Overcoming the constraints to the adoption of sustainable civil engineering practices

Abstract

Across the Middle East region, there seems to be remarkable improvement in stakeholders’ awareness level on the general concepts of sustainability in civil engineering. However, this awareness is not well reflected in the practical adoption of sustainable civil engineering practices in the construction industry. The general concept remains not widely accepted to many civil engineers as they are yet to come to terms with how the concept fits in with the profession. Thus, this assertion calls for a closer look into the various constraints impeding the implementation of sustainability in engineering practices and to propose a strategy on how to overcome these impediments to promote sustainable practices in civil engineering. A combination of desk study and expert-based questionnaire survey were used to obtain the study data. The framework developed in this study was subjected to expert validation and was rated by the experts as being significant and capable of providing a supportive platform for developing guidelines that could enhance the practical adoption and promoting sustainable civil engineering practices. It is expected that the proposed framework could serve as a basic tool for developing guidelines for all stakeholders involved in the full adoption and promotion of sustainable civil engineering practices.