Leadership, culture and sustainable built environment

Leadership, culture and sustainable built environment

Article Type: Editorial From: Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Volume 5, Issue 2

Introduction

Sustainable construction project delivery should be supported by committed and inspirational leadership, with a clear understanding of the sustainability challenge. The built environment is not just about buildings, infrastructure and transport but it also includes the interaction of people in the local communities and their cultural experiences (New Zealand Ministry for Environment, 2009). The built environment needs organizational leadership which provides the collective vision, strategy and direction towards society’s common goal of a sustainable future. Leaders should embed sustainability in their organizational activities and make sustainable development part of their overall business strategies (Ofori and Toor, 2008).

There is increasing awareness of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development along with the social, economic and environmental dimensions. Cultural aspect of sustainability should be considered when formulating policies, developing and implementing development plans and programs for the built environment (Jeannotte and Andrew, 2012). Cultural sustainability examines ways to improve human lives and how to leaves a practical legacy for future generations. Leaders should communicate the importance of sustainability and establish a culture of integrating sustainability into the day-to-day management decisions (Avery, 2005).

Culture is a key element in the concept of sustainable development as it frames people’s relationships and attitudes towards the built and the natural environment. Sustainable building design should meet the end users social and cultural needs while preserving the environment for future generation (Al-Jamea, 2014). Sustainability is now viewed by organizations as being part of a strategy for long-term business survival and success (McCann and Holt, 2010). While Opoku and Fortune (2011) believe that organizational leadership plays a vital role towards achieving sustainability, Taylor (2009) argues that efforts to change individual organizational leadership behaviour and attitude towards a more sustainable organization, without a parallel effort to change the culture within these organizations in which they operate will achieve little or no results.

Overview of this special issue

After rigorous double blind review process, six papers have been selected for publication in this special issue with one paper on sustainability in the built environment, three papers on the link between leadership and sustainability in the built environment and two papers on the contribution of culture in a sustainable built environment.

In the first paper, Sezer analysed the use of building refurbishment productivity and sustainability indicators by construction contractors through qualitative research approach using interviews with eight managers working on refurbishment projects in the Swedish construction industry. The study found that productivity related measures are used by both SMEs and large contractors; however, there are major differences between SMEs and large contractors’ perceptions and their application of sustainability measures. The results show that for large contractors, sustainability policies are more developed and are reflected in their site practices. Large contractors are usually public companies with stakeholders who expect such construction practices.

Opoku, Cruickshank and Ahmed examined the role of organizational leadership in the delivery of sustainable construction projects in the UK in the second paper. The study showed that, the most important role of organizational leadership in promoting sustainable construction practices is to formulate policies, implement procedures and disseminate best sustainable practices throughout the organization. This was through surveys and interviews with intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction industry.

The third paper by Senaratne and Hewamanage explored the role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project in Sri Lanka through a case study research approach. This study revealed the importance of utilizing the appropriate leadership roles of project team members in addition to the project leader’s role to achieve LEED certification for green building projects. The paper proposed four team leadership processes required to meet the LEED challenges as; proactive planning and visualization; collective implementation; teamwork for win-win; and, continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

Opoku, Cruickshank and Ahmed examined leadership style of sustainability professionals in the UK construction industry to ascertain the effective style of leadership responsible for developing sustainable construction strategies. This study investigated if there is any particular leadership style associated with intra-organizational leaders within UK construction organizations charged with the promotion of sustainability practices. The results showed that while there is no one best leadership style for all situation, most leaders charged with the role of promoting sustainable construction are strategic in their style or behaviour.

D’Incognito, Costantino and Migliaccio evaluated the existing barriers to the slow adoption of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in construction, and the main responsible actors. The study revealed that organizational culture is the most relevant barrier, and that clients and professionals are the actors that predominantly influence the adoption of LCC and LCA in projects. Technical and financial barriers, such as the lack and quality of input data and the high costs of implementation are also deemed relevant.

Finally, Vakhitova presented a literature review on cultural heritage management as an inhabited cultural landscape in the context of urban planning. This paper supports an approach to the management of cultural heritage as a cultural landscape; defining it as a multivalent social phenomenon with tangible and intangible dimensions, spatial and temporal scales. The cultural landscape approach continues the discourse on heritage values and highlights the importance of recognition of social values and hence a wider stakeholder participation in the process of heritage management. The study argued that enhancing both intangible and tangible dimensions of cultural heritage encourages a more inclusive consideration of diverse cultural heritage values.

Conclusion

The issue of the role of leadership and culture in a sustainable built environment is becoming more important due to the growing impact of the built environment in achieving society’s sustainable development. The construction industry needs leadership at all levels that can develop a culture that supports, promotes and rewards the adoption of sustainable practices. Culture should be placed at the centre of our development strategies because culture plays an important role in framing human behaviour and their relationship to others. The integration of the cultural dimension of sustainability should therefore be promoted through education and public policies towards a sustainable built environment. Culture contributes to sustainable built environment through the protection of historic buildings, sustainable urban retrofit schemes, regeneration programmes, sustainable architecture and smart/sustainable cities.

The papers in this Special Issue highlighted the important role of leadership and culture in achieving a sustainable built environment. Even though most of the studies are country specific, some findings may be generalized carefully in an attempt to promote a sustainable built environment. These papers indicate that some very important issues regarding the link between leadership, culture and sustainability in the built environment, are being investigated currently. However, more empirical study is required to fully understand the vital contributions of organizational leadership and culture in delivering sustainable built environment.

Dr Alex Opoku, Department of Built Environment, London South Bank University, London, UK

Professor Vian Ahmed, School of Built Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK

Dr Heather Cruickshank, Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Acknowledgements

The Guest Editors are pleased to have had the opportunity to publish this Special Issue in the BEPAM journal, given its core thrust in connecting project management to asset management, hence drawing on and contributing to the many facets of sustainability. The Guest editors feel that BEPAM is an eminently appropriate platform to bring together and disseminate many topical interlocking streams of research such as theirs.

References

Al-Jamea, M. (2014), “Towards social and cultural sustainability in the designs of contemporary Saudi houses”, International Journal of Sustainable Human Development, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 35-43

Avery, G. (2005), Leadership for Sustainable Futures: Achieving Success in a Competitive World, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham

Jeannotte, M.S. and Andrew, C. (2012), “Integrating culture in sustainable communities: canadian policy and planning approaches”, Symposium on Placing Culture in Sustainable Development, Coimbra, 15 May

McCann, J.T. and Holt, R.A. (2010), “Servant and sustainable leadership: analysis in the manufacturing environment”, International Journal of Management Practice, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 134-148

New Zealand Ministry for the Environment (2009), Rethinking Our Built Environment: Towards a Sustainable Future, Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand Government, Wellington

Ofori, G. and Toor, S.R. (2008), “Leadership: a pivotal factor for sustainable development”, Construction Information Quarterly, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 67-72

Opoku, A. and Fortune, C. (2011), “The implementation of sustainable practices through leadership in construction organizations”, in Egbu, C. and Lou, E.C.W. (Eds), Proceedings 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, Bristol, pp. 1145-1154

Taylor, C. (2009), “Building cultures for sustainability”, Oxford Leadership Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 1-3