Sustainable Resources for Construction Development - Assignment

Running head: SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable Resources for Construction Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Executive summary
The purpose of this research work is to find out the effects of using green or environment
friendly materials in construction industry. Apart from that another reseaon of this research is to
find out how using natural environment friendly resources in constructing buildings can have a
positive impact on the economy of UAE with especial emphasize on the real estate market of
Abu Dhabi.

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background of the research.........................................................................................................4
Aim of the research......................................................................................................................5
Objective of the research.............................................................................................................5
Research questions.......................................................................................................................5
Structure of the research work.....................................................................................................5
Literature review..............................................................................................................................6
Conceptual framework.................................................................................................................6
Figure: Conceptual framework....................................................................................................6
Sustainable construction..............................................................................................................7
Developing green buildings.........................................................................................................8
Selection of materials..................................................................................................................9
Life cycle of sustainable building materials..............................................................................10
Methodology..................................................................................................................................11
Philosophy of the research.........................................................................................................11
Approach of the research work..................................................................................................11
Research purpose.......................................................................................................................12
Research strategy.......................................................................................................................12
Data collection...........................................................................................................................13

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Sampling....................................................................................................................................13
Techniques of data analysis chosen for the research.................................................................13
Timescale.......................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
Abu Dhabi is the capital of United Arab Emirates and is known as the second largest city
in UAE in terms of population. The architectural planning of Abu Dhabi was performed by
Katsuhiko Takahashi under the guidance of Sheikh Zayed initially for a population of 40000
people only (Inglesi-Lotz 2016). The density of population in Abu Dhabi actually varies as in the
central area of the city the population is greater than the downtown areas. Abu Dhabi is known
for numerous skyscrapers like Etihad Towers, Hilton Hotel; headquarter of the national bank of
Abu Dhabi and many more (Albino, Berardi and Dangelico 2015). It has been seen that the
development of the tall buildings are being encouraged in the Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 that leads to
construction of numerous skyscrapers which are actually going to be the expansion of the city’s
central business district (Leigh and Blakely 2016). The purpose of this research work is to
determine how using sustainable resources for construction purposes are beneficial and its
subsequent effect on the economy of the country.
Background of the research
Being the most fragmented and largest industry, construction industry faces various
challenges persuading sustainability. It is seen that construction industry of Abu Dhabi consumes
more than 40% of all the resources and thus generates various environmental issues (Brown et al.
2015). These issues can be negated if the leaders of construction industry take the responsibility
of using sustainable resources and plans work activities. The purpose of this research paper is to
highlight the concept of sustainable development in construction industry and to determine how
it can effect on the economy of the country. Sustainable construction can be referred to as an
investment for the future as by conservation of energy, natural resources by recycling and

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
minimizing the pollution and wastes of the industry, the development will be much friendly for
the environment (De Jong et al. 2015). In Abu Dhabi, promotion of sustainable construction has
become an integral part of the government’s policy and that is for the best interests of the
environment and the nation’s future. There are numerous benefits of using sustainable resources
for developing the construction industry and some of those are enhancing the quality of lives and
customer satisfaction, supporting social and natural environments, maximizing the efficient use
of resources and many more (Inglesi-Lotz 2016). In this regard, it can be said that sustainable
construction exhibits one way of looking at the complex issues related to sustainability and their
subsequent application in the construction industry.
Aim of the research
The aim of the research is to explore how using sustainable resources in construction
industry can have an impact in the industry and how it can effect on the economy of UAE
focusing on the real estate industry of Abu Dhabi.
Objective of the research
The objective of the research work is to discuss the outcomes of using sustainable
resources in construction industry and how it can impact on the economy of the country.
Research questions
RQ1: Does using sustainable resources have any positive impact on construction industry?
RQ2: How sustainable resources can have an impact on the nation’s economy?
Structure of the research work
This research proposal consists five chapters and the first one refers to the introductory
one. Apart from this aims and objectives of the research along with research questions are

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provided. Detailed discussion on the topic is incorporated in the literature review section. The
research methodology section describes how the research will be conducted by the researcher
and thus appropriate philosophy, strategy, sampling technique, technique of data analysis has
been provided in this section.
Literature review
Conceptual framework
Figure: Conceptual framework
Source: Created by author
Ec
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En
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Initiatives for
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green
buildings

