GREEN BUILDING RETROFIT PROJECTS: CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS, BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

In the past decade, building sustainability has gained considerable global momentum and Singapore has also shifted her focus into mitigating building’s impact on the environment. This is evident from the numbers of Green Mark certified buildings which rose from 17 to 1,000 between 2005 and 2012. In Singapore, the existing building stock comprises approximately 95% of the buildings any particular year which makes it a critical target for energy efficient interventions. However, the green building construction in Singapore is challenged due to the lack of a proper green building project management framework. There is no extensive research on the success factors of green building projects from the perspective of Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) firms, which have great impact on the buildings’ environmental performance. As the growth in green retrofit buildings is projected to increase dramatically in the subsequent years, there is an urgent need to investigate its barriers and CSFs to ensure project success. Therefore, the intention of this study is to bridge the gap. Essentially, 22 barriers and 80 CSFs of green retrofit projects were identified based on the literature review on three types of projects, namely: (1) new conventional; (2) conventional retrofit and (3) new green building projects to incorporate the barriers and CSFs of a variety of projects. These barriers and CSFs were subsequently validated and ranked for the level of significance by the BCA’s certified Green Mark Professionals (GMP) and Green Mark Managers (GMM). The 80 CSFs were classified into nine Project Management Knowledge Areas and six other major categories, which were later compared between conventional and green retrofit project. Results showed no significant difference between the 80 CSFs for both projects. Among the top 10 CSFs for both projects, 8 common CSFs were discovered, namely, “Adequate financial funding”, “Clear and effective project definitions, strategies, goals and priorities”, “Minimize disruptions to existing building”, “Realistic budget allocation”, “Top management support”, “Effective project and scheduling planning, review and control”, “Contractor’s experience, commitment, competency, track record” and “Proper project execution and coordination”. Results also highlighted 44 CSFs which are more significant and thus should be given more emphasis in green building retrofit project. Lastly, solutions to these barriers were proposed and subsequently validated by the GMPs and GMMs from different construction sectors. With the contributions of this research finding, companies will be able to successfully accomplish Green Mark certified retrofit projects and attain higher-tier ratings in a more effective manner.