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A framework for systemic sustainable construction industry development (SSCID)

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• Published: 24 May 2021
• Volume 2 , article number  25 , ( 2021 )

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• William Gyadu-Asiedu 1 ,
• Adwoa Ampadu-Asiamah 2 &
• Alfred Fokuo-Kusi 3  

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A Correction to this article was published on 12 March 2024

This article has been updated

The quest for construction industry (CI) development in developing countries has met with several challenges. These challenges are numerous and varied. The study aimed to provide a framework by which the construction industry development agenda in developing countries could be prosecuted through a more structured and systemic approach. The qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. This approach was employed within the constructivist epistemological paradigm. Regarding information gathering, the study used the integrative literature review approach to elucidate the construction industry’s nature and its proper systemic context. Complexity, interconnectedness, fragmentation, culture, and informality were found to be common challenges inherent in most CIs. Concerning the development of the industry, the approach was to (1) consider the industry as a system of systems (enabling the use of the principles of systems thinking and systems engineering), (2) apply the concepts of sustainable development as considered within the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and specified in the triple-bottom-line (TBL), i.e., the economic, environmental, and social dimensions, (3) identify the components of CI development (eight components were identified), which are: technology development, corporate development, human resource development, institutional development, material development, documentation, practice and procedure, and operating environment), and (4) Integrated studies. A conceptual framework was modelled from all the identified constructs. Based on this model, it was possible to propose a framework for assessing the maturity level of a country's sustainable construction industry development  and, thereby,  monitor its systemic development.

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1 Introduction

Construction industry development has been a global agenda. Developing countries at various development levels have put in efforts towards this objective [ 1 , 2 ]. However, much has not been achieved due to several challenges facing the construction industries. According to Gyadu-Asiedu [ 3 ], most of the problems militating against achieving the desired effect on any country's construction industry have to do with the project execution challenges. The common problems of low productivity, delays, and cost overrun have been nearly over-researched with very related results (e.g., [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]). Windapo and Cattell [ 8 ] undertook a literature review research and identified 12 perceived challenges facing the South African Construction industry as follows: (i) Public-sector capacity, (ii) Mismatches between available skills and required skills, (iii) Globalisation/critical global issues, (iv) Procurement practices and the capacity for sustainable empowerment, (v) Access to affordable mortgage/credit and interest rates, (vi) Poverty, (vii) Technology, (viii) Availability of suitable land for construction, (ix) Availability of Infrastructure, (x) High rate of failure of enterprises, (xi) Increases in the costs of building materials, and (xii) Statutes and regulations. Results from other countries are very much related to these [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].

After several years of conferences, workshops, and reports by workgroups on the construction industry in developing countries, the International Council for Research and Innovation for Building and Construction (CIB) identified the following as the main challenges facing the construction industry in developing countries [ 13 ]: (i) The need for a new model of development, (ii) Linkages between urban and rural development, (iii) The need for sustainable housing, (iv) Sustainable education, (v) Sustainable construction through innovative building materials and methods, (vi) Indigenous technologies in the modern era, (vii) Bridging the gender divide, (viii) Appropriate financing and delivery systems, (ix) Issues of governance and management across the industry, (x) Appropriate procurement systems, (xi) Project management, (xii) Access for Local Firms. These and other challenges have impeded the progress being made towards many developing countries' CI developmental agenda. The problems are nearly common to most developing countries but with varying degrees of intensity. Others have considered the inherent nature of the industry and identified key challenges, including the following: fragmentation [ 14 ], complexity [ 15 ] and interconnectedness [ 16 ], informality [ 17 ], and the impact of culture [ 18 ]. These are considered the core challenges since they are common to all CIs.

However, the preceding suggests that each industry must clarify its myriads of problems through a taxonomy of structural challenges. This taxonomy is recommended as the first step towards any structural-developmental programme. The reason is that developing the industry has to be done with restructuring, re-engineering, and re-modelling. However, there are also issues about the approaches being used to achieve construction industry development.

2 The need for a sustainable construction industry development maturity framework

The absence of Systems Thinking in the solution package for these core challenges facing the industry indicates a significant CI research gap. Also, efforts at sustainable construction have not met the desired expectations over the years [ 19 ]. Problems militating against sustainable construction include cultural, governmental, institutional, technology, legislation, cost, capacity and knowledge, and cooperation [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of appropriate tools to measure and monitor sustainability [ 26 , 27 ]. The thrust of the matter is that it is difficult to ascertain the following vital positions regarding a specific construction industry:

The extent to which the construction industry of a country has successfully pursued its development agenda.

The extent to which this development has included sustainability.

The process of measuring, monitoring, and managing a construction industry's maturity level over the years.

It is impossible to know the level of development a construction industry has reached at any point in time. Ofori [ 2 ] has said that the absence of measurable performance targets is one reason why there is a lack of progress in the industry’s development programmes.

In light of these challenges, this study aimed to provide a framework by which a more structured and systemic approach could prosecute construction industry development agendas in developing countries.

3 Methodology

The study used the qualitative research approach in its inquiry. The constructivist epistemological paradigm underpinned this approach. Such concepts as system thinking and sustainable development (emphasising the economic, environmental, and social pillars) were employed as an invaluable tool for the study’s scope definition. Regarding the methods of information gathering and analyses, the study used the review research strategy to analyse existing literature to elucidate the various aspects of the construction industry that needs to be considered for its systemic, sustainable development. The process involved examining extant literature to systematically identify contents in terms of pre-known and anticipated classes of knowledge [ 28 ]. The review of existing literature is a recognised and well-accepted way of knowledge expansion [ 29 ]. This process has been used as a methodology in various research areas. For example, Mahamid [ 30 ] used it for researching construction business failures. In contrast, Ofori [ 31 ] used it as a methodology to study the nature of the construction industry, its needs, and development over a decade. According to Snyder [ 32 ], this approach has been used in business research citing such examples as in Covington [ 33 ], Gross [ 34 ], and Mazumdar et al. [ 35 ].

The integrative approach of the review research was used. It involved undertaking an overview, an assessment, a reconceptualisation, and a synthesis of the literature on the chosen topic in a way that enables new theoretical frameworks and perspectives to emerge [ 32 , 36 ].

The process of selecting publications for the study followed three strategic approaches. The information on construction industry development and its challenges received a broad consultation of literature, primarily. However, a deliberate attempt was also made to focus more on researchers in this field of study, especially those focused on developing countries. Regarding the review on other variables of the construction industry system, the publications' selection was a bit more controlled based on the study’s focus.

For the information on system thinking, the approach was to allow for backward integration of knowledge that dates back to the earliest relevant writings on system thinking and the general systems theories. The aim was to identify the study with the ‘roots’ of the concept. Regarding the concept of sustainability and sustainable construction, the approach was to identify the link between the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the pillars of sustainable construction, also called the triple bottom line (TBL), and construction industry development goals. Identifying these was seen as a critical part of the study. The reason being that, in the opinion of the authors, development should have everything to do with sustainability. This position is especially so in the era of the SDGs.

Thus, several library databases were used to search and collect references for this review, including Science Direct, Taylor & Francis, Springer, Wiley, and McGraw-Hill.

Figure 1 shows the methodology used in selecting the articles and the conduct of the study.

Methodological framework for the study

3.1 Constructivism and the identification of the main constructs for the study

The constructivist epistemology posits that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences, ideas, and existing knowledge. Based on this epistemology, it was decided to categorise the study into four stages. Stage one yielded the main challenges as captured in the introduction and the problem statement of this paper. Stages two and three yielded the constructs that form the basis of the study’s conceptual framework. Stage four provided the information used in modelling the framework for assessing the industry’s maturity level.

Identifying the critical challenges confronting the construction industry development agenda.

Identifying tools for structuring and defining the problem.

Identifying the parts of the industry.

Developing a maturity framework for CI development.

The first three were the focus of the review study. The final stage was the synthesis stage, where the constructs were integrated into a conceptual and a maturity framework.

First stage: identifying the challenges facing the CI

This stage of the review identified the critical challenges militating against the construction industry in several countries. At this stage, it was found that various researchers identified challenges as they prevail in their area of study. However, it was possible, through qualitative value judgement, to categorise them to (i) those inherent in the industry and (ii) those imposed by institutional weaknesses and other external factors.

Second stage: identifying the tools for the study

At this stage, it was necessary to identify the relevant tools for structuring the problem the study seeks to address. The following were identified as essential tools:

Systems thinking, systems engineering : to address the problem relating fragmentation and interconnectedness, culture and informality, and also to and to clarify the nature of the industry

Sustainable development principles (the TBL and the SDGs) : to address the industry’s development aspect and mitigate culture's impact through its universal appeal.

