Description: UK and European legislation, the rising cost of landfill, financial and social drivers to minimise waste, and the increasing sensitivity of society to environmental issues all greatly affect the construction industry. With this in mind, CIRIA undertook a study to update its reports SP093 and SP094 and conducted a survey into the state of environmental initiatives within the industry. This study also responded to a need identified by the Foresight (Construction) Panel for the civil engineering sector to establish a range of sustainability indicators. This book summarises the findings of the study, highlights the gaps in industry knowledge and distils its recommendations into ten action points. As well as providing a valuable insight into current industry awareness of, and attitudes to, environmental issues, this strategic review points the way forward by suggesting appropriate sustainability indicators for each issue and discusses how these can assist industry in improving its performance. It identifies the need to raise levels of environmental awareness and gives a stimulating overview of the changing relationship between the construction industry and the environment within which it works and is an important starting-point for debate in the boardroom and in local and national government offices across the UK. More detail is provided in the accompanying Desk study (PR73), Research campaign: executive summary (PR74) and Sustainability indicators for the civil engineering industry (PR75).

Keywords: site management, environmental good practice, sustainable construction, construction management.

Contents: 1 Introduction, 2 Sustainable development and construction, 3 Environmental issues in construction, 4 Conclusions and recommendations, Appendices, Key references