Partnerships for Sustainable Development November 7-10, 2004 12th International Conference of Greening of Industry Network Hong Kong

Progress and Problems in Nurturing Sustainability Performance of Contractors in the Hong Kong

Evia O.W. WONG HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Built Environment Hong Kong, Hong Kong Phone Number: (852)28099728 Fax Number: (852)22141510 Email: evia@hkuspace.hku.hk Tony T.M. TANG HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Built Environment Hong Kong, Hong Kong Phone Number: (852)28099720 Fax Number: (852)22141510 Email: tmtang@hkuspace.hku.hk Thomas K.T. WONG HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Built Environment Hong Kong, Hong Kong Phone Number: (852)28099717 Fax Number: (852)22141510 Email: tomwong@netvigator.com

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Abstract The concept of sustainable construction calls for a holistic view of the design, planning and construction process in the building life cycle and the incorporation of sustainability into the construction practices of contractors is one of imperative approaches to help improve the overall sustainability performance of the construction industry. In Hong Kong, contractors demonstrated varying degrees of improvements in sustainability performance over the past few years. Encouragingly, the HKSAR Government and many large construction organizations are playing as the role models in adopting ecologically sound construction practice through investing time and money in sustainability development. However the underlying issue is that in the environment of economic downturn, most contractors are forced to concentrate more on survival rather than on social responsibility despite the economy is now showing signs of recovery. For the purposes of undertaking an analytical approach to exploring the problems in nurturing sustainability performance, the existing state, pressure and response of contractors in the context of sustainability were identified through a survey sent to 233 construction firms under the list of general building contractors of the Builder Directory 2003-2004 and on a database searched from the internet. On the whole, the industry experiences some critical problems to see the progress of sustainability being further accelerated. First, there has been a lack of concept of sustainable construction by the senior management of organisations. Second, some sustainability practices such as the sorting of construction and demolition wastes and using recycled materials are still in their infancy. Finally, the sustainability and cost paradox seems to be the leading reason to explain why the attributes of the industry stakeholders including clients and contractors have not fundamentally changed. Key words: sustainable construction, construction and demolition wastes, recycled materials

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INTRODUCTION In the 1980s, the construction industry began to adopt quality management system that was indeed a reflection of the need of organisations to respond quickly to changes in clients expectations and the marketplace (Preece & Tarawneh, 1996). The definition of sustainable development was originated from the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 as meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987). Since then, there has been greater pressure worldwide to vigorously pursue the concept of sustainable development and a range of related principles have evolved over time by different countries and governments. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that sustainable development concerns three interconnected dimensions in the contexts of economy, social and environment. Sustainable construction is seen as part of sustainable development. The term Sustainable Construction was construed in the First International Conference on Sustainable Construction in 1994 as the creation and responsible maintenance of a healthy built environment, based on ecological principles, and by means of an efficient use of resources (Kibert, 1994). At both the regional and the global levels, the construction industry is one of the main despoilers, depleting the natural resources and causing undesirable side effects such as air and water pollution, solid waste, deforestation, toxic wastes, health hazards and global warming. Many researchers gave emphasis to a holistic view of the design process in the building life cycle and thus architects and engineers have the potential to improve sustainability performance through well-thought out building designs (Littler, 1984). To enable a better quality of life for our community and future generations through a more sustainable approach to construction, more effort should be devoted to the proper management of various environmental issues not only in the design stage, but also in the construction, operation and demolition stages. In Hong Kong, the traditional design-tender-build procurement method is still commonplace despite the fact that design & build has been gaining in popularity over recent years. Although contractors do not generally undertake or become involved in project design work, the incorporation of the concept of sustainability into their business strategies and ultimately construction practice will appreciably help to improve the overall sustainability performance of the industry. Aiming for sustainable built environment requires a fundamental paradigm shift in the way the project participants approach time, cost and quality constraints (Augenbroe et al 1998). In reality, most construction clients concern themselves primarily with the cost of the completed building, whether it is delivered on time, its quality and functionality, but totally disregard the sustainability performance of the main contractor. On the other hand, the local construction industry is undergoing a recession and cut-throat competition has sometimes led to the submission of unrealistically low bids by contractors in order to win jobs. The overwhelming concern of construction organisations is to do what is necessary to ensure profit and survival and they have little incentive to do more than the minimum requirement. The sustainability and cost paradox seems to be the leading reason to explain why the

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attributes of a multivariate of industry stakeholders including clients and contractors have not fundamentally changed. Looking from a resource-based approach, business strategy can be defined as the alignment of an organisations resources within the environmental conditions with which it has to deal (Hofer & Schendel, 1978). In effect, the phrase structure follows strategy is closely linked to the process of implementation of sustainability (Chandler, 1962). For instance, more on-site personnel should be employed to assist in managing the environmental aspects of construction activities. On this account, a balance has to be established by contractors between their internal resources and the demands of the environment.

METHODOLOGY The existing state, pressure and response of contractors in the context of sustainability were examined through a survey sent to 233 construction firms under the list of general building contractors of the Builder Directory 2003-2004 and on a database searched from the internet. The study intends to (i) evaluate the level of understanding of sustainable construction by the respondents, (ii) gain an overview of the norm and progress of the industry in nurturing sustainability and identify resources requirements and problems of individual contractors in improving sustainability performance and (iii) ascertain whether the competitive environment can be an effective catalyst for changing the sustainability practices of construction organisations. To undertake an analytical approach to exploring the problems in nurturing sustainability performance of contractors, the following background knowledge and information is reviewed to provide the main stem of the study.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT In 1997, the HKSAR Government took its first step to advocate sustainable development with particular reference to a study on sustainable development in Hong The Kong for the 21st Century (SUSDEV) (Planning Department, 1997). Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance was enacted in the same year. In 1999, the Government set out in its policy address that the concept of sustainable development would be taken into account in future planning and policy making of Hong Kong (Policy Address, 1999). To facilitate guiding policy development, evaluating the effectiveness of policy, and establishing a measurable focus for implementing sustainable development, the working definition of sustainable development in Hong Kong was arrived at in SUSDEV 21 and completed in 2000 as: it balances social, economic and environmental needs, both for present and future generations, simultaneously achieving a vibrant economy, social progress and better quality, locally, nationally and internationally, through the efforts of the community and the Government (Sing Tao Daily, 2001).

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Forming part of the long-term development plan of the government, the Sustainable Development Unit was set up in the Chief Secretary for Administrations Office in April 2001 and it was agreed that all future policies and initiatives would be subject to the consideration of sustainability impact assessment (Planning Department, 1997).

WAYS TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABILITY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

IN

THE

SPHERE

OF

The construction industry is one of the main pillars of our economy. It is large in terms of both output and employment, produced 4.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed in the region of 160,000 people (approximately 4.7 per cent of total workforce) in 2001 (Year Book, 2001). The industry stakeholders often appear to be introspective and totally concern themselves with their own interests. Actually, the environmental impacts of the construction industry are extensive (Shen & Tam, 2002). In order to alleviate the problem, the industry has to change the way it interacts with the world. In brief, sustainable construction refers to construction activities that aim to achieve a balance of economic, social and environmental performance. To effectively enhance the sustainability performance of the industry, due consideration should be given to a wide range of issues such as buildability, maintainability, repairability, upgradability, choice of materials, recyclability, construction methods, energy efficiency, and users health and comfort throughout the building life cycle. In considering this, clients, designers, contractors, suppliers and occupiers all have an important role to play in the delivery of sustainable construction. In Hong Kong, the traditional design-tender-build procurement system prevents collaborative effort between designers and contractors. The form of the building, its structure, materials used and the construction details are usually proposed by architects and engineers and approved by the client. Contractors are usually presented with design/working drawings and specifications and have little opportunity to influence the way in which the buildings are to be constructed. From the contractors perspective, the use of prefabrication materials, minimizing air & water pollution, reducing, reusing and recycling of construction materials are some effective ways to improve the project sustainability performance. In the process of promoting sustainability, the HKSAR government has been taking the lead to adopt ecologically sound construction practice through its role as both a construction client and a contractor. For instance, the widespread application of precast element is found in the construction of public houses of the Harmony and Concord Design under the Housing Authority and System-build precast construction and metal formwork are specified by the Architectural Services Department in undertaking new school projects in order to reduce construction wastes and enhance the quality of work. For public works and housing projects, the specifications have been amended to regulate the use of recycled materials as hardcore in foundations, sub-base in road pavement and concrete in less technically demanding works.

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BARRIER OF NURTURING SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE Culture and Practices of the Industry Construction is always part of human activity and culture. At an organisational level, there are deep-set beliefs about the way in which work should be organized, authority should be exercised, people rewarded and controlled (Kivisto, 1987). There is a strong tendency in construction personnel to do the job in the same way as it has been done before. The standardization of work processes ensures that everyone does what they are supposed to do. Where culture has developed over long periods of time and become firmly embedded, it may be difficult to change quickly unless a traumatic event occurs (Schein, 1990). Provided that contractors all tend to long for similar routines, changes are always met with resistance (Erez & Earley, 1993). This situation is not only observed in workers but in managers as well. Culture may screen out new ideas which are not compatible with the organizational practices. It is generally accepted that project performance is assessed against the prescribed time, cost and quality objectives. To realize the full potential of sustainability, it requires a fundamental paradigm shift in the way the construction industry approach time, cost and quality constraints and the industry is obliged to take a much broader view in terms of full life cycle assessment, social cost and quality than used in the past (Augenbroe et al 1998).