Integrated studies : to bring all the constructs together into a solution framework

Third stage: identifying the parts of the industry

At this stage, the construction industry is treated as a system of systems. Therefore, it is essential to identify its parts, its systems, or its organisations. The idea is that the industry’s development should be seen as an emergent state resulting from the aggregation of its parts’ development.

Fourth stage: developing the conceptual framework and the maturity framework

At this stage, the relevant constructs of the study have been identified in (1), (2), and (3). The next activity was to model the constructs so identified in the study into a conceptual framework and a maturity framework which address the main research problem. At this stage, the constructs are developed into a measurable form and, therefore, become variables.

3.2 Limitations

In this study, some limitations were identified. Firstly, the literature materials selected considered only those in English. Scientific works published in other languages that were inevitably disregarded may have increased the study’s arguments’ strength. Secondly, because the scope of the topics involved in sustainability and construction industry development is quite broad, the study could not have covered all that may have been relevant. Those materials disregarded for a qualitative sampling of literature may have provided some critical dimensions to the study.

Further, this paper’s focus means that other construction industry development indicators were excluded, namely, the industry’s GDP and site productivity issues. Finally, despite its contribution to knowledge, the proposed framework has not gone through the complete cycle of being launched for performance assessment and evaluation. Therefore, it has been submitted as a conceptualised model or a theoretical framework ready to be tested, verified, and validated. However, the methodological approach adopted and the features of the proposed framework are such that it shows promise of a theoretical construct and the capacity of instigating further studies.

4 Results and discussion

This section contains the results that emanated from the literature review methodology. The main issues discussed were sustainable development and system thinking as a crucial part of a framework for studying construction industry development. In the process, the components of construction industry development were identified. Also, the key stakeholders in the industry were identified. These findings formed the basis for modelling (1) a conceptual framework for the study and (2) a proposed framework for measuring the maturity level of the construction industry in its path towards development.

4.1 Construction industry development: a systemic and sustainable view

Apart from the fundamental challenges inherent in the industry, approaches used by countries to develop the industry also need to be investigated. This investigation is vital because attempts at developing the industry towards efficiency must necessarily include principles and strategies needed to address the challenges emanating from its nature, processes, and practices. Firstly, it will require identifying all the relevant components of construction industry development, all the organisations that make the construction industry, all the external environmental factors that impact the industry’s growth or otherwise, and the project as a special (temporary) organisation. Secondly, it will require the need to know what to do to ensure that they contribute to its development. A well-structured approach to overcoming the challenges is the surest way of successful development. Thus, there is the need for a holistic (systemic) approach towards the industry’s development. Therefore, systems thinking and systems engineering philosophies must be the governing paradigm for such approaches. The approach is to view the entire construction industry as a system, or more succinctly, a system of systems. Within the parlance of systems engineering, the construction industry must be seen as a system of several different subsystems. Therefore, its development must focus on the development of its systems. Sustainable construction is the subject of discussion in this sub-section.

4.1.1 Sustainable construction

The CIs development should be based on the development and the sustainability of its core activity: construction. The construction industry must exist to deliver today and continue to do the same in the future so long as shelter and transportation infrastructure continue to be relevant to human existence. Regarded as an industry that consumes a large percentage of the world’s natural resources, the fear of the long-term negative impact on the environment led to the need to consider sustainable construction within the broader concept of sustainable development [ 37 ]. Sustainable construction has been spearheaded by Kibert [ 38 ], Du Plessis et al., and Du Plessis [ 39 , 40 ]. In several countries, attempts are being made to focus on the six principles of sustainable construction as contained in Agenda 21 [ 37 ]: (1) Minimisation of resource consumption, (2) maximisation of resource re-use, (3) use of renewable and recyclable resources, (4) protect the natural environment, (5) create a healthy and non-toxic environment, and (6) pursue quality in creating the built environment. Ultimately, sustainable construction must, of necessity, be linked with the developmental agenda of the industry.

4.1.2 Sustainable construction and the conflict between the triple bottom line

The Earth’s capacity to regenerate itself is affected directly by society, the environment, and the economy (also known as “people”, “planet”, and “profit”, respectively) [ 41 ]. It is also referred to as the triple bottom line (TBL) adopted for this paper. As the Brundtland report suggests, only when the requirements of all the three complementary forces are balanced will sustainability be genuinely achieved. Sustainable construction demands that all three areas should be given equal and important attention. Further to this, the “Russian Doll and Five Capital Model” shows that economic activity is centrally placed and is constrained by social issues, which in turn are constrained by environmental factors [ 41 ].

It is essential to show the existence of an inextricable link and competing interest among the TBL. As an illustration, it is significant to know that they have different objective to pursue, and they sometimes contend with one another. For example, the dichotomy is evident between the quest for economic growth (brown) and that of environmental protection (green) [ 42 ]. The former aims at consumption, while the latter focuses on protection. The factors that promote the former’s accomplishment appear to increase those factors that work against the latter. However, for purposes of sustainability, the concept of “green economy” must be invoked, where a green economy is defined as: “an economy in which economic growth and environmental responsibility to work together in a mutually reinforcing fashion while supporting progress on social development” [ 43 ]. McGranahan and Satterthwaite’s views [ 42 ] as expanded to include the expected green social/economic aspect are depicted in Table  1 . Bringing in the social dimension will undoubtedly increase the complexity of the problem due to the need for a trade-off between people’s comfort and survival today under green economic and environmental conditions. It is against the backdrop of what is needed to satisfy society’s unquenchable appetite to consume.

However, the ultimate constraint is the Earth’s ecosystem, which must always be given the needed attention, which is the central goal of sustainability. Being a significant consumer of natural resources, focusing on the earth ecosystem will directly impact construction. The extent to which construction activities consume natural resources makes it an essential ally in the quest for sustainable development. All these go to show that the concept of sustainability is a rather complex subject [ 40 ]. Fusing it within the complex construction setting will inevitably create conditions that will underscore the challenges that need to be overcome to accomplish the industry's developmental goals.

In Table  1 , a comparison is made among the triple bottom line in the light of six focus criteria:

key concern, time frame, scale, concerned about, view of nature, environmental services. In its original state, it was designed for a comparison between the environmental and the economic pillars. The authors introduced the social pillars to have a holistic view of the contention among the three. It could be seen that the social pillar fits nicely between the environmental and the economic pillars as a moderator between the two apparent extremes. It means that society is being seen as the reason for the struggle between the brown and the green. That is, society becomes the winner or the loser based on the result of the original conflict. Therefore, there can only be a green economy if society supports it. The table shows that there is always a link between the social and the economic pillars; it is a matter of survival. Thus, society's primary work will be to support the environmental course and support the green economy. This discussion shows the interplay of issues that must influence the three in sustainable construction industry development activities.

4.1.3 Aligning the goals of CI activities with the SDGs

Specifically, only two of the seventeen goals, i.e., goals 9 and 11, relate to construction activities. However, a critical study of the other SDGs shows that each has something to do with construction and depends on its accomplishments in varying degrees. Table  2 shows the dependence of the SDGs on construction or a constructed facility. In the table, the SDGs’ linkages with construction have been established at varying levels of dependency. These are from the level of an essential/ a basic requirement through a needed requirement, a necessary requirement, and an indispensable requirement. Thus, the primary consideration is that every step towards sustainability in the construction industry should have at least one SDGs to accomplish.

4.1.4 Employing system thinking to sustainable development

The CI is too fragmented, interconnected, and complex to be developed sustainably without considering its systemic nature. The various parts of the CI system must be seen to depend on each other, support each other and move together as a system. According to UNESCO [ 44 ], it is not enough to depend on technology, politics, and financial consideration when pursuing sustainable development goals. Thus, a holistic methodology that will support a resilient system and flexible structures to take care of complexity is recommended [ 45 ]. Draper [ 46 ] has said that systems thinking is understood as the ability to see the world as a complex system where everything is connected to everything else. In light of these, this paper posits a deficiency in theory and practice and counterproductive for different groups to pursue a common agenda such as sustainable development in their separate and different self-contained environments. It is even worse when this persists without any attempt to link them to consider the whole picture. The issues involved in achieving sustainable development require a holistic consideration of all the items concerned. According to Ison [ 47 ], integrating the parts into making it a whole is necessary for a system to exist. This integration should result in a special relationship between the parts with essential emergent properties. Within the CI, systems are organisations and firms operating to define the CI as a system of systems. These include clients, contractors, consultants, suppliers (Table  3 ) [ 48 ] and even projects as temporary organisations [ 49 ]. System thinking has been seen as an invaluable tool in addressing complex problems of sustainable development. Cloud [ 50 ] has said: “system dynamics and systems thinking can be taught without involving sustainability, but sustainability cannot be taught without involving systems thinking”. Systems can be defined as elements joined together by dynamics that produce an effect, create a whole or influence other elements of a system. For this reason, systems thinking, and indeed, systems engineering are fundamental approaches recommended for any studies on sustainable construction within the industry’s development agenda.

