Sustainability of the Construction Sector in Poland in Comparison to other Economic Sectors

Abstract:

In various sectors in Poland, aims of sustainable development are being implemented more or less successfully. It is necessary to apply the principles of sustainable development to the human behaviour and activity of business entities, because there are more and more activities particularly harmful to the natural environment. The implemented modern technologies aimed at the elimination of (or eliminating) the negative impact of human and business activities on the natural environment, are bringing the desired results as far as the protection of individual natural resources is concerned. Inability to define the economic value of the natural resources results in their constant, excessive exploitation and degradation. However, the growing awareness of the environmental issue in Poland is resulting in the application of technologies that protect individual natural resources. The paper attempts to determine the measures of sustainable development of construction sector in the scope of economic and environmental order, and to classify all of the economic sectors in Poland in accordance with the achieved level sustainability. For this purpose one has used the numerical taxonomy methods, and in particular the methods of linear ordering of objects (that involve projection of the objects from a multidimensional space of features onto a straight line), called the methods of multidimensional comparative analysis. The measures were designed based on available statistical data from 2012. The purpose of this article is comparison the construction sector to each other and to find out which sectors are similar to each other in terms of sustainability level, and to find sectors that have managed to achieve the best results in this regard.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1020)
• Pages: 776-782
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1020.776
• Online since: October 2014
• Authors: Agata Mesjasz-Lech*
• Keywords: Construction Sector, Measures of Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development

References

[1] T. Nitkiewicz, the tools of implementing sustainability in business sector, in: V. Modrák, T. Nitkiewicz (Eds. ), The role of business in achieving sustainability. Part 1: Instruments and Strategies, Techn. Univ. Kosice, Presov 2010, pp.7-25.

[2] L. Zhou, H. Tokos, D. Krajnc, Y. Yang, Sustainability performance evaluation in industry by composite sustainability index, Clean Techn. Environ. Policy 14 (2012) 789–803.

DOI: 10.1007/s10098-012-0454-9

[3] A. Gunasekaran, A. Spalanzani, Sustainability of manufacturing and services: Investigations for research and applications, Int. J. Production Economics 140 (2012) 35–47.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.05.011

[4] A. Fuertes, M. Casals, M. Gangolells, N. Forcada, M. Macarulla, X. Roca, An Environmental Impact Causal Model for improving the environmental performance of construction processes, Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 425-437.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.02.005

[5] D.T.H. Giang, L. Sui Pheng, Role of construction in economic development: Review of key concepts in the past 40 years, Habitat International 35 (2011) 118-125.

DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.06.003

[6] A. Tischer, M. Besiou, C. -A. Graubner, Efficient waste management in construction logistics: a refurbishment case study, Logist. Res. 6 (2013) 159–171.

DOI: 10.1007/s12159-013-0105-5

[7] E. Milutiené, J.K. Staniškis, A. Kručius, V. Auguliené, D. Ardickas, Increase in buildings sustainability by using renewable materials and energy, Clean Techn. Environ. Policy 14 (2012) 1075–1084.

DOI: 10.1007/s10098-012-0505-2

[8] P.O. Akadiri, P.O. Olomolaiye, E.A. Chinyio, Multi-criteria evaluation model for the selection of sustainable materials for building Project, Automation in Construction 30 (2013) 113–125.

DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2012.10.004

[9] R. Mateus, S. Neiva, L. Bragança, P. Mendonça, M. Macieira, Sustainability assessment of an innovative lightweight building technology for partition walls - Comparison with conventional technologies, Building and Environment 67 (2013) 147-159.

DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.05.012

[10] X. Zhanga, Y. Wub, L. Shen, Application of low waste technologies for design and construction: A case study in Hong Kong, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 2973– 2979.

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.02.020

[11] H. Yuan, A SWOT analysis of successful construction waste management, Journal of Cleaner Production 39 (2013) 1-8.

[12] B. Vandecasteele, J. Heynen, H. Goumans, Materials Recycling in Construction: A Review of the Last 2 Decades Illustrated by the WASCON Conferences, Waste Biomass Valor 4 (2013) 695–701.

DOI: 10.1007/s12649-013-9239-6

[13] S.K. Lachimpadi, J.J. Pereira, M.R. Taha, M. Mokhtar, Construction waste minimisation comparing conventional and precast construction (Mixed System and IBS) methods in high-rise buildings: A Malaysia case study, Resources, Conservation and Recycling 68 (2012).

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.08.011

[14] S. -H. Kwon, K.J. Kim, K. Kim, N. Cho, Assessment Model on Environmental Economics for Construction Projects in Korea, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 16(4) (2012) 505-516.

DOI: 10.1007/s12205-012-1363-5

[15] M. Kucukvar, O. Tatari, Towards a triple bottom-line sustainability assessment of the U.S. construction industry, Int J Life Cycle Assess 18 (2013) 958–972.

DOI: 10.1007/s11367-013-0545-9

[16] Y. Tan, L. Shen, H. Yao, Sustainable construction practice and contractors' competitiveness: A preliminary study, Habitat International 35 (2011) 225-230.

DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.09.008

[17] C. Koranda, W.K. Chong, C. Kim, J. -S. Chou, C. Kim, An Investigation of the Applicability of Sustainability and Lean Concepts to Small Construction Projects, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 16(5) (2012) 699-707.

DOI: 10.1007/s12205-012-1460-5

[18] Q. Shi, J. Zuo, R. Huang, J. Huang, S. Pullen, Identifying the critical factors for green construction - An empirical study in China, Habitat International 40 (2013) 1-8.

DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.01.003

[19] H. -S. Jang, S. -I. Choi, W. -Y. Kim, C. -K. Chang, Strategic Selection of Green Construction Products, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 16(7) (2012) 1115-1122.

DOI: 10.1007/s12205-012-1825-9

[20] Environment 2004 and 2013, Central Statistical Office, Publication available on website www. stat. gov. pl.