Delivering UN Sustainable Development Goals’ Impact on Infrastructure Projects: An Empirical Study of Senior Executives in the UK Construction Sector

Businesses’ Role in the Fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda: A Bibliometric Analysis

Companies worldwide can play a fundamental role in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda. This paper aims to determine the scope of the existing literature about the role that organizations play in contributing to the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A bibliometric analysis is conducted considering the papers specifically focused on SDGs and businesses published from 2015 to 2021 in journals indexed in the Scopus database. The analysis shows that approximately 80% of the studies on this topic have been published in the last three years. Moreover, only one journal (Sustainability) has published more than the 50% of the publications on the subject. The final sample is divided into 11 clusters that analyze different perspectives within the same research topic, and, in all these clusters, practically all of the papers have been published in the last two years, which confirms that this issue is increasing its presence in the academic world. This work extends the existing research on the subject, taking into account the publications of the last year, so it is an update on this “hot topic”. Moreover, it contributes to providing a reference frame of the state of the art of this research topic and can orientate researchers in the development of future studies

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

Construction is a resource-intensive industry where a circular economy (CE) is essential to minimize global impacts and conserve natural resources. A CE achieves long-term sustainability by enabling materials to circulate along the critical supply chains. Accordingly, recent research has proposed a paradigm shift towards CE-based sustainability. However, uncertainties caused by fluctuating raw material prices, scarce materials, increasing demand, consumers’ expectations, lack of proper waste infrastructure, and the use of wrong recycling technologies all lead to complexities in the construction industry (CI). This research paper aims to determine the enablers of a CE for sustainable development in the CI. The system dynamics (SD) approach is utilized for modeling and simulation purposes to address the associated process complexity. First, using content analysis of pertinent literature, ten enablers of a CE for sustainable development in CI were identified. Then, causality among these enablers was identified via interviews and questionnaire surveys, leading to the development of the causal loop diagram (CLD) using systems thinking. The CLD for the 10 shortlisted enablers shows five reinforcing loops and one balancing loop. Furthermore, the CLD was used to develop an SD model with two stocks: “Organizational Incentive Schemes” and “Policy Support.” An additional stock (“Sustainable Development”) was created to determine the combined effect of all stocks. The model was simulated for five years. The findings show that policy support and organizational incentive schemes, among other enablers, are critical in implementing a CE for sustainable development in CI. The outcomes of this study can help CI practitioners to implement a CE in a way that drives innovation, boosts economic growth, and improves competitiveness.

Driving Sustainability through Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the somewhat precarious nature of our lives, including the way we work and our lifestyles [...]

Earth Observation for Sustainable Infrastructure: A Review

Infrastructure is a fundamental sector for sustainable development and Earth observation has great potentials for sustainable infrastructure development (SID). However, implementations of the timely, large–scale and multi–source Earth observation are still limited in satisfying the huge global requirements of SID. This study presents a systematical literature review to identify trends of Earth observation for sustainable infrastructure (EOSI), investigate the relationship between EOSI and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and explore challenges and future directions of EOSI. Results reveal the close associations of infrastructure, urban development, ecosystems, climate, Earth observation and GIS in EOSI, and indicate their relationships. In addition, from the perspective of EOSI–SDGs relationship, the huge potentials of EOSI are demonstrated from the 70% of the infrastructure influenced targets that can be directly or indirectly derived from Earth observation data, but have not been included in current SDG indicators. Finally, typical EOSI cases are presented to indicate challenges and future research directions. This review emphasizes the contributions and potentials of Earth observation to SID and EOSI is a powerful pathway to deliver on SDGs.