiatives that are available in combating environmental impacts, both nationally and
206 internationally. Some of these are regulations that should be adhered to so as to protect
207 the environment. In agreement with these authors, the findings from this study indicate
208 that EIA and Sustainable Construction are the most widely used approaches to combat
209 environmental impacts.

210 4 Conclusion and Recommendation

211 Construction activities impact badly on the environment. Although some of these
212 impacts cannot be completely extinguished, there are a number of approaches/
213 initiatives that have been put in place in order to minimise and control these adverse
214 environmental impacts. However, enforcing these approaches has been a major
215 challenge. The impacts of construction activities include waste generation, resource
216 consumption, noise pollution, air pollution destruction of the ecosystem and generation
217 of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of vehicle movements and machinery used in
218 construction.
219 The approaches/ initiatives currently used to mitigate these impacts are
220 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Sustainable Construction. However, to
221 ensure the enforcement of the mitigating approaches, construction process need to be
222 monitored from start to completion, legislative laws that spell out punishment as
223 response to violations must be put in place, strict disciplinary measures of members by
224 various professional bodies, there should be transparency and accountability in contract
225 administration, and continuous professional development should be encouraged. An
226 effort should be made to efficiently incorporate the above-mentioned approaches/
227 initiatives into construction projects right from the inception stage. Careful
228 consideration should also be taken to ensure that these approaches are used efficiently
229 and according to standard.

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230 References
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