GREEN PROCUREMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

MANAGEMENT TOWARDS REACHING NET ZERO GOALS

 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................3

1.1 Research Background............................................................................................................3

1.2 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................5

1.3 Research Aim and Objectives................................................................................................6

1.3.1 Aim.................................................................................................................................6

1.3.2 Objectives.......................................................................................................................6

1.3.3 Research Questions.........................................................................................................7

1.4 Scope of the Study.................................................................................................................7

1.5 Research Rationale................................................................................................................8

Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................................9

2.1 Existing construction procurement practices and its issues in the UK construction sector...9

2.2 Significance of green procurement and use in construction projects..................................10

2.3 Practical suggestions for improving the application of environmentally friendly

procurement methods to reach net-zero targets in the construction sector................................11

2.4 Theoretical Framework........................................................................................................13

2.5 Literature gap.......................................................................................................................14

Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................15

3.1 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................15

3.2 Research Approach..............................................................................................................16

3.3 Research Design..................................................................................................................17

3.4 Data collection method........................................................................................................18

3.5 Data Analysis Method.........................................................................................................19

3.6 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................20

Chapter 4: Data analysis................................................................................................................22

pg. 1
 4.1 Thematic Data Analysis Table.............................................................................................22

4.2 Findings...............................................................................................................................23

4.3 Discussion............................................................................................................................30

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations..............................................................................32

5.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................32

5.2 Linking with Objectives......................................................................................................32

5.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................34

5.4 Future Scope........................................................................................................................35

References......................................................................................................................................36

Appendices....................................................................................................................................48

pg. 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Research Background
The construction industry worldwide is one of the key reasons behind energy shortage and
environmental deterioration (Chan, Darko and Ameyaw, 2017). According to a study by
(International Energy Agency) IEA (2023), building operations contribute up to 30% of global
final consumption of energy and 26% of energy-related emissions globally (18% indirect
emissions due to electricity and heat used in buildings and 8% direct emissions in buildings)
(IEA, 2023) . The European Union's 2023 revision of the "Energy Performance of Buildings
Directive (EPBD)" has supported the target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 in the
building sector. This leads to mandating policies and standards towards achieving zero emissions
for all public buildings from 2026 as well as new buildings from 2028 through restructuring and
tightening the standards for the existing buildings (European Parliament, 2019).
The construction sector in the UK is responsible for 25% of the total greenhouse gas emissions to
the built environment (Osborne Clarke, 2023) . According to a published report by
Parliament.UK (26 May 2022), GHG emission occurs at every stage in the construction use
cycle (Audit Committee, 2022a) . In order to meet the net zero goal by 2050, the construction
sector must reduce emissions from the built environment. Very little government guidance has
been provided to help achieve this target by the construction industry. Also, the policy has
entirely focused on reducing operations (Audit Committee, 2022a) . However, in comparison to
that, the embedded emission or the emission within the construction, maintenance and
demolition process has been ignored. According to UCL (2021), embodied carbon emission
accounts for around 40 to 50 million tonnes of CO2 annually, which is more than the shipping
and aviation industry combined (UCL, 2021).

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 Figure 1.2: Carbon emission in the Supply chain of construction materials (Source: UCL, 2021)

A study by (Osborne Clarke, 2023)found that the modern construction method in the UK is far
from emerging as a new concept in the UK construction sector. However, the use of green
construction and procurement is steadily increasing. In public procurement practices, the UK
government mandates the use of wood in public buildings. In March 2021, in the "Industrial
Decarbonisation Strategy," the government committed to increasing the use of low-carbon
industrial products using public procurement in construction (Government, 2021) . The UK
government spent around £81 million to promote UK-made steels in public projects
(GOV.UK, 2020a)
.

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 Figure 1.2: Future prediction of the construction industry (Source: Statista, 2023b)

1.2 Problem Statement

The building construction sector has been criticised for largely exploiting primary energy and
natural resources because of galloping urbanisation as well as increased demand for energy.
Studies have found that the UK construction sector was the first user of the green building rating
system towards sustainable procurement by forming an awareness of ethics among the public to
develop construction projects with sustainability and environmentally friendly approach
(Alwan et al., 2017; Doan et al., 2017)
. However poor green building design projects exist because of
unreasonable design and procurement processes that increase higher energy consumption
(Zhang et al., 2019a)
. Roman (2017), argued that the lack of monetary and enforcement of law within
construction practices makes green procurement practices considerably challenging. Lack of
initiative and supportive legislative mandate at state national and local levels also create
significant challenges in promoting sustainable or green procurement in construction practices.
In the Opinion of (Khan et al., 2018) there are several barriers to the adoption of green
procurement practices within the construction sector that includes, including lack of awareness,
poor level of enforcement, passive culture, and lack of indicators and tools for environment
assessment. A study by Bidin et al., (2019) found five major problems of adopting sustainable
construction procurement using focus groups and a literature review. These barriers include a

pg. 5
lack of management commitment, high cost, lack of procurement regulations and laws, lack of
expertise on green procurement, and inadequate preparedness, and knowledge
(Bidin et al., 2019)
. Shen et al., (2017) , highlighted that the stakeholder's role in the adoption of green
procurement practices within the building construction sector is often poorly understood.
Because of this, the lack of familiarity, interest and knowledge related to green procurement are
the major problem areas of green procurement practices in the construction industry
(Shen et al., 2017a)
. According to (Ma et al., 2021) , the international factors within the organisation such as
the role of top management in construction projects are crucial as the support from top
management is one of the key factors in the successful adoption of green procurement practices.
However, Liu et al., (2020) argued that few studies are present that investigate the influence
mechanism making it difficult to identify how top management support in the construction sector
affects the green procurement approach.
There is also a lack of organisational-level data towards adopting green procurement practices
concerning the roadmap of reaching net zero goals (WEF, 2022). The data that are publicly
available largely focussed on monitoring the operational emissions and embedded emissions
from this sector have been neglected (Audit Committee, 2022a) . For this reason, this research
study is aimed at examining the opportunities and barriers of green procurement towards
reaching net zero goals in the UK construction sector.
1.3 Research Aim and Objectives
1.3.1 Aim
The research study aims to investigate how green procurement strategies in building construction
projects across the UK facilitate achieving net-zero emission goals through understanding the
practical implication and impact of green building procurement process.
1.3.2 Objectives
● To investigate the existing construction procurement practices and its issues in the UK
construction sector
● To evaluate the significance of green procurement and use in construction projects
● To offer practical suggestions for improving the application of environmentally friendly
procurement methods to reach net-zero targets in the construction sector

pg. 6
1.3.3 Research Questions

Q1. How does the implementation of sustainable building techniques in construction projects
impact their overall significance?

