Construction stakeholders' knowledge on zero carbon initiatives in New Zealand
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
ISSN: 2398-4708
Article publication date: 27 February 2023
Abstract
Purpose
In light of climate change, the design and construction of buildings needs to shift from conventional to lower-carbon practices to maximise carbon reduction. Over the past few years, the zero carbon buildings (ZCBs) approach has been promoted worldwide as an effective way to reduce environmental impacts and mitigate climate change. Although zero-carbon policies, technologies, processes and products are widely available in the construction market, construction stakeholders play an important part in adopting relevant strategies to implement ZCBs successfully. This study investigates the knowledge of construction stakeholders involved in the design and construction of buildings regarding zero carbon initiatives in New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted using a literature review and an online questionnaire survey with various New Zealand's construction stakeholders.
Findings
The findings indicate a low level of knowledge regarding the design and construction of ZCBs. To successfully deliver ZCBs, the study suggests that construction stakeholders must have their self-awareness increased, especially in improving knowledge of whole-of-life embodied carbon reduction. The governments and construction sectors should devote more effort to establishing training programmes and knowledge-sharing platforms to improve stakeholder knowledge in carbon literacy, building assessment methods, energy modelling and life cycle assessment.
Originality/value
The research implications may assist the real-world uptake of the ZCBs approach by offering academics and practitioners an insight into the ZCBs knowledge gaps.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is a part of the “Building Capability to help the Construction Industry Transition to Zero Carbon” research programme, which is funded by the Building Research Association New Zealand (BRANZ) under Building Research Levy, grant number LR12965.
Citation
Nidhin, B.K.S.N., Domingo, N., Bui, T.T.P. and Wilkinson, S. (2023), "Construction stakeholders' knowledge on zero carbon initiatives in New Zealand", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-08-2022-0119
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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