Tender Assessment Public accountability demands public sector clients to achieve good value for money in construction procurement. In the private sector, most construction clients are only interested in the cost of the completed building, whether it is delivered on time, its quality and functionality. They always equate best value with cost and select contractors almost exclusively on the basis on tendered price. In the property market, the clients and contractors seem to have agreed on what they are aiming at. One serious concern of developers is to recoup their financial investments as quickly as possible and there is little interest in the environmental impacts of the construction process. On the other hand, cut-throat competition has sometimes led to the submission of unrealistically low bids by the contractors. It becomes uneasy for contractors to use their distinctive capabilities such as product differentiation and environmentally friendly construction method to gain a competitive edge since the choice of contractor is nearly always dependent on price. To successfully incorporate sustainability as a guiding principle in construction, the construction industry needs a convincing reason to do so. Business Environment Strategy is the process of setting the fundamental long term goals of the organisation and then allocating the resources necessary to achieve them (Chandler, 1962; Male, 1991). Looking from a resource-based approach, business strategy can be defined as the alignment of an organisations resources within the environmental conditions with which it has to deal (Hofer & Schendel, 1978). By integration of these principles, a

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business strategy constitutes a set of guidelines for determining the organisations future by establishing a balance between its internal resources and the demands of the environment. The objectives of an enterprise are seldom as clear-cut as they seem and it is too simple to claim that making money is the prime objectives of an enterprise (Brech, 1975). In recent times, the centrality of economic measures as indicator of success has been challenged. Today, organisations are seen important in terms of their social organisational objectives. However in a stable environment, changes tend to come slowly. Most organizations seek to maintain equilibrium against internal and external disruptive forces. They continue doing what they have always done and are unlikely to see any need for strategic change or if changes occur, they tend to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary (Newcombe et al 1990). In principle, the change process starts with an awareness of the need for the change. Most organisations change mainly in response to external circumstances (reactive change) while others change because they have decided to change (proactive change) (Porter, 1980). The process of interaction between sustainability and environment has led to changes in the way organisations approach their practices. To some content organisations have to respond to the pressures of an external environment in the contexts of economic, social and environmental factors and rely on the ability of management to achieve an optimum degree of fit between the complex and sometimes conflicting organisational objectives, culture and external environment. Depending on their relative power in a particular situation, the behaviour of stakeholders including clients, materials suppliers and competitors will exert influence on the organisations decision. For any firm which has been acknowledged within the industry, competitors may be forced to follow it in order to retain the market share (March & Olsen, 1989). For instance quantity surveyors and architecture firms follow the services provided by other firms of their own field. The leading firms really like setting the rule of game for the industry. Of paramount importance, this depends upon a mutual understanding across organisations that these changes will lead to a better chance of securing the contract. Besides, the fragmented local construction industry is characterized by many contractors who are in a weak bargaining position by comparison with the client and thus organisations will adapt their norms in order to meet the customers requirements. However the current position is that clients select contractors fairly on the basis on tendered price.

RESEARCH FINDINGD 233 questionnaires were sent out and 42 were received which represents a return rate of 18%. All the returned questionnaires were found to be usable. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed mainly in the forms of mean-weighted average and Relative Importance Index to compare the significance of various options in questions and also standard deviation to measure the dispersion of the collected data. The positions of the respondents within organisations are indicated below:

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Position Quantity Surveyor Project Manager/ Project Director Managing Director/ Executive Director/ Director General Manager Environment and Sustainability Manager Total:

No. of Counts 2 10 20 9 1 42

No. of Percentage 5% 24% 48% 21% 2% 100%

Table 1: Position of the Respondent within Organisation The respondents were computed at an average of 20 and 12 years of work experience in the construction industry and in their current organisation respectively. There is no doubt about the validity of the results as nearly all of the returned questionnaires were completed by appropriate persons within the organisations such as project manager and general manager who have a great sensitivity toward the industry and a thorough understanding of the practices of project planning and resources management in their current organisation. Awareness and Culture of Sustainable Construction Awareness of Sustainable Construction Although a broad body of literature has been emerging in the domain of sustainable construction, it seems to be a rather new concept to the local industry practitioners at this instant. 18 respondents (43%) were frank in admitting that they have not heard about the term sustainable construction before reading the questionnaire. It is presumed that most respondents learnt this concept from their workplace or through attending relevant training courses as this content had not been included in course curriculum in the past. For further understanding, the respondents were asked if they had attended any relevant training course. It was found that only 16 respondents (38%) have attended relevant training courses and 26 respondents (62%) did not. By exploring the linkage between these two questions, only 31% of the respondents who have not attended a relevant training course know about the term sustainable construction. Heard about the term sustainable construction All respondents attended relevant training course have not attended relevant training course Total: Yes Number 24 16 8 42 % 57% 100% 31% 100% Number 18 0 18 100% No % 43% 0% 69% 100%

Table 2: The proportion of the respondents knowing the term sustainable construction with respect to their attendance of relevant training course

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Overall, 57% of the respondents had heard about the term sustainable construction. It can be concluded that there is a significant difference between the hypothesized value of the population proportion (57%) and the proportion of employees who have not attended relevant training course know about the term sustainable construction (31%). Hence attending relevant training courses by the industry practitioners is an effective way to increase the level of understanding of sustainable construction by the industry. Measurement of the Organisational and Industrial Culture Several questions have been designed to permit measurement of the characteristics of the industry culture 5 years ago and now in quantitative terms and ascertain whether the external environment is seen as an effective catalyst for achieving change from a sociological perspective.