Q2. How do stakeholders’ values affect how successfully green procurement strategies are used
in building construction projects, ultimately leading to the achievement of Net Zero objectives?

Q3. What difficulties and barriers arise when using green procurement in construction project
management, and how do they affect its effectiveness?

Q4. What recommendations can be made for improving the effective use of environmentally
friendly procuring practices in the construction sector to reach net-zero objectives for the sector?

1.4 Scope of the Study

According to Doan et al., (2017) , the global building construction sector consumes almost 30%
of global resources and 15% of freshwater along with one-fourth of wood harvested. The
building construction sector is responsible for generating (Doan et al., 2017) . Additionally, a
total of 40% of global solid wastes are produced by the industry in developed countries due to
construction and demolition works (Lizárraga-Mendiola et al., 2022) . Therefore, with a
considerable amount of budget related to execution, procurement of building materials,
demolition and maintenance, the construction sector in the UK has a significant effect on the
environment in terms of different natural resource usage (Durdyev et al., 2018) . However, to
deal with such challenges, the "UK Green Building Council" has provided a framework called
Net-Zero Carbon Buildings that provides structural guidance to organisations in delivering net-
zero carbon buildings in both the construction and operational phases (GOV.UK, 2021). The
Green Building Council in the UK also provided a model and guidance on immediate carbon that
is focused on providing practical solutions in measuring embedded carbon as well as adopting
approaches towards reducing emissions throughout the supply chain and operation phase of
construction projects (GOV.UK, 2022a). For this reason, this research focuses on identifying the
initiatives adopted by both public and private construction projects related to green procurement
in the UK and examining how it helps to achieve the net zero goals target by the UK
government.

pg. 7
1.5 Research Rationale
Traditional building methods are increasingly being blamed as significant causes of
environmental damage in an age of mounting climate change concerns. Statista estimates that the
construction industry is responsible for around 39% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Furthermore, a report found that around 45% of all UK trash comes from the building industry
(Statista, 2023). There is a pressing need for the sector to adopt more eco-friendly practices.
Furthermore, the topic of green procurement, which is addressed in this study, is central to the
sustainability debate, making it both topical and vital. This research aims to give helpful
information for building project managers by assessing the performance of green procurement
techniques. In addition, the research hopes to shed light on how the sector's transition towards
net-zero goals might be presented via the coordinated integration of green procurement. It also
aims to increase green procurement adoption rates and efficacy by giving comprehensive
solutions to existing constraints in current procurement practices (Mojumder et al., 2022a). This
study's overarching goal is to significantly impact academic debates, policymaking, and applied
practice in the United Kingdom's construction sector via scrutiny and empirical data analysis.

Figure 1.3:2021 transport sector's global carbon dioxide emission distribution (Source: Statista, 2023a)

pg. 8
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Existing construction procurement practices and its issues in the UK
construction sector
The contemporary landscape of construction procurement practises in the UK construction
industry is defined by a combination of conventional and cooperative methods. The
sustainability journey of the industry is significantly impacted by these practices, especially
concerning net-zero emission targets. Design-bid-build and design-and-build are two of the most
common examples of conventional procurement strategies (OYELAMI, 2021). They emphasized
saving money and time, but they may overlook environmental factors. Ahmad and Zhang (2020)
noted that contractors may be less inclined to use green procurement techniques if they are
required to compete on price rather than quality (Ahmad and Zhang, 2020a) . Alternatives that
promote stakeholder engagement and shared risk, such as collaborative procurement systems like
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), have gained popularity
in recent years (Ahmed and El-Sayegh, 2020; Balzani and Zaffagnini, 2017) . These methods
may be used to include sustainability goals in project determinations. However, the complexities
of collaborative approaches might lengthen the time it takes to make decisions, which in turn can
affect the schedule of a project (Ruoslahti, 2020; Tabassum et al., 2023). Mojumder et al., (2022)
argued that inadequate knowledge of green procurement practices and information asymmetry
are two of the biggest obstacles to conventional and collaborative procurement models. When it
comes to implementing green procurement methods, Leal Filho et al., (2019) noted that a lack of
understanding among stakeholders on sustainability goals might be a barrier. There must be a
change in policy to deal with these issues. The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy shows the UK
government's dedication to sustainable procurement, which reflects an increasing alignment of
policy with environmental aims (Government, 2021). Still, it's difficult to get everyone on the
same page and for them to accept change in the complex business world. The construction
industry in the United Kingdom has a wide range of procurement practices, creating a complex
environment for environmentally responsible purchasing (Audit Committee, 2022a) . While
efficiency has been the focus of traditional techniques, collaborative alternatives have shown
promise for incorporating sustainability (European Parliament, 2019) . The need for legislative
backing and industry-wide cooperation for the effective implementation of green procurement
strategies cannot be overstated.

pg. 9
2.2 Significance of green procurement and use in construction projects
According to (Balaban and de Oliveira, 2017) , sustainable or green building could add
significant benefits concerning CO2 emissions, cost reduction, reduce energy usage in buildings
and improved health for users. It has been observed 38 % and 32% reduction of CO2 emission
and 33% and 26% required energy in buildings in Japan. A study by discusses that, green
building has both tangible and intangible advantages as GB often meet 20-100% of energy
savings and achieve around 30-50% water savings (Vyas and Jha, 2018). The intangible benefits
includes improved indoor air quality, excellent lightning, health and weeing of the users. The
first green building rating assessment was operated and launched in the UK known as BREEAM.
This was introduced since 1990 and revised in 1993 (Doan et al., 2017) . Further this was widely
accepted in making all major green building rating system such as LEED, CASBEE and Green
Star because of BREEAM. According to Government, 2021) , the UK construction sector is
among the biggest consumers of industrial products that involve many energy-intensive materials
like concrete and steel. In 2018, the UK Government spent £292 bn on procurement, and
numerous initiatives have been taken to reduce emissions in infrastructure projects, including the
adoption of standards of green procurement (Government, 2021).
The "Thames Tideway Tunnel" project uses energy and resource efficiency measures during
construction (Tideway, 2022) . Through these initiatives of using waste materials within the
construction process, the project is forecasted to lower the cost of 2000 tonnes of materials. This
is equivalent to around 31% of the original design, saving 1379 tons of CO2
(Government, 2021)
. A report published by the UK government has set a target for the construction sector of
net zero carbon emissions by 2050 ( GOV.UK, 2022) . In many construction organisations, a
procurement department is responsible and involved in supply and sourcing activities towards
managing as well as mitigating the risks within the supply chain. Also, construction companies
in the UK have a relatively weaker negotiating position in case of choosing supply-chain partners
for green sourcing of materials during the supplier selection process (Trautrims et al., 2021) .
This is because, for an overseas supplier UK contracts propose a small opportunity compared to
worldwide business and might not initiate bidding for a contract that requires extra effort
(HM Government, 2022)
. In the UK, the shortage of skilled construction trades influences
subcontractors to bid for contracts that involve fewer compliance efforts, making the adoption of
sustainable sourcing and procurement challenging (Trautrims et al., 2021) . Apart from that, the

pg. 10
green building construction process is often vulnerable to delayed schedules and cost overruns
because of the complexities involved with implementation and procurement
(Raouf and Al-Ghamdi, 2019)
. Also, the related risks and complexities of incorporating technologies related to
green building, obstruct contractors from adopting the green building procurement process
(Chan, Darko, Ameyaw, et al., 2017).

