Analysis of impact of construction waste material on the external environment
Construction industry in Australia has been growing very rapidly and it has been marked with the use of products that contribute to degradation of the environment. There has been large number of products used in construction industry that create environment hazard and cause air pollution, water pollution and also degrades the living environment surrounded mainly near the metro cities. The major sustainability issue identified in this context is the huge waste generated at the time of construction of buildings and other infrastructure in Australia. The impact of waste generation is very severe on the environment surrounded to major metro and urban cities of Australia. This sustainability issue has been a point of concern because only few construction companies in Australia that have taken an initiative to reduce the construction waste by adoption of green marketing practices (Shekar, 2009).
In this part there is need to perform analysis impact of construction waste material on the external environment. For this purpose, pestle analysis has been conducted that focuses on the various factors related to the waste material during the construction process carried out Australia.
- Political Factor: The Australian authorities are sensitive to the waste that has been increasing in the process of construction and they have taken a step forward to make policies that aim to reduce the construction and to promote the green revolution through use of construction materials that generates less waste and also to apply all those practices that helps in proper waste management (Richard, Philip, Alnord & Gondweb, 2014).
- Social factor: There multiple impacts of the construction waste material on the social factors such community, market and other social personnel that has direct impact. The community that resides near the location of the construction site has to suffer the most as they have direct contact with construction waste such as dust, fumes and other material that leads to health problem such as bronchitis, water diseases, lung diseases etc. Some of major social issues that need to be considered are dynamics of populations, cultural expectations, norms, public health and other social factors that are being affected by through construction of building.
- Technological Factor: Technology can be both favorable and unfavorable depending upon its application and purpose. This is because if it helps in construction process with no negative implication on society it can be favorable and can be unfavorable if it has negative elements that harms the society even after positive impacts effects on construction process. Technology plays very important role in the Australian construction industry as innovations in the building materials can help in reduce the construction waste through the use such particles in the construction material that supports the green construction (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016).
- Environment factor: It is board term as it comprises of all the elements that is surrounded through environment such as climate, air, water, weather and other environment elements. Any damage cause through the construction waste material is considered in this factor. The construction waste material is dump in the large pits of land that degrade the quality of soil and causes unwanted to the environment. The building material such as dust, fumes and cement get into air and cause air pollution that is the major source of lungs diseases in human being (Kremer & Symmons, 2014).
Australia is regarded as a major leader in developing green building through the adoption of sustainable building practices that involves the use of designs and planning processes that are environmental responsible and resource efficient. In this context, the organizations identified as brand champions within construction industry of Australia towards the sustainability issue of waste disposal are Aurecon and BHI Architecture and Urban Design. Aurecon is regarded as a leader in developing contemporary institutional construction projects with the use of extensive skills and experience integrated with ecologically sustainable design. BHI Architecture and Design is involved in development of environmentally responsible green buildings with the use of innovative designs for community welfare (Green Building Council of Australia, 2011).
The marketing strategy can be described as long-term approach adopted for positioning itself as a green building company in order to achieve the sustainable competitive advantage. Both the companies have adopted the use of green marketing plan that consists of ideal marketing mix to realize maximum profit while complying with the sustainability principles (Begum, Satari & Pereira, 2010). The positioning strategy that has been adopted by both the companies to position their image as a green building company is differentiation business strategy. The strategy involves positioning the company in the minds of consumers as providing unique construction materials that they cannot find anywhere else in the marketplace. As such, both the companies aim to position themselves as the brand that are engaged in development of green building materials that are developed with the use of sustainability principles (Sainz, 2005). The different elements of the marketing and positioning strategy for each of the brand can be depicted with the use of following table:
Elements of Marketing Strategy |
Aurecon |
BHI Architecture and Urban Design |
Corporate Goals |
The goal of the company is to provide word-class engineering and technical services to government and clients for developing sustainable design of buildings |
The goals of the company are to develop urban architecture committing to high level quality and sustainable designing |
Strategies |
The strategy for achieving the corporate goal is to adopt the use of green marketing practices in development of buildings. The company is emphasizing on recycling the construction waste for supporting its green marketing practices (Shekar, 2009) |
The company in its green marketing strategy is adopting the use of blackwater reuse systems for reducing the waste generation (Chung & Lo, 2003) |
Market |
The building and construction product of the company are developed with the use of comprehensive simulation and modelling design software for power and energy simulation. This also enhances the technical innovation of the building products for restoring and protecting the environment (Katz & Baum, 2011) |
The building and constructing products of the company are in growth phase. The projects are tracked through all stages with the use of design management systems to ensure high design quality. |
Target Audience |
Public sector, project developers, private sector developers, contractors and architects |
Private sector developers and government |
Brand champions towards sustainability issue of waste disposal
(Green Building Council of Australia, 2011).
