Assessing Economic, Social and Environmental Implications of Implementing Sustainability in the Built Environment

Abstract

The building and construction sector has been acknowledged as a main contributor to the global carbon emission. In addition to environmental implications, the built environment also has implications in the social and economic development. However, the social and economic implications are often sidelined in the past studies. It therefore calls for a need to investigate the implications of sustainability within the context of built environments. The objective of the paper is to determine the extent to which the three pillars of sustainability are adopted in the built environment and explore their environmental, social and economic implications in a holistic manner. A questionnaire was used to solicit information from a range of construction stakeholders to capture different stakeholder viewpoints on the implications of sustainability. The results showed that more than 80% of respondents considered they have implemented the three pillars of sustainability in their practice. The environmental pillar has the highest level of implementation followed by the social and economic pillars. This result reinforced literature by showing that the environmental sustainability is still predominant in sustainability practice, with an emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable or recyclable resources. Surprisingly, the social implications are greatly acknowledged where a sustainable built environment is perceived to creating a healthier environment and increasing user comfort and satisfactions. Construction stakeholders are however less convinced by the positive economic implications due to an absence of strong evidence of reduced life cycle cost associated with sustainable built environments. This paper provides an empirical insight into the implications of implementing sustainability in the built environment and offers an indication of a transition from the existing environmental-oriented system to a more socio-environmental context in the pursuit of sustainability. Future studies shall integrate more socio-environmental aspects in assessing sustainable built environments to reveal the complex relationships of the three pillars in the pursuit of sustainability.