Getting Environmental Information from Construction Cost Databases: Applications in Brazilian Courses and Environmental Assessment

Luis Claudio A. Borja, Sandro Fábio César, Rita Dione A. Cunha and Asher Kiperstok
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Luis Claudio A. Borja: Federal Institute of Bahia (IFBA), BR 324-km 102.11, S/N-Aviário, 44135-000 Feira de Santana, Brazil
Sandro Fábio César: Post-Graduate Program in Civil Engineering (PPEC), Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Aristides Novis, 02, Federação, 40210-630 Salvador, Brazil
Rita Dione A. Cunha: Post-Graduate Program in Civil Engineering (PPEC), Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Aristides Novis, 02, Federação, 40210-630 Salvador, Brazil
Asher Kiperstok: Post-Graduate Program in Industrial Engineering (PEI), Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Aristides Novis, 02, Federação, 40210-630 Salvador, Brazil

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-28

Abstract: The traditional decision-making process in construction is still driven by factors such as cost and time, not adequately addressing indicators to control their environmental impacts. So, how to improve environmental communication to incorporate sustainable building practices. The incorporation of environmental indicators may enlarge the scope of construction management tools. In the case of cost databases, widely used in the construction sector, this action can contribute to the communication and dissemination of environmental practices. This paper mapped 24 indicators from construction cost databases to assess their ability to communicate and disseminate environmental information. The research comprised: (a) a review of the use of cost bases in the environmental study, (b) identification of the most cited bases in 27 Brazilian civil engineering courses, and (c) analysis of the selected databases through of the assessment matrix, it crosses cost data versus environmental information. CYPE, TCPO, and ORSE presented performance medium, and higher results than SINAPI, BDCCM, and BCCA. The tools presented low control over environmental information, such as water and energy consumption, machine circulation and pollution generation. However, it has been observed that when adding environmental indicators, these tools can contribute significantly to disseminate good practices in its wide user base.

Keywords: cost databases; sustainable development; construction industry; environmental aspects; construction management; construction site (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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