Bohari et al., (2017) revealed that concerning the need for environmental protection, many
governments are devising legislation and policies in minimising the adverse effects of
construction activities on the environment. 'Green Procurement' has emerged as an effective
approach within the construction sector for mitigating environmental issues. This procurement
activity is aligned with green or sustainable practices in various building construction projects
(Bohari et al., 2017a) . However, Shen et al., (2017) argued that, because of having limited
knowledge and not knowing the true potential of green procurement, green procurement has not
yet generated effective attention and interest among construction practitioners (e.g., developers,
contractors etc.).
2.3 Practical suggestions for improving the application of environmentally friendly
procurement methods to reach net-zero targets in the construction sector
According to (Johnston et al., 2020) , a Passive house is a concept of building construction that
provides a high level of comfort while minimising the primary and final energy inputs. Also,
create standards to minimise the non-thermal energy demand in buildings that limit the total
energy consumption. Followed by net-zero carbon buildings a "Passivhaus" can significantly
reduce the emission of carbon dioxide (Passivhaustrust, 2023a).

pg. 11
 Figure 2.1: Passive House projects addressing energy savings (Source: Passivhaustrust, 2023a)

According to Ürge-Vorsatz et al., (2020) the 'UK Passive House Trust provided a costing study
in 2019 that showed that the incremental cost of passive house construction in the UK is
significantly low. The study revealed that the Passivhaus buildings are highly optimised for net
zero emission goals and offer the best route in minimising the whole life operational carbon
emission in buildings (Passivhaustrust, 2023a). The design of the building also encourages the
optimization of immediate carbon by using bio-based materials. These buildings focus on energy
efficiency that requires little energy to heat or cool (Passivhaustrust, 2023b). Efforts from the
"Passivhaus" concept have continuously grown in the UK and the rest of Europe where various
projects have also gone beyond the original standards towards meeting the net-zero emission
target (GOV.UK, 2022a). These types of projects are categorised into classic Plus and premium
standards that include the application of renewable energy generation within the certification
assessment [Referred to Appendix 1].

pg. 12
 Figure 2.2 Advantages of the Passive House concept in reducing embodied carbon (Source: Passivhaus trust, 2023b)

According to Griffin and Hammond (2021), steel products are widely used in the construction
sector for various infrastructure projects. However, because of the use of extensive steel in
construction projects, steel production contributes up to 25% of total emissions in the UK in
terms of GHG emissions (Griffin and Hammond, 2021a) . Also, green steel production has
become widely demanded as green steel use and production leads to lowering air pollutant
emissions (e.g. SOx, CO, NOx) (ibid) (Griffin and Hammond, 2021a) . According to the
proposed definition of meeting net zero carbon building formation, UKGBC (2019), highlighted
that in developing buildings during the construction, design and procurement stage, quantities of
greenhouse gas emission must be zero or negative throughout the whole lifecycle of the
construction project (UKGBC, 2019) . This includes examining both the operational and
embodied carbon footprint of the building considering its disposal. According to
Alice Garvey (2020)
, in the UK construction procurement process, regulations need to mandate or incentivise
approaches with low carbon in designing or retrofitting buildings (Alice Garvey, 2020) . Apart
from that, the UK government in July 2020 announced £26 million to support the use of
advanced building techniques for reducing building costs as well as carbon emissions in the UK
construction sector (GOV.UK, 2020b, 2021). A report by the House of Commons Environmental
Audit Committee (2022), recommended using low-carbon cement beyond public procurement as
an alternative and incentivising these products to become the desired product type of choice by

pg. 13
2030 (Audit Committee, 2022a). This includes feasibility assessment and restricting the disposal
of various waste products that can be used as clinker substitutes in the construction procurement
process.
2.4 Theoretical Framework
The construction sector is heavily dependent on governance and standards. The promotion of
green building in construction differs in Eastern and Western countries. In Eastern countries (like
China, and Japan), the government is responsible for the formulation of appropriate standards
and adopting these gradually through mandatory measures. Whereas, in Western countries
follow local, state, and federal level regulations and non-governmental organisations develop
standards (Zhang et al., 2019b) . The theoretical framework is based on a “tripartite standard
regime” that is focused on characterising the possible method of sourcing green materials based
on three different factors (Young, 2018) . The first factor is governance which allows
construction organisations to define ownership and management, procurement of resources, and
stakeholder engagement (Akmam Syed Zakaria et al., 2018; Kordi et al., 2021) . The second
factor is standards that define the requirements and criteria of sustainability. The third factor is
certification involving audit procedures. These three factors are essential for adopting and
managing green sourcing and managing the procurement process effectively (Young, 2018).
Another theoretical framework related to green procurement adoption is the “Resource-based
view” which argues that the organisational process has access to various resources that serve as
the basis for the growth, survival, and improvement of the organisation (Assensoh-Kodua, 2019).
For sustainable procurement, organisations must for strategies to engage with different actors for
driving sustainability practices from an RBV theoretical perspective (Govindan, 2018). The RBV
theory, however, focuses on internal strategic operations and processes of an organisation as an
effort towards the implementation and adoption of green procurement practices within
organisational policies (Ewuga et al., 2019; Mojumder et al., 2022b).
2.5 Literature gap
While current literature gives useful insights into the range of construction procurement practices
and their sustainability implications in the UK construction industry, there remains a study gap
(Saieg et al., 2018) . Few studies have found how green buying techniques directly support net-
zero emission goals related to the Construction sector (Vimal et al., 2022). The literature mostly
describes and evaluates conventional and collaborative procurement techniques, along with some

pg. 14
government initiatives towards net zero emission goals. However, few studies have examined
how green buying practices might help achieve net-zero emissions (Young, 2018). The literature
review mostly defined the operational energy and emissions for buildings at the use stage.
However, due to a lack of data, the complexities of quantifying the incorporated energy related
to embodied energy and emissions during the construction phase have been ignored
(Ahmed et al., 2022)
. These gaps must be closed for the building industry to meet ambitious environmental
goals. By bridging this gap, the study may provide strategic insights into green procurement
practices and illuminate the synergistic link between procurement choices and carbon footprint
reduction (Ravetz et al., 2021) . This study fills this vacuum by investigating how green
procurement when linked with net-zero emissions, may improve the UK construction sector, and
promote environmentally responsible practices throughout the lifespan.

pg. 15
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Research Philosophy
The research Philosophy is considered as the belief and assumptions related to the way
information can be obtained in this selected research area. Research philosophy can be
categorised into positivism, interpretivism and realism (Žukauskas et al., 2018). This research
follows the interpretivism research philosophy to collect subjective data related to the UK
construction sector and green procurement in the construction industry towards meeting net zero
goals.

