Environmentally sustainable project management in industrial building projects

Abstract

To achieve a more environmentally sustainable built environment various measures are needed to mitigate negative environmental impacts of the building and construction sector. The main objective of this thesis was to find out how industrial building projects can be managed in a more environmentally sustainable way. In the context of this study, industrial buildings are defined as buildings that facilitate industrial operations, and environmental sustainability refers to minimizing the negative environmental impacts of building projects.

To achieve the research objective, a literature review was conducted in the theoretical framework, focusing on identifying project management’s main activities during a project, the concept of environmental sustainability in the building and construction sector, measures employed to enhance environmental sustainability in the sector In Finland, and how project management can influence the environmental sustainability of industrial building projects. In the empirical part of the thesis, a case study was conducted to find out how environmental sustainability was incorporated in the project management process in a recently implemented food industrial building project in Southern Finland.

Based on the theoretical findings, project management measures towards more environmentally sustainable industrial building projects are similar to those that are already utilized in other building typologies. However, the study revealed that industrial building projects face specific challenges related to environmental sustainability, primarily due to the industrial activities conducted within these buildings. Additionally, the legislation governing the energy efficiency and climatic impacts of industrial buildings is behind several other building typologies. Despite these challenges, project management was identified to have several means to integrate and improve the environmental sustainability of industrial building projects.

The empirical part of the study revealed that in a recently implemented industrial building project, environmental considerations were not treated as a success criterion or as a central aspect of the project or project management. Most project management decisions regarding industrial buildings were based on process, functional, and regulatory requirements, as well as on solutions used previously in a similar project. However, environmental sustainability had been considered during selection of suppliers for execution phase. Additionally, harmful environmental impacts of construction activities had been addressed and project-specific environmental goals had been set for these activities to mitigate those impacts.

To improve the environmental sustainability of future industrial building projects a project management checklist was formulated based on the research findings. Especially, planning and design phases, which significantly impact the buildings operational and product-related environmental impacts, show a great potential for enhancing the industrial buildings environmental sustainability in the future. Project management can influence these and other environmental impacts by increasing clients' awareness of the benefits that environmental sustainability can have for the project, setting and supporting environmental objectives and goals for the project, employing steering mechanisms and methods for managing the project's environmental impacts, and by recognizing the potential impact that project stakeholders, particularly internal stakeholders, can have on environmental sustainability of the project.