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Sustainable construction
The construction industry creates a dichotomy between the challenges of the environment
and the industry’s role as an economic driver it presents if the sustainable development is to be
attained. It is seen that the building constructions generally consumes more than 40% of the
gravel, raw stones and sand which is produced globally and more than 20% of timber which
negatively impacts on the environment significantly (Kalmykova et al. 2016). From the
perspective of environmental impact of this industry, it can definitely be said that construction
sector has a major negative impact on the environment and this needs to be fixed immediately for
the best interests of the environment and for betterment of human lives (Charter and Tischner
2017). In the land of UAE and especially in Abu Dhabi various initiatives has been taken for
using sustainable development of construction industry by identifying the sustainable materials
for erecting buildings and utilizing low technology methods that can result in a more affordable
and sustainable construction adhering to the standards of comfort present in today’s world. In
this regard, it can be said that adoption of green construction materials that have minimal burden
is appropriate in the sustainable development of construction industry. Thus, the construction
related contribution to environmental issues can be seen as large and vital.
It is a matter of fact that there is an urgent requirement of latest technologies and
innovative technology to optimize application of low impact materials for construction industry
and along with that it is also important to mention that currently the leaders of construction
industry in Abu Dhabi are using numerous latest technologies to lower the environmental loads
due to construction industry (Edson, Henning and Sankaran 2016). Utilizing latest technologies
in construction industry have originated from earlier influx of activism regarding sustainable

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housing and development which was prompted by the environmental movement that took place
in the 70s.
Developing green buildings
To mitigate the effects of the buildings with their life cycle, Green Building (GB) has
become a new philosophy of construction industry that pushed the application of environment
friendly materials and implementation of numerous techniques and strategies in order to lower
the wastage and to save the resources for the best interests of mankind. It seems that the savings
are done in the operation and maintenance of green buildings are actually beneficial for the
environment as those can be allocated for different purposes (Hammersley 2017). It is a matter of
fact that the managements of various construction companies should look into this matter and do
the same with an intention to help the environment to thrive. It can be achieved by having high
level of insulation and illumination system in the construction sites and by appropriate selection
of building materials. One of the major benefits of green buildings are related with the indoor
environmental quality advancements which are decreased health costs and increase in the
productivity of the residents of the green buildings. While erecting a green building using
sustainable materials it actually helps the workers as they would not get exposed to harmful
elements and that can effectively increase the productivity of the workforce that can help the
business organization to flourish (Kalmykova et al. 2016). The fundamental advantages of green
buildings are involved with the good indoor environmental quality and the satisfaction of the
builders along with the people who will reside there. Due to the onetime costs that are relatively
greater than the building cost of a regular building can sometimes force the builders to think
otherwise and somehow restrained erecting green buildings becoming popular worldwide. It can
be said that a careful process of designing the buildings and careful choice of the building

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materials can actually promote green buildings at least in the market of UAE and especially in
Abu Dhabi.
Selection of materials
It is a matter of fact that application of attractive environment friendly and stable building
materials are the chief ingredients of any high performance green building effort and it can also
be said that using healthy and natural building materials contributes significantly to the well-
being of the occupants of the building and they will have a feeling of connection with the bounty
of real natural environment. New models building materials have various Environmental effects
due to pollutant release is depletion of natural resources and Habitat destruction that can be say
that this will take place during the acquisition and extraction of the raw materials for production
and manufacturing processes of the buildings or green buildings. In addition to that, some
building materials can significantly harm human health by exposing the workers of the real estate
industry and the occupants of the buildings to hazardous and toxic chemicals. These have been
used in the process of electing the buildings and subsequently selection and recognition of
environment friendly materials for using in constructions in the free building. However,
sustainable resources are the opportunity to restrain search human health and environmental
impacts which is financially beneficial for the environment as well as for the humankind (Leigh
and Blakely 2016). These resources are utilized to manufacture construction materials which
affects the environment by depleting the natural resources releasing pollutants to land water
atmosphere and by consuming excessive energy and that is why nowadays the construction
managers are using environment friendly resources in order to decrease the order of hazardous
toxic annotating elements that adversely affects the human health in the process of rating
buildings and the various stages of the Constructions.

