Abstract
Construction industry activities, from material extraction to the end of the structure life, affect the environment negatively. For a sustainable construction process, economically, environmentally, and socially friendly practices are essential, and reverse logistics is one solution that can provide such an approach. In reverse logistics, obsolete products are reused in a new production, while reducing negative effects to the environment. In this study, we assess the current state of research on reverse logistics practices in the construction industry. The study presents a comparative data mining analysis, followed by a content analysis. The results show that the construction industry literature ignores the impact of reverse logistics practices on upstream construction activities. We argue that industry practitioners must take reverse logistics decisions in the early phases of the construction process by considering both upstream and end-of-life construction activities, and we recommend a reverse logistics decision framework for successful reverse logistics implementation. The findings of this research are significant for decision-makers in the industry. We urge that sustainable practices be employed in the industry. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis is suggested to strengthen the arguments made in this article.
Highlights
The construction industry is one of the most important sectors in any country, as it constitutes a large component of economic investment and positively impacts economic growth
We further examined the focus of reverse logistics in the construction industry to get a beItntethreusnedcoenrdstsatnepd,inwge wfuirtthhetrheexahmelipneodftchoenfotecnuts aonf raelvyesrisse. logistics in the construction industry to get a better understanding with the help of content analysis
This study examined the current reverse logistics practices in the construction industry
Summary
The construction industry is one of the most important sectors in any country, as it constitutes a large component of economic investment and positively impacts economic growth. Production, and transportation activities at the upstream supply chain and end-of-life waste generation severely impact the environment. Half of the non-renewable resources taken from the ground are consumed by this industry worldwide [2] It is the largest producer of non-toxic solid waste [3]. The construction process is energy-intensive, and the industry uses large amounts of energy for material extraction, processing, and transportation [8]. The production of cement, which is largely used in the construction industry, is highly energy-intensive, and contributes largely to global CO2 emissions through fossil-fuel combustion for energy input and the decarbonization of limestone [10,11,12]. Cement contributes to 5% of the annual global production of CO2 and, of this, 3% is produced by China alone due to its booming construction sector [13]
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