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Rethinking Sustainable Procurement : Investigating the Impact of System Boundary on Building Proposal Selection Patel, Kartik; Feng, Haibo; Ruparathna, Rajeev

Abstract

The development of sustainable, healthy, and resilient buildings can position Canada as a global leader in the future of construction. Reforming the building procurement process will help achieve this goal, driving innovation in construction practices. Sustainable procurement has been gaining traction in the construction sector for the past two decades. Incorporating human health impact, durability, and resiliency into the framework ensures a more holistic approach to sustainability, addressing long-term well-being, structural longevity, and adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Yet there is a need to redefine sustainable procurement guidelines for buildings by incorporating human health impact and resiliency with the triple bottom line of sustainability. The objective of this research is to develop updated framework for the sustainable procurement of institutional buildings to enhance the construction procurement process by incorporating sustainability considerations and integrating resilience, durability and long-term human health. First, a comparative evaluation of system boundaries will be performed by comparing traditional procurement (cradle-to-gate) vs. the sustainable procurement framework (cradle-to-grave) for a selected institutional building. The outcomes of the case studies highlight that the cradle-to-grave system boundary offers a clear basis for decision-making in building construction. Second, a framework will be proposed for the sustainable procurement of institutional buildings based on the published literature and ISO 20400 standard, which will support the green procurement guidelines. The outcomes of this research will help assist Canada in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Item Metadata

Title
Rethinking Sustainable Procurement : Investigating the Impact of System Boundary on Building Proposal Selection
Creator
Patel, Kartik; Feng, Haibo; Ruparathna, Rajeev
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2025-02-09
Description
The development of sustainable, healthy, and resilient buildings can position Canada as a global leader in the future of construction. Reforming the building procurement process will help achieve this goal, driving innovation in construction practices. Sustainable procurement has been gaining traction in the construction sector for the past two decades. Incorporating human health impact, durability, and resiliency into the framework ensures a more holistic approach to sustainability, addressing long-term well-being, structural longevity, and adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Yet there is a need to redefine sustainable procurement guidelines for buildings by incorporating human health impact and resiliency with the triple bottom line of sustainability. The objective of this research is to develop updated framework for the sustainable procurement of institutional buildings to enhance the construction procurement process by incorporating sustainability considerations and integrating resilience, durability and long-term human health. First, a comparative evaluation of system boundaries will be performed by comparing traditional procurement (cradle-to-gate) vs. the sustainable procurement framework (cradle-to-grave) for a selected institutional building. The outcomes of the case studies highlight that the cradle-to-grave system boundary offers a clear basis for decision-making in building construction. Second, a framework will be proposed for the sustainable procurement of institutional buildings based on the published literature and ISO 20400 standard, which will support the green procurement guidelines. The outcomes of this research will help assist Canada in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Subject
sustainable procurement; institutional buildings; resilient buildings; healthy buildings
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2025-02-28
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0448149
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90444
Affiliation
Forestry, Faculty of; Non UBC; Wood Science, Department of
Citation
Sustainability 17 (4): 1408 (2025)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/su17041408
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Rights

CC BY 4.0