ISO 14000 and the Construction Industry: Survey in China

Abstract

The rapid growth of the Chinese economy sparked off a great volume of construction activities, but the damage caused by construction activities to the environment is indisputable and has alerted some large Chinese construction firms to seek effective environmental management. The ISO 14000 series offers a framework for managing construction operations to improve environmental performance. To discover the conditions of implementation of ISO 14000 in the construction industry, a structured questionnaire survey was conducted whose results show that the major motivation for implementing the system was to seek entry to the international construction market. Other motivations include standardization of the environmental management procedures for internal operations, obtaining social recognition, gaining confidence from clients and a better corporate image, enhancing the environmental awareness of subcontractors, and cleaner sites as a result of better housekeeping. However, some obstacles remain along the path, such as the financial burden, poor rates of return for most firms, low environmental awareness, and inadequate legal enforcement. Based on the analysis and discussion, the paper concludes that the government should take the lead in encouraging training, providing financial support, and improving the legal framework to promote ISO 14000 for the Chinese construction industry.