4.1.5 System engineering

Checkland [ 51 ] identified three types of systems engineering as follows:

Product systems engineering (PSE): this is traditional systems engineering focused on designing physical systems consisting of hardware and software.

Enterprise systems engineering (ESE): this view of enterprises as systems, organisations, or combinations of organisations.

Service systems engineering (SSE): this is about the engineering of service systems.

The construction industry system takes after the enterprise systems engineering. ISO/IEC/IEEE 21839 [ 52 ] defines a system of systems (SoS) and the constituent System as follows:

System of Systems (SoS): set of systems or system elements that interact to provide a unique capability that none of the constituent systems can accomplish independently. Systems elements can be necessary to facilitate the interaction of the constituent systems in the System of systems.

Constituent Systems: constituent systems can be part of one or more SoS. Each constituent is a useful system by itself, having its development, management goals, and resources, but interacts within the SoS to provide the unique capability of the SoS.

These are the organisations, enterprises, and projects within the larger construction industry system of systems as listed in Table 4 . The standard indicates that the formation of an SoS is not necessarily a permanent phenomenon but rather a matter of necessity for integrating and networking systems in a coordinated way for specific goals such as robustness, cost, and efficiency. Because each constituent systems (organisations) are independent, these development processes are implemented for engineering both the systems and the System of systems. They need to be tailored to support the characteristics of SoS (refer to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 Annex G). Indeed, the construction industry’s existent as a temporary phenomenon encapsulates it entirely as a system of systems.

4.2 Identifying the components of the CI development

Construction industry development has always been considered hinging on a deliberate process undertaken under well-managed conditions [ 53 , 54 ]. Such a venture's benefits include increased value for money, the competitiveness of construction enterprises, and the optimisation of stakeholders’ performance [ 50 ]. It brings to the fore the need to consider the industry’s needed aspects to focus on as very important to the development agenda. Ofori [ 31 ] identified what he referred to as the components of construction industry development: technology development, corporate development, institution building, material development, human resource development, documentation, procedures and practices, and operating environment. The position is that the development of the components will aggregate to represent that of the entire industry. These are issues that relate to the various organisations or enterprises within the industry.

In a related discussion, the present state of construction industries and the global trends that will impact the industry was assessed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) [ 55 ]. A primary deliverable from the assessment was a conceptual industry-transformation framework that listed several measures. These measures were grouped into eight topical areas: (a) technology material and tools (b) processes and operations (c) strategy and business model innovation (d) people, organisation and culture (e) industry collaboration (f) joint industry marketing (g) regulation and policies and (h) public procurement. The similarities between these measures and Ofori’s [ 31 ] are striking. These were further classified into three categories as (i) measures taken by private companies on their own; (ii) measures taken by companies in collaborations with their peers—or by the industry as a whole; and (iii) measures taken by the government, acting both as the regulator, and as a significant project sponsor. According to the report, the future transformation of the CI would be shaped by (a) market and customer trends, (b) sustainability and resilient trends, (c) societal and workforce trends, and finally, (d) political and regulatory trends. Together, the Ofori [ 31 ] model and the WEF [ 55 ] frameworks are considered to be well-positioned to address the challenges militating against the performance, growth, and deliberate development of the construction industry.

The international chamber of commerce [ 43 ] provided a green economy roadmap focusing on ten interdependencies distributed across the TBL with mutually reinforcing and cross-cutting elements at the centre as follows: (1) Economic Innovation: open competitive market, metric accounting and reporting, finance and investment. (2) Environmental Innovation: life cycle approach, resource efficiency and decoupling (3) Social Innovation: awareness, employment, education, and skills (4) Mutually reinforcing and cross-cutting elements (from the three): governance and partnership, integrated policy, and decision-making.

It is essential to look at Ofori [ 31 ] and WEF [ 55 ] in the light of the green economic framework along with its roadmap [ 43 ] completely. It is expected that this would profoundly change the industry as a system and lead it towards the path of sustainable growth. Given the construction industry's societal, environmental, and economic importance, it is expected that any performance improvement in the industry will also have a substantial effect on all three domains in different forms and degrees.

4.3 A conceptual framework for SSCID

Based on the preceding, a conceptual framework is modelled based on a synthesis of Tables 1 and 3, the components of CI developement, and the industry-transformation framework (as identified above) to achieve the following purposes (Table  4 ):

Indicate the delineating of all the critical components of CI development.

The classification of the action points.

The future Megatrends in the CI.

The links with the triple-bottom-line in sustainability.

The expected benefits for the CI.

In Table  4 , the first two columns show how the components of CI development are aligned with the measures of the conceptual industry-transformation framework. The Table also shows the position of the green economy roadmap within the framework. It is essential to note the similarity and how the two sets of items reinforce each other. In transforming the CI, these components are the key areas to look at and develop. This synthesis made it possible to classify these components into three groups of action points to be prosecuted by the three action groups: private companies, the government, and the industry. They form the main framework by which the CI development process should be structured and managed. Column four shows the aspect of sustainability and the TBL innovations. This aspect is crucial to the development of organisations (stakeholders) in the industry. Column five shows the four megatrends that will shape these developments, acting as moderators of the process. CI system developers must closely monitor these trends and continuously manage the components appropriately. The CI areas that stand to benefit directly from these components’ developments are listed in column six. These were initially outlined by Ofori [ 54 ]. This framework contains what is needed for addressing the inherent challenges of the CI. Table  4 also provides the foundation upon which the proposed maturity framework was developed (Tables 5 , 6 ).

4.4 The organisations (systems) in the construction industry

Table  3 is a list of all the stakeholders making the construction industry. These stakeholders are the organisations in the industry. Considering the construction industry as a system of systems, these become the systems in the industrial systems. The industry’s development also means that each organisation needs to be developed in the eight components. Only when these systems are deliberately being developed individually in these eight components and within the TBL can one say that the industry is being developed. The extent of each of the systems’ development should be measured, monitored, and managed towards the desirable level. The aggregation of all the systems’ development will represent the industry’s development at a point in time.

5 A proposed framework for assessing the maturity level of SSCID

Based on Tables 3 and 4 , Table 5 is designed. Table 5 is a proposed framework that could guide the assessment of the typical construction industry's maturity levels. The process involves considering a CI system of systems that must capture all the relevant systems (organisations): clients, consultants, and contractors, among others, as identifiable and relevant for a specific construction industry [ 48 ]. These are made to develop along the eight (8) identified components of CI development [ 31 ]. These are (1) Technology Development (TD), (2) Corporate Development (CD), (3) Human Resource Development (HRD), (4) Institution Building (IB), (5) Material Development (6) Documentation (Dtn), (7) Procedures and Practice (PP), (8) Operating Environment (OE). For each System or organisation, the focus is to ensure a component-by-component development taking into consideration the Social (S), Economic (E), and Environmental (Ev.) dimensions [ 36 , 42 ].

The working process of the framework is designed to answer the following questions towards sustainable development:

To what extent is each of the organisations in the industry maturing through each of the eight components?

To what extent the components developed in compliance with sustainability measured through the TBL in each organisation?

To what extent is the industry developing?

5.1 Towards mathematical validity of the framework (Table 6 )

Table 6 is a simulation of the proposed framework in operation with numerical figures. The values used to illustrate how the framework could be used in actual assessment when accurate data are obtained from a field study. With this as a basis, this section illustrates how the maturity levels of (1) the systems and (2) the components, and (3) the CI are assessed.

The scores under the TBL

In Table 6 , the values inserted into the columns represent scores obtained when each of the CI organisations (systems) are assessed across the various components in turn in the light of sustainability through the TBL. The measures are scored over ten marks. These are then averaged to represent the organisation's sustainable development (It could also be measured in percentages). The overall score is the average values across the three pillars as follows:

This figure shows the maturity level of a component under organisation within the industry.

It must be noted that each score is an industrywide average brought to the framework as the final scoreboard. The framework is the final scoreboard after all the figures are obtained by field assessment.

In Table 6 , the maturity level of sustainable development of Technology Development under the clients’ organisations obtained, taking cognisance of the TBLs, are E (5), Ev. (6), and S (4). The average is, therefore, (5 + 6 + 4)/3 = 5.

Measuring the maturity level of a component in the construction industry [MC]

Similarly, the maturity level of the Technology Development component scored under each of the systems is: Projects (6), Consultants (8), Contractors (5.67), Subcontractors (5), Suppliers (6.67), and Regulatory Bodies (6).

Thus, for a component under the seven systems (organisations), we use the formula:

For seven organisations (or systems) in focus.