Philosophy-
Interpritivism

Approach- Inductive

Design- Explrotory

Data Collection-
Secondary
Qualitative data

Data Analysis-
Thematic
analysis

Figure 3.1: Research onion (Source: Saunders et al., 2018)

According to Alharahsheh and Pius (2020), the interpretivism philosophical stance is concerned
with evaluating in-depth factors and variables related to context. On top of that, the
interpretivism research paradigm allows researchers to get insights related to a specific context
followed by qualitative methods as most suited (Ryan, 2018).
However, Junjie and Yingxin (2022) summarise that interpretivism philosophy enables
researchers to seek experiences as well as consider various interpretations of a specific social
context for gaining further knowledge. A similar study has also adopted an interpretivism
qualitative approach in defining the success criteria of green buildings (Ahmad et al., 2021a). In

pg. 16
this study researcher applied an interpretivism philosophical stance to incorporate the perspective
or opinion of various stakeholders related to project success, such as the GB project’s success
which is still in the exploratory stage and benefits from the qualitative-driven approach
(Ahmad et al., 2021a)
. In this dissertation, the interpretivism philosophy, therefore, is aligned to
answering research question 2 (understanding “how stakeholders’ values affect how successfully
green procurement strategies are used in GB procurement?”). Along with that, following the
interpretivism philosophy in this research allows for examining the existing construction
practices and issues aligned with research objective 1: “To investigate the existing construction
procurement practices and its issues in the UK construction sector”. Another study has also used
interpretivism philosophy in evaluating numerous pieces of literature related to using the
Industry 4.0 concept in the construction process with sustainability by UK construction firms
(Newman et al., 2021) . In accordance with this strategy, this study also used interpretivism
philosophy to investigate “the significance of green procurement” and give “practical
suggestions for improving the application of environmentally friendly procurement methods”
followed by objective 1 and objective 2.
Therefore, in this dissertation data has been collected from different online sources including
government-published reports and construction company's annual reports, sustainability reports,
news, and white papers and all the collected data is being gathered from secondary sources
(Junjie and Yingxin, 2022). Hence, the interpretivism research philosophy in this dissertation
is most justified as it allows analysis of data related to wider context like the opportunities,
barriers, government regulations, laws, and adoption of green procurement in the UK
construction sector.
3.2 Research Approach
The research approach is the general plan and process towards obtaining information and
evaluating the data in interpreting effective findings related to a research area. The research
approach is categorised into inductive and deductive approaches (Pandey and Pandey, 2021) .
The inductive research however focuses on gathering various types of data or patterns starting
from detailed observation of the research area in generating a more abstract generalisation of
data (Azungah, 2018).
According to Woiceshyn and Daellenbach, 2018) the inductive research approach requires
qualitative methods to answer specific research questions. Followed by an inductive research

pg. 17
approach, this dissertation focuses on gathering qualitative data related to green procurement
practices in building construction projects and the green procurement initiative in real live
projects that help in addressing the second and third research objectives. This research followed
this approach because a similar study has adopted an inductive research approach in describing
various factors of green building rating tools (Eisenhardt et al., 2016) . Also, Farghaly (2018)
discusses that while having limited knowledge about new phenomena in a specific research area,
qualitative research becomes significant for developing a deep understanding of these
phenomena. A study has defined the important challenges and benefits of sustainable
construction in the context of Australia in promoting urban sustainability and has used an
inductive research approach to examine already published pieces of literature sourced from the
web and Scopus database (Martek et al., 2022) . This inductive approach allowed researchers to
propagate new theories about sustainable construction practices such as green building
procurement, and issues involved with design, building as well and operations
(Martek et al., 2022)
. Another research study has adopted an inductive research approach to generate research
questions based on a view of gaining a broader understanding of issues and concepts of
residential green building procurement and the perspective of people related to acceptance of
green buildings (Bohari et al., 2019; Wilkinson et al., 2013) . This dissertation, followed by the
research objectives of examining present construction practices in the UK, the scope of green
procurement, defining some practical recommendations, using analysis of various existing
projects and green procurement initiatives from already published data. Therefore, in this
dissertation following the inductive research approach is most justified because this approach
allows the evaluation of qualitative data for research and obtaining knowledge related to green
procurement practices in the construction sector (Yu et al., 2020).
3.3 Research Design
The Research design is considered as the plan towards conducting research most efficiently and
strategically and the design of a research falls into explanatory, descriptive and exploratory
research design (Ibrahimov et al., 2019) . The research that focuses on investigating a context in
explaining the cause of certain phenomena and future occurrences, falls into the explanatory
research design.
This dissertation seeks to give more knowledge related to the research area inspired by the
qualitative method; an exploratory research design has been followed. This dissertation is aimed

pg. 18
at understanding the significance of green procurement in the UK construction sector using
different pieces of data available online (Bentouhami et al., 2021). According to
(THOMAS and LAWAL, 2020)
, exploratory research design is very useful when there is a limited number of
previous studies or inadequate data related to a specific research context. However,
Mohajan and Mohajan (2018),
argued that, in exploratory design, the qualitative information interpreted is
often subject to bias. Hence, in this dissertation, exploratory design is most appropriate as there
are few published pieces of literature available defining the effects of green procurement
practices concerning the UK construction sector (Mojumder et al., 2022a) . Previous research
explores various strategies concerning green procurement practices in the context of the
Malaysian construction sector. This exploratory research evaluates the potential of green
procurement in building projects based on identifying the existing state of readiness among the
construction stakeholders, understanding the challenges, and success criteria
(Bohari et al., 2017b)
. However, following by exploratory design of research, the study used both qualitative
and quantitative data to explore the extent of green procurement practices within both certified
and non-certified projects in Malaysia using surveys and focus groups. However, another study
by (Ahmad et al., 2021b) incorporated exploratory research design but was limited to evaluating
qualitative data in providing numerous success criteria of green building procurement in the
context of practical use in projects. The research used the interview method to collect data from
17 interviewees who had experiences working in procurement and development of green
building projects (Ahmad et al., 2021b). A study has examined the challenges of managing green
building projects from the perspective of contractors in Vietnam. This research followed an
exploratory approach to understand the critical challenges contractors face in procuring green
building projects in Vietnam using a literature review and a questionnaire survey of 163 experts
(Tran, 2020) . For this reason, to reduce the research gap followed by exploratory research
design this research helps to describe how green procurement can help the construction sector in
achieving net zero emission goals based on secondary data from online sources the study
evaluates numerous pieces of qualitative data from online sources and interprets the findings.
3.4 Data collection method
The data connection process is crucial in conducting research based on the type of data it is
categorised into quantitative and quantitative data collection processes. Depending on the source
of gathering information the data collection process is differentiated into primary and secondary

