Cumulative Sustainability Performance Index of Contractors and Consultants: Toward a Prequalification System

Abstract

Delivery of sustainable buildings requires infusing sustainability criteria into project decisions. Hiring a suitable contractor and consultant for the delivery of green buildings is critical to ensuring sustainable procurement. Plus, introducing sustainability criteria in the prequalification process can improve stakeholder agreement on project objectives and help hire firms with appropriate experience in sustainable project delivery. Previous studies underline the process-level inclusion of sustainability criteria in the procurement process. However, the considerations are vaguely defined for clear performance indicators of assessment. In fact, there exists no quantitative assessment tool of the sustainability performance of consultants and contractors. Therefore, prequalification methods of consultants and contractors for green building projects are limited. The current study develops a cumulative sustainability performance rating index (CSPI) for the prequalification of consultants and contractors on green building projects. The index is based on the weighting criteria identified through relevant literature and rigorously ranked through expert opinion. The developed sustainability-based prequalification framework is demonstrated further on real projects and provides a roadmap for sustainable prequalification to practitioners.