IMPACT OF MATERIALS AND RESOURCES FACTORS ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BUILDINGS

Abstract

Currently, the construction industry consumes enormous amounts of energy and emits one-third of total carbon dioxide emissions over the world. Therefore, it is highly essential to decrease the influence of the building sector on the environment. Materials and Resources play a crucial role in the construction process, encompassing the extraction, production, transportation, and disposal of construction materials, which are all associated with energy consumption and emissions. Therefore, this research investigates the influence of Materials and Resources (MR) on building sustainability. The research was undertaken in Kazakhstan's construction sector and is based on a survey of construction professionals with various backgrounds for a typical residential high-rise structure. The research focuses on the materials and resources part of LEED certification and intends to investigate construction professionals' attitudes and understanding of building MR sustainability. Furthermore, the thesis intends to emphasize the need to implement BIM technology to achieve building sustainability. The methodology of the research is descriptive research and based on a survey that is designed to collect data from construction professionals about their perceptions, knowledge and understanding of the MR aspect of LEED certification. The survey questions were developed by conducting a comprehensive analysis of various research papers, books, and journals. The various tests were conducted to check the distribution of the results, agreement among respondents, central tendency, validity, and reliability of the survey. The Cronbach’s alpha technique and Shapiro-Wilk test were completed to check the correlation of the items and normal distribution of the survey respectively. The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and Man-Whitney U statistics checked the agreement among respondents. The Mean Technique, Factor Analysis and PLS-SEM test helped to check the validity and reliability. Factor analysis also identifies underlying factors or dimensions that explain the patterns of relationships among observed variables and PLS-SEM determines the correlation between survey categories. In the theoretical model of the survey 7 main questions were created. According to these questions, 10 various hypotheses were created and 9 of them were supported with the results. Hypothesis 4 (Managing and Maintaining Materials (MMM)àManagement and Disposal of Construction Waste (MDCW)) was not supported and had p-value higher than a threshold of 0.05. Moreover, from the results, the highest mean value got sub-questions of component Managing and Maintaining of Materials (MMM). The highest load also was in component MMM and was equal to 0.834 Overall, the theoretical model of the survey was supported by the results and the results were satisfactory. The results of the research are expected to contribute to the understanding of the impact of MR factors on the sustainability of buildings. The research also provides insights into the perceptions and understanding of construction professionals regarding the sustainability of building materials and resources.