pg. 19
data collection (Walliman, 2021). In this dissertation, a secondary qualitative data collection
process has been followed where information related to green procurement in the UK building
construction sector has been gathered (Ruggiano and Perry, 2019) . Previous study has used
qualitative method by collecting qualitative data that include case studies on green building
assessment and defining green supply chain performance in the context of “Sukawati Art Market
construction” in Gianyar Regency (Astoeti and Dwijendra, 2021) . This study described the
process of green procurement through green building planning, supervision, development,
maintenance, and operation stages using qualitative interviews with the construction parties
(Astoeti and Dwijendra, 2021) . The qualitative methods incorporated in this research helped in
conducting a thorough assessment of key green building parameters. In another research study on
identifying key drivers for GB projects in the context of Ghana's construction sector, qualitative
data have been collected for making a comparative critical literature review of pieces of
literature. This approach revealed eight potential drivers for financing green building projects
(Agyekum et al., 2022) . Another study by (Debrah et al., 2022) followed a qualitative data
collection process using a systematic scoping review of published data to define the finance gap
and the significant need to bridge the gap between green building procurement and financing or
investment. This study has collected data from Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of
Science and relevant studies on Google (i.e., both academic and grey literature)
(Debrah et al., 2022)
.
In this dissertation, the data has been collected from different online sources including
government-published reports related to net zero initial goals and the UK construction sector
using sources such as parliament.gov.uk, HM government as well as different commercial public
projects and construction companies' sustainability reports (Sherif, 2018). Numerous pieces of
data have been collected from other online sources such as different institutions based on
keywords such as 'green procurement', 'net zero emission goals', 'embedded carbon emission in
the construction sector' etc. However, in this research, the online data has been collected from
documents that have been published between 2017 to 2023 as inclusion criteria. Furthermore, no
data has been included from the sources that were published before 2017 and quantitative data
has not been collected as exclusion criteria to make the dissertation representation simple and
interpretive (Bohari et al., 2017a).

pg. 20
3.5 Data Analysis Method
Data analysis in this dissertation helps to create meaningful insights because of the systematic
evaluation and interpretation of collective information. In this research, the investigation has
been made based on collecting qualitative data from online sources. In addition, the thematic
data analysis process has been followed as the most appropriate method in this case
(Vaismoradi and Snelgrove, 2019)
. The thematic data analysis approach helps to identify the relationship
between green procurement practices and the net zero emission objectives in the context of the
UK-based building construction sector. Following thematic data analysis in this research, the
qualitative data has been examined to identify the coding of different patterns categorise themes
based on the coding and establish a relationship from the collected information
(Lowe et al., 2018)
. Therefore, initially, different codes have been developed using topic sentences selected
from the literature review. Thereafter different themes have been established based on the initial
codes. Thematic analysis in this dissertation is very effective as the based analysis makes the
interpretation structured and it allows flexibility to research over a wider aspect of the topic
(Vaismoradi and Snelgrove, 2019). A research study has discussed the barriers and opportunities
of adopting green certification in buildings using a thematic data analysis process
(Agyekum et al., 2019)
. In this research, the collected data were analysed using the thematic analysis
technique as a qualitative approach to examining data.
The thematic analysis identified eight different themes lack of incentives, low level of
knowledge concerning green building, lack of active participation of government, lack of
awareness regarding benefits of GB certification, lack of financing, legal backing, and
conservative nature of people in Ghana (Agyekum et al., 2019) . Another study discusses the
scope and advantages of adopting a total productive maintenance approach for the procurement
of green buildings in Malaysia using a thematic data analysis technique. The study analysed
qualitative data collected during telephonic and face-to-face interviews from seven respondents
based on developing different themes (Zolkafli et al., 2021) . The findings revealed that a
management contract is beneficial for public projects and a lump sum contract is for privet green
projects. For this reason, this dissertation also selected a thematic data analysis framework as a
justified option for evaluating the research area.

pg. 21
3.6 Ethical considerations
The dissertation complies with the ethical guidelines provided by the University of Law. As this
research uses secondary qualitative data from already published sources, the ethical concern
related to involving participants or confidential data is eliminated. However, the research follows
the guidelines related to plagiarism, and citation of published pieces of literature where proper
citation of studies has been incorporated (The University of Law, 2021) . The use of secondary
qualitative data significantly reduces the burden of involving research participants which can be
time-consuming and may influence human bias. However, in qualitative research with secondary
data, there is a significant ethical issue with duplicate publishing of the qualitative research
(Ruggiano and Perry, 2019) . Qualitative data involves gathering information and interpreting
subjective data that are often shaped by social, political, and cultural realities evident during the
time of data collection. Involving search data or reinterpreting this information in another period
of changes in social, political, and cultural context can lead to misinterpretation of original data
(Chauvette et al., 2019). To mitigate these article issues this dissertation has collected data from
secondary sources including peer-reviewed journals, companies' sustainability reports, white
papers, and government-published reports that have been published between 2017 to 2023
(Ruggiano and Perry, 2019) . In this research, the sources used in gathering information have
been properly sighted throughout the research and proper references have been included in this
reservation in references. Along with these factors, this research is intended to involve data from
various construction organisations operating in the UK where some of the data can be protected
as a means of organisation control strategy. Furthermore, information also can be restricted for
public use as per government regulations on the construction sector (Fassnacht et al., 2023). For
this reason, this dissertation is focused on analysing the information that is publicly available and
easily accessible to avoid ethical issues with regulatory or organisation control.

pg. 22
Chapter 4: Data analysis
The dissertation in this chapter sheds light on analysing the data related to the adoption of green
procurement in the UK building construction sector. In this chapter thematic data analysis
method has been followed to define the study area based on different themes.
4.1 Thematic Data Analysis Table
In this section, different topic sentences have been selected from the literature review to develop
codes and themes for analysis purposes. The formulation of themes has been presented as
follows:

Topic Sentence Codes Themes

Contractors are less inclined to use green Green procurement High initial costs and
procurement techniques as they are methods involve higher knowledge gaps
required to compete on price rather than initial costs making green between contractors
quality (Ahmad and Zhang, 2020b). construction less cost- are burdens for green
Having limited knowledge and not competitive building
(Raouf and Al-Ghamdi, 2019)
knowing the true potential of green . On top procurement
procurement, green procurement has not of that, limited knowledge practices
yet generated effective attention and of green procurement
interest among construction practitioners options creates a burden
(Shen et al., 2017b). for change in green
construction practices.