Thus, concerning Technology Development, we have:

The average score obtained under all the systems of the industry. This result is the maturity level of Sustainable Technology Development in the CI. If all the organisation's particular construction industry organisations are considered.

Measuring the maturity level of system in the industry [MS]

The formular for assessing maturity level of a system in the industry is measured along all the components as:

Using the columns (vertical) assessment for each group of organisations, e.g., the clients’ organisations (systems) along all the eight components, we have:

The result is 6.13, representing the maturity level of Sustainable Development of Clients’ Organisations in the construction industry.

This process is repeated for all the other organisations or systems within the industry.

Measuring the maturity level of a sustainable construction industry overall [MCI]

The formula is given as:

where \(\sum\nolimits_{{\mathbf{k}}=1}^{8}\left({\mathbf{MC}}\right)\) represent the aggregation of the maturity levels of all components in the industry across the seven systems; and, \({\sum }_{\mathbf{k}=1}^{7}\left(\mathbf{M}\mathbf{S}\right)\) represents the aggregation of the maturity levels of all the systems in the construction industry across the eight components.

Each of the above summations will yield the same value representing the maturity level of sustainable construction industry development. From Table 6 , the overall maturity level of sustainable construction industry development is 6.29, using either of the two formulae.

5.2 The classification of the maturity levels

For purposes of this paper, the maturity levels are classified as follows:

1–1.99 = Level 1

2–2.99 = Level 2

3–3.99 = Level 3

4–4.99 = Level 4

5–5.99 = Level 5

6–6.99 = Level 6

7–7.99 = Level 7

8–8.99 = Level 8

9–9.99 = Level 9

10 = Level 10.

Level 1 is the least matured level, while Level 10 stands for the most matured level. Thus, using x = score for a maturity level, we have 1 ≤ x ≤ 10.

For any score, “x”, which falls between x.00 ≤ x < x.50, the level is qualified by “Low”. Therefore, scores like 1.43, 5.32, 7.22 are classified as 1-Low, 5-Low, and 7-Low, respectively.

Similarly, for any score “x”, where x.50 ≤ x < x + 1, the level is qualified by “High”. Therefore, scores like 1.54, 5.66, 7.51 are classified as 1-High, 5-High, and 7-High, respectively. Thus, the result of the Sust.CID = 6.29 means the industry in question is at the level of 6-Low.

5.3 Monitoring and managing the CI development

Table 6 has indicated the process of measuring the maturity levels of the various aspect of the industry. The values so obtained indicate the general position of a particular industry. When this is done at regular intervals, it will provide a means by which the maturity level can be monitored through trend analysis of these figures. Based on these scores, deliberate action should be taken to manage the industry to the desired level.

It means that targets will have to be set, and the levels achieved should indicate deviation, which must be corrected and identified gaps filled. This approach should be seen as the scientific way an industry’s transformation, growth, and development can be achieved.

5.4 Pre-requisites

Some pre-requisites should be agreed on before the framework could be used. The framework comprises main measures in three dimensions: (1) the components of the industry development, (2) the systems or organisations in the industry, and (3) the TBL. There should be agreement on the set of indicators needed to assess each of the primary measures. This process will be the basis for populating the main measures that will aggregate into the organisations' maturity level or systems and, ultimately, the construction industry. These indicators may then be adapted to suit each country’s needs. Methods for measurement and compilation of the indicators should also be agreed on to facilitate standardisation and adaptation. At this stage, the framework is being proposed for predicting maturity. It is expected that it could also be a framework for benchmarking and inter-industry comparison after some modification.

A central agency will be needed to administer the construction industry development programme using the proposed framework. The duty of such an agency would be to collect, process, and disseminate critical data on the construction industry and maintain a national construction database for estimating the scores of the indicators. These data need to be updated regularly to meet the industry’s current trends and needs and knowledge development. The ultimate objective shall be to regularly measure and monitor the industry’s maturity level, predict growth, development, or decline for decision-making and management by the government pursuing a construction industry development agenda.

5.5 Towards the validity of the framework

The proposed framework was subjected to some fundamental validity and reliability tests as far as practicable, and the results are summarised in Table 7 . The following provides a background to the contents of Table 7 .

Literature review method

Because the framework’s variables emanated from empirical studies, it is concluded that their validity and reliability as measures have been established. However, using them to model a framework means that the framework needs to pass the validity and reliability tests. Later, the framework’s actual implementation will represent its validation and the testing of the theory it propounds. The issue of validation of the framework is beyond the scope of this paper.

By using numerical simulation where the numerical methods solve the System

In this paper, basic numerical simulation has been used to validate the mathematics underlying the framework’s measurement aspect. Integrating the scores into the maturity level has been triangulated by estimating from either the systems’ side or the component’s side. The results have been consistent.

Monte Carlo simulations proposed for experimental validation

During the actual validation of the framework, multiple results obtained from the experiments could be further validated by Monte Carlo simulations, primarily as it assesses the industry’s maturity levels and predicts their expected behaviour and growth. The reason is that Monte Carle-based predictions of failure or success have been proven to be routinely reliable.

6 Conclusion

The study has shown that the issues involved in construction industry development are a more complex problem than has hitherto been considered. It has revealed that a systemic approach is needed to achieve the development agenda. Further, it has also shown that the industry’s development should be considered with sustainability in mind and that the two must go together. Thus, the agenda should be sustainable construction industry development. Also, this study propounds that sustainable construction industry development should be seen as part of the global agenda of a sustainable world as it began with Agenda 21 and the SDGs. The significance of this is that construction is linked to all the seventeen SDGs in four varying degrees: as an essential requirement, as a needed requirement, as a requirement, and as an indispensable requirement for their accomplishments. At the heart of sustainable construction, a debate is the need to ensure the TBL in all cases. Decisions will have to be made in light of possible trade-offs between and among the SDGs and The TBLs.

Due to its complexity, interconnectedness, and fragmentation, integration became paramount among what to do to accomplish true transformation and development. A holistic consideration of the industry is necessary. It brings to the fore the need for systems thinking. The CI is considered part of a larger, more complex global system. Also, it is considered as a system that comprises various construction systems. As a system of systems, the systems of systems were introduced to place the industry in good stead towards its systemic development. Thus, to develop the construction industry, it is crucial to focus on developing the subsystems. The reason is that the industry's subsystems can develop on their own regardless of their individual needs and goals. They must interact within the SoS to provide its emergent behaviour. Thus, they must be engineered as a deliberate action towards the desired direction of development.

In all clarity, construction industry development should be seen as a continuous process of deliberately ensuring that a holistic approach is adopted to achieve the industry's transformational goals, considering the concept of sustainability. Thus, the researchers contributing to the debate must consider, alongside the approaches towards achieving sustainable construction goals through its subsystems, the impacts, attractions, disruptions, and distractions from other industries or systems. Thus, the ultimate goal of systemic, sustainable construction industry development (SSCID).

Based on the preceding, it was possible to design a framework by which the maturity level of the construction industry could be assessed in the light of the eight components, the TBL, and the organisations within the industry. Even though the framework is submitted as a theory to be tested, the mathematics proves that there is the potential it as a support system in the quest for systemic, sustainable construction industry development.

The study’s significant contribution to knowledge is that it has demonstrated a measurement approach to the development agenda. The lack of it has been one of the weaknesses in the construction industry development programmes. This study implies that there is a need to have an expanded view of the construction industry. The study's outcome also implies that countries' construction industry development programmes should be well-structured, carefully balanced under TBL conditions, and systemically prosecuted.

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A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00191-9

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Gyadu-Asiedu, W., Ampadu-Asiamah, A. & Fokuo-Kusi, A. A framework for systemic sustainable construction industry development (SSCID). Discov Sustain 2 , 25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00033-y

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Construction Sustainability: The Impact of Climate-Conscious Building

Last Updated May 14, 2024

Amid the increasing severity of natural disasters worldwide, the urgent search for climate change solutions often leads to the construction industry, which accounts for 37% of global emissions according to the United Nations Environment Programme . With such a significant share, efforts to enhance construction sustainability are critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability in construction extends far beyond mere emissions management. It encompasses a comprehensive approach that includes responsible resource use and a nuanced understanding of environmental impacts that range from global warming to more localized issues like water use, acid rain, and the destruction of natural habitats. A broader view is advocated — one that encompasses all environmental aspects, not just carbon emissions.

Ultimately, there’s a big opportunity to protect the environment by moving toward construction sustainability. As an added bonus, many measures will also protect project owners’ bottom lines. 

Table of contents

The 2 Sides of Construction Sustainability

To give a broad definition, construction sustainability means the responsible use of resources paired with mindfulness of the effect of that use on the environment .

