Abstract
The research presented in this paper aimed at identifying the most significant green procurement barriers and enablers for construction projects in the Bucharest-Ilfov region and grouping them into clusters. For this purpose, 14 barriers and 14 enablers were selected on the basis of the literature review and a questionnaire-based survey was carried out with members of the construction projects’ teams from the analyzed region. The cluster analysis resulted in eight clusters for barriers and seven clusters for enablers. In the case of barriers, the most significant cluster was the one that included the barrier regarding technical and technological difficulties related to the use of green building materials. Another significant barrier was the increase of project execution costs. Enablers from the most significant cluster had higher energy efficiency and use of green building materials as a competitive advantage. Another significant enabler identified was regarding the pressure to implement environmental protection policies/legislation. To explain and detail the results of the cluster analysis, semi-structured interviews were carried out with experts involved in projects. They indicated, in most cases, the same barriers and enablers as those obtained from the cluster analysis.
Highlights
Construction projects are considered, throughout their life cycle, as some of the biggest sources of environmental problems, from the consumption of non-renewable resources and the impact on biodiversity to the effects on global warming [1]
The review of the specialized literature aimed at defining the concept of green procurement as well as barriers and enablers identified by previous studies both in the field of construction projects and in other fields
The analysis of the Romanian and European legislation allowed for the identification of new barriers and enablers and the confirmation of barriers and enablers identified as a result of the review of previously published studies and research
Summary
Construction projects are considered, throughout their life cycle, as some of the biggest sources of environmental problems, from the consumption of non-renewable resources and the impact on biodiversity to the effects on global warming [1]. In the European Union, buildings have become one of the most important elements of energy efficiency policies, as about 40% of the energy consumption of society comes from the energy consumption of buildings [2]. In Romania, the energy consumption of the residential and non-residential building sector represents about 45% of total energy consumption. There is a concern for the implementation of Directive 2010/31/ EU on the energy performance of buildings and of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. In the European Union, the completion and exploitation of construction projects involve half of the total extracted materials and one third of water consumption [3,4]. The construction sector generates one third of the total waste at the European Union (EU) level [3]. Residential construction projects are responsible for increasing CO2 consumption [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
