Assessment of environmental performance in building construction sites: Data envelopment analysis and Tobit model approach

The present scenario is demanding best environmental practices, locally and globally, and in this context, sustainable development goals should be achieved. Therefore, construction companies should take into account the impact of their activities on the natural environment. The construction sector is responsible for consuming a high volume of natural resources and generating solid waste. The present study aimed at investigating inefficiency during building construction with regard to some environmental aspects, such as waste generation, water and energy consumption. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied to define technical efficiency levels of each construction site, considering input and output data for comparison of results. The Tobit model was also used to investigate the effects of the qualitative aspects on calculated efficiency. An average efficiency of 83.5% was determined, and among the 16 construction sites, 5 proved to be 100% efficient. The results showed that the building construction standards had a negative impact on environmental performance. Conversely, the production and management systems used during building construction have increased the efficiency of the environmental aspects evaluated.