Time

Unawar e 1
8 (19%) 2 (5%)

2
12 (29%) 4 (10%)

Aware but not active 3

18 (43%) 18 (43%)

4
4 (10%) 12 (29%)

Aware and active 5

0 (0%) 6 (14%)

Total

5 years ago Now

42 (100%) 42 (100%)

Table 3: Attitude of the Respondents towards Industry Sustainability No respondent said that the attitude of the industry towards sustainability 5 years ago was aware and active. This proportion has been increased to 14% at the present time. Only 2 respondents (5%) believed that the industry is still taking an unaware attitude over sustainability and this situation has improved noticeably by comparison with the figure of 19% 5 years ago. Figure 1 shows that the proportion of respondents rating from 3 to 5 (aware but not active to aware and active) has been increased considerably over the past five years.

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100%

Now
80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 43%

86%

96% 87%

100%

5 yrs ago
53%

14% 0%

10%

5
Aware and active

3
Aware but Not active

1
Unaware

Figure12: Attitude of the Industry towards Sustainability (Cumulative)

The respondents rated the attitude of the industry towards sustainability at an average of 2.5 (37.5%) 5 years ago and 3.4 (60%) at the present time.

Effect from External Environment The following two questions attempt to ascertain the effect from the external environment including role models and competitors on inducing cultural change. Effect of Role Model Very strong 1 2 (5%) Very weak 6 6 (14%)

Total

Mean

2 6 (14%)

3 10 (24%)

4 10 (24%)

5 8 (19%)

42

3.9

Table 4: The Effect of Role Models on Promoting Sustainability Most respondents did not take either side of the sliding scale and tried to remain neutral concerning the effect of role models on the industry where 3 and 4 were most frequently chosen by the respondents. Hence, it becomes quite difficult to draw a concrete conclusion as to the effect of role models on serving as a catalyst for achieving sustainability by the industry. Given that the mean of all respondents was computed at 3.9 and the median is 4 in the distribution, it is likely to say that the respondents were biased towards the weak effect side.

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Effect of Competitors in the Industry

% of Seriously contractors affected 1 2 25% 3 0 (7%) (0%) 50% 3 10 (7%) (24%) 75% 13 8 (31%) (19%) Table 5:

3 18 (43%) 10 (42%) 13 (31%)

4 18 (43%) 16 (38%) 5 (12%)

Totally Not affected 5 6 8 5 (19%) (12%) 0 3 (0%) (7%) 0 3 (0%) (7%)

Mean

3.9 3.2 2.5

The Pressure exerted on Organisations with respect to the Proportion of their Competitors implementing Sustainability

As shown above, there will be a progressive increase in the pressure on contractors as the sustainability culture is clouding the industry. Though many modern management theories emphasis the need for organizational responsiveness, the result shows that the majority of the respondents are not positive for initiating changes despite under the pressure of their competitors. It is noted that the actions from the respondents can be very diverse. 7% of the respondents expressed that despite 75% of contractors is advocating sustainability, this will not affect their existing practice at all. This implies that a minority of contractors are indifferent to what other organisations do in the industry. However, another 7% is working under extreme pressure. They said that their sustainability performance would be seriously affected if they knew that there are already 25% of contractors advocating sustainability. Perception of Project Objectives In order to understand the project objectives of the client systematically, the Relative Importance Index (RII) was adopted here. A significant factor of 1, 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 is assigned to the preferences given by the respondents in order of 1, 2, 3 and 4, while a zero value will be given to the ranking 5. The RII of each option was calculated by summing up the total score assigned to it, which is divided by the total number of respondents. The 5 prescribed project objectives were presented in descending order of importance according to their calculated RII.

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Order of Importance 1 2 3 4 5

Project Objectives Time and cost performance Reducing construction accident Reducing pollution Reducing disposal of materials wastes at landfills Using recycled materials