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Life cycle of sustainable building materials
It is seen that the evolution of the building materials from collecting the raw materials to
their final disposal provides a better idea of the long-term costs of those materials and these costs
beard not only by the clients but also by the management of the construction companies and the
occupants and of course by the environment itself (Albino,Berardi and Dangelico2015). The life
cycle of the building materials can be organized into three particular stages which are pre
building, building and the post building, which can be said that these pages parallel the lifecycle
phases of the construction itself. In this context it is worthwhile to mention that assessment of the
building materials impact on the environment at each and every phase is estimated cost benefit
analysis over the lifetime of a building rather than merely accounting the costs of the initial
construction phase. In the pre building phase that explains the delivery process and the
production process of the building materials and that does not include the point of installation.
This phase is involved finding the raw materials in environment and this particular stage
involved the manufacturing and the procurement process itself (Ghisellini, Cialani and Ulgiati
2016). The understanding of the beginning of the used materials is important to an understanding
of their collective impact on the environment when indicated in a specific type of a building. The
building stage often refers to the useful life of the building materials and in this stage the
materials assembly into a structure gets initiated that involves the repair and maintenance of
those materials that goes all over the lifetime of those as an integral part of the building. The
main issue arises in the post building phase and it can be said that the green buildings are
generally seen to have contributing to the environment and as well as for the humankind too. The

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
primary costs are a bit remains on the higher end, but the recurring costs are actually in the
moderate range.
The green buildings enormously contribute to the economy of the United Arab Emirates
and specially give a boost to the economy of Abu Dhabi. Green buildings consume lesser energy,
also the green buildings creates huge job opportunities. The initial operational costs are in the
lower end. Therefore these three reasons are enough to see how green construction has been
contributing to the GDP of UAE. Therefore the final aspect of green economic contribution to
the economy of the nation can be addressed to the countless environmental benefits of the green
construction that lowers the governmental maintenance costs to a significant amount.
Methodology
Philosophy of the research
For this particular research work post positivism philosophy has been chosen in order to
perform the whole research with crosschecked validated information and data. For this particular
topic, the research work has to be conducted depending on the practical along with the
theoretical perspective of the reality (Hammersley 2017). It is seen that post positive and aspect
of the research philosophy can help the researcher in dealing with advanced thinking of the topic
of the study and this philosophy can also facilitate the researcher to complete the whole research
work by taking help of cross check data and real practically collected data.
Approach of the research work
For this particular research work, deductive approach should be chosen as this particular
approach will help to conduct the research work appropriately by using previous established
models and theories in this particular field. Deductive approach of the research work will

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enormously help the researcher to go through the previous theories and models and also will help
the researcher to carry on the research work with collecting new data from various primary
sources, thus it can be said that this particular approach of the research will be appropriate for
this case.
Research purpose
It is to be noted that descriptive purpose of the research helps to conduct the study with
more explanation along with exploration, by emphasizing more on detailed information related
to the topic. Following this purpose the researcher can surely describe and explain the whole
research by having more information related to the topic of the research(Nardi 2018). Therefore
it can be said that inarguably descriptive purpose of the research will be appropriate for this case
to find out how using sustainable building materials can help the economy and contribute to the
environment.
Research strategy
For this particular topic of the research the researcher will have to conduct the whole
operation by collecting relevant information from various secondary sources. The resources
include websites, magazines, books, published journals and many more. Along with that,
necessary information from primary sources will be collected as well. For this purpose, people
from the construction industry of Abu Dhabi will be interviewed. 10 general employees of the
construction industry who are familiar with the green building projects will be provided
questionnaires for surveying and 10 project managers of construction sites will be interviewed to
gather necessary information relevant to the topic of the research.

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SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Data collection
For this research work, the researcher will gather primary data all information by
interviewing and serving respondents and along with that the researcher will collect information
relevant to the topic of the research from various secondary sources like journals, books,
websites, published articles etc.
Sampling
10 employees will be provided questionnaires and 10 project managers will be
interviewed.
Techniques of data analysis chosen for the research
For this particular research work, the collected data will be analyzed in two types. All the
collected data will be analyzed in both quantitative and qualitative manner.
Timescale
Main activities/ stages 6
month
s
6
months
6
months
6
month
s
6
months
6
months
Topic Selection 
Data collection from secondary
sources
 
Framing layout of the research 
Literature review   
Formation of the research Plan  

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Selection of the Appropriate
Research Techniques
 
Primary data collection  
Analysis & Interpretation of
Data Collection
 
Conclusion of the Study 
Formation of Rough Draft 
Submission of Final Work 

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