Sustainable Design and Construction in Industrial Construction

Triple Bottom Line is a phrase coined by industry that emphasizes the need for stakeholders and businesses to include environmental and social performance as well as financial performance to examine their sustainability activities. (RS250-1, p. 4)
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The many drivers of sustainability can be categorized into 3 major trends: regulatory trends, societal trends, and business trends. These trends include the following: (RS250-1, p. 7)

• Government Laws/Regulations
• Sustainability Performance Measured, Assessed, Ranked, and Reported
• Competitor Sustainability Initiatives
• Huge Business Opportunities
• Impacts Brand and Reputation
• Supply Chain Accountability
• License to Conduct Business
• Responsible Leadership

The research identified barriers in the industry that prevent sustainability concepts from being fully embraced on industrial projects. These barriers include the following list as the most relevant to CII members. (RS250-1, p. 7)

• Capital cost concerns
• Competitiveness
• Need positive ROR
• Unsure how to do/measure
• No implementation plan
• Unsure profitability
• Not required by regulations

This checklist identifies practical sustainable strategies for the contractor to implement on a project site to guide the contractor toward sustainability on the construction process. The checklist is shown below, including the potential credits for each category. Descriptions of these potential credits by category can be found in research. 

• Site Staging and Logistics – 29 potential credits
• Site Waste Management Plan – 7 potential credits
• Post Construction Site Restoration – 4 potential credits
• Site Dust and Particulate Control – 3 potential credits
• Transportation Planning or Using Mass Transit Facilities – 2 potential credits
• Water Management – 3 potential credits
• Energy and Atmosphere – 8 potential credits
• Materials and Resources – 13 potential credits
• Investigate Alternatives for Material Deliveries – I potential credit
• Waste Management – 5 potential credits
• Lean Construction – 3 potential credits
• Indoor Environmental Control – 2 potential credits
• Social Impacts – 6 potential credits

The ISIM seeks to quantify the triple bottom line, the social, economic, and environmental impact of the project through out the supply chain. The ISIM measures the total procurement sustainability via the aggregation of vendors and product Sustainability Index (SI) scores. These ISIM scores are based on the social, economic, and environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the product: manufacturing and fabrication, assembly, shipping, installation, operation and maintenance, and ultimately, demolition and reuse. The ISIM tool is based on the supposition that the impacts along the supply chain are cumulative, and that each vendor company in that process has the ability to have an impact on other companies along the supply chain. Detail use of this metric is explained in the research materials. Note: The ISIM is still in the development stage at the completion of the work of Research Team 250.