RII 0.91 0.75 0.46 0.31 0.12

Standard Deviation 0.78 0.92 1.06 0.92 0.66

Table 6: Priority of Project Objectives of the Client It is predictable that time and cost performance remains the primary concern of the client as evidenced by, 74% of the respondents (according to the raw data collected from the questionnaires) placing it as the first priority of the client and there is a general consensus about its significance (standard deviation is 0.78). Apart from time and cost performance, the other four objectives including reducing construction accident, reducing pollution, reducing disposal of material wastes at landfills, and using recycled materials are a set of criteria and principles that center around sustainability. It is not surprising to know that reducing construction accidents was ranked as the second most important area of concern by the client. As mentioned, 74% of the respondents ranked time and cost performance as a top priority while the remaining 26% went to the objective of reducing construction accident. Much literature has demonstrated the considerable costs of accidents at work. The result can be explained from a different perspective that reputation is another important aspect of distinctive capabilities to be assessed by the client. Reducing construction accidents is definitely a good way to help the client maintain their reputation in society. Since the enactment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance in 1997, the industry emphasizes the effect of pollution on the community. The effects of reducing pollution are tangible, while the client may not easily perceive the added value of reducing disposal of material wastes at landfills and using recycled materials in construction. This suggests the reason why they were ranked as the two least important objectives of the client. The value of RII for using recycled materials is only 0.12 and there seems to be a consensus that it is the least important objective of the client (standard deviation is 0.66 which is the least among the provided options).

Existing Practice in the Construction Industry Using Recycled Building Materials Of the 42 respondents, 22 respondents (52%) indicated that their organisation has used recycled building materials in the construction process on their own accord, while the organisations of the remaining 20 respondents (48%) did not have such experience. The common resistances expressed by the 42 respondents to using recycled building

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materials are summarized below (the 22 respondents whose organisations have used recycled materials voluntarily were also asked to complete this question): Reasons for not using Recycled Building Materials 1 Higher price when compared with traditional products 2 Lower quality when compared with similar traditional products 3 Quality is not certain 4 The prevailing products in the market cannot fulfill the specifications 5 Limited choices in the market 6 Unable to source relevant product information *respondents can choose more than one reason Table 7: Reasons for not using Recycled Building Materials Although the population of resource guides is growing rapidly on a worldwide basis, 76% of the respondents expressed that there are limited choices of recycled-content building products at the present time. 38% of the respondents are concerned with the higher price of recycled materials when compared with traditional products. In Hong Kong, the market for recycled waste materials develops very slowly. Many product designs are only cost effective when they are mass produced. For instance, plywood is traditionally used as the materials of subfloor and concerning the sustainability issue, plywood can be replaced by a mixture of recycled plastic bottles and splinters of wood. However, this sustainability product costs almost double that of the traditional plywood subfloor. Since many recycled materials are now produced at low production volumes, they tend to be more expensive than their traditional competitors. 38% of the respondents stated that there is a lack of sufficient market information and reference standards for these recycled products. They often do not know where to source such information or find catalogues for recycling materials lists of supply sources. 58% of the respondents were not comfortable with the quality of recycled materials including the 10% who regarded them as of lower quality when compared to similar traditional products and the 48% who regarded them as of uncertain quality. For instance, some technical reports pointed out that with the use of recycled aggregate the performance of concrete is comparable to that of conventional concrete. However, the variation coefficients are high as the recycled aggregates cannot be homogenous. Hence, for safety reasons, the use of residues is recommended for concrete with non structural purposes. Because of this reason, the Hong Kong Housing Authority restricted the use of recycled materials as hardcore only in less technically demanding works. In principle, the key to successful marketing of recycled materials is that they can compete with the cost of virgin materials. The economical feasibility of the use of the wastes is directly related to the local price of conventional raw materials and associated recycled materials. Despite the fact that the local contractors can obtain
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No. of Counts 16 4 20 8 32 16

% of Respondent 38% 10% 48% 19% 76% 38%

free recycled aggregate from a yard owned by the government in Tuen Mun with the only cost involved being the transportation fee to and from Tuen Mun and the construction site, many contractors may still be tempted to use the traditional aggregate as they are already sufficiently available at low prices of around HK80.00/tonne. For recycling to become a viable option for the diversion of construction and demolition wastes, the products using recycled materials must meet the quality standards that exist. It is explicable that contractors have serious reservations about the use of recycled products as their long term effects have not been fully identified. There are few technical or quality control guidelines yet available for recycled materials. The real reason for the resistance to change is a fear of failure. It is obviously true that defects and failures occur in traditional methods of building, but new materials will appear to offer a greater risk. There is little doubt that the traditional construction methods are preferred by the builders because the problems of traditional construction are better understood and less likely to attract claims by the clients and consultants.

Established Procedures for Collecting, Separating and Transforming Construction Waste for Recycling Purpose Of the 42 respondents, 17 respondents (40%) indicated that their organisation have laid out some prescribed procedures to be followed by labours to collect, separate and transform construction waste, while such practice is not currently implemented by the organisations of the remaining 25 respondents (60%) with due regard on the following issues: Reasons for not sorting Construction Wastes Not enough space on site Not cost effective taking into account the additional tasks to be involved Involving additional supervisory staff Difficult to control No. of Counts 18 14 6 8 % of respondent 72% 56% 24% 32%