There are a lot of facets to consider here. In fact, sustainability is such a broad topic that experts tend to break it into separate components — for instance, decarbonization. When speaking on decarbonization in the construction industry, they usually look at two separate ways that buildings impact the environment:

• Operational carbon: This measures the carbon impact of a building once it’s completed and used. The carbon footprint that a building creates as its users heat it, cool it, turn on its lights, flush its toilets, etc. is totaled as part of that structure’s operational carbon. 

All of this said, carbon — meaning greenhouse gas emissions, usually measured as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent — isn’t the only impact of erecting a building. Construction sustainability also seeks to offset other adverse impacts, like:

• Acidification
• Adverse human and wildlife impact
• Damage to local water sources
• Contribution to landfills
• Destruction of natural habitats
• Eutrophication
• Natural resource depletion
• Photochemical ozone formation

When stakeholders want to move toward construction sustainability, they can generally make the biggest impact by focusing on the areas that are most relevant to them geographically. Projects in Australia may focus primarily on mitigating ozone depletion, for example, while construction sites in Southern California may implement water-conscious practices. 

Scopes of Embodied Carbon

The first step to limiting embodied carbon is understanding it. As the construction industry tries to do that, it has assigned three different scopes. The people involved in a project have direct responsibility for scope 1 emissions, while they have a hand in but don’t directly control the other three. To give some examples:

• Scope 1 emissions are within a company’s control, like the emissions its fossil fuel-burning vehicles and equipment generate as they run.
• Scope 2 emissions are an indirect consequence of the company’s activities, like the emissions created from lighting the jobsite. The company may turn on the lights, but the power source from which they’re pulling is another entity’s jurisdiction.
• Scope 3 emissions aren’t produced by the company and aren’t a direct result of their actions. Take, for example, the carbon impact of products that the company buys from suppliers.  

Companies looking for a place to start with limiting their environmental impact should begin with a focus on scope 1 emissions. As they ramp up their construction sustainability initiatives, they can scale up to focus on scope 2 and scope 3 emissions. 

Standards for Construction Sustainability

A plethora of standards and strategies for sustainable building practices exist, with international and regional standards such as BREEAM, LEED, and Passive House, DGNB, and Miljöbyggnad providing guidance. Circular construction models emphasize resource reuse and recycling, encouraging creative and eco-conscious building strategies. Examples include using excess heat from a busy train station to warm nearby buildings or cold water from natural sources to cool data centers:

• Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
• Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE)
• Green Globes
• International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 
• The Living Building Challenge
• National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) 
• Passive House

Beyond these standards, eco-conscious building strategies are also driving change. Some project managers now focus on circularity, for example. The circular construction model aims to make resources as useful as possible for as long as possible, with an emphasis on reusing and recycling materials. 

Circularity can also encourage the creative use of resources. In Stockholm, for example, the heat generated from a busy train station is used to warm nearby buildings. Other Northern European countries use cold water from natural sources to cool down data centers, then direct that water to homes to use once it’s hot. 

Whichever standards or strategies companies enact, the goal is the same: to improve construction sustainability and move away from construction processes that generate excess emissions, waste and other negative environmental impacts. 

Roadblocks to Sustainability in the Construction Industry

One of the biggest hurdles blocking construction sustainability is a lack of tracking mechanisms . A 2022 analysis of the environmental impacts of construction waste found that stakeholders at more than 95% of projects said waste was a challenge. Even so, only 57% of construction companies record and measure the volume of material waste, and 75% of companies don’t have any staff members assigned to handle waste. 

Ultimately, with different entities handling different parts of the project — often each with their own materials and equipment — understanding a project’s environmental impact often presents a significant challenge. Plus, telling a site manager that it’s their responsibility to track sustainability metrics on top of all of the other work they’re already doing often isn’t welcome news. Layer on the tight timelines that construction projects come up against and it’s not surprising that limited resources go toward monitoring these metrics. 

To make the whole situation even more complex, what’s sustainable on one project may not be the most environmentally conscious choice on another. Take prefabricated construction as an example. These types of buildings may have a smaller carbon footprint at the outset. But if the prefabricated building needs to travel far, the emissions from the required transportation might offset those gains.  

Movement Toward Sustainability

People tend to think building more sustainably is always more expensive, but that’s not the case. In fact, studies have shown the opposite . High production costs tend to go hand in hand with negative environmental impacts . 

Change is happening as companies see how protecting the environment can help them protect their bottom line. Many projects now focus on repurposing existing buildings rather than demolishing them and building new ones. Similarly, many owners now demand compliance with green construction standards because buildings that use less heat, water, energy, etc. have lower operating costs. Some companies in Europe have started building embodied carbon reporting into their contractual agreements. 

Ultimately, for sustainability in the construction industry to move forward, project owners and contractors need to build it in so that it’s the default. For example, most construction professionals don’t think twice about adhering to safety standards. The processes and safeguards are designed to improve safety at each project step. Sustainability needs the same level of embedding into established processes. 

A Place to Start: Reducing Concrete Waste

Two materials are the most carbon-intensive in terms of extracting the raw materials, transporting them, and installing them: structural steel and concrete . 

Because structural steel is so expensive, most companies do an excellent job of minimizing waste. Concrete, on the other hand, is relatively cheap. As a result, overages are common. 

Let’s say that in order to erect the minimum viable product of a certain building, you need 100 tons of concrete. To build in a coefficient of safety, the structural engineer calls for 120 tons. When the general contractor interprets those designs, they order 130 tons to make sure the project is covered. The concrete subcontractor might send 140 tons to the site so they won’t be held liable for a shortage, and the supplier might send 150 tons of aggregate just to be safe. Ultimately, 50% of the concrete in this example would go to waste. 

Companies looking for an easy construction sustainability win can start here. Consider that wasted concrete a mistake, the same way you would if it was poured incorrectly and had to be jackhammered out. Through site drawings and material invoices, stakeholders should have the data on what the project calls for, what was ordered, and what actually got delivered to the site. From there, they can begin to pinpoint overages and make changes to limit them. 

While many companies will struggle to get to a zero loss yield (meaning there is no waste at all), each step taken to reduce concrete waste goes a long way toward minimizing a project’s embodied carbon footprint. 

Using concrete waste as a starting point can help companies build the muscle to monitor environmental impact. To further develop competency there, they may choose to start calculating shadow costs, e.g., $1 for every 1 kilogram of embodied carbon. This can help project managers to make decisions that benefit not just the company’s financial outlook, but also its environmental impact.

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Kacie Goff is a construction writer who grew up in a construction family — her dad owned a concrete company. Over the last decade, she’s blended that experience with her writing expertise to create content for the Construction Progress Coalition, Newsweek, CNET, and others. She founded and runs her own agency, Jot Content, from her home in Ventura, California.

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Sustainable Construction

Master thesis.

The current list of topics for Master Theses in the field of Sustainable Construction.

Proposals for Autumn Semester 2024

Below you find examples of topics from our research area. we would be happy to discuss and try to find a common ground between your interests and our expertise..

• Urban-industrial metabolism within the context of recycling of waste-to-energy residues into construction materials
• Building WIAMsLC emissions in for climate change mitigation
• Estimation of waste streams availability for CO2 mineralization in construction products in Europe
• How to model a Global building stock?
• Implications of EU climate policy for urban waste incineration & recycling
• Assess carbon emissions from prefabrication processes thanks to digital twins of factory
• LCA of construction method and material for building project in Zurich
• Embodied Carbon of CCUS
• Assessment according to ESGs framework of water pipe maintenance technology
• Design for carbonation
• Do high-carbon binders reduce the hygrothermal performance of earthen construction?
• Low-tech binder for poured earth stabilization
• Poured earth techniques: a systematic performance comparison ​

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20 Dissertation Topics on Sustainability and Green Technology

Published by Carmen Troy at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On May 17, 2024

Introduction

Looking for interesting and manageable topics on sustainability and green technology for your dissertation or thesis? Well, you have come to the right place.

The subject of sustainability, green technology, and environmental friendliness has gained tremendous importance over the last few years – thanks to the ever-increasing pollution, climate change, and high production costs throughout the world.

Without wasting any more of your time, here are the 20+ dissertation topic ideas in this trendy field so you can choose the one that is not only intriguing but also manageable for you.

These topics have been developed by PhD writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an introduction to the topic, research question, aim and objectives, literature review, and the proposed methodology of research to be conducted. Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics here.

Latest Research Topics on Sustainability and Green Technology

Topic 1: the role of artificial intelligence (ai) and green technology in the develpment of smart and sustainable towns.

Research Aim: This study intends to find the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and green technology in developing smart and sustainable towns. It will review the concepts of smart and sustainable towns to show their importance in the modern era to reduce global warming. Then it will assess the role of AI by analysing various machine learning and deep learning models to show how these models can help develop smart and sustainable towns. Lastly, it will review what work has already been done in this area and what should be done.

