IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p9112-d614427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Critical Role of the Construction Industry in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Delivering Projects for the Common Good

Author

Listed:
  • Wenmei Fei

    (Faculty of Real Estate Marketing, Chongqing College of Architecture and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China)

  • Alex Opoku

    (UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, London WC1E 7HB, UK)

  • Kofi Agyekum

    (Department of Construction Technology and Management, Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK 384, Ghana)

  • James Anthony Oppon

    (Department of Building Technology, School of Built and Natural Environment, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast CC 156, Ghana)

  • Vian Ahmed

    (College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Charles Chen

    (College of Business and Information Technology, University of Phoenix, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA)

  • Ka Leung Lok

    (National Research Base of Intelligent Manufacturing Service, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China)

Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and 231 unique indicators as a significant initiative towards socio-economic development. The SDGs provide the construction industry with a new lens through which global needs and desires can be translated into business solutions. This paper explores the role of the construction industry in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The paper uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Following a comparative review of the literature on the 17 SDGs, a questionnaire was designed and administered among 130 respondents, and 105 responses were received. These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with 16 sustainable construction experts. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through side-by-side comparisons of the qualitative data with the quantitative data. The findings show that the construction industry has a critical role in achieving almost all the 17 SDGs. The roles were, however, prevalent in 10 key SDGs, namely: sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); climate action (SDG 13); clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); life on land (biodiversity) (SDG 15); gender equality (SDG 5); good health and well-being (SDG 3); affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8). The study confirmed the role played by the construction industry in achieving these SDGs. The findings from this study provide further insights into the ever-increasing state-of-the-art regarding the construction industry’s role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenmei Fei & Alex Opoku & Kofi Agyekum & James Anthony Oppon & Vian Ahmed & Charles Chen & Ka Leung Lok, 2021. "The Critical Role of the Construction Industry in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Delivering Projects for the Common Good," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9112-:d:614427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9112/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9112/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robinson, John, 2004. "Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 369-384, April.
    2. Govindan, Kannan, 2018. "Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain: A conceptual framework," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 419-431.
    3. Alex Opoku & Ninarita Williams, 2018. "Second-generation gender bias," International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(1), pages 2-23, October.
    4. Bill Hopwood & Mary Mellor & Geoff O'Brien, 2005. "Sustainable development: mapping different approaches," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 38-52.
    5. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
    6. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Guido Schmidt-Traub & Mariana Mazzucato & Dirk Messner & Nebojsa Nakicenovic & Johan Rockström, 2019. "Six Transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(9), pages 805-814, September.
    7. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    8. İkbal Ece Postalcı & Güldehan Fatma Atay, 2019. "Rethinking on Cultural Sustainability in Architecture: Projects of Behruz Çinici," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Des Gasper & Amod Shah & Sunil Tankha, 2019. "The Framing of Sustainable Consumption and Production in SDG 12," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 10(S1), pages 83-95, January.
    10. Christian Kroll & Anne Warchold & Prajal Pradhan, 2019. "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Are we successful in turning trade-offs into synergies?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. David Griggs & Mark Stafford-Smith & Owen Gaffney & Johan Rockström & Marcus C. Öhman & Priya Shyamsundar & Will Steffen & Gisbert Glaser & Norichika Kanie & Ian Noble, 2013. "Sustainable development goals for people and planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 305-307, March.
    12. Jenny Rowley, 2014. "Designing and using research questionnaires," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 308-330, March.
    13. Albert Ping Chuen Chan & Amos Darko & Ernest Effah Ameyaw, 2017. "Strategies for Promoting Green Building Technologies Adoption in the Construction Industry—An International Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-18, June.
    14. Christopher Dickens & Matthew McCartney & David Tickner & Ian J. Harrison & Pablo Pacheco & Brown Ndhlovu, 2020. "Evaluating the Global State of Ecosystems and Natural Resources: Within and Beyond the SDGs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-22, September.
    15. Hamed Taherdoost, 2016. "Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research," Post-Print hal-02546796, HAL.
    16. Zhi-Jiang Liu & Paula Pypłacz & Marina Ermakova & Pavel Konev, 2020. "Sustainable Construction as a Competitive Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-13, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Akpan, Anthony E. & Ben, Ubong C. & Ekwok, Stephen E. & Okolie, Chukwuma J. & Epuh, Emeka E. & Julzarika, Atriyon & Othman, Abdullah & Eldosouky, Ahmed M., 2024. "Technical and performance assessments of wind turbines in low wind speed areas using numerical, metaheuristic and remote sensing procedures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    2. A. M. Alamdari & Y. Jabarzadeh & B. Adams & D. Samson & S. Khanmohammadi, 2023. "An analytic network process model to prioritize supply chain risks in green residential megaprojects," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 141-163, March.
