Title

Green building as a tool to improve construction management efficiency

(cost and time)

Keywords

Green Building, construction efficiency, cost, time, sustainability, rating

system.

Problem statement (elaborating problem statement, describing

theoretical and practical of research problem and research gap,

variables definition relating to research question and context)

Green building is internationally linked to the environmental

performance of buildings and the discussion of green building methods and

practices is generally directed towards the environmental benefits of the

matter. The case is rarely discussed where other benefits of green building

application are addressed.

Some research articles are available internationally that discuss the

role of green building methodologies as tools to improve the efficiency of

construction management. Research has been conducted in multiple regions

of the world where the effects of green building on the improvement of cost

and time of construction projects was explored.

important as construction projects are notoriously linked to long execution

periods and cost overruns. In this era, cost and time consumption is of the

highest importance as most countries are facing economic struggles and

delays in execution dictate more costs in terms of loss of operation time

and profit.

In this research, an exploration of green building methodology and

green building rating systems for a better understanding of the subject and

the components of the green building methodology will be discussed in

detail to view which components are more influential in their effect on

construction management efficiency through its two variables (cost and

time).

A literature review will comprise two parts, an exploration of

research articles that examine the effect of green building on the

improvement of construction management efficiency and an exploration of

green building rating systems to better understand the criteria and

determine the main components that have influence on the improvement of

construction efficiency (cost and time).

scientifically obtained in various places regarding research content

Green building is a set of practices and procedures that together

help create structures and buildings with focus on being environmentally

friendly and resources efficient throughout the entire life cycle of the

building from design and idea conception to construction, operation,

maintenance and end of life (WGBC, 2023).

Standards required for green building are mainly similar to those of

regular building design standards with a broader spectrum of requirements

with the purpose of resources conservation and sustainability improvement

(EPA, 2023).

Most countries nowadays have national sustainability and green

building standards and special committees responsible for the introduction

and legislation of green buildings along with multiple international green

building rating systems (Neyestani, 2017).

International green building rating systems vary in nature of

complexity, number of requirements, ease of application and popularity.

The rationale behind the conception of green building rating systems in the

growing drive towards environmental preservation and sustainability

(Bernardi et al., 2017).

The most popular rating system and the most comprehensive is the

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) issued by the US

different types of buildings and the systems are organized into multiple

sectors each defining a different aspect of green effort (USGBC, 2005).

Developed by the building research establishment (BRE), the oldest

rating system for green buildings, one of the leading systems globally by

number of projects evaluated and by far one of the most complex rating

systems available is the Building Research Establishment's Environment

Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) which is considered the British

national green building standard (BRE, 2016).

The Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment

Efficiency (CASBEE) is the official Japanese rating system for green

building and is one of the most advanced rating systems internationally.

The system has more components and statements regarding the

environmental efficiency of green buildings than any other rating system

(JSBC, 2014).

The Green Globes certification issued by Energy & Environment

Canada Ltd is unique in its form as it works as a self-assessment tool that

operates entirely online, the system currently offers certification for

buildings in Northern America, with plans for expansion into other regions

of the world. As a self-assessment tool, the rating system is rather simple to

offer ease of use (Energy & Environment Canada Ltd, 2004).

concepts to reduce operating costs of buildings. The researchers relied in

their research on the LEED rating system and concluded that the

implementation of green building based on the LEED requirements can

provide great savings by lowering operating costs and the use of alternative

construction materials.

Green building was examined by Liu et al. (2022) for cost benefits

both direct and indirect and concluded that green building can provide

direct economic benefits as well as indirect cost efficiency through

environmental and social efficiency were incremental cost benefits of green

buildings was the main subject for analysis and the simple input-output

benefit analysis proved that green building can provide good benefits in

terms of cost savings.

Hwang et al. (2013) explored the effect of green building

implementation on the improvement of schedule performance based on a

survey of the Chinese construction market and recommended that for green

building methodology to provide schedule improvement, a number of

factors must be taken into account, the most important of which are the

proper monitoring and review of actual construction schedule and

resources, timely design procedures, awarding tenders to capable

contractors, error proofing design documents before issuance and exploring

variable procurement practices for a more timely material delivery.

building on construction scheduling is the familiarity of contractors and

practitioners with green building concepts as this would lead to faster

execution, energy efficiency proposed by green building initiatives in the

form of reducing cost of transport by evaluating alternatives is directly

linked to improvements in scheduling of construction as projects with

shorter, more direct supply routes are more likely to be executed faster than

other traditional projects.