Topic 2: Impact of Research and Development (R&D) Expenditure in Green Technology on the Sustainability Outcomes of the Construction Industry- A Case of Malaysian Construction Industry

Research Aim: This study intends to analyse the impact of research and revelopment (R&D) expenditure on green technology on the sustainability outcomes of the construction industry in Malaysia. It will review the current green technology used in the Malaysian construction industry and its development. Moreover, it will show how the construction industry is spending to develop new green technology and how much it requires to make it completely sustainable. It will also identify various national and international sources which can invest in this industry to make it more sustainable.

Topic 3: What are the Motivating and Demotivating Factors for Green Supply Chain Practices? An Exploratory Study Finding the Factors Affecting Green Supply Chain Practices in the UK

Research Aim: This research will identify various motivating and demotivating factors (return on green investment, production output, local and global competitiveness, political support, international support, investor support, etc.) for green supply chain practices. It will study various industries in the UK, such as construction, hotel industry, retail industry, etc., find out how the abovementioned factors affected their interest in green technology and green supply chain practices. Moreover, it will assess the work done in this area and how various institutions can motivate these industries.

Topic 4: Influence of Green Advertising on the Consumer View of Green Technology and Sustainability in the US

Research Aim: This study shows the impact of green advertising on the consumer perception of green technology and sustainability. It will assess how various components of green advertising work and how they affect the consumer perception of the need for green technology. Moreover, it will analyse different green advertising strategies used by companies in the US to influence consumer perception and how these strategies can be improved to make US consumers more interested in the products, which are products of an environment-friendly production process.

Topic 5: Green Economy a Necessity? Impact of Green Technology on Sustainable Economic Growth and Development- A Case of ASEAN Economies

Research Aim: It proposes a framework to analyse the impact of green technology on sustainable economic growth and development. It will show whether the green economy is essential for growth and development or not. It will assess various effects of green technology on the economy and ecology. And show how improving ecology can benefit human development, which can be good for long-term economic growth in the ASEAN countries. Lastly, it will analyse the current progress of these countries in creating a green economy.

Topic 6: The Potential of Biomimicry in Green Technology Innovation

Research Aim: This research explores and evaluates the potential applications of biomimicry principles in driving innovation within green technology. The purpose of the study is to enhance sustainability, resource efficiency, and environmental conservation.

Topic 7: Circular Economy and its Application in Achieving Sustainability Targets

Research Aim: This study investigates the concept of the circular economy and its practical implementation strategies. It focuses on the effectiveness of the circular economy in facilitating the achievement of sustainability targets across various industries and sectors.

Topic 8: Sustainable Water Management in the Era of Climate Change

Research Aim: This research examines the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable water management in the context of climate change. The study identifies effective strategies, technologies, and policies to ensure resilient and equitable access to clean water resources while mitigating the impacts of climate variability and extreme events.

Topic 9: The Role of Information Technology in Advancing Sustainability Initiatives

Research Aim: This study investigates the multifaceted role of information technology (IT) in advancing sustainability initiatives across various sectors. It explores how IT innovations, such as big data analytics, IoT (Internet of Things), blockchain, and AI (Artificial Intelligence), can contribute to enhancing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable development goals.

Topic 10: Corporate Social Responsibility and Green Technology Adoption: A Case Study Analysis

Research Aim: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive case study analysis to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and the adoption of green technologies within organisations. It examines understanding the motivations and outcomes associated with integrating sustainability initiatives into corporate strategies and operations.

Topic 11: Impact of Smart Grid Technologies for Sustainable Energy Management

Research Aim: This research assesses the impact of smart grid technologies on sustainable energy management. The study focuses on understanding how the integration of advanced grid infrastructure, renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and demand-side management techniques contributes to increasing energy efficiency, grid reliability, and environmental sustainability.

COVID-19 Sustainability and Green Technology Research Topics

Topic 1: covid-19 and the need to expand sustainable energy.

Research Aim: It’s high time to expand sustainable energy during COVID-19.

Topic 2: COVID-19 and the environment

Research Aim: This study will focus on the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on the environment.

Topic 3: Economic expenditure on the green environment during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will review the economic expenditure and plans for the green environment during COVID-19.

Topic 4: The green economy after COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will analyse the current issues related to green technology and predict the future of a green environment after COVID-19.

Dissertation Topics Ideas on Sustainability and Green Technology on Global Impact

Topic 1: research on sustainable gardens.

Research Aim: This research aims to conduct research on creating sustainable gardens and identify their benefits.

Topic 2: Sustainable outdoor designs using recycled materials

Research Aim: This research aims to identify various methods of creating sustainable outdoor designs using recycled materials and identify their benefits.

Topic 3: Pollution-free disposal and recycling of trash

Research Aim: This research aims to identify various methods to ensure pollution-free disposal and recycling of trash

Topic 4: Importance of gardening- awareness and ideas for the city, terrace/roof gardening

Research Aim: This research aims to address the importance of gardening and its awareness among the public. It will also focus on identifying cost-effective and innovative ideas for the city, as well as terrace/roof gardening.

Topic 5: Examining the economic impacts of green technology

Research Aim: The research will involve comparing the costs incurred in developing green energy and the economic benefits. The services will be saved once alternative forms of materials and energy sources are used. It will be relevant in identifying whether it is worth investing in green technology from an economic perspective. It will also help in developing supportive policies that guide green technology.

Topic 6: How do national and regional politics affect environmental sustainability?

Research Aim: This research study will analyse the role of politics in the environment. It will explore the positive or negative impacts of individual political inclinations.

Topic 7: How sustainable is the environment in the current and forthcoming eras?

Research Aim: This research will analyse global trends and their impacts on environmental trends. Developments such as increasing population, climate change, and using various materials affect the people. It will inform about how sustainability measures can be structured to align with the trends.

Topic 8: Adoption of green energy by low-end users

Research Aim: The research will be based on realising a market niche that cannot afford or are not willing to spend on an expensive product. Additionally, the embrace of some advanced technologies varies across classes, mainly based on exposure. There is also the notion that green technology can be expensive, making the stated users reluctant to use it. Accordingly, the research will focus on the factors that give users their respective levels of green technology use.

Topic 9: How green technology can affect organisational processes

Research Aim: This research will analyse how processes that can include procuring and sourcing, producing, sales, marketing, and delivering products, among others, can be impacted once green technology is introduced. It will help analyse cost and time effectiveness and the satisfaction of the organisation’s stakeholders. It can help recommend structural changes when an organisation is considering green technology.

Topic 10: To what extent does green technology contribute to environmental sustainability?

Research Aim: notably, several factors are contributing to environmental degradation and pollution. While green technology has been identified in previous research to ensure sustainability, its contribution can be compared with other factors. Accordingly, recommendations can be made about whether it is the absolute solution to sustainability.

Topic 11: Green technology and global environmental sustainability frameworks

Research Aim: The study will assess how the frameworks affect the use of green technology. Various global environmental practices are commonly developed. The research will suggest any amendments to the frameworks to positively correlate them with green technology. Also, the topic will evaluate how the frameworks are implemented in various regions.

Topic 12: Green technology practices in developing countries

Research Aim: The research will explore the extent to which developing countries use and promote green technology. They are characterised by having a lower economy. The priority they have on sustainability will be established.

Topic 13: How do policies affect the use of green technology in a country?

Research Aim: The research acknowledges that regulatory bodies devise policies to guide various industries. The guidelines can be supportive or suppressive in the development and use of green technology. For instance, the bodies’ incentives can encourage green technology, while factors like high taxation can discourage it. Therefore, focusing on a particular country’s policies can be insightful into the level at which the technology is incorporated.

Topic 14: Incentives for green technology and environmental sustainability

Research Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine how green technology can be promoted among users and manufacturers. It will first identify the challenges that users can face when using and applying the technology. It will also evaluate the level of sensitisation about green technology that people in a region have. The various stakeholders can execute the incentives for environmental sustainability.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service , which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

More Research Titles on Sustainability and Green Technology

Topic 1: what roles do ngos have in environmental sustainability and green technology.

Research Aim: The research will establish how NGOs can be incorporated into sustainability. NGOs have distinct objectives. While some are specific to environmental conservation, others focus on aspects that indirectly affect the environment positively or negatively. The study will then suggest how the NGOs can be motivated to advance their operations and promote green technology.

Topic 2: Impactful green thinking to achieve sustainability

Research Aim: The research analyses human behaviour and issues that can promote sustainability. It explores how people can change their perspective on the environment and take measures at individual and collective levels. It will recommend some habitual changes that can positively impact the environment.

Topic 3: A holistic approach to environmental sustainability

Research Aim: Sustainability comprises various factors, ranging from behavioural, resources, technological, and procedural. Most studies have focused on particular sets of characteristics. However, it can be intriguing how integrating sustainability factors can be achieved. Also, it will be realised if implementing some measures of sustainability has any correlation to others.