1 2 3 4

*respondents can choose more than one reason Table 8: Resistances to Sorting Construction Waste on Site Out of the 25 respondents whose organisation does not sort construction wastes on site, 18 (72%) felt hindered by a lack of space for sorting and this is especially true for construction sites in Hong Kong. It is obvious that as the disposal options require separation of wastes, the collection area needs to be larger than required by the traditional system which has only one point for the collection of all wastes. Another constraint has been the lack of space for the storage of waste materials to allow the accumulation of sufficient volumes to make commercial transactions viable. Ranked as the second priority, 14 respondents (56%) considered that sorting construction wastes is not economically viable. Once a market exists, the material is
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no longer a waste but a commodity. However, recycling industries are not generally highly profitable. From an economic perspective, resale for recycling will only become business practice when the markets for the commodities such as scrap copper and structural steel create a profit margin. Normally, construction sites have large quantities of structural steel taken from the construction process. In Hong Kong, the purchasing price of steel reinforcement bars is approximately HK$2,800/tonne while the scrap iron is sold at HK$500/tonne that does not warrant the labour cost of separation and preparation. The greatest obstacle to recycling is the resources and manpower required to separate construction wastes for recovery. Given that contractors are constantly forced to minimize profit margins in order to win jobs, the source separation process with its accompanying implication of time and costs, is unlikely to be welcomed by the construction industry. In Hong Kong, the levying of the landfill charges still has not been put into practice by the government because of strong resistance from the industry. This further inhibits the shift towards recycling. 24% and 33% of the respondents supposed that organisations face the problems of supervision and control in sorting construction wastes. On a construction site, recycling requires the education of workers about the recycling procedures and sorting of usable waste into bins clearly marked for different types of waste. It is absolute that source separation will not succeed if the workers are not motivated to do it. Procurement of Recycling Plant Only 10 respondents (24%) expressed that their organisation has procured a recycling plant for use on a construction site, while a majority of the organisations (76%) did not. The following reasons were chosen by the respondents for not procuring recycling plant by their organisation: Reasons for not procuring recycling plant 1 2 3 4 High investment cost of recycling plant Not operate efficiently Involving complicated procedures for sorting and separating construction wastes for its use Know nothing/ little about recycling plant No. of Counts 17 10 16 10 % of Respondents 53% 31% 50% 31%

*respondents can choose more than one reason Table 9: Reasons for not Procuring Recycling Plant 17 out of the 32 respondents (53%) whose organisations have not procured recycling plant expressed concern over the high investment cost of recycling plant. The prevalence of small and medium construction organisations inhibits the industry from investing heavily in the purchase of C&D waste recycling plants. Besides, as competitive tendering is now certainly unprofitable this tends to have a depressing effect on investment in new technologies. The significant time and cost demand related to investment in applying sophisticated measures for improving environmental conditions discourages contractors, clients, and engineers initiatives from carrying
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out sustainable construction. 31% of the respondents thought that the recycling plant does not operate efficiently. In fact, some plants are not working continuously or are under their capacity on a construction site because of the lack of an efficient policy for waste collection/disposal and use of recycled materials. 50% of the respondents worried about the complicated procedures for sorting and separating construction wastes for its use. Although building materials can be retrieved after recycling, their net value is so small to make their separation from the waste stream and procuring of recycling plant economically feasible. Up till now, the concept of a recycling plant has not received widespread promotion in the industry. Hence, contractors may not have the opportunity to gain knowledge of the functions and performances of recycling plants or lists of supply sources. Hence, it is not unexpected that 31% of the respondents know nothing or little about recycling plants. Use of Precast Materials Apart from 1 respondent, all the other 23 respondents (96%) supported the use of precast elements to be specified by the architect in construction. However the fact is that precast elements are infrequently used in the local construction industry. Of paramount importance, cost is a matter of concern to the client. The contractor constructs the building according to the designs, specifications and instructions given by the architects and engineers. The uncertainty about the ability of precast element to meet technical specifications, the perceived risk of product failure and the associated professional liability seems to be a strong deterrent to the introduction of precast elements by the design team. Though a contract clause may allow the contractor to propose alternative building materials or components provided that it conforms to the designers specification, it involves additional time and resources for the submission of the proposal and in some cases the contractor may not be able to reimburse the additional cost from the client. Besides when compared with the traditional in-situ construction method, precast construction appears to offer a greater risk and is more likely to attract claims from the client.

Resources Requirements and Operational Changes Decreasing the Layers of Subcontracting System Most respondents (90%) agreed that decreasing the number of layers of subcontractors helps the main contractor to better monitor the performance of subcontractors and hence working towards sustainability. Subcontracting is a long-established practice in the local construction industry. Unfortunately, multi-layered subcontracting must distance the relationship between the management of main contractors and operatives on site and in fact, the main contractors do not have direct control over the workers who actually carry out the work. In fact, there have been complaints that accountability is undermined by the prevalence of non-value adding multi-layered subcontracting and lax supervision (CIRC, 2001). This must make collaborative efforts at improving sustainability practices more difficult and less likely to occur.

