The construction industry is a vital part of every nation’s economy. Construction activities influence the social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainability. There are so many barriers to sustainable construction and demolition waste management (C&DWM). This study aims to identify barriers for effective sustainable C&DWM in developed and developing countries. To achieve the objective, 11 barriers have been selected and identified based on an excessive and comprehensive literature review, and then reviewed by experts. These reviewed barriers were further examined by various experts within different organizations using a questionnaire survey. Ranking of the barriers was carried out using the Relative Importance Index (RI), and the results were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Practical solutions were proposed to overcome the identified barriers. The overall ranking of barriers by RI indicates that insufficient attention paid to C&DWM, lack of law enforcement, lack of regulation, and financial constraints represent the four major barriers to sustainable C&DWM in these countries. The findings of this study and the proposed solutions are enablers for decision-makers to develop effective strategies to tackle construction and demolition wastes in sustainable manners.

Purpose: “Transforming construction” is a wide-ranging strategic term, under which sit numerous initiatives. It is the latest, in a long line of strategies and reports introduced to with the intention of industry improvement. Arguably, many of these fail to achieve their aim. The barriers preventing the adoption of transforming construction initiatives are therefore limiting the potential benefits of the strategy. The aim of this research is to formally identify and understand how these barriers are framed and how these frames can be changed so that the barriers can be overcome, and the wider strategy benefits realised.Design/methodology/approach: A literature review is undertaken to identify “transforming construction” initiatives. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews are then undertaken with construction professionals and analysed via narrative analysis to identify and understand perceived barriers to these initiatives. Framing is utilised as a theoretical lens to categorise these barriers and understand how “shifts” in the frames held can be achieved and the barriers overcome.Findings: Barriers to transforming construction initiatives are identified as wicked problems. This allows a new perspective on such initiatives to be gained. The results also reveal how construction professionals frame such barriers, viewing themselves as bystanders with initiatives and practices “bigger” than themselves and their roles. How these frames can be “shifted” from bystander to active participant is identified. Such a shift can serve as a blueprint for industry professionals so that the initiatives identified can be successfully implemented thereby increasing the success of the transforming construction strategy.Originality/value: This paper addresses a gap in current research around the perceptions held by construction professionals of the initiatives that sit under the transforming construction strategy. Addressing this gap allows the diagnosis of barriers that have previously served to prevent initiatives gaining traction. The findings contribute to both the existing literature and current industry practice by highlighting how the barriers are framed, and how such frames can be “shifted” to support the realisation of long promised strategy benefits.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive set of targets aimed at improving global conditions, including a focus on reducing carbon footprints. Adopting Digital Twin (DT) technology will aid the achievement of the SDGs. However, there is an inconsistent procurement and policy environment around the development of DTs that can be problematic for those striving to achieve the SDGs. There exists a paucity of research around the interconnections of national policy, DTs, and SDG achievement. This paper addresses this gap by ascertaining how procurement and policy environments impact DT adoption, and in turn how DT adoption can serve to help or hinder SDG achievement. Adopting an interpretivist ontological methodology, this inductive research explores the perceptions of DTs and SDGs as independent concepts (stage one and two), before further interviews are conducted (stage three) which focusses on how DTs and SDGs interact with one another. In total, twenty-five semi-structured interviews with leading professionals are conducted, with narrative analysis utilised as a means of interview structure and analysis. Analysis of the results found there is an inconsistent global policy and procurement environment. In the UK this is hindering DT adoption. Whilst numerous SDG strategies exist, these strategies are often undermined by wider government policy limitations and contractor practices. This original paper calls for an immediate re-think of national policies on DT development, without which, SDG achievement strategies will ultimately be doomed to fail.

Purpose: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a blueprint for UN member states to achieve prosperity and peace. A resilient construction industry should positively contribute to the achievement of all SDGs. Yet it is currently unclear if the industry helps or hinders SDG achievement. This research aims to explore if the industry is positively engaging with all SDGs.Design/methodology/approach: This research is split into two phases. The first is an objectivist Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) of sustainability reports from the ten leading UK contractors to identify direct and indirect SDG references. The second research phase adopts a subjectivist ontological position consisting of twenty-one semi-structured interviews with a range of construction industry project-based professionals. Narrative analysis is used to structure the interview questions and analyse the data gained.Findings: Many SDGs are excluded from sustainability reports, and where discussed, only some are engaged with substantially. The SDG knowledge held by construction professionals is reduced further still, and SDG progress is rarely measured. The ambiguity surrounding the SDGs enables discrepancies between reporting and professional perceptions. There is also a lack of regard for fellow contractor collaboration through fear of reduced competitive advantage.Originality/value: This paper addresses a gap in the literature between contractor SDG knowledge and action. This serves as a platform for future research agendas regarding how the SDGs can be better understood and actioned in a construction management context. For industry, inconsistencies between organisational sustainability reporting and the knowledge and awareness of staff are exposed, due to the lack of collaborative practices currently adopted.

The need to create social value during the delivery of infrastructure projects is growing in importance. However, it can be argued that the initial expectations of stakeholders at the outset of projects are not being achieved once the project is delivered. At present, there is no consistent and widespread methodology for the successful delivery of social value outcomes. The problem therefore exists that despite infrastructure having the potential to play a transformative role in the creation of social value, current outcomes are arguably not as effective as they could be. The aim of this research is to understand how social value is currently created and delivered in gas infrastructure works. Through the use of five case studies of small community-based gas infrastructure projects that are part of a wider nationally significant network, the tensions at the heart of social value delivery are revealed. How the social value agenda moves through project stages is revealed as key to minimising social value barriers and ensuring successful social value delivery. The results serve as important lessons for ensuring infrastructure projects effectively create and deliver desired social value outcomes.