Topic 4: Can there be a balance between lifestyle and green technology?

Research Aim: the study will assess the relationship between current lifestyle and green technology. It will be relevant in identifying the personal understanding of green technology’s contribution and how people are ready to adjust their lifestyle to technology. It will further show how green technology affects lifestyles.

Topic 5: How do businesses perceive green energy and environmental sustainability?

Research Aim: The research aims to identify how profit-making organisations approach green technology. It will focus on whether they find it less costly and useful. Also, it will establish whether they find products that involve green technology are usually marketable. Further, it will identify the organisation’s preference for the working environment, whether in regions that promote environmental sustainability or those that do not.

Topic 6: Examining sustainability policies in developed and developing countries

Research Aim: The research will compare regulations instituted in the two sets of countries. It will also assess the extent of implementation of the policies in the countries.

Topic 7: Challenges facing green technology as one of the drivers towards sustainability

Research Aim: The research will be based on green technology recognition as a crucial attribute of environmental sustainability. Despite the assertion, the technology has not attained universal coverage as it would be more impactful. The challenges can vary in economic, social, geographical, and regulatory aspects, and it is recommended that the research focus on a particular region. The results can also be analysed if there is a conflict of to identify any general challenges in the areas.

Topic 8: What is the consumer perspective towards green production?

Research Aim: Businesses target to satisfy the needs of consumers. The study will assess whether the consumer has a force towards producers that can make the latter inclined towards using green technology. This research study will essentially focus on the consumables industry.

Topic 9: Stakeholders’ contribution to green technology

Research Aim: The research will establish all the stakeholders in green energy. It will reveal their interests and drivers towards green technology. There will be an insight into whether there is a conflict of interest between the stakeholders and how it can be resolved. It will also help identify how the stakeholders can collaborate and integrate their resources and ideas.

Topic 10: Current trends in green technology and the future of technology

Research Aim: the research will aim to overview how green energy has been advancing over time. The trend will then help in predicting the future of green technology. Besides, it will be informative about the contribution green energy has had on environmental sustainability at various levels. It will then make recommendations about the optimum technology based on the available information and developments.

Also Read: Dissertation Topics in Engineering Management

How ResearchProspect Can Help You?

We are aware of the problems students are likely to face when it comes to finding a suitable topic in sustainability and green technology. Therefore our expert writers are always looking forward to assisting you with your topic search.

We hope you were able to find a suitable topic from the 20+ topic suggestions in green technology and sustainability provided in this article. But even if you didn’t find any of these topics suitable for your needs, you can always contact us to get custom topic ideas from our expert writers.

Our team of expert writers in any field you would like your work to be carried out in will facilitate you and ensure you get the grades that you are worthy of and deserve.

Important Notes:

As a student of sustainability and green technology looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing sustainability and green technology theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

Sustainability and green technology are vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like environmental engineering . That is why it is imperative to create a sustainability and green technology dissertation topic that is particular, sound, and solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your fundamental research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your issue wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation , as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best sustainability and green technology dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample sustainability and green technology dissertation topics to get an idea for your dissertation.

How to Structure Your Dissertation on Sustainability & Green Technology

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths whilst identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic and binding terms, which can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : The findings of the research are analysed in detail in the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section of the paper is to link the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : This should be completed following your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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News Roundup Spring 2024

CEGE Spring Graduation Celebration and Order of the Engineer

Forty-seven graduates of the undergraduate and grad student programs (pictured above) in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering took part in the Order of the Engineer on graduation day. Distinguished Speakers at this departmental event included Katrina Kessler (MS EnvE 2021), Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and student Brian Balquist. Following this event, students participated in the college-wide Commencement Ceremony at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT

The University of Minnesota’s Crookston, Duluth, and Rochester campuses have been awarded the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, joining the Twin Cities (2006, 2015) and Morris campuses (2015), and making the U of M the country’s first and only university system at which every individual campus has received this selective designation. Only 368 from nearly 4,000 qualifying U.S. universities and colleges have been granted this designation.

CEGE contributed strongly to the College of Science and Engineering’s efforts toward sustainability research. CEGE researchers are bringing in over $35 million in funded research to study carbon mineralization, nature and urban areas, circularity of water resources, and global snowfall patterns. This news was highlighted in the Fall 2023 issue of  Inventing Tomorrow  (pages 10-11). https://issuu.com/inventingtomorrow/docs/fall_2023_inventing_tomorrow-web

CEGE’s new program for a one-year master’s degree in structural engineering is now accepting applicants for Fall 2024. We owe a big thanks to DAN MURPHY and LAURA AMUNDSON for their volunteer work to help curate the program with Professor JIA-LIANG LE and EBRAHIM SHEMSHADIAN, the program director. Potential students and companies interested in hosting a summer intern can contact Ebrahim Shemshadian ( [email protected] ).

BERNIE BULLERT , CEGE benefactor and MN Water Research Fund founder, was profiled on the website of the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF). There you can read more about his mission to share clean water technologies with smaller communities in Minnesota. Many have joined Bullert in this mission. MWRF Recognizes their Generous 2024 Partners. Gold Partners: Bernie Bullert, Hawkins, Inc., Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and SL-serco. Silver Partners: ISG, Karl and Pam Streed, Kasco, Kelly Lange-Haider and Mark Haider, ME Simpson, Naeem Qureshi, Dr. Paul H. Boening, TKDA, and Waterous. Bronze Partners: Bruce R. Bullert; Brenda Lenz, Ph.D., APRN FNP-C, CNE; CDM Smith; Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA MN); Heidi and Steve Hamilton; Jim “Bulldog” Sadler; Lisa and Del Cerney; Magney Construction; Sambatek; Shannon and John Wolkerstorfer; Stantec; and Tenon Systems.

After retiring from Baker-Tilly,  NICK DRAGISICH  (BCE 1977) has taken on a new role: City Council member in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. After earning his BCE from the University of Minnesota, Dragisich earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Dragisich retired in May from his position as managing director at Baker Tilly, where he had previously served as firm director. Prior to that, he served as assistant city manager in Spokane, Washington, was the city administrator and city engineer in Virginia, Minnesota, and was mayor of Chisholm, Minnesota—all adding up to more than 40 years of experience in local government. Dragisich was selected by a unanimous vote. His current term expires in December 2024.

PAUL F. GNIRK  (Ph.D. 1966) passed away January 29, 2024, at the age of 86. A memorial service was held Saturday, February 24, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T), where he started and ended his teaching career, though he had many other positions, professional and voluntary. In 2018 Paul was inducted into the SDSM&T Hardrocker Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, joining his mother Adeline S. Gnirk, who had been inducted in 1987 for her work authoring nine books on the history of south central South Dakota.

ROGER M. HILL  (BCE 1957) passed away on January 13, 2024, at the age of 90. His daughter, Kelly Robinson, wrote to CEGE that Roger was “a dedicated Gopher fan until the end, and we enjoyed many football games together in recent years. Thank you for everything.”

KAUSER JAHAN  (Ph.D. 1993, advised by Walter Maier), PE, is now a civil and environmental engineering professor and department head at Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Jahan was awarded a 3-year (2022- 2025), $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The grant supports her project, “WaterWorks: Developing the New Generation of Workforce for Water/Wastewater Utilities,” for the development of educational tools that will expose and prepare today’s students for careers in water and wastewater utilities.

SAURA JOST  (BCE 2010, advised by Timothy LaPara) was elected to the St. Paul City Council for Ward 3. She is part of the historic group of women that make up the nation’s first all-female city council in a large city.

The 2024 ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium combines several competitions for students involved in ASCE. CEGE sent a large contingent of competitors to Chicago. Each of the competition groups won awards: Ethics Paper 1st place Hans Lagerquist; Sustainable Solutions team 1st place overall in (qualifying them for the National competition in Utah in June); GeoWall 2nd place overall; Men’s Sprint for Concrete Canoe with rowers Sakthi Sundaram Saravanan and Owen McDonald 2nd place; Product Prototype for Concrete Canoe 2nd place; Steel Bridge (200 lb bridge weight) 2nd place in lightness; Scavenger Hunt 3rd place; and Aesthetics and Structural Efficiency for Steel Bridge 4th place.

Students competing on the Minnesota Environmental Engineers, Scientists, and Enthusiasts (MEESE) team earned second place in the Conference on the Environment undergraduate student design competition in November 2023. Erin Surdo is the MEESE Faculty Adviser. Pictured are NIKO DESHPANDE, ANNA RETTLER, and SYDNEY OLSON.