Research hypothesis and questions

1. What is green building?

2. What are green building rating systems?

3. How does the requirements of green building rating systems affect

cost and time of construction projects?

Aim of studies (scientific and practical objectives and explain the

necessity of research)

1. To develop an understanding of green building and green building

rating systems.

2. To better view the effect of green building methodology on

construction management efficiency through cost and time.

management efficiency via a survey questionnaire.

If the research has practical use, please mention which industry,

organization etc. will benefit from it?

This research provides good incentive for engineers and

engineering companies to adopt green building methodology in order to

reduce cost and time of construction projects.

Innovation aspect of research

Most available research literature address green building as a tool to

improve the environmental performance of buildings with very little

research available on other benefits of green building.

This research will focus on other benefits that are to be obtained by

implementing green building methodologies including the improvement of

cost and scheduling of construction projects.

Methodology of research

A- Research method type

Qualitative analysis of international research articles that are

relevant to the subject of this research.

at examining the most influential aspects of green building on cost and time

in construction projects.

B- Data collection procedure (fields, laboratory, library)

Qualitative data through library study and online searches of

scientific articles and publications.

Quantitative data through the survey questionnaire.

C- Data collection instruments (Questionnaire, interview,

observation, testing, sampling, tables, the laboratory equipment

and data information sources)

The proposed questionnaire is the main instrument for collecting

required data. The questionnaire will comprise of close ended statements

dictating different aspects of green building methodology and their effect

on either cost or time in construction projects.

D- Data analysis method and statistical population

The results of the questionnaire will be organized and identified

properly via Microsoft office excel software and the statistical analysis will

be conducted via SPSS software.

statistically to test the applicability of management practices in dealing

with deconstruction waste management in Iraq.

The questionnaire will be available online for experts to participate

with the main population being Iraqi engineers and practitioners with

experience in green building and construction management.

References and bibliography cited in proposal

1- World Green Building Council (WGBC). “What is Green

Building”. From website: https://www.worldgbc.org/what-green-

building (Accessed on 25/6/2023).

2- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “about green building”.

From website:

https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/about.html

(Accessed on 25/6/2023)

3- Neyestani, B. 2017. "A Review on Sustainable Building (Green

Building)". MPRA.

4- Bernardi, E., Carlucci, S., Cornaro, C., and Bohne, R. A., 2017, "An

analysis of the most adopted rating systems for assessing the

environmental impact of buildings". MDPI.

5- USGBC. 2005, "LEED for New Construction & Major

Renovations". USGBC.
6- BRE. 2016. "BREEAM international new construction 2016:

Technical Manual". BRE.

7- Energy & Environment Canada Ltd. 2004. "Green Globes: Design

for New Buildings and Retrofits: Rating System and Program

Summary". ECD Energy & Environment Canada Ltd.

8- JSBC. 2014. "CASBEE for Building (New Construction):

Technical Manual". IBEC.

9- Tjenggoro, F.N. and Prasetyo, K. 2018. “The usage of green

building concept to reduce operating costs (study case if PT. Prodia

Widyahusada)”. Asian Journal of Accounting Research.

10- Liu, W., Huang, X.H, He, Z., Wang, Y., Han, L. and Qiu, W. 2022.

“Input-Output Benefit analysis of green building incremental cost

based on DEA-Entropy Weight Method”. MDPI.

11- Hwang, B.G., Leong, L.P. and Huh Y.K. 2013. “Sustainable Green

Construction Management: Schedule Performance and

Improvement”. Technological and Economic Development of

Economy.

12- Mahat, N.A.A., Adnan, H., Yusuwan, N.M., Maisham, M. and

Ismail N.A.A. 2021. “The Influential Factors Effects Schedule and

Cost Performance toward Productivity Attainment in Green

Construction Projects”. ICRMBEE.