Elements of Positioning Strategy |
Aurecon |
BHI Architecture and Urban Design |
Product differentiation |
Develops ecologically sustainable deign (ESD) for buildings |
Develops sustainable green buildings and infrastructure with the use of high quality design management systems that are environment responsible |
Relationship differentiation |
Great communication with the use of specialist teams having in-depth knowledge of architectural design to interact with clients |
Maintained a positive team having expertise in landscape designing to interact with clients |
Reputation Differentiation |
Adopt the use of green marketing initiatives to perceive its image as a green building company |
Adheres to Quality management ISO 9001 and environmental management ISO 14001 for developing environmental responsive green buildings (Shen, Tam, & Ying-bo, 2010) |
(Green Building Council of Australia, 2011).
The companies are regarded as sustainability champions in response to the sustainability issue of waste disposal in the construction industry as they have integrated the use of environmental responsible practices in development of building and construction materials.
The Brand recognized within the construction industry of Australia that have not yet adopted green marketing practices in development of construction products are BGC Construction and Fulton Hogan. The marketing and positioning strategy of both the companies are depicted as followed:
Elements of Marketing Strategy |
BGC Construction |
Fulton Hogan |
Corporate Goals |
To develop high quality residential and commercial buildings for the clients |
To build large and complex infrastructure for bringing people together within Australia |
Strategies |
Adopts the use of collaborative solutions for development of buildings and meeting the client’s benchmarks |
Adopts the use of specialist technologies for developing high-quality construction materials and building its reputation as a leading construction firm |
Market |
Provides construction materials within western Australia |
Provides construction products ands services across Australia |
Target Audience |
Private Sector developers and contractor’s |
Private clients and contractors |
(BGC Construction, 2018)
Elements of Differentiation Positioning Strategy |
BGC Construction |
Fulton Hogan |
Cost leadership |
Emphasis on providing superior quality services to the clients at best cost |
Emphasis on providing experienced construction services at affordable cost |
Innovative |
It adopts the use of innovative engineering skills for carrying out wide range of operations |
Adopts the use of specialist technology services for delivering innovative solutions to the clients |
Differentiation |
Distinct advantage of able to call the resources anytime from any division leading to developing positive relation with the clients |
It is known for applying new techniques and R&D for delivering superior results to the clients |
(Fulton Hogan, 2018)
It can be summarized from the marketing and positioning strategy for each organization that both the companies have not adopted green marketing practices for waste disposal and thus can be regarded as brand offender. There are seven sins of greenwashing as follows:
- sin of the hidden trade-off
- sin of no proof
- sin of vagueness
- sin of worshipping false labels
- sin of irrelevance
- sin of lesser of two evils
- sin of fibbing
The companies address the sins of greenwashing that are sin of irrelevance that means both the companies are claiming to be environmental responsible but have not stated the specific practices adopted that ensures that they behave in an environmental responsible manner (Delmas & Burbano, 2011).
The strategic sustainability responsibilities that are identified from the overall analysis is reducing the waste generation and recycling the waste materials for overcoming the sustainability issue of waste disposal. This is because the construction industry often generates large amount of wastes that need to be effectively disposed for ensuring the environment protection.
References
Begum, R.A., Satari, S.K. & Pereira, J.J. 2010. Waste generation and recycling: comparison of conventional and industrialized building systems. American Journal of Environmental Sciences 6(4), pp. 383-388.
BGC Construction. 2018. Retrieved 29 August, 2018, from https://www.bgcconstruction.com/executive-summary/
Chung, S.S & Lo, C.W.H. 2003. Evaluating sustainability in waste management: the case of construction and demolition, chemical and clinical wastes in Hong Kong. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 37(2), pp. 119-145.
Delmas, M. & Burbano, V. 2011. The Drivers of Greenwashing. University Of California 54 (1), pp. 64-87.
Fulton Hogan. 2018. Retrieved 29 August, 2018, from https://www.fultonhogan.com/what-we-do/specialty-products-and-services/
Green Building Council of Australia. 2011. Australian Green Building Industry Showcase. Retrieved 29 August, 2018, from https://www.gbca.org.au/uploads/Green%20BuildingDirectoryOnline31-8-11.pdf
Katz, A. & Baum, H. 2011. A novel methodology to estimate the evolution of construction waste in construction sites. Journal of Waste Management 31, pp. 353-358.
Kremer, P.D. & Symmons, M.A. 2014. Mass timber construction as an alternative to concrete and steel in the Australia building industry: a PESTEL evaluation of the potential. International Wood Products Journal 6(3), 138-147.
Rastogi, N & Trivedi, M.K. 2016. Pestle Technique – A Tool to Identify External Risks in Construction Projects. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology 3(1), pp. 384-388.
Richard, C.Z., Philip, E.B., Alnord, C.E. & Gondweb, C.K. 2014. Overview of the Malawi energy situation and A PESTLE analysis for sustainable development of renewable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 38, pp. 335-347.
Sainz, F. 2005. Green branding effects on attitude: functional versus emotional positioning strategies. Marketing Intelligence & Planning 23 (1), pp. 9-29.
Shekar, A.V. 2009. Sustainable solid waste management: An integrated approach for Asian countries. Waste Management 29(4), pp. 1438-1448.
Shen, L.Y., Tam, W.Y. & Ying-bo, L.T. 2010. Project feasibility study: the key to successful implementation of sustainable and socially responsible construction management practice. Journal of Cleaner Production 18(3), pp. 254-259.