Circular Economy in the Construction Industry


Book Description

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry is an invaluable resource for researchers, policymakers, implementers and PhD and Masters-level students in universities analyzing the present status of Construction and Demolition Wastes (C&DW) management, materials development utilizing slag, fly ash, HDPE fibre, geo-wastes, and other wastes, green concrete, soil stabilization, resource circulation in construction sectors, success in experimentation & commercial production, future needs, and future research areas. While huge C&DW is wasted by dumping, there is potential of recycling preventing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental pollution as well as creating business opportunities. Circularity of resources in the construction industry can contribute to a more secure, sustainable, and economically sound future through proper policy instruments, management systems, and recycling by selecting the following: Supply chain sustainability and collection of C&D Wastes, Appropriate separation and recycling technology, Enforcement of policy instruments, Productivity, quality control of recycled products and intended end use, Economic feasibility as business case, commercialization, generating employment. This book addresses most of the above issues in a lucid manner by experts in the field from different countries, which are helpful for the related stakeholders, edited by experts in the field.




Strategies for the European Construction Sector


Book Description

Construction is back on the agenda after two decades of declining markets. Environmental concerns, the building of European infrastructure networks, solving housing problems, reconstruction in Eastern Europe, and the return to more rapid economic development in many parts of the third world mean there is much to do and many markets to win. There is however a danger of failing to grasp these opportunities, and of allowing the markets in Europe and the quality of construction to decline. This report deals with the long-term strategies required to improve the construction sector's competitiveness amd quality, and to raise the level of construction output. It is intended to stimulate debate. There will not be universal agreement with the consultants' views of the future and the strategies pursued. The initiative for action should be expected to come from the firms and their representative in the sector, with support and legislation from national governments and from the Community where necessary.




Construction Management Strategies


Book Description

An authoritative textbook on construction management offering a clear model for understanding theoretical aspects. The construction industry has become a truly global network of interconnected stakeholders making demands which require the involvement of skilled workforces from all over the world. Construction Management Strategies sets the foundations for understanding and managing construction’s inherent complexity and uniqueness. It establishes clear definitions of commonly accepted terms like built environment, construction, civil engineering, etc. which are often given confusing and conflicting interpretations. It cuts through the plethora of overlapping role titles currently used in the construction sector that make it difficult to establish how projects are actually managed. Construction Management Strategies: Offers a robust and consistent theoretical basis to explain the performance of the main approaches to construction management. Describes corporate and project management in construction as an integrated whole. Provides the basic toolkit a student needs to think through the practical situations they will later face. Helps bring the theory of construction management to international students who struggle to find a solid grounding in this complex and fragmented subject. Includes a companion website featuring a wealth of directly transferable examples for students, as well as PPT slides and topic discussion ideas for lecturers.




Strategic Review of Construction Skills Training


Book Description

- Background - Introduction - Changing skill requirements - The need for systemic skills - Output, employment and training - Skill shortages - Business process changes and new technologies - Skills development - Training provision - Organisation of training - Construction qualifications and skills certification Comparisons of training in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany




Regeneration of the Built Environment from a Circular Economy Perspective


Book Description

This open access book explores the strategic importance and advantages of adopting multidisciplinary and multiscalar approaches of inquiry and intervention with respect to the built environment, based on principles of sustainability and circular economy strategies. A series of key challenges are considered in depth from a multidisciplinary perspective, spanning engineering, architecture, and regional and urban economics. These challenges include strategies to relaunch socioeconomic development through regenerative processes, the regeneration of urban spaces from the perspective of resilience, the development and deployment of innovative products and processes in the construction sector in order to comply more fully with the principles of sustainability and circularity, and the development of multiscale approaches to enhance the performance of both the existing building stock and new buildings. The book offers a rich selection of conceptual, empirical, methodological, technical, and case study/project-based research. It will be of value for all who have an interest in regeneration of the built environment from a circular economy perspective.




Strategies for Circular Economy and Cross-sectoral Exchanges for Sustainable Building Products


Book Description

This book offers a valuable tool for understanding current efforts to promote the reuse and enhancement of pre-consumer waste in the development of new products for the construction sector, as well as the financial and regulatory tools being used to support this trend. It explores the vast and complex topic of the circular economy from the perspective of strategies for the reuse/recycling of waste, and develops a number of key premises: waste reuse/recycling must be considered using a logic of cross-sectoriality, recognizing the need to enhance the “dialogue” between different sectors; pre-consumer waste is particularly interesting for the recycling market because the construction sector can reduce its environmental impacts by enhancing its capacity to use secondary raw materials and by-products from other sectors; and lastly, the manufacturing sector is currently experimenting with promising forms of reducing/recycling pre-consumer waste and is at the same time providing by-products that can be used in other production chains. As such, the book offers a valuable asset for professionals who are interested in sustainability in construction, and in the study of construction products; however, it will be equally useful for local decision-makers tasked with implementing development policies and innovations in the industrial sector.




Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry


Book Description

Construction productivity-how well, how quickly, and at what cost buildings and infrastructure can be constructed-directly affects prices for homes and consumer goods and the robustness of the national economy. Industry analysts differ on whether construction industry productivity is improving or declining. Still, advances in available and emerging technologies offer significant opportunities to improve construction efficiency substantially in the 21st century and to help meet other national challenges, such as environmental sustainability. Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry identifies five interrelated activities that could significantly improve the quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of construction projects. These activities include widespread deployment and use of interoperable technology applications; improved job-site efficiency through more effective interfacing of people, processes, materials, equipment, and information; greater use of prefabrication, preassembly, modularization, and off-site fabrication techniques and processes; innovative, widespread use of demonstration installations; and effective performance measurement to drive efficiency and support innovation. The book recommends that the National Institute of Standards and Technology work with industry leaders to develop a collaborative strategy to fully implement and deploy the five activities




The Europe 2020 Strategy


Book Description

Launched in March 2010 by the European Commission, the Europe 2020 strategy aims to achieve "smart, sustainable, and inclusive" growth. The engines for this growth are - Knowledge and innovation - Greener and more efficient use of resources - Higher employment combined with social and territorial cohesion This CEPS report takes an in-depth look at this major initiative and finds that the strategy itself needs to be revised in several important respects. First, the authors believe, R&D spending per se is not the best indicator of innovativeness; a new measure, intangible capital, would be more appropriate. Second, while increasing the share of the workforce with a university degree is important for competitiveness and employment, it is the quality of that education that matters more than the quantity. The study also finds that employment targets would be better reached by a skills upgrade among women who have the least education. Concerning climate change, the authors conclude that unless the EU increases the level of its ambition and adds a carbon import tariff, reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions are likely to have a negligible impact on global climate change. Finally and more generally, the report argues that the 2020 strategy should acknowledge the importance of institutional efficiency at the national level.




Market Entry Strategies in Eastern Europe in the Context of the European Union


Book Description

Based on face to face interviews with decision makers of 16 German firms Michael Klug analyses the applied strategy and the motivation for market entry. He investigates different strategy theories for their suitability to explain the firms' strategy abroad and discusses the operational design including forms of market presence and marketing mix to realise a chosen strategy.