ABSTRACT
Sustainable procurement plays a strategic role in
safeguarding the environmental, economic and social impacts of the activities
of an organization in a community. Over the years, Ghana has made significant
progress with procurement management, infrastructure development and social
development but sustainability issues remains one of the major drawbacks of
current construction procurement practices and still not fully utilized in the
Ghanaian construction industry. The aim of the current study was to investigate
into the sustainable procurement practices by construction firms in the
Ghanaian construction industry. The key drivers to the implementation of
sustainable construction practices and the key challenges the firms encounter
were among the issues addressed in the study. Using the Sekondi-Takoradi as a
case study, a total of 60 questionnaires were administered to construction
professionals who work with 30 construction firms. The data collected were
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16
software package. The results revealed that the factors which drive or motivate
construction firms in Ghana to embark on sustainable procurement are: the quest
to promote corporate image, Government legislations and laws, corporate social
responsibility considerations and value for money considerations. Moreover, the
barriers to the implementation of sustainable procurement were: lack of basic
education about sustainable procurement; lack of understanding of the
sustainable procurement concept; low stakeholder education; lack of social
drive; lack of client awareness and the absence of government interest in
ensuring the promotion of sustainable procurement. From the study, it is
recommended that public education on sustainability and enforcement of
legislations should be intensified. Also, competitive bidding, e-procurement
and information technologies should be encouraged to help achieve the aim of
sustainable procurement among construction firms in Ghana.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
Sustainable procurement according
to Walker and Wendy (2006) is the process whereby the objectives of the supply
chain involve not only sustainable development objectives but also attention is
given to the social, environmental and economic impact of the process on the
community. In other words, sustainable procurement (SP) considers the effect of
procurement process on the community, environment, and the social effect on
those delivering the product as well as the end users of the product or
service. From the above definition, sustainable procurement in the construction
industry can be explained as the process of ensuring that all activities of the
construction industry do not have any negative impact on the ecosystem (the
atmosphere, land, water bodies), the community within which the project is
being constructed as well as the workers who are involved in the construction
of the project. Thus sustainable procurement in the construction industry has a
broad spectrum which include considering climate change issues, minimizing
materials wastage, supporting communities, biodiversity and ecology
considerations, ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of workers on site,
complying with labour standards (Carthy and Shaun 2011).
During the past few decades,
researchers and professionals of the built environment have gained much
interest in how the activities of construction firms and their suppliers can be
controlled so that they do not have adverse effect on the society, the environment,
and the economy of the country as a whole (Walker and Wendy 2006). Carter and
Easton, (2011) noted that in many countries
business organizations have been compelled to bid by environmental laws,
controlling cost and managing all forms of risk. The researchers further noted
that the need to gain good reputation in a community also drive most firms to
embark on sustainability issues. Moreover, management of firms are more concern
about sustainability issues since their customers, stakeholders, the
government, a number of NGOs and even their own workers are progressively
demanding that their firms address and manage the social and environmental
impact of their activities (Carter and Easton 2011). Porter (2008) argued that
during the award of contract, sustainability should be cardinal criteria in the
selection of contractors. In the same way, procurement officers of construction
firms can also impact the social and environmental performance, through the
evaluation and selection of suppliers by using sustainability criteria to
evaluate the suppliers.
From the above discussion, it has
become progressively clear among all stakeholders that procurement can play a
key role in fulfilling the sustainability development goals of a country. Through
Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP), governments can demonstrate its
commitment by formulating policies that will safeguard the social,
environmental and economic impact of procurement activities. In the
environmental sense, sustainable procurement can be useful to help the
governments improve water and energy efficiency in the country. Moreover,
recycling of materials will reduce the effect of wastage. Socially, pursuing
sustainable development objectives will help to ensure poverty reduction, eradication
of discrimination and respect for labour standards. In the economic
perspective, Sustainable Public Procurement can
help generate revenue, reduce cost and support technology transfer and skills
development (Porter, 2008; Carter and Easton 2011).
In conclusion, sustaining
procurement and achieving effective and sustainable outcomes require continuous
engagement of all stakeholders especially the political class and civil society
groups who understand the rules to mount pressure on the operators of the
system to comply with the law.
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===================================================================Item Type: Ghanaian Topic | Size: 54 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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