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Increment of Managerial/ Supervisory Staff and Workers by comparison with when Sustainability is not considered No change 4 (10%) 4 (10%) Mean 0-10% 13 (31%) 13 (31%) 1020% 3 (7%) 3 (7%) 2030% 17 (40%) 19 (45%) 3050% 5 (12%) 3 (7%)

Manpower Managerial/ supervisory staff Workers

18% 17%

Table 10: Extent of Increment of Manpower to suit the Implementation of Sustainability Generally speaking, the respondents expressed similar levels of manpower increment of managerial/supervisory staff (18%) and workers (17%) should the full potential of sustainability be realized. In the construction stage, the project manager, site manager, site agent, foremen and other managerial/supervisory staff receive a wide range of information from clients, consultants, statutory undertakers, sub-contractors and suppliers from time to time. In the absence of adequate control and supervision, sustainability practices will suffer. It is further aggravated by the problem of multi-layered subcontracting as mentioned before. To move towards sustainability, supervision overload seems to be a potential hazard and there is a need for greater supervision in construction work. For instance, dedicated personnel should be employed on-site to tell workers what they need to do and also assist in reducing redundant work and managing the environmental aspects of construction activities. It has been noted earlier that separation of construction wastes for reuse / recycling passes the majority of responsibility for materials recovery to the contractor. Generation of dust, pollutants and materials wastage from construction site activities seems inevitable but these effects can be reduced by proper housekeeping on a construction site which involves additional manpower requirements at least. For instance, contractors should spray water to avoid dust emission on an exposed surface and keep the drainage clean and tidy. As materials can constitute over 50% of the project cost, its wastage needs to be minimized in order to preserve natural resources, reduce landfill disposal and keep costs down. However, it is always observed that the standard of site supervision is far from satisfactory which leads to material wastage in the construction process. Uncontrolled procedures for cutting reinforcing bars in size, the excess thickness in mortar coatings and in masonry joints and the lack of control in the making of mortar are some causes of materials waste. The HKIA/HKIS Standard Form of Contract defines the percentage labour content of a contract as 25 percent (HK:RICS, 1999). By calculation, an increment of labour content by 17% brings an increase in 4% (25% x 17%) of total cost of the contractor (where the costs involved in such sustainability practices as sorting of material wastes and procurement of recycling plant are not taken into account). Given that the construction industry is now a business with low profit margins, it is very difficult for

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contractors to afford the additional money to go on improving their sustainability performance.

Training Course To recap briefly, only 16 respondents (38%) have attended relevant training courses and 26 respondents (62%) did not. All the 16 respondents had a very positive response to the effectiveness of the training courses. On the sliding scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree), they ranked the training courses from 1 to 3 and none of the respondents gave their ranking beyond this region, which produced a fairly high average of 1.8 (equivalent to 80%) among all respondents. These training courses can be proved of extremely high quality in the sense that they were ranked by the respondents who have an average of 22 years of work experience in the industry and are engaged in senior positions of organisations. The following reasons were chosen by the 26 respondents who have not attended relevant training course: Reasons for not attending relevant training course 1 2 3 4 5 6 Not aware of relevant information Could not obtain sponsorship from the company Heavy work commitment Not useful to work Not able to make use of learnt knowledge to influence the organisations decision Do not feel interest No. of Counts 24 2 16 12 6 4 % of Respondent 92% 8% 63% 46% 23% 15%

*respondents can choose more than one reason Table 11: Reasons for not attending relevant Training Course 92% mentioned that they were not aware of any relevant information. Indeed, there is no lack of training programmes locally but the awareness of information is closely related with the type and scale of promotion carried out by the organizing committee. For instance, the Business Environment Council Limited is a non-profit environmental organisation which frequently organizes conferences, forums and briefings to keep the industry practitioners abreast of the latest development in environmental sustainability. The recent training programmes include UN Asia-Pacific Leadership Forum Sustainable Development for Cities in February 2004, Balanced Development and Ecological Sustainability in May 2004 and 2nd Conference in EnviroSeries 2004 Sustainable Production and Consumption in June 2004. A common complaint concerning such programmes is that they are frequently not well advertised, making it difficult for people to find the information that they need. Relevant information can commonly be searched from the website of the organizing committee and is available for the public to pick up at its counter. However, there is no proper channel for such information to reach construction organisations. 63% of the respondents were not able to attend relevant training courses because of their heavy work commitments. In the local construction industry, many people work
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more than ten hours a day and are frequently involved in working on Saturdays. As well, because of the uncertainty of a construction activity, working overtime is often necessary in order to meet construction programmes and deadlines.

