Sustainability policy of construction contractors: A review

Sustainability is an issue of concern in many industrial sectors. The construction industry is no exception. The study described in this paper adopts a critical qualitative approach to investigate sustainability policy practices in the construction industry. This approach includes a statement of principles, sustainability reporting incorporated within a financial report, and a stand-alone sustainability reporting system. The top international contractors listed by Engineering News Record (ENR) were examined. The results show that sustainability policy development varies from case to case in these companies but trends are emerging on common issues addressed. The findings show a trend of increasingly level of disclosure of corporation's commitmnets an achievements on sustainability. Similarly, the energy efficiency and conservation, greenhouse gas emission reduction and integration of renewable energy resources into projects are among the common themes of these sustainability policies disclosed by construction contractors. The construcion industry can learn from the energy sector that is advanced in sustainability reporting. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.