Abstract

The construction industry should play a vital role in helping efforts towards the attainment of sustainable development in the world. It is therefore becoming a key requirement for construction organizations to deliver projects that address the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. The aim of this paper is to examine how UK construction organizations are actively engaged in sustainability practices. This paper presents the results of an investigation using a mixed methods approach of both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Data collection involved phases of detailed semi-structured interviews, followed by an industry-wide survey of 200 intra-organizational leaders in UK contractor and consultant organizations. The analysis of the collected data revealed that construction organizations are engaged in sustainability practices such as procurement, design, waste management, whole life costing, materials and resources use, corporate social responsibility, and community engagement in the delivery of construction projects. The survey results show that construction organizations in UK are actively engaged in sustainable waste management followed by sustainable design. The results show where construction organizations are doing well and where organizations need to double their efforts in terms of implementing sustainability practices.