ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT : A STUDY OF ARCHITECTS' AWARENESS AND ATTITUDES

Abstract

A missing dimension in the formal education of project managers is the understanding of the environment and its role in project management. This dissertation is intended to contribute to part of the more formal university curriculum in project management. Developments are necessary for the creation of wealth of nations. These developments have to be properly managed to achieve their desired goals. Project management helps to achieve these goals. The traditional criteria adopted are quality, time and cost. Any development brings about a change to the environment. If left totally unchecked, it can have irreversible and damaging consequences on the environment. The people in the best position to prevent such an occurrence are members of the project management team who are closely involved in the development. The architect being usually the leader and designer for a project has been chosen for this study. A survey was conducted to gauge the views of architects in Singapore to assess their awareness, action taken and attitude towards the environment. Based on their responses, the study concluded that while the objectives of project management, namely, quality, time and cost were held high on their priority list, environmental issues pertaining to their projects were not totally ignored. They were well informed and aware of the environmental issues that affected their projects. There was a correlation between their awareness and actions taken. This is reflected in their measures taken to make their projects more environmentally-friendly. Some of these measures were requirements by authorities while others were based on their knowledge and experience. Although their actions and measures clearly indicate a positive attitude for a better environment, these are limited by constraints. One of the constraints is the attitude of clients who appear to have less interest on environmental issues but who influence the decisions of the architect. Other constraints are physical constraints and government regulations. Environmental education, fine tuning of government regulations and research can help in promoting greater awareness and solve some of the environmental issues in project management. These constraints encountered by the architects can be minimised, if the project manager is able to take an active role on environmental matters. Being part of the client's organisation, he is in a better position to advise and influence the client to think in terms of environmentally friendly projects and to highlight the benefits in terms of recognition and commercial value for such projects