To read this content please select one of the options below:

Organizational leadership role in the delivery of sustainable construction projects in UK

Alex Opoku (Department of Built Environment, London South Bank University, London, UK)
Heather Cruickshank (Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK)
Vian Ahmed (School of Built Environment, University of Salford, Salford, Manchester, UK)

Built Environment Project and Asset Management

ISSN: 2044-124X

Article publication date: 5 May 2015

1607

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainable construction project delivery should be supported by committed and inspirational leadership, with a clear understanding of the sustainability challenge. Construction organizations need intra-organizational leadership that provides the collective vision, strategy and direction towards the shared common goal of a sustainable future. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of intra-organizational leadership within UK construction organizations charged with the promotion of sustainability practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a mixed method approach with qualitative data collected through semi-structured interview with 15 leaders, followed by an industry-wide survey of 200 intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction industry.

Findings

The analysis of the data revealed that, the most important role of intra-organizational leadership in promoting sustainable construction practices is to formulate policies, implement procedures and disseminate best practices throughout the organization .

Originality/value

Nothing has been written on intra-organizational leadership role in promoting sustainability practices in the construction industry. Although leadership and sustainability has been widely covered as separate issues this study provides the empirical evidence of the link between leadership and sustainability in construction.

Keywords

Citation

Opoku, A., Cruickshank, H. and Ahmed, V. (2015), "Organizational leadership role in the delivery of sustainable construction projects in UK", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 154-169. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2013-0074

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles