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“Transforming construction” is a wide-ranging strategic term, under which sit numerous initiatives. It is the latest, in a long line of strategies and reports introduced to with the intention of industry improvement. Arguably, many of these fail to achieve their aim. The barriers preventing the adoption of transforming construction initiatives are therefore limiting the potential benefits of the strategy. The aim of this research is to formally identify and understand how these barriers are framed and how these frames can be changed so that the barriers can be overcome, and the wider strategy benefits realised.

A literature review is undertaken to identify “transforming construction” initiatives. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews are then undertaken with construction professionals and analysed via narrative analysis to identify and understand perceived barriers to these initiatives. Framing is utilised as a theoretical lens to categorise these barriers and understand how “shifts” in the frames held can be achieved and the barriers overcome.

Barriers to transforming construction initiatives are identified as wicked problems. This allows a new perspective on such initiatives to be gained. The results also reveal how construction professionals frame such barriers, viewing themselves as bystanders with initiatives and practices “bigger” than themselves and their roles. How these frames can be “shifted” from bystander to active participant is identified. Such a shift can serve as a blueprint for industry professionals so that the initiatives identified can be successfully implemented thereby increasing the success of the transforming construction strategy.

This paper addresses a gap in current research around the perceptions held by construction professionals of the initiatives that sit under the transforming construction strategy. Addressing this gap allows the diagnosis of barriers that have previously served to prevent initiatives gaining traction. The findings contribute to both the existing literature and current industry practice by highlighting how the barriers are framed, and how such frames can be “shifted” to support the realisation of long promised strategy benefits.

The demand to reduce carbon emissions has become an increasingly important social factor due to the unprecedented impacts of climate change. However, most existing publications have focused on minimizing emissions during the operational phase of buildings. At the same time, there is a lack of comprehensive research conducted on carbon emissions, specifically during the construction phase. The purpose of this paper is to identify, review and classify current practices related to carbon emissions management in construction operations to gain greater insight into how to reduce and mitigate emissions and achieve more sustainable solutions.

This study reviewed the published literature on carbon emissions from construction. A total of 198 bibliographic records were extracted from the Scopus collection database and analyzed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). PRISMA is used as a basis for reporting possible trends, research methods and strategies used in published literatures. A total of 99 papers related to carbon emissions in the construction operations were further reviewed and analyzed. This review paper draws on existing research and identifies current carbon management patterns in construction projects.

Data indicated an upward trend in the number of publications in carbon emissions research during the last few years, particularly in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The most significant contributions to the domain were reported from China, Europe and the USA. This paper found that most studies conduct the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to estimate carbon emissions. This paper found that the primary studies have focused on construction machinery and equipment emissions. The strategies such as establishing uniform standards for carbon emissions policies and regulations, equipment and logistic planning and low carbon design material will potentially impact carbon emissions reductions.

This paper provides information that will be beneficial for the construction industry to design and manage construction operations. It will also be of interest to those looking to reduce or manage construction emissions.

Although there is a diversity of current thinking related to the practical estimation and management of carbon emissions in construction projects, there is no consolidated set of keys of standardized carbon emissions management in practice. By assessing the existing paradigms of carbon assessment methods and tactics in the construction industry, this study contributed to the existing knowledge base by providing insights into current techniques in the construction sector for monitoring and mitigating emissions.

In recent years, sustainability considerations in the real estate sector have moved from being a niche market phenomenon to a mainstream trend. The movement has been accompanied by a shift in the industry’s perception of sustainable buildings. Traditional cost-saving goals are now complemented by a growing interest in the potential for sustainable buildings to tackle broader economic and social sustainability challenges as well as issues related to health and well-being. The real estate industry is increasingly expected to adapt its strategies to incorporate new and more stringent environmental and urban development requirements, to cater to shifting demographics, and to utilize new advancements in construction processes and materials. This chapter explores recent research on sustainable real estate and highlights some of the newest trends in the market. The chapter then examines how policy and technological advancements can enable real estate developers to tackle environmental, social, and economic sustainability challenges. This will be exemplified through a focus on carbon taxation and timber construction. Based on these case studies, the chapter illustrates how today’s sustainable real estate sector – marked by its move beyond a focus on cost savings – requires for building practices to be strongly rooted in global, sustainable development policies.

It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that has examined how universities in Asian countries handle and address matters related to SD.

The study used a bibliometric analysis and an online survey-method. The online survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and one-sample student’s t-test.

The study indicates that there is considerable variation among the Asian countries regarding sustainability practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). The HEIs in far eastern countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are perceived to demonstrate more sustainability practices.

Even though a substantial number of participants participated in the survey, it did not cover all Asian countries. The online survey was carried out over a limited period of time, and not all HEIs in the field may have received information about the study.

Asia is the largest continent facing a number of sustainability challenges. In this context, the contribution of HEIs is very important. The findings of the current study may serve as a baseline for Asian HEIs to take more initiatives towards SD goals, as HEIs are responsible for the education and training of hundreds of thousands of students who will be occupying key positions in industry, government or education in the coming years.

The study contributes to the existing literature in two distinct ways. First, it was possible to develop a comprehensive instrument to measure sustainability practices in HEIs. Second, this study has filled the gap of the scarcity of studies regarding sustainability practices in HEIs in Asia.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions are expected to reduce information asymmetries and increase legitimacy among the stakeholders of the company, which consequently should have a positive impact on the financial conditions of the firm. Hence, the objective of this paper is to find empirical evidence on the negative relationship between sustainable behavior and the cost of equity, in the specific context of Latin America. To address this issue, some proxies and moderating variables for sustainability are used in our study.

The regression model considers a sample with 252 publicly trading firms and 2,772 firm-year observations, from 2008 to 2018. The generalized method of moments is used to avoid endogeneity problems.

The study finds evidence that firms with higher environmental, social and governance activities disclosed by sustainability reports and assured by external providers decrease their cost of equity, especially if they are in an integrated market as MILA. This finding confirms that agency conflicts between firm's management and stakeholders diminish with higher CSR transparency, leading to a lower cost of capital.

Our research is unique and valuable as, to our knowledge, it is the first study to analyze the impact of sustainable behavior and the cost of equity from companies operating in Latin America.

Las actividades de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial permiten disminuir asimetrías de información e incrementar la legitimidad ante los stakeholders de una empresa, generando impactos positivos financieros para la misma. De hecho, el objetivo del artículo es medir la relación entre el comportamiento sostenible y el Costo de Capital en el contexto empresarial latinoamericano. Para ello, consideramos algunas variables proxy y moderadoras sustentables en nuestro estudio.

El modelo considera una muestra de 252 empresas cotizadas y 2772 observaciones que abarcan el período de 2008 a 2018. Se implementa el Modelo Generalizado de Momentos para evitar problemas de endogeneidad.

Los autores evidencian que empresas con altos niveles de divulgación ambiental, social y gobernanza corporativa a través de reportes de sostenibilidad y asegurados por proveedores externos disminuyen el Costo de Capital, especialmente si cotizan en un mercado integrado como el MILA. Estos hallazgos confirman que se reduce la asimetría de información entre la gerencia y los stakeholders, dado que incrementa la transparencia mediante la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa y ello conduce a un menor Costo de Capital.

Nuestro estudio es único dado que, hasta la fecha, es el primer estudio que analiza el impacto de la divulgación voluntaria de RSE y Costo de Capital de empresas que operan en Latinoamérica.

The purpose of this paper is to harness the potential of microwave pre-treatment to prepare carbon from locally available Sterculia foetida fruit shells for adsorption of heavy metals, particularly Nickel ions (Ni++), from effluent.

The pre-treatment methods comprise conventional methods as sun drying and oven drying as well as high intensity microwave drying. Response surface methodology was employed to analyse the optimization of the process. The adsorption behavioural characteristics of the material were established applying adsorption isotherms.

Adsorption of Ni++ was found to be effective in microwave drying at output power of 300 W. It was observed that the maximum adsorption capacity was attained at pH 6; an adsorbent dosage of 0.25 mgml−1 and initial metal ion concentration of 20 ppm with an interactive effect of initial concentration and dosage.

The research puts emphasise on prospecting of novel biomass for carbonization and application of the same for effective adsorption. Available literature on Sterculia foetida is very limited and this work will serve to create database on the amenability of processing.

The purpose of this paper is investigate the inhibition efficiency of three similar bi-cyclic organic compounds, namely, benzimidazole (BI), benzotriazole (BTAH) and benzothiazole (BTH) on carbon steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. Organic inhibitors are widely used to protect metals in acidic media. Among abundant suggestions for acid corrosion inhibitors, azole compounds have gained attention.

The inhibition efficiency of the three organic compounds was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Superiorities of BTH and BTAH corrosion inhibitors were shown by EIS data and polarization curves. Moreover, the results revealed that BTAH and BTH can function as effective mixed-type adsorptive inhibitors, whereas no inhibition behavior was observed for BI. Both BTAH and BTH obeyed Longmuir adsorption isotherm. The results obtained from this isotherm showed that both inhibitors adsorbed on the specimen surface physically and chemically. The difference in inhibition efficiencies of BTAH, BTH and BI was related to the presence of nitrogen and sulfur hetero atoms on their molecular structures.

This study evaluated inhibition efficiency of BI, BTAH and BTH using electrochemical methods. In addition, the study attempted to find inhibition mechanism of the inhibitors and to find modes of adsorption of the inhibitors, correlating effects of heteroatoms and inhibition efficiency.

This chapter examines the significance of green innovation and technologies for sustainable business in Asia, focussing on the issues and challenges confronted by contemporary sustainable business models. The concept of sustainable development is introduced, which seeks to minimize negative impacts on ecosystems and preserve the environment for future generations. This chapter's methodology entails a comprehensive review of existing literature and research on green innovation, green technology, and sustainable business models in Asia. The expansion of ‘green’ energy is directly proportional to the global demand for energy resources. Understanding how green innovation influences a company's capacity for sustainable development is essential for identifying the factors that influence sustainable business models and their economic consequences. Green innovation practices encompass a variety of factors, including government regulations, preferences, supplier competence, and consumer concerns. Green technologies, such as green human resource management (HRM) practices and green innovation practices, play a crucial role in attaining sustainable development by conserving energy, protecting the environment, and enhancing business efficiency. Businesses that adopt green innovation acquire a competitive edge and enhance their performance. This chapter emphasizes the importance of green innovation research and application for business stability in Asia, where sustainability and green concepts are acquiring momentum. Customer, government, and societal pressures further emphasize the significance of green innovation in businesses. For the success of ecological innovation practices, collaboration and knowledge-sharing among various stakeholders are crucial. The adoption of green innovation practices is influenced by external environmental impacts, stakeholder pressure, and organizational support. Green technology innovation, which concentrates on resource conservation, energy efficiency, and environmental protection, is crucial to the sustainability of a business. This chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of business sustainability in achieving environmental and economic goals and assuring sustainable corporate development. Long-term success requires an understanding of the process of value creation, delivery, and capture within sustainable business models.