INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION DESIGN, EXECUTION AND COST MANAGEMENT
Abstract
Sustainable construction requires an integrated approach that harmonizes design, execution, and cost management to achieve environmental, economic, and social objectives. This study critically reviews recent literature to examine the roles of civil engineers, builders, and quantity surveyors in promoting sustainability, emphasizing the interdependencies between material selection, construction methods, and financial planning. Evidence reveals that isolated interventions often fail to deliver measurable sustainability gains, whereas interdisciplinary collaboration, digital tools such as BIM and life-cycle assessment, and proactive cost optimization strategies enhance performance, reduce waste, and improve long-term economic outcomes. Key challenges include technical capacity gaps, resistance to change, and inconsistent policy enforcement, while opportunities lie in emerging technologies, circular economy practices, and structured decision-making frameworks. The findings underscore the necessity of context-sensitive, analytically driven approaches for operationalizing sustainable construction, and identify research gaps in standardized integration frameworks, performance metrics, and adoption pathways for digital solutions.
KEYWORDS: Sustainable construction, Integrated design, Construction execution, Cost management, Life-cycle analysis, green materials.
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