ABSTRACT
As we have emphasised throughout, the scope and meaning of both ‘construction’ and ‘sustainability’ are wide ranging and complex. And, for the reasons we have rehearsed in this book, sustainable construction is a challenging goal. Some might find it difficult to imagine sustainable construction as a future for the industry. However, the following extracts encourage you to finish the study of this new approach on a positive note. The first extract effectively picks up on the distinction between the broad and narrow definitions of construction first introduced in Chapter 1, and addresses the current inability of statistical analyses to capture the full scope and impact of construction on sustainable development. The second extract identifies several barriers that explain why sustainable construction is not yet standard industry practice (although other issues exist that the authors overlook). The closing aim, therefore, is to encourage you to think broadly and rigorously about the nature of the problems that need to be resolved before the journey towards sustainable construction can progress.
