Introduction
Green supply in construction industries mainly discusses the utilization of resources in the construction industry in such a way that an eco-friendly environment can be brought in and wastes can be minimized that are detrimental to health and surroundings. Various processes can be implemented that will be beneficial in the UK and Dubai. But certain factors cause hindrance in implementation. Curtailing those complications and moving ahead with that in the construction sector is a significant challenge in the 21st century. The results associated with a construction project are the addition of all the efforts set out at the different steps of supply chains from the beginning until the demolition period by different stakeholders. Management of green supply chain concept in the construction industry is seen as an advanced tool in the UK and Dubai towards channeling the divided efforts at making a greener sector.
Fig 1: Supply chain management stages
Courtesy: ScienceDirect
Green Supply Chain In UK
With the help of the green supply chain approach, it has been approximated that the part of the construction sector in the UK can activate total carbon emissions of about 47% as per HM Government in the year 2010. The UK government is determined to rebuild the economy from a downturn and ensure that sustainable development policies will improve long-term growth and economic prosperity. According to Moon (2007), KolkandvanTulder (2005), and Schereretal (2006), industries may come forward in making changes in the government policies and funds for a future that is both sustainable and economical. UK Green Building Council (2008) disclosed that the building construction results in sending forth 50% of the harmful greenhouse gas in the UK. A case study found that more than 2400 tons of plasterboard are manufactured and produced in different warehouses each year. This highlights the hotspots regarding the emissions across the plasterboard’s life cycle, in addition to analyzing other causes in the green chain supply to minimize harmful emission of gases.
Green Supply Chain in Dubai
The percentage of carbon emission for UAE is higher among all other countries as here the construction sector promotes 11.5% of the GDP as per International Monetary Fund (IMF) that disclosed report in 2010. Earlier, no research was carried out to build a framework to analyze the blockades of GSCM in the construction sector of the UAE. This is why a research gap exists here that is highly crucial to a developed country UAE as it is still at the beginner stage due to lack of research. As per the country report provided by the World Bank for UAE (2008), this country ranked first regarding carbon emission on a per capita basis and was estimated that it emitted 24.98 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2008. Apart from this, 38% of companies prioritize issues concerning environmental problems in their stages of the supply chain, whereas 60% of the companies in the construction sector do not give importance to the green management of the supply chain while making decisive approaches to environmental conditions in the world (Rettab & Ben, 2008). The hindrance identified is split up as exterior and interior causes that will enable policymakers to focus on the crucial aspects of GSCM in the construction sector of UAE.
Conclusion
Several barriers are in developed areas like the UK and Dubai as they lead in the world’s construction sector. Hence it becomes the prime responsibility of them to make it cleaner and greener to implement environmental safety. Several frameworks in research can be implemented involving stages that are identified as barriers. Much research is not done in the UK and Dubai, so extensive study is essential that involves advanced methodologies. Companies involved with the sustainable sector should make distinctions on sharing of data and alliance with sellers and buyers to benefit long-term sustainable solutions. Approaches like Green Design, Green Technology, and Green Materials can help in sustainability to a greater extent.
References
- P.Dadhich a, A.Genovese b,n, N.Kumar b, A.Acquaye, 2015. Developing sustainable supply chains in the UK construction industry: A case study. Int. J.ProductionEconomics (164), 271-284.
- Sreejith Balasubramanian, 2012. A Hierarchical Framework of Barriers to Green Supply Chain Management in the Construction Sector. Journal of Sustainable Development; Vol. 5, No. 10.
- Sreejith Balasubramanian, Vinaya Shukla, 2017. Green supply chain management: an empirical investigation on the construction sector. Supply Chain Management. Emerald Insight, Volume 22 Issue 1.
- Sreejith Balasubramanian, Vinaya Shukla, 2017. Green supply chain management: the case of the construction sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Management of Operations, Volume 28, 2017 – Issue 14. Production Planning & Control. Taylor & Francis Online, 1116-1138.
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