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positive impact is achieved through the development and delivery of strategic change.

The changing focus of the construction industry
[16]
Despite the construction industry often described in the literature as one of the least sustainable , the
interview results revealed a wealth of sustainability actions undertaken, with many quantifiable benefits
experienced. Participant J stated:

“we’ve made some great progress over the last few years…fully electric fleet, introducing electric vehicles on
site, paperless offices…and we recently hit our 100% recycle target”.

Similar positive accomplishments were also echoed by participants B, E and N who represented different
contractors, illustrating the positive achievements realised across the construction industry. Participant J
went into more detail regarding their organisation’s Net Zero target which was 2040 (already ten years
ahead of the UK Government target) but stated the organisation was currently exceeding all interim targets
and was on track to achieve Net Zero by 2035.

All those interviewed across all three research stages were aware of the Net Zero 2050 UK Government
target, and all those organisations represented in the first research stage had their own Net Zero target in
place. However, the findings did reveal that strategies to achieve Net Zero and the broader SDGs are more
developed than the actions required for implementation. This finding aligns with research that suggests
[21]
SDG strategies receive greater focus than the actual actions required to achieve the targets set . However,
this research develops existing literature further, by exploring the barriers and factors limiting the
achievement of planned strategic actions. This is illustrated well by participants D, E and F, who have
similar responses despite working for differing contractors, with participant E stating:

“We all see the strategies when they’re launched, and there’s an internal roll out to all staff, but we don’t
often get asked to do anything differently, and no one ever questions what we’re doing on a daily or weekly
basis on site…we just get asked to fill out records and logs…every few months”.

Participant X offered an insight into this disconnect between strategic plans and operational delivery:

“I’ve participated in a few research projects previously, and the questions asked are always around strategy,
no one then ever asks to speak to the site staff about how the strategies we [management] impose impacts
them”.

Whilst this may not be reflective of all studies as many do investigate SDGs from the operational
perspectives, it does illustrate where a lot of the research focus is. Expanding on this Participant X stated:

“I am the most visible…with my profile and job…it’d be much harder for [a researcher] to reach out and
find suitable site based staff to speak to”.

This was echoed by Participant C, who confirmed:

“we’re all really busy on site, it’s go go go…and we have too many different initiatives, every day the toolbox
talks have to mention one thing or another that isn’t focused on safety…you can see eyes roll when we talk
about sustainability, Net Zero, Social Value…the operatives just want to get on with their jobs”.