Abstract
Fostering sustainability in the construction industry has been claimed; however, important barriers are hindering its implementation in public procurement. The main reason is the lack of knowledge about what sustainability criteria should be included and the high level of subjectivity in the definition of their level of importance. Both aspects should be addressed depending on the specific context of each country. Therefore, the aim of this research focused on identifying the sustainability shortcomings that exist in each European Union country in order to determine the level of importance of each sustainability category. Five environmental categories and eight social categories were established, and, to assess the sustainability performance of the 28 European countries, 42 national indicators were selected and the Promethee method was undertaken to rank the countries. Finally, through a cluster analysis, two groups of countries were identified. The first group consisted of the most economically developed European Union countries. These countries need to focus mainly on the environmental performance. However, the second group needs to make an effort in social sustainability at the same time, which controls their environmental performance. This research provides guidance on the decision-making with regard to the inclusion of sustainability in public procurement of the construction industry.
Highlights
Civil engineering projects are necessary for the development of society, especially for the economic development of countries [1]
This study reviewed guides, reports, books, sustainability certification systems, and scientific literature in order to determine the environmental categories that should be considered in public procurement of the construction industry
The aim of this paper was to assess the sustainable performance of EU countries through a cross-country comparison. This result can help procurers to decide what sustainability categories to consider in the bidding processes, as well as to assist in having an orientation regarding their level of importance
Summary
Civil engineering projects are necessary for the development of society, especially for the economic development of countries [1]. Public procurement has been claimed as the best alternative to influence the market in terms of sustainable production and consumption since it represents large volumes of public spending each year [6] In this regard, in the European Union (EU ), the legal evolution from 2004 to 2014 has opened an opportunity to contribute to different social and environmental objectives [7]. The directives increased the scope for contracting authorities to include social and environmental considerations in the design and execution of public tenders and, on the other hand, gave the member states some freedom to define national mechanisms to include social considerations in public procurement [10,12] In this regard, Directive 2014/24/EU fosters contracting authorities to determine the most economically advantageous tender using social and environmental life cycle costing approach. The aim of this list was to encourage contracting authorities to choose social and environmental award criteria in order to exploit the potential of public procurement to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy [13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
