The effects of climate change, including extreme weather conditions, temperature increases, and floods, are increasingly evident worldwide. These changes are starting to have severe implications on people’s health and wellbeing, business operations, and society in general. Therefore, action to respond to climate change, in the form of mitigation (actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation measures (actions to minimise climate change impacts), is urgently needed.
Alongside the efforts to mitigate climate change (e.g. more stringent Building Codes, use of more energy efficient technologies, or use of materials with lower embodied energy), the construction sector must take significant adaptation actions to minimise the effects of global warming. To do so, construction organisations will need to systematically identify the short-term and long-term vulnerabilities of their managerial practices and operational processes, analytically assess the climate change related risks and provide actions to address these risks. Some examples of risks identified in the literature include: extreme weather conditions and the impact on occupational health and safety on-site, supply chain reliability, project delays and profit (Hurlimann et al., 2019).
The aim of this PhD Project is to investigate the preparedness of the construction industry to adapt to climate change risks, by understanding the level of awareness, the ability to systematically analyse the risks and their impact on their processes and operations, and the investigate the current and future adaptation actions.
Research in this topic can derive into multiple possible PhD avenues, using either qualitative or quantitative research, at organisational (e.g. decision-making, project risks, etc) or operational level (e.g. the effect of heat on workers on-site).
For informal enquiries please contact: Dr Alba Fuertes [Email Address Removed]
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