Cost implications of obtaining construction waste management-related credits in green building

Abstract

This research was motivated by the intriguing phenomena across several economies that green building clients/developers are observably lukewarm in pursuing construction waste management (CWM). Recent studies, most of them in a qualitative nature, reported that to obtain CWM-related credits is “costlier” than obtaining credits from other green building aspects such as sites, lighting, and so on. Yet, there is a clear lack of empirical analysis of such cost implications with a view to providing convincing explanation to the phenomena. This research aims to identify the cost implications of achieving CWM-related credits as stipulated in green building rating tools by focusing in Hong Kong. The costs for using materials required for green certification were calculated and compared against conventional materials by introducing a life cycle perspective. It is discovered that to obtain the CWM-related credits, one needs to pay a higher cost ranging from 0.4% to 6%.