A benchmarking approach to the progress of green materials and systems’ use in the UAE construction industry
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-01-2016-0008 |
| Date | 03 October 2016 |
| Pages | 315-327 |
| Published date | 03 October 2016 |
| Author | Aly Elgayar,Salwa Mamoun Beheiry,Alaa Jabbar,Hamad Al Ansari |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation |
A benchmarking approach
to the progress of green
materials and systems’use
in the UAE construction industry
Aly Elgayar
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Salwa Mamoun Beheiry
College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah,
United Arab Emirates
Alaa Jabbar
Department of Procurement, Bawabat Al Rumaila General Contracts, Sharjah,
United Arab Emirates, and
Hamad Al Ansari
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose –Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced several green regulatory
guidelines, federal decrees, and a considerable number of environmentally friendly initiatives. Hence,
the purpose of this paper is to investigate the top green materials and systems used currently in the
UAE construction industry as per the new laws dictate as well as see if professionals are switching
over to incorporate more green materials, systems, and/or designs.
Design/methodology/approach –The work involved reviewing internationally popular green
materials and systems for construction, developing a questionnaire based on the literature review,
surveying professionals in the seven UAE emirates, and ranking the findings based on the relative
importance index.
Findings –Findings found the top used green materials and system in the UAE’s construction
industry. As well as identified that there is a communication gap between the design and
implementation phases that is possibly hindering the use of more green materials and systems.
Originality/value –This study sets a baseline to measure the UAE’s progress over the coming years
in terms of integrating more green construction materials, systems, methodologies, and trends.
Keywords United Arab Emirates, Sustainability, Construction industry, UAE,
Energy and resource efficiency, Green materials and systems
Paper type Research paper
1. Literature review
1.1 Introduction
Preserving Earth’s resources has become a pressing matter over recent years.
The main concern is preserving the environment for the future generations. The notion
of sustainable development (SD) is one of the key answers to the environmental issues
faced today. Moreover, global technological advancements and the sophistication of
construction techniques helped facilitate the shift to constructing green buildings
(Wu and Low, 2010; Lu et al., 2013). Robichaud and Anantatmula (2011) define the term
green building as “The process of bu ilding that incorporates enviro nmental
considerations into every phase of the homebuilding process. That means that
World Journal of Science,
Technology and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 13 No. 4, 2016
pp. 315-327
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
2042-5945
DOI 10.1108/WJSTSD-01-2016-0008
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
315
UAE
construction
industry
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