CONCLUSION Awareness and Culture of Sustainable Construction Over the past few years, contractors are shifting their attitude toward more sustainability and some intend to show their social and environmental responsibility in their construction projects. The 42 respondents ranked that the attitude of the industry towards sustainability has improved from 37.5% 5 years ago to 60.0% at the present time. It is too simple to claim that the primary objective of an organisation is to pursue profitability. In recent times, the centrality of economic measures as an indicator of success has been challenged whilst more social organisational objectives have begun to be gaining focus on. It is perceived that the concept of sustainability has already been integrated into the visions of many leading construction firms. However, there is rather a lack of knowledge of the issue of sustainable construction by the industry practitioners. Despite a broad body of literature emerging in this domain and the HKSAR government having launched a study of Sustainable Development for 21st century (SUSDEV 21) in 1997, 43% of the respondents engaged in senior positions of organisations do not have this area of learning, let alone the junior staff and on-site operatives in the industry. It lies in the fact that there is insufficient sustainability awareness ranging from management to the workforce. Current Practice of the Construction Industry Today, some sustainability practices such as sorting construction wastes and using recycled building materials are still in its infancy. Though demand has been stimulated by stipulating the use of recycled content construction materials on public works and housing projects, only 52% of the respondents indicated that their organisation has used recycled building materials in the construction process on their own accord. For recycling to become a viable option in the future, there must be a wide range of choices open to the contractor and the recycled materials must meet higher quality standards as evidenced by the facts that 76% of the respondents who are not using recycled materials claimed that there are limited choices of recycled-content building materials in the industry while 58% worried about the quality of recycled building materials. The real reason for the resistance to change is a fear of failure. It is obviously true that defects and failures occur in traditional methods of building, but new materials are perceived as offering greater risk. 25 respondents (60%) indicated that their organisation does not follow any prescribed procedures to collect, separate and transform construction wastes. Out of these 25 respondents, 72% felt hindered by a lack of space for sorting, which is especially true for construction sites in Hong Kong. 56% of the respondents considered that sorting construction wastes is not economically viable. Resale for recycling will only become

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business practice if the markets for material wastes create a profit margin that warrants the labour cost of separation and preparation. Only 10 respondents (24%) stated that their organisations have procured a recycling plant. 17 out of the 32 respondents whose organisations have not procured recycling plant expressed concern over the high investment cost of recycling plant. In fact, the economic downturn has affected the industry seriously for nearly a decade and so small contractors have been forced to concentrate more on survival rather than on social responsibility and investing for the future. Apart from 1 respondent, all the other 41 respondents supported the use of precast elements in construction. Except in housing projects, precast concrete is not commonly used in Hong Kong. The uncertainty of precast elements to meet specifications, the perceived risk of product failure and the associated liability from consultants or contractors seems to be a strong deterrent to its widespread adoption in the industry. Influence exerted by Role Models and Competitors on the Performance of Sustainable Construction Definitely, we want to see the progress of sustainability accelerated. However, it is realized that the lowest price culture still dominates the construction industry currently and the social and environmental costs remain ignored by most contractors. It is supposed that the process of interaction between sustainability and environment will lead to changes in the way construction organisations approach their current practices. However, the effect of role models to serve as a catalyst for achieving sustainability seems rather weak. Faced with the same external environment, organisations respond differently. Most small contractors adopt a reactor approach who take action only when confronted by an internal or external crisis and a minority of contractors is indifferent to what other organisations do in the industry. Resources Requirements and Operational Change It is known that some existing problems encountered by the local industry result from long-established practices and processes. Certainly, multi-layered subcontracting must distance the relationship between the management of main contractors and operatives on site and in fact, the main contractors do not have direct control over the workers who actually carry out the work. 90% of the respondents agreed that decreasing the number of layers of subcontractors helps the main contractor to move towards sustainability. In addition to this, the respondents estimated the need for 18% and 17% of manpower increment of managerial staff and workers respectively if the full potential of sustainability is to be realized. However, it is expected that most contractors could not afford the additional money to develop the sustainability performance further. Training is considered to be an essential investment item to support the continuous sustainability improvement in the long term. In an organisation, the major strategic and operational decisions are made by the senior management of organisations. It has been noted that all respondents had a very positive response to the effectiveness of the training course but it is disappointing to learn that only 38% of the respondents have

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attended relevant training courses. Hence, the industry should respond positively to widespread concern about training opportunities in the industry.

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Preece, C.N., & Tarawneh, S.A. (1996) Re-Orientating the Construction Team to Achieve Service Quality for Client Satisfaction, pp.37-42. The 1st National Construction Marketing Conference, Oxford Brookes University. Schein, E H. (1990) Organisational Culture, American Psychologist, 45, pp109-19. Shen, L.Y. and Tam, W.Y. (2002). Implementation of Environmental Management in the Hong Kong Construction Industry. International Journal of Project Management, 20, pp. 535-543. Sing Tao Daily, Policy on Sustainable Development in Hong Kong, 10.2.2001. The Government of Hong Kong SAR: Planning Department (1997) The Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century in Hong Kong (SUSDEV 21). The Government of Hong Kong SAR: Policy Address 1999, Quality People Quality Home Positioning Hong Kong for 21st Century. The Government of Hong Kong SAR: Hong Kong Year Book 2001. Hong Kong Government Printer. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our Common Future. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

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