A framework for environmental rating schemes for infrastructure projects

Abstract

Infrastructure plays a vital role in a country's socioeconomic development and there is a growing demand for infrastructure in developing countries. However, infrastructure development impacts the natural environment significantly. Therefore, it is important to consider the environmental sustainability of infrastructure projects. In the built environment sector, Environmental Rating Schemes (ERS) play an important role in evaluating and encouraging the implementation of sustainability at the project level. While ERSs have gained widespread attention worldwide, less attention has been paid to infrastructure, and it has tended to focus on the building sector. Furthermore, no ERSs for infrastructure are found in developing countries so far. It is important for an ERS to be type-specific and many building rating schemes have considered this. However, no type-specific ERS for infrastructure has been published so far. Moreover, the existing ERSs have been criticized for the absence of any theoretical bases. To address these gaps, this study aims to propose a theoretical framework for infrastructure ERSs in developing countries. The literature on environmental sustainability was reviewed to identify the important aspects which should be applied at the project level to achieve environmental sustainability in those countries. The factors were analyzed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Results show the highest importance for minimising impacts of waste disposal and non-renewable energy sources followed by avoiding corruption. The study provides a theoretical basis for developing ERSs for infrastructure projects and a path for developing sector-specific ERSs.