The construction industry in the United For sourcing green Complex working
Kingdom has a wide range of materials for building environment and
procurement practices, creating a construction, companies supplier selection
complex environment for have limited negotiating processes are
environmentally responsible purchasing capabilities. Overseas challenging for
(Audit Committee, 2022b) . Construction major suppliers are less adopting green
companies in the UK have a relatively willing towards procurement in the
weaker negotiating position in case of compliance efforts UK
choosing supply-chain partners for green followed by complex
sourcing of materials during the supplier procurement practices and

pg. 23
 selection process (Trautrims et al., 2021). regulations in the UK
(Trautrims et al., 2021).

Low-carbon cement beyond public Low-carbon cement and Government

procurement becomes an alternative and green steel have currently regulations,
incentivises these products to become the become emerging mandates, and
desired product type of choice by 2030 solutions in building incentives for using
(Audit Committee, 2022b). construction to meet net- green steel, low -
Green steel production has become zero carbon emission goals carbon cement help
widely demanded in the UK meet net-zero
(Griffin and Hammond, 2021b) (Audit Committee, 2022b)
. . emission goals in
Regulations need to mandate or Incentivising or mandating construction
incentivise approaches with low carbon in such approaches by the
designing or retrofitting buildings UK government can be an
(Garvey Alice and Taylor Peter, 2020). effective solution.

4.2 Findings
Theme 1: High initial cost and knowledge gap between contractors are burdens for green
building procurement practices
A study published by the UK Green Building Council in September 2020, described the
feasibility of green building procurement on two real-world projects including a BCO grade 16-
story office building and a new 18-story residential building in the UK in three design scenarios
“Baseline, Intermediate and Stretch (UKGBC, 2020).

pg. 24
 Figure 4.1: Reductions in embodied carbon across the three design scenarios (Source: UKGBC, 2020)

Figure 4.1, represents the level of embodied carbon reductions with the adoption of various green
building initiatives. The figure represents that to adoption of green building procurement
practices in this project can gain a benchmark efficiency of 68% towards meeting the net zero
goal (UKGBC, 2020).

Figure 4.2: Change in cost by building elements [£/m2 GIA] (Source: UKGBC, 2020)

The baseline represents the traditional procurement process for the construction of buildings and
the stretch scenario represents the construction of green buildings based on using sustainable
materials such as full Timber structures along with removing concrete basements. However,
because of using larger-sized timber for beams and columns one floor was reduced impacting the
final value of the buildings.
A report by (CPD, 2023) highlights, that green procurement requires material efficiency design
as a key that helps to manage the cost of fabrication, practicality in design and longevity. Using

pg. 25
materials in an efficient way to minimise quantities by following different ways such as avoiding
specification within the design loads, considering vibration criteria and structural deflection and
extensive material usage needs to be avoided (CPD, 2023) . However, the reduction in the
number of floors in both office and residential buildings from 17 to 15 in the baseline and stretch
senior use respectively has a significant impact on the viability of the project due to an increase
in capital cost. Because of increased capital cost as well as the yield of the building has
decreased resulting in a reduction in total net internal areas by 17% (UKGBC, 2020). The whole
project has observed a 6.2% increase in the intermediate scenario and an 8-17% increase in the
stretch scenario as shown in Figure 4.2.

Figure 4.3: Factors behind the company's acknowledged sustainability in construction (Source: Consultancy.UK, 2023)

In the UK the volatility in the price of energy, fuel and materials influences huge difficulties in
the procurement of buildings. This report highlighted that despite high output, the profit margins
have been reducing due to building cost inflation at 9.7% (Daniel Gayne, 2021). According to a
Financial Times report, adopting green procurement decisions towards reducing carbon
emissions might involve higher upfront costs on various construction projects. However, long-
term operational savings can significantly reduce this cost in six years with more sustainable
buildings (George Hammond, 2021). From a survey of 1000 construction companies in the UK,

pg. 26
France, and Spain, it has been observed that where many contractors are willing to pay an 18.8%
premium for sustainable materials sourced ethically; many contractors face challenges due to the
rising cost of materials and procurement (Consultancy.UK, 2022, 2023a) . Many construction
firms across the UK collapsed in 2022 because of higher interest rates and soaring costs,
resulting in a decline in construction activities since January 2021 (Consultancy.UK, 2022).
A report published by BBC in 2018, highlighted that in the UK green building procurement
process requires new skills that previously did not feature much in the construction sector. It
requires to have knowledge about efficient building design by considering nature and integration
of technologies. (Richard Gray, 2018) . In another report, BBC highlighted that the UK
construction sector faces an extreme shortage of more than 46,000 skilled workers and funding
of £150 bn in the southeast region to make homes energy efficient (Schofield et al., 2022) .
However, despite receiving grant funding to meet net zero emission standards, a lack of skilled
workforce leads to the return of £53m of funding to the government in 2021
(Baker et al., 2022; Schofield et al., 2022)
.
Theme 2: Complex working environment and supplier selection process are challenging for
adopting green procurement in the UK
According to a BBC report, the housing model in the UK is broken and more homes are highly
needed as mentioned by Michael to the secretary of the UK housing sector. The price of houses
has risen at a high speed by about 25% across various sectors in the UK from 2020 to 2022
(Cuffe and Jeavans, 2023). Figure 4.3 shows the continuous change in house prices since 2007. It
has been observed that, under the existing planning rules for the construction of new buildings in
England, new buildings can only be developed on the green belt land in exceptional
circumstances (BBC, 2023) . The government has implemented policies that specify that
brownfields should be used initially. Building homes and targeting countryside locations for
developing executive homes is wrong because most people cannot afford that and this becomes
counterproductive and unpopular (Morton, 2023).

pg. 27
 Figure 4.3: Change in house price across the UK (Source: Cuffe and Jeavans, 2023)

