The Role of Product Eco-Labels in Realising the Greening Agenda of the Construction Industry

Abstract

The proliferation of green products/materials in the construction industry (CI) have been traced to the global attention on sustainability. However, greenwashing and continuous specification and use of unsustainable construction products/materials keep restraining the transition of the industry towards the sustainable path. Hence, the need for efficient and effective assessment and labelling tools to provide reliable information about the environmental attributes of construction products/materials. This study sets out to examine the impact of green product eco-labels in achieving the sustainability goals of the CI. An extant review of the literature was conducted on the various available green product eco-labels in use in the industry. Findings revealed two significant types of eco-labels namely: single attribute and multiple-attribute. Specification and use of construction products/materials with household-named and reliable eco-labels by construction professionals and stakeholders is recommended, as this step has the potential of mitigating the negative environmental impacts of the CI. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Budapest University of Technology and Economics & Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2019.