Carbon Accounting as a measure of Quality in Construction Projects

Abstract

Construction industry has been identified as one of the major contributors for environmental pollution, now focusing widely on the sustainable construction aspects. One aspect in today’s spotlight is carbon accounting. The primary objective of measuring carbon emissions is to improve sustainability performance. Though the construction practitioners in Sri Lanka are aware of carbon accounting, there is lack of verification as to enthusiasm of the industry to this noble cause. A comprehensive literature survey was carried out to identify the drivers and barriers of its implementation. A semi structured questionnaire survey was conducted among 100 individual practitioners to gauge their perception and experience. 68 responses were received, 62 were considered valid for analysis. Data collected were then analyzed using the relative importance index. It was revealed that the key driver is “client requirement” and the crucial barrier is “resistance to change”. The study suggests that carbon accounting as a practice could be rapidly evolved by giving more emphasis at project level potentially as a result of client requirement. The outcome will be valuable for the government officials to formulate a policy that truly promotes sustainable construction via carbon accounting.

Keywords: Barriers, Drivers, Carbon Accounting, Sri Lanka, Sustainability