Supply chain disruptions have resulted in four in five businesses in the UK experiencing Brexit
which has influenced the biggest supply chain disruption in the UK since 2021. Apart from that,
because of supply chain issues and material shortages, the UK economy lost over £12 billion in
revenue in 2022 (Consultancy.UK, 2023b). A study has found that in a transition to a net zero
economy, the construction industry is one of the major drivers of economic growth in the UK.
This transition of green building initiative brings numerous opportunities as well as requires
significant investment in alternative forms of energy, power storage and supporting services
(Baker et al., 2022; Berruguete, 2023) . However, a huge investment is very much required to
make buildings more sustainable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of green
procurement of buildings, the UK construction sector faces challenges with material supply due
to rising inflation, labour shortages as well an increasing risk of cyber incidents embarrassing the
connected equipment and sensor tools in smart buildings
(Berruguete, 2023; Consultancy.UK, 2023b)
.
The introduction of several new construction designs, techniques and materials also introduces
various risks and constants as the construction workers have a lack of knowledge gap in working
with the changing infrastructure resulting in repetitive loss scenarios
(Berruguete, 2023; Morton, 2023)
. Apart from that the increasing demand after Covid-19 made demand increase in the
global construction market for raw materials and resulted in high prices of materials as well as

pg. 28
delay or cancellation of projects (Consultancy.UK, 2023b) . The cost of timber, low-carbon
cement and steel have significantly increased to almost 50% more expensive than in previous
years resulting in making 25% higher cost in developing buildings in the UK (Berruguete, 2023).
According to the IFC report, it has been found that green buildings are not always necessarily
less prone to natural calamities like floods and damage from storms, but temperature changes
alter the heating and cooling demand in green buildings. Despite the various advantages and
growth evidence of green building procurement, the market remains very small with a global
investment certified for green building initiatives accounting for $42.3 billion in 2017
(IFC, 2019)
. The high upfront cost of green building procurement is a key barrier to widespread
adoption. In many cases, the perceived additional cost for green building procurement is as high
as 30%. However, the actual cost at the operational stage is reduced from saving 0.5% to 12% in
additional costs (IFC, 2019; UKGBC, 2023). On top of that green building procurement requires
technological advances in construction measures, strict building codes as well a maturing supply
chain to source green materials and technology which can significantly reduce the incremental
cost of building (Fuller, 2022; Glenton, 2023).
One major constraint of green building construction is the differing benefits and incentives
among different construction companies. The building contractors and developers are therefore
reluctant to absolve additional costs in designing green buildings where the energy efficiency-
related benefits are realised by owners (Glenton, 2023). Along with that owner of green building
focuses on immediate affordability rather than uncertain utility savings in the long term. Banks
are also reluctant to provide additional financing to cover the additional capital cost in green
buildings for fear of increasing non-payment risk and lack of establishment systems to validate
the actual ceilings in case of insufficient green building procurement (UKGBC, 2023). Another
major issue of green building procurement is that investors and financers often hold assets for 7
to 10 years whereas the building owners hold assets for about 10 to 15 years. In this case full life
cycle of green building is 70 to 100 years (IFC, 2019). In contrast, the market players do not feel
the immediate need towards investing in green procurement measures because the adverse
impacts are likely to be experienced when they no longer have the assets.
Theme 3: Government regulations, mandates, and incentives for using green steel, low -
carbon cement help meet net-zero emission goals in construction

pg. 29
Any country like the UK needs to meet its targets regarding statutory climate, including the
requirements of carbon budgets and enhancement in stringency. So, to act boldly, it is important
for the government of the UK to effectively design its high-value construction projects in the
best way possible (GOV.UK, 2022b). So that they achieve every goal towards the restoration of
sustainability and low carbon content in the atmosphere. An efficient way to achieve such an
objective is by reducing the net carbon content and rethinking or redesigning the way traditional
infrastructural machines are being used in construction projects . During the end of FY 2019, the
government in the UK amended its act regarding climate change 2008 aiming for 100%
minimisation of the total carbon emissions (GOV.UK, 2022b). It includes intermediate targets
like achieving a 68% reduction by the end of FY 2030 and a further 78% reduction in the net
carbon content by the end of FY 2035 (DENTONS, 2021).

Figure 4.4: Variations in circular measures for different materials (Source: Peake et al., 2023)

More emphasis was given to modernising equipment being used in the construction, thereby
developing an environment that can easily handle extreme conditions of the weather. To secure
the net zero, the government of the UK aimed to reduce the intake of harmful emissions of gases
into the atmosphere by 100% at the end of FY 2050 (GOV.UK, 2022b). Every construction
project undertaken by the contractors should be identified by an intergovernmental panel. Doing

pg. 30
so will enable the government to achieve an 83% success rate in bringing more sustainability
towards the construction works (UKGBC. 2023). Additionally, it will help achieve half of the
target by the end of FY 2028. A study by Hopkins (2023), highlighted that “Timber material” in
construction has gained popularity. Using engineered timber, many construction projects
worldwide have developed taller Timber buildings standing at 86 m, for 25-story buildings in the
USA (Hopkins, 2023). Similarly, engineered Timber has properties to make modifications to add
strength that can significantly replace more energy-intensive materials like traditional Steel in
construction. Various engineer Timber like cross-laminated Timber is comparatively stronger
than Steel as well as has similar carbon-saving advantages as in standard Timber
(Peake et al., 2023)
. However, in the context of the UK, the government banned structural Timber in
residential building construction above 18m (Hopkins, 2023). However, understanding of using
Timber in green building construction as well as having knowledge related to their properties and
how it relates to the present building regulation is a significant hurdle in all stages of
construction along with the skills related to green construction procurement (Hopkins, 2023).
Because of this regulation using sustainable Timber in developing green buildings in the UK is
more difficult.
4.3 Discussion
This research study has discussed different aspects of green procurement in the context of
building construction projects in the UK. In this research, the analysis has been made based on
evaluating data from different online sources. Theme 1 described that because of the high initial
cost of green building materials many contractors in the UK oppose green building initiatives
because of reduced profit margin. Apart from that data isn't it by the Green Building Council in
the UK related to a real-life project of office building and residential building shows that because
of involving green materials the whole project has experienced an 8-17% increase in
procurement cost. Along with that, the changes in structure reduce the proposed income to be
generated from the buildings. The analysis also highlighted the volatility in the price of fuel,
energy and green construction materials in the UK, contractors face challenges in delivering
projects with the following green procurement approach due to higher upfront costs. On top of
that, the analysis shows that green building procurement requires significant knowledge among
the contractors and workers related to building design, efficient use of materials as well and
consideration of nature with integration of advanced technology. However, the recent worker

pg. 31
shortage and low level of Steel among construction workers in the UK made the adoption of
green building practices more challenging. In theme 2 the study highlights that the continuous
change in the price of materials and rules for the construction of new buildings in the UK created
huge uncertainty among the contractors and construction firms. With the introduction of new
construction designs, techniques, and materials the construction workers in the UK experience
huge knowledge gaps in working with the changes in the first structure which results in loss
scenario infective adoption of green building procurement. Lack of incentives provided by the
government is also an important factor that 8 significant barriers to the adoption of green
procurement practices. However, in theme 3, the study describes some important plans and
government initiatives towards promoting the adoption of green procurement practices. The use
of timber has become an effective option involving engineered timber materials for the
construction of green buildings cost-effectively.