    3. Nakhon Kokkaew & Vachara Peansupap & Noppadon Jokkaw, 2022. "An Empirical Examination of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning as Mediating Variables between HRM and Sustainable Organizational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-25, October.
    4. Gangishetty Arun Kumar & Ajay Roy & Rajesh Singh & Anita Gehlot & Mamoon Rashid & Shaik Vaseem Akram & Sultan S. Alshamrani & Abdullah Alshehri & Ahmed Saeed AlGhamdi, 2022. "Hybrid Architecture Based System for the Establishment of Sustainable Environment in a Construction Site with 433 MHz LoRa and 2.4 GHz Zigbee," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-29, May.
    5. Kerry Anne London & Tanya Meade & Craig McLachlan, 2022. "Healthier Construction: Conceptualising Transformation of Mental Health Outcomes through an Integrated Supply Chain Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-13, August.
    6. Shakir Ullah & Sergey Barykin & Ma Jianfu & Taher Saifuddin & Mohammed Arshad Khan & Ruben Kazaryan, 2023. "Green Practices in Mega Development Projects of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    7. María Garrido-Ruso & Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán & Albertina Paula Monteiro, 2022. "Businesses’ Role in the Fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-35, July.
    8. A. G. Olabi & Khaled Obaideen & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem & Maryam Nooman AlMallahi & Nabila Shehata & Abdul Hai Alami & Ayman Mdallal & Asma Ali Murah Hassan & Enas Taha Sayed, 2023. "Wind Energy Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals: Case Study on London Array," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, March.
    9. George Ofori, 2023. "Get Construction Project Performance Parameters Right to Attain Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Tianrong Xu & Nikmatul Adha Nordin & Ainoriza Mohd Aini, 2022. "Urban Green Space and Subjective Well-Being of Older People: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-29, October.
    11. Matteo Trane & Luisa Marelli & Alice Siragusa & Riccardo Pollo & Patrizia Lombardi, 2023. "Progress by Research to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-37, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hametner, Markus, 2022. "Economics without ecology: How the SDGs fail to align socioeconomic development with environmental sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Oana Forestier & Rakhyun E. Kim, 2020. "Cherry‐picking the Sustainable Development Goals: Goal prioritization by national governments and implications for global governance," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1269-1278, September.
    3. Endl, Andreas & Tost, Michael & Hitch, Michael & Moser, Peter & Feiel, Susanne, 2021. "Europe's mining innovation trends and their contribution to the sustainable development goals: Blind spots and strong points," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Walter J.V. Vermeulen, 2015. "Self‐Governance for Sustainable Global Supply Chains: Can it Deliver the Impacts Needed?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 73-85, February.
    5. Jakob Keller & Martin Jung & Rainer Lasch, 2022. "Sustainability Governance: Insights from a Cocoa Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, August.
    6. Oier Imaz & Andoni Eizagirre, 2020. "Responsible Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals in Business: An Agenda for Cooperative Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Mehmet Çağlar & Cem Gürler, 2022. "Sustainable Development Goals: A cluster analysis of worldwide countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8593-8624, June.
    8. Jean Hugé & Nibedita Mukherjee & Camille Fertel & Jean-Philippe Waaub & Thomas Block & Tom Waas & Nico Koedam & Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, 2015. "Conceptualizing the Effectiveness of Sustainability Assessment in Development Cooperation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-17, May.
    9. Maria Federica Cordova & Andrea Celone, 2019. "SDGs and Innovation in the Business Context Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Else Ragni Yttredal & Nathalie Homlong, 2020. "Perception of Sustainable Development in a Local World Heritage Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Qi Zhang & Esther Hiu-Kwan Yung & Edwin Hon-Wan Chan, 2021. "Meshing Sustainability with Satisfaction: An Investigation of Residents’ Perceptions in Three Different Neighbourhoods in Chengdu, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-32, November.
    12. Myriam Pham‐Truffert & Florence Metz & Manuel Fischer & Henri Rueff & Peter Messerli, 2020. "Interactions among Sustainable Development Goals: Knowledge for identifying multipliers and virtuous cycles," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1236-1250, September.
    13. Juliane Peters & Ana Simaens, 2020. "Integrating Sustainability into Corporate Strategy: A Case Study of the Textile and Clothing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-35, July.
    14. John Holmberg & Johan Larsson, 2018. "A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Youtang Zhang & Hagos Mesfin Berhe, 2022. "The Impact of Green Investment and Green Marketing on Business Performance: The Mediation Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Ethiopia’s Chinese Textile Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-24, March.
    16. Fu-Hsuan Chen & Hao-Ren Liu, 2021. "Evaluation of Sustainable Development in Six Transformation Fields of the Central Taiwan Science Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, April.
    17. Aldo Alvarez-Risco & Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales & Marc A. Rosen & Verónica García-Ibarra & Sandra Maycotte-Felkel & Gabriel Mauricio Martínez-Toro, 2021. "Expectations and Interests of University Students in COVID-19 Times about Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Zeug, Walther & Bezama, Alberto & Thrän, Daniela, 2020. "Towards a holistic and integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of the bioeconomy: Background on concepts, visions and measurements," UFZ Discussion Papers 7/2020, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    19. Elena Andriollo & Alberto Caimo & Laura Secco & Elena Pisani, 2021. "Collaborations in Environmental Initiatives for an Effective “Adaptive Governance” of Social–Ecological Systems: What Existing Literature Suggests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-29, July.
    20. Anna Sundermann & Daniel Fischer, 2019. "How Does Sustainability Become Professionally Relevant? Exploring the Role of Sustainability Conceptions in First Year Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9112-:d:614427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.