The CEGE CLASS OF 2023 raised money to help reduce the financial barrier for fellow students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a cost of $175 per test taker. As a result of this gift, they were able to make the exam more affordable for 15 current CEGE seniors. CEGE students who take the FE exam pass the first time at a rate well above national averages, demonstrating that CEGE does a great job of teaching engineering fundamentals. In 2023, 46 of 50 students passed the challenging exam on the first try.

This winter break, four CEGE students joined 10 other students from the College of Science and Engineering for the global seminar, Design for Life: Water in Tanzania. The students visited numerous sites in Tanzania, collected water source samples, designed rural water systems, and went on safari. Read the trip blog: http://globalblogs.cse.umn.edu/search/label/Tanzania%202024

Undergraduate Honor Student  MALIK KHADAR  (advised by Dr. Paul Capel) received honorable mention for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

AKASH BHAT  (advised by William Arnold) presented his Ph.D. defense on Friday, October 27, 2023. Bhat’s thesis is “Photolysis of fluorochemicals: Tracking fluorine, use of UV-LEDs, and computational insights.” Bhat’s work investigating the degradation of fluorinated compounds will assist in the future design of fluorinated chemicals such that persistent and/or toxic byproducts are not formed in the environment.

ETHAN BOTMEN  (advised by Bill Arnold) completed his Master of Science Final Exam February 28, 2024. His research topic was Degradation of Fluorinated Compounds by Nucleophilic Attack of Organo-fluorine Functional Groups.

XIATING CHEN , Ph.D. Candidate in Water Resources Engineering at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory is the recipient of the 2023 Nels Nelson Memorial Fellowship Award. Chen (advised by Xue Feng) is researching eco-hydrological functions of urban trees and other green infrastructure at both the local and watershed scale, through combined field observations and modeling approaches.

ALICE PRATES BISSO DAMBROZ  has been a Visiting Student Researcher at the University of Minnesota since last August, on a Doctoral Dissertation Research Award from Fulbright. Her CEGE advisor is Dr. Paul Capel. Dambroz is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Soil Science at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil, where she studies with her adviser Jean Minella. Her research focuses on the hydrological monitoring of a small agricultural watershed in Southern Brazil, which is located on a transition area between volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Its topography, shallow soils, and land use make it prone to runoff and erosion processes.

Yielding to people in crosswalks should be a very pedestrian topic. Yet graduate student researchers  TIANYI LI, JOSHUA KLAVINS, TE XU, NIAZ MAHMUD ZAFRI  (Dept.of Urban and Regional Planning at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), and Professor Raphael Stern found that drivers often do not yield to pedestrians, but they are influenced by the markings around a crosswalk. Their work was picked up by the  Minnesota Reformer.

TIANYI LI  (Ph.D. student advised by Raphael Stern) also won the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation (DDET) Fellowship for the third time! Li (center) and Stern (right) are pictured at the Federal Highway Administration with Latoya Jones, the program manager for the DDET Fellowship.

The Three Minute Thesis Contest and the Minnesota Nice trophy has become an annual tradition in CEGE. 2023’s winner was  EHSANUR RAHMAN , a Ph.D. student advised by Boya Xiong.

GUANJU (WILLIAM) WEI , a Ph.D. student advised by Judy Yang, is the recipient of the 2023 Heinz G. Stefan Fellowship. He presented his research entitled Microfluidic Investigation of the Biofilm Growth under Dynamic Fluid Environments and received his award at the St. Anthony Falls Research Laboratory April 9. The results of Wei's research can be used in industrial, medical, and scientific fields to control biofilm growth.

BILL ARNOLD  stars in an award-winning video about prairie potholes. The Prairie Potholes Project film was made with the University of Delaware and highlights Arnold’s NSF research. The official winners of the 2024 Environmental Communications Awards Competition Grand Prize are Jon Cox and Ben Hemmings who produced and directed the film. Graduate student Marcia Pacheco (CFANS/LAAS) and Bill Arnold are the on-screen stars.

Four faculty from CEGE join the Center for Transportation Studies Faculty and Research Scholars for FY24–25:  SEONGJIN CHOI, KETSON ROBERTO MAXIMIANO DOS SANTOS, PEDRAM MORTAZAVI,  and  BENJAMIN WORSFOLD . CTS Scholars are drawn from diverse fields including engineering, planning, computer science, environmental studies, and public policy.

XUE FENG  is coauthor on an article in  Nature Reviews Earth and Environment . The authors evaluate global plant responses to changing rainfall regimes that are now characterized by fewer and larger rainfall events. A news release written at Univ. of Maryland can be found here: https://webhost.essic. umd.edu/april-showers-bring-mayflowers- but-with-drizzles-or-downpours/ A long-running series of U of M research projects aimed at improving stormwater quality are beginning to see practical application by stormwater specialists from the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. JOHN GULLIVER has been studying best practices for stormwater management for about 16 years. Lately, he has focused specifically on mitigating phosphorous contamination. His research was highlighted by the Center for Transportation Studies.

JIAQI LI, BILL ARNOLD,  and  RAYMOND HOZALSKI  published a paper on N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) precursors in Minnesota rivers. “Animal Feedlots and Domestic Wastewater Discharges are Likely Sources of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Precursors in Midwestern Watersheds,” Environmental Science and Technology (January 2024) doi: 10.1021/acs. est.3c09251

ALIREZA KHANI  contributed to MnDOT research on Optimizing Charging Infrastructure for Electric Trucks. Electric options for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks (e-trucks) are still largely in development. These trucks account for a substantial percentage of transportation greenhouse gas emissions. They have greater power needs and different charging needs than personal EVs. Proactively planning for e-truck charging stations will support MnDOT in helping to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. This research was featured in the webinar “Electrification of the Freight System in Minnesota,” hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies. A recording of the event is now available online.

MICHAEL LEVIN  has developed a unique course for CEGE students on Air Transportation Systems. It is the only class at UMN studying air transportation systems from an infrastructure design and management perspective. Spring 2024 saw the third offering of this course, which is offered for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

Research Professor  SOFIA (SONIA) MOGILEVSKAYA  has been developing international connections. She visited the University of Seville, Spain, November 13–26, 2023, where she taught a short course titled “Fundamentals of Homogenization in Composites.” She also met with the graduate students to discuss collaborative research with Prof. Vladislav Mantic, from the Group of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis at the University of Seville. Her visit was a part of planned activities within the DIAGONAL Consortium funded by the European Commission. CEGE UMN is a partner organization within DIAGONAL, represented by CEGE professors Mogilevskaya and Joseph Labuz. Mantic will visit CEGE summer 2024 to follow up on research developments and discuss plans for future collaboration and organization of short-term exchange visits for the graduate students from each institution. 

DAVID NEWCOMB  passed away in March. He was a professor in CEGE from 1989–99 in the area of pavement engineering. Newcomb led the research program on asphalt materials characterization. He was the technical director of Mn/ROAD pavement research facility, and he started an enduring collaboration with MnDOT that continues today. In 2000, he moved from Minnesota to become vice-president for Research and Technology at the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Later he moved to his native Texas, where he was appointed to the division head of Materials and Pavement at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a position from which he recently retired. He will be greatly missed.

PAIGE NOVAK  won Minnesota ASCE’s 2023 Distinguished Engineer of the Year Award for her contributions to society through her engineering achievements and professional experiences.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced ten inaugural (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines awards, with a potential $1.6 billion investment nationally over the next decade. Great Lakes ReNEW is led by the Chicago-based water innovation hub,  Current,  and includes a team from the University of Minnesota, including PAIGE NOVAK. Current will receive $15 mil for the first two years, and up to $160 million over ten years to develop and grow a water-focused innovation engine in the Great Lakes region. The project’s ambitious plan is to create a decarbonized circular “blue economy” to leverage the region’s extraordinary water resources to transform the upper Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Brewing one pint of beer generates seven pints of wastewater, on average. So what can you do with that wastewater?  PAIGE NOVAK  and her team are exploring the possibilities of capturing pollutants in wastewater and using bacteria to transform them into energy.

BOYA XIONG  has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 40 Under 40 Recognition Program by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. The award was presented at the 2024 AAEES Awards Ceremony, April 11, 2024, at the historic Howard University in Washington, D.C. 

JUDY Q. YANG  received a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Award. This two-year award recognizes promising assistant professors and is intended to advance the careers of individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and their scholarly fields. 

Professor Emeritus CHARLES FAIRHURST , his son CHARLES EDWARD FAIRHURST , and his daughter MARGARET FAIRHURST DURENBERGER were on campus recently to present Department Head Paige Novak with a check for $25,000 for the Charles Fairhurst Fellowship in Earth Resources Engineering in support of graduate students studying geomechanics. The life of Charles Fairhurst through a discussion with his children is featured on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki at https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Charles_Fairhurst#00:00:14_INTRODUCTION

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