Exploring the management of sustainable construction at the programme level: a Chinese case study

Sustainable construction is achieved by the implementation of sustainable development principles in the construction industry. The complexity and higher level of inter-project conflicts that occur in large-scale projects mean that the implementation of sustainable construction in those projects is substantially different from that in smaller scale projects. A case study approach has been adopted to analyse the planning and implementation of sustainable construction in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 across the entire programme lifecycle. As one of the largest programmes in China, the Shanghai World Expo 2010 has the potential to serve as a showcase for the application of sustainable development principles in construction. The key factors that need to be considered in order to promote sustainable construction at the programme level are identified. These include the establishment of a dedicated department to coordinate various stakeholders’ efforts and the release of conceptual guidelines and management regulations. In addition, a framework is proposed to implement sustainable construction at the programme management level.