Sustainable Construction Materials – An Indispensable Resource for Effective Construction Management

Abstract

Sustainable building materials can reduce the damage to non-renewable resources and the degradation of the environment. Chemical, physical and mechanical properties of materials and an appropriate design are accountable for the physical strength of a structure. Green buildings should be designed such that the sustainable materials used are the same or better than the conventional materials. In order to compare both sustainable materials and conventional materials, methodology of collecting sets of prices of sustainable as well as conventional materials for a given project and to do a quantity survey and check them for durability, life cycle, maintenance cost and carbon footprints identification has to be adopted. Although just selecting sustainable construction materials is not enough, there is more to it than just sustainable construction materials, and that is sustainable construction management. Here, it deals with efficient design, selection of sustainable materials, analysis of construction materials, and the environmental impact of the materials, which grants more efficiency in smooth completion of the project. Many research communities worldwide have discovered different sustainable building materials to meet the norms and standards required today for a complete functional structure. To achieve this, selection of building materials and the construction management practices must have integrity at all times to get the utmost benefit out of it. Therefore, the selection of construction materials that have minimum environmental impact which are beneficial for sustainable development.