pg. 32
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
Thus, it is being concluded that the unreasonable design and procurement process, along with the
lack of supportive legislative mandates at the local and state levels, are some critical concerns
behind the integration of green building construction management practice. Apart from that, lack
of managerial awareness, passive culture, lack of indicators, poor level of enforcement and lack
of tools for the environmental assessment process are also some critical concerns behind the
green building construction aspect. Concerning literature, some of the critical practices often
used by green building construction projects include green purchasing and design-bid–build
techniques. Such critical practices have the efficiency of contributing to 38% carbon emission
reduction, 30-50% water savings and 33% energy savings. However, to achieve such measures,
the establishment of effective contracts with green suppliers is necessary where the UK
construction industry lacks a bit.
Thus, the study has performed a secondary data collection method by focusing on the UK
building construction projects to understand the currently existing green procurement practices
and their underlying issues. The study has found that the volatility in the price of materials,
energy and fuel has a strong influence on the emerging difficulties for green procurement in UK
building projects. Despite high output, the volatile price affects the profitability and limits the
industrial capability to adopt green practices. At the same time, the rising cost of green materials
is also a concerning point for contractors to integrate green procurement practices. Governmental
legislation in some contexts became effective in regulating green procurement practices, such as
the imposition of a ban on the use of timber above 18 metres. As a result, the industry moved to
adopt more sustainable options of timber for construction projects. Hence, in the near future,
more governmental support will be needed to be imposed.
5.2 Linking with Objectives
 To investigate the existing construction procurement practices and its issues in the UK
construction sector
The literature review highlighted, currently the construction procurement practices is performed
with a combination of cooperative and conventional methods in the UK. Conventional practices
involved design-bid-build method and design and build approach (OYELAMI, 2021). The issue
of these conventional procurement methods generating huge amount of emission despite being

pg. 33
cost effective and less time taking compared to mordern procurement process
(Ruoslahti, 2020; Tabassum et al., 2023)
. Collaborative practices have been identified as popular sustainable
method that involved public private partnership (PPP) and integrated project delivery (IPD)-
based approach (Ahmed and El-Sayegh, 2020). However, the major issue with this collaborative
approach the study identified is the time it takes in implementing projects and making any
required decision related to project impacting on the schedule of a project and budget.
The Analysis of data shows that the UK construction sector currently facing huge challenges
because of various factors that include increased supply chain cost, high price of construction
materials, shortage of skilled knowledgeable workforce
(Berruguete, 2023; Consultancy.UK, 2023b)
. This research highlights, the new construction design techniques and materials for green
building procurement leads to various issues like delay, cost overrun because of significant
knowledge gap among workers concerning changing infrastructure as well as risk of cybers
incidence within connected or collaborative projects (Raouf and Al-Ghamdi, 2019) . Therefore,
this research object has been linked as the findings of the data indicates the existing process and
issues within the construction sector in the UK.
 To evaluate the significance of green procurement and use in construction projects
The research reviewed various literature indicating that green buildings involve both tangible and
intangible benefits. That option of green building can reduce carbon emission by almost 30% and
videos energy usage by 20-100% (Vyas and Jha, 2018) . Airport from that green building also
offer some intangible benefits like improved air quality, quality lighting throughout the building
as well as improve health and well-being of the people who live inside. The literature review also
highlight some of the concerning factors current UK construction sector is facing that can
significantly be improved with the use of green building procurement. The detailed rice shows
that in the UK the transition of green building initiative could provide significant opportunities as
the sector is one of the major drivers of economic growth in the UK. Apart from that the study
has found that the method used in green building procurement such as using engineered timber
can add strength in structure and replace various energy intensive materials that are used in
traditional construction processes (Peake et al., 2023). Therefore this objectives is linked though
the analysis of data and review of literature.
 To offer practical suggestions for improving the application of environmentally
friendly procurement methods to reach net-zero targets in the construction sector

pg. 34
The purpose was to define a wide range of practice suggestions for the construction sector to
strategically integrate green procurement practices in the construction process. Hence, from the
research, it has been identified that for any country context, like in the UK, government
mandates and regulations will play a critical role in designing high-value green procurement
practices (GOV.UK, 2022b). For instance, the past targets set by the UK government to control
the emission. At the same time, the study found the solution of replacing traditional elements
with alternative green procures for achieving the net-zero aspect (Hopkins, 2023). For instance,
the replacement of steel with engineered timber due to its energy-intensive properties makes the
construction more efficient. Apart from that, the ban on using structural timber above the 18-
metre height is also a critical practical strategy for improving the procurement process of the
construction sector (Hopkins, 2023). Through this governmental ban, the industry had to move
towards alternative green options mandatorily to achieve the net-zero target. Hence, the practical
ways to integrate green solutions are governmental regulations and alternative material usage.
5.3 Recommendations
Contracting with ISO 14001 suppliers
One of the most critical strategic recommendations for the construction industry to achieve green
procurement practice is to establish contracts with ISO-14001-certified suppliers only
(Kim et al., 2016)
. Suppliers with the ISO-14001 certification have the assurance of integrating
international environmental standards for the management of the materials (Kim et al., 2016) .
Thus, contracting with such suppliers can automatically reduce the concern over green material
purchasing as the materials provided by those suppliers already have green certification.
Use of alternative green options
Another critical strategic solution for the construction sector to address green procurement is to
use alternative green options only against traditional materials. For instance, the use of FIbre-
Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) as an alternative to steel (Mara, Haghani and Harryson, 2014) . The
FRP has higher durability than steel and is energy-intensive. Thus, the replacement need for FRP
over a specific period of time reduces compared to steel. Hence, the waste generation rate from
the construction process also declines, which contributes to green procurement practices
(Mara, Haghani and Harryson, 2014)
. At the same time, for being energy intensive, the emission rate
also reduces for the use of FRP as an alternative one.

pg. 35
5.4 Future Scope
The study has been limited to understanding the aspect of green procurement and its related
issues in the construction sector. Hence, in future processes, more research can be conducted on
evaluating every single recommendation in detail to critically evaluate the bespoke practices and
challenges of that specific suggestion. For instance, detailed research can be conducted on how
to establish contracts with green suppliers for achieving green procurement practices and its
relative issues for construction managers. Similarly, another comparative research on every
possible alternative material with the traditional materials can be performed to contribute to the
body of knowledge of construction managers on the possible materials to use for achieving a net-
zero emission rate.

pg. 36
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Criteria of different types of Passive House

(Source: Passivhaus trust, 2023c)

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Appendix 2: Reduction in upfront carbon in three scenarios based on changes to the
structural design

(Two typical new development schemes: an office tower and residential block)

(Source: (UKGBC, 2020)

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