Social Network Analysis of Factors Influencing Green Building Development in China.

Ning Huang,Qiang Du,Long Shao,Libiao Bai,Jingtao Li,Hailing Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15122684

Abstract

Green buildings have been viewed as one of the most effective solutions to the negative environmental impacts of construction activities. For the sustainable development of the economy and the environment, many governments in the world have launched a variety of policies to encourage the development of green buildings. However, green targets achieved during the operational stage of green buildings are far below the expectations from the design stage. In addition, the development of green buildings is unevenly distributed in different cities. To help resolve these issues, this paper identifies 28 green building influencing factors from two perspectives, the life cycle and stakeholders. Then, a social network analysis is used to analyse their interactions and identify the critical factors. Our results show that government supervision, incremental cost, property management experience, and the awareness of environmental protection in green buildings are the critical influencing factors in promoting green building development. However, some factors related to contractors, designers and suppliers are not as important as perceived. Finally, some policy recommendations are proposed to promote green buildings in China.

Highlights

With the reform of the housing market in China, the construction industry has developed rapidly and become a pillar of the Chinese national economy [1]
An interesting finding is that end users and public awareness of green buildings have become very important in the social network
This paper leverages the collective knowledge of influencing factors and stakeholders from a network perspective to achieve better management in the life cycles of green buildings

Summary

Introduction

With the reform of the housing market in China, the construction industry has developed rapidly and become a pillar of the Chinese national economy [1]. More than 40% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs), which exert significant impacts on the climate, are emitted by this industry, resulting in a series of problems for the sustainable development of society [2]. Many scholars have conducted related research and found that green buildings could be used as a strategy to reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry [3,4,5]. Green building is a more resource-saving and environmentally friendly form of construction. It can maximize the conservation of resources, protect the environment, reduce pollution throughout the life cycle of construction and provide people with healthy and suitable spaces [6,7].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion