Use of sustainable materials in construction industry contractor’s perspective

Abstract

Buildings are the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, both in the developed and developing countries. Therefore, it is a dire need in the present status quo to shift to sustainable buildings. Sustainable buildings can be identified as a spectrum of buildings, designed and constructed using methods and materials that are resource efficient and that will not compromise the health of the environment, wellbeing of the building occupants, construction workers, general public or up and coming future generations. In the process of construction of sustainable buildings, while striking a balance between the triple bottom line, environmental, social and economic sustainability, construction material is given a higher priority. Therefore, this research reflexes the use of sustainable building materials in the construction industry. In the research process, initially a comprehensive literature synthesis was carried out to get an insight on the concept of sustainability and sustainability construction. This was then followed by a questionnaire survey among the M1 and M2 contractors of Sri Lanka. Through the study it was evident that there is perfect knowledge available on the concept of sustainability even though only 48% of the contractors have used sustainable materials in construction. It is necessary to comment that sustainability has now become mandatory in order to tackle many environmental problems. Thus, the usage of sustainable materials in construction is at the verge of being a mandatory requirement in construction. Therefore, this research provides a firm basis to use sustainable materials in construction industry in the perspective of construction contractors.