Exploring Success Factors in Certifying Green Buildings : Early Project Stages of Certified Swedish Construction Projects

Abstract: Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing every year, and in Sweden the construction industrystands for one fifth of the total emissions. One way for construction companies to push formore sustainable development is through voluntary sustainability certifications. As the numberof certified projects continues to rise, how to manage these projects during the early stagesbecomes an increasingly important question. Therefore, the purpose of this report has been toexplore and identify factors of success, connected to the management of certified constructionprojects during early project stages, in a relatively unexplored Swedish context. Data was collected through a literature review and seventeen semi-structured interviews withindustry professionals, and the following thematic analysis resulted in a refined list of factorsto consider during early project stages for successful certification. By applying critical successfactor (CSF) as theoretical framework, fifteen critical success factors were identified andcompared with those from previous research. Integrating the certification, planning for it duringearly stages, certification reconciliation meetings and a driven and competent specialist areexamples of identified CSFs from this list. Conclusions drawn in this report are that the Swedish context does not differ much fromprevious research, as most success factors had previously been identified by others.Furthermore, the results of this report indicate that the sustainability specialist, coordinator orconsultant is an increasingly important role for certified projects, and that they need trust,mandate and space to coordinate the work with the certification. Lastly, contributions havebeen made to the field of research on certified construction projects by providing a list ofsuccess factors with examples and data from Swedish industry professionals. This list canadditionally be considered by industry professionals when undertaking certified constructionprojects. Some issues concerning the application of CSF as framework have also beendiscussed in this report, which researchers in the field can consider for their future researchendeavors.