Lean and Sustainable Construction: State of the Art and Future Directions

Only rapid and drastic reductions in greenhouse gases can prevent ever more widespread devastation and extreme weather events. Every increment in global heating is likely to compound the accelerating effects, according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate science (IPCC, 2021). The aim of this special issue is to boost sustainable performance improvements in the construction sector, through raising discussions on advances and future directions of lean and sustainable construction theories and practices. The construction sector is known to be one of the largest environmental polluters, physical waste producers, and energy consumers throughout its lifecycle. The global construction market was forecast to grow by up to 70% between 2013 and 2025 (HM Government, 2013). The existing built environment is subject to growing global challenges, including decarbonising heating and cooling as well as the construction process, rapid population growth, anthropogenic climate changes and resource scarcity. The Covid-19 crisis further compounds these challenges by creating additional unprecedented social and economic pressures on the sector. This means that sustainability must become an integral part of our day-to-day practice, not an add-on. It is imperative that development, design, and construction professionals consider whole-life costs throughout the life of our built environment. There is significant evidence that integrating approaches to lean and sustainable construction can yield substantial benefits to the sector, and that the resulting synergy from combining the two approaches can fulfil the distinct objectives of each. The papers in this special issue are only a small beginning. Much more work is needed.