Consideration of the environmental cost in construction contracting for public works: A + C and A + B + C bidding methods

AbstractGrowing concerns about sustainable development have brought about an urgent need to develop global efforts to mitigate environmental impact. Although construction projects and their related activities consume much energy and generate a significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) and other diesel emissions, the efforts to mitigate these emissions remain at an early stage. To address this issue, this paper explores opportunities to consider contractors’ green capabilities during the bid evaluation phase. Based on reviews of the success story of the A+B bidding method, this paper suggests a modified bidding system in which contractors bid on the cost (part A) and environmental cost (part C) or on the cost (part A), time (part B), and environmental cost (part C) for public projects. An application of the proposed bidding methods is described using a bid for a highway reconstruction project. This case study reveals the potential impact of environmental cost criteria on the selection of a winning bid. Th...

[1]  Simaan M. AbouRizk,et al.  Toward Environmentally Sustainable Construction Processes: The U.S. and Canada’s Perspective on Energy Consumption and GHG/CAP Emissions , 2010 .

[2]  Robert Ries,et al.  Example of a Hybrid Life-Cycle Assessment of Construction Processes , 2006 .

[3]  M. Goedkoop,et al.  A damage oriented method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment , 1999 .

[4]  Arpad Horvath,et al.  Economic Input–Output Models for Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment , 1998 .

[5]  B. Obama,et al.  Executive Order 13514: Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance , 2009 .

[6]  Qingbin Cui,et al.  Green Contracting in Highway Construction , 2011 .

[7]  Arpad Horvath,et al.  Decision-Support Tool for Assessing the Environmental Effects of Constructing Commercial Buildings , 2006 .

[8]  Ivan Damnjanovic,et al.  Selection and Evaluation of Alternative Contracting Methods to Accelerate Project Completion , 2008 .

[9]  Samuel T. Ariaratnam,et al.  Quantification of carbon footprint on underground utility projects , 2009 .

[10]  Magnus Bengtsson,et al.  Weighting in LCA – approaches and applications , 2000 .

[11]  Andrea Smerek,et al.  The Role of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Development and Application , 2014 .

[12]  H Christopher Frey,et al.  Life cycle inventory energy consumption and emissions for biodiesel versus petroleum diesel fueled construction vehicles. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  Amlan Mukherjee,et al.  Calculation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Highway Construction Operations by Using a Hybrid Life-Cycle Assessment Approach: Case Study for Pavement Operations , 2011 .

[14]  Aurora L. Sharrard,et al.  Environmental Implications of Construction Site Energy Use and Electricity Generation1 , 2007 .

[15]  Robert Ries,et al.  Estimating Construction Project Environmental Effects Using an Input-Output-Based Hybrid Life-Cycle Assessment Model , 2008 .

[16]  Joost G. Vogtländer,et al.  The virtual eco-costs ‘99 A single LCA-based indicator for sustainability and the eco-costs-value ratio (EVR) model for economic allocation , 2001 .

[17]  Göran Finnveden,et al.  On the limitations of life cycle assessment and environmental systems analysis tools in general , 2000 .