Improving Collaboration among Stakeholders in Green Building Projects: Role of Early Contractor Involvement

Abstract

It is well recognized that collaboration and mutual trust among project participants are essential in the delivery of green buildings. A procurement model is the structure that defines the contractual and functional relationships among project participants. Therefore, the procurement model selected for a green building should be able to enhance collaboration, nonadversarial relationships, and a dispute free environment for the project to achieve desired green credentials. However, little is known about the capabilities of current procurement models to support such an endeavor. It is unclear from extant literature which procurement method(s) would support collaboration and how this could be achieved. Whereas the need for early contractor involvement is highlighted in past studies as a means to enhance collaboration, there is not much information as to how that could facilitate the achievement of green credentials. To fill the knowledge gap, this research aims to examine the functional relationships among project participants involved in Australian Green Star rated building projects. The study explore how the much needed collaboration happens in these procurement methods through a questionnaire survey and case studies. The questionnaire survey was conducted among willing project participants of 37 Green Star projects implemented in Adelaide, South Australia. Based on the results, the two most favorable procurement methods that improve collaboration, namely design and construct (DC) and management contracting (MC), were selected for case studies. Semistructured interviews were conducted among nine project participants of these two case studies to elicit detailed information on collaborative mechanisms and the way green credentials were supported through the procurement method. Results showed that despite a drive from the industry for more collaborative approaches, 48% of Green Star projects have utilized the traditional procurement model which promotes adversarial relationships among project participants. In contrast, alternative models such as DC and MC received a positive response on their capability to promote collaboration. In these two methods, early contractor involvement helped not only the main contractor but also trade contractors to work directly with other stakeholders to ensure the achievement of green credentials. This study proposes a few practical measures to improve the management credits in the Green Star rating tool while providing recommendations to enhance construction professionals’ understanding of the benefits and limitations of the